Since Gen.G implemented its “all-star” roster-building policy with established players in every position, they have become a fierce rival to T1. From the LCK Spring 2022 until now, the two teams have faced each other 6 times in domestic finals, with Gen.G currently leading with 4 championships. They are also the only team in LCK history to win this tournament 4 times consecutively.
There are many reasons for T1’s defeat, both objective and subjective. Of course, in a high-stakes match like the recent LCK Spring 2024 finals, even the smallest mistake can lead to significant consequences. Even players who are very familiar with the finals atmosphere, like Chovy or Faker, had some awkward moments. However, T1 had a player with the worst stats on the entire team. In fact, he performed worse than both Keria and Lehends – who are Support players. That player is Zeus, who is regarded as one of T1’s key players and a direct competitor to Kiin.
Specifically, in all 5 games of the finals, Zeus had a KDA of 2/18/24. For a player who specializes in Fighter champions and is an important damage output, Zeus went down too many times and secured too few kills. Of course, in those 5 games, only one game saw Zeus using a damage Fighter like Aatrox. However, looking at Kiin, with just the champion K’Sante, by the early stages of game 5, Gen.G’s superstar had as many kills as Zeus had combined across all 5 games.
Zeus’s performance in the finals clearly did not meet expectations. Aside from games 2 and 3 where he somewhat shone thanks to maximum support from Oner, Zeus has yet to prove he can be a reliable support for the team during T1’s tough times. In fact, Faker performed much better than Zeus even though the “Demon King” mainly played a role in making plays. Additionally, many viewers compared him to TheShy – Zeus’s direct opponent in the 2023 Worlds finals. In that match, “Shy ca” also had extremely poor stats, and it was Zeus who completely “shut down” the “Top God”.
In the upcoming MSI 2024, Zeus will still be T1’s main damage dealer. But clearly, he needs to urgently improve his performance and maintain his best state throughout the tournament if he doesn’t want his team to continue suffering in yet another tournament.