Why T1 Became the Center of Controversy After the Victory Over KT
Recently, the “telecom war” between T1 and KT took place with results and developments that were somewhat unexpected for many viewers. In both games, T1 completely dominated. Although KT has been showing a somewhat inconsistent performance since Rounds 3-5 of the LCK began, no one expected them to be obliterated by T1 so swiftly. In fact, Gumayusi was on the verge of a pentakill if Oner hadn’t finished off Cuzz in a skirmish in the bot lane. And it was this situation that sparked a heated debate among a section of T1 fans regarding Oner.
While most of the T1 fan community and League of Legends viewers regarded it as a normal, albeit unfortunate, situation for Gumayusi, a message on POPS (the platform for T1’s hardcore fans) from Oner stating “If Min-hyung (Gumayusi’s real name) had done better, he definitely would have gotten the penta” ignited a controversy. Some of Gumayusi’s hardcore fans argued that Oner was teasing his teammate too much and that the reason Gumayusi missed the pentakill was primarily because Oner didn’t calculate his damage and didn’t heed his teammates’ communication, as Oner later admitted.
According to some critical opinions, this POPS message showed that Oner lacked sensitivity in a context where fans and even his teammates were lamenting the missed pentakill – an achievement that is very difficult to attain in the professional arena. Even though Gumayusi later spoke up to comfort the fans and joked along with his teammate’s comment, the incident still generated a lot of debate.
But perhaps for T1 right now, winning is the most important thing
Of course, the players involved in the story, such as Oner, Gumayusi, and even Keria, have also spoken up to explain the situation. With the professionalism they are known for, Gumayusi also sent comforting words to fans still regretting his pentakill. Moreover, what matters is that T1 won and showcased the good form of the players. This is perhaps the most important thing right now as they are set to face HLE – an opponent that, although not currently performing well, is still not easy to deal with.