T1 make history with LCK’s fourth-ever 17-win split

Each year, the 17-win threshold is becoming a more reachable one in the LCK. T1 clinched a 17-win Spring Split with a win over Nongshim RedForce, marking the third split in a row that a team in the league has reached at least this milestone. Gen.G was the most recent team to do so when they won 17 matches and set the LCK’s single-split winning percentage record in one fell swoop. 

Prior to this three-consecutive-split stretch, only one other team in LCK history (2015 SK Telecom) had reached the 17-win mark. 

T1 closed out the 2023 Spring Split on a 13-match winning streak. Their only loss of the spring came to Hanwha Life Esports on Feb. 2. Since that point, they’ve dominated the LCK, posting an individual game record of 26-4 over that 13-match streak, and finishing the split with a total game record of 35-8, just one game behind the mark they set during last season’s 18-0 run during the spring. 

This spring, T1 finished four matches above any other team in the standings, securing the first seed in the LCK Spring Playoffs by a wide margin. Their record earned them a first-round bye in the Spring Playoffs, as well as the right to choose their second-round opponent. 

With the playoffs immediately beginning next week, T1 come into the postseason as the hottest team in Korea, and another LCK title for the storied organization seems incredibly likely. Still, even if the odds play against them and another team steals the Spring championship away from the forgeone favorites, they will still have a chance to play internationally at this year’s Mid-Season Invitational due to an offseason rule change. Starting with the 2023 season, the top two teams from each major region will attend MSI instead of only its champion, as had been the case in previous years. T1 would need to win two best-of-five series in the Spring Playoffs’ upper bracket to automatically secure their place at MSI. 

The LCK Spring Playoffs begin this Wednesday, March 22, with an opening-round matchup between KT Rolster and Liiv SANDBOX. T1 will play their first match of the playoffs on Saturday, March 25.