LCK’s second seed side, T1, have gone one better than their last year’s finish at the 2023 League of Legends World Championship, where they have beaten LPL’s Weibo Gaming 3-0 in an astonishing result.
T1 recorded the victory in front of their home fans just a year after falling losing to their compatriots in San Francisco in the 2022 edition.
The victory is T1’s first Worlds title win under the new name after dropping the SK Telecom name in 2019. T1 has won the LPL gauntlet, beating all four of China’s representatives in Bilibili Gaming, LNG Esports, JD Gaming, and Weibo to win their fourth Summoner’s Cup.
On an individual level, the win is also a fourth Cup for midlaner Faker, who furthers his claim to the title of the greatest to play the game.
“I am just happy I got to play in front of such a big audience. It doesn’t matter who we play; I’m grateful I get the chance to play on the stage. We have had a lot of ups and downs, but I think this moment at Worlds repays everything,” Faker said.
T1’s race to the title was close to flawless after dropping just two games of League across the tournament, with the final happening in front of over 16,000 fans and over six million viewers online—an all-time esports record.
While Weibo opted for the Blue side in all three games, the Korean squad didn’t necessarily stick by the meta in the three games.
Weibo went into the game as the favourites, based on statistics, were far stronger side across the tournament; however, T1 rubbished the spreadsheets and showed the League isn’t played on the spreadsheet.
The MVP of the finals was Zeus after winning the top lane battle ahead of TheShy and playing an integral part in helping T1 pull ahead in all three games.
Daniel Ademiju Idowu
