After a thrilling five-match series between T1 and HLE, Zeus and co. had the final laugh as they move to the next round of the League of Legends Champion Korea Cup 2025 playoffs.
HLE started the series strong, dominating game one. But as the sides changed, T1 showcased their valor and equalized the series with a strong performance on the blue side. Until now, Fearless Drafts have not significantly impacted teams, and they have stuck to their meta picks with very few pocket picks, like Keria’s Pyke support.
In match three, the teams really started to feel the pressure of the Fearless Drafts, and Faker chose his first-ever Mel in the mid lane. Keria also played his first-ever LeBlanc and secured a few sneaky picks, but ultimately, HLE managed to bring the series to a decider.
T1 returned to the drawing board with a fairly stable draft. HLE, on the other hand, went for picks like Corki ADC and the famous Diana and Yasuo combo to secure the series. T1 dominated the match, and Oner’s perfect Smite steals into Atakhan almost sealed the silver scraps, but Zeus’ Aatrox with the Yasuo-Diana combo meant T1 had to wait a bit longer to cross the finishing line.
In game five, T1 tried to maintain aggression by diving Zeus early, but they failed. After a close game, T1 came one tower away from winning the match, but Zeus’ Olaf ran past the team’s frontline and ensured HLE stayed alive in the competition.
Due to his impressive performances, Zeus emerged as the player of the match. This surely rubs salt in T1’s wound because he was one of the main reasons T1 emerged as World Champions last year. The team couldn’t re-sign the star performer, leading to him joining HLE in the offseason. T1 signed Doran as a replacement.
T1 will return to the LCK later in the year and try to secure their spot in the MSI 2025. With this defeat, they won’t be Korea’s representatives for the first-ever Fearless Drafts First Stand tournament. The Korean powerhouse’s increasing woes include ADC Lee “Gumayusi” Min-hyeong getting sidelined, with academy T1 player Sin “Smash” Geum-jae replacing him. While Smash has impressed with his performances, T1 sorely miss Gumayusi.
Published: Feb 13, 2025 1:32 PM UTC