T1 took down Liiv SANDBOX 2-0 today to close out the fifth week of the 2021 LCK Spring Split. The series was one-sided with T1 overpowering their opponents in all lanes.
Today’s match featured the debut of T1’s third jungler Moon “Oner” Hyeon-joon, who became eligible to play in the LCK last month. Going into this League of Legends series, odds were against SANDBOX, who are struggling to get out of 10th place in the standings.
The MVP votes were picked up by Keria and Clozer for their outstanding performances throughout the series. The support played Thresh in the first game for crucial engages against the weakened LCK team, snowballing from the get-go and acting as a teamfight initiator. Clozer used his signature Zoe pick to take over the second game, finishing the game deathless with six kills and seven assists.
The first game of the series started with T1 going for early aggressive plays in all lanes. Rookie jungler Oner kept his opposing jungler under control with Graves, constantly invading and stealing away his camps. His pressure combined with winning lanes allowed T1 to pick up both Rift Heralds and all the dragons. While LSB tried to put a stop to their pressure, they were eventually overpowered once T1 got the Baron and the Elder Dragon Soul. With a huge gold lead, T1 closed out the first game the series on a high note.
With the momentum from the first game win, T1 secured early leads in the second game again. Clozer’s pressure on Zoe once he got an item advantage allowed T1 to have an even more dominant mid-game. After a 24-minute teamfight win, T1 closed out the series with a clean sweep. The game was far from perfect but showed T1 can have a much better mid-game if they acquire early leads.
Following this victory, T1 (5-5) climb to fifth place in the 2021 LCK Spring Split. While they were a strong contender for the LCK championship after their offseason signings, their constant roster swaps seems to have been impacting the team negatively. The team has lost a couple of series due to a lack of map control and mid-game synergy after constantly changing players. With this win, they should be able to gain some confidence for their matchup against DWG KIA next week.
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