T1 was forced into a precarious situation when Faker got injured and had to play a substitute and academy player Yoon “Poby” Sung-won. This led to a disaster for the team in their first game in the 2023 LCK Summer Split without Faker.
Their game against DRX on Wednesday, July 5, was a week five fixture of the 2023 LCK Summer Split, and T1 headed into the game with a 6-2 record, while their rivals were placed in eighth place with a 2-6 record.
Obviously, T1 were the favorite, even with the fact that they were going to play the game without Faker, one of the many matches that he will miss due to his hand injury. However, contrary to the expectations created by the 6-2 record held by T1, T1 was demolished by DRX in a brave 2-0 series.
DRX’s stunning victory started in the first game straight as they ensured to hold the advantage they created and dominated in a way that T1’s new mid-laner Poby was the only player to claim any kills on their side with two. The whole team’s KDA was at 2-19-4.
The second game wasn’t different, really, as DRX got past T1 in just 32 minutes as they took over the map, thus restricting T1 from the opportunity to fight back in any way on the map. The loss puts more gap between T1 and Gen.G in the first place.
The sudden loss of Faker and Poby’s inexperience in the LCK before July 5’s series will definitely disrupt the flow of the team and thus leave T1 with the need to work on their mistake if they want to avoid going 0-2 in week five.
Their next game will be with the team with the perfect 8-0 record, Gen.G. They have also lost just three maps all through, with the match set for Saturday, July 8.
Daniel Ademiju Idowu
