It was a long, scary rollercoaster ride for T1 and their fans this year but they have now finally made it to Worlds.
It’s been a season of highs and lows for T1, the defending League of Legends (LoL) World Champions. In the last possible moment of the season, they finally secured their spot for Worlds 2024 on Saturday, 14 September, by defeating KT Rolster 3-2 in the LoL Champions Korea (LCK) Regional Finals Round 3.
Heavy lies the crown for T1, the most decorated team in LoL esports history. Led by the legendary Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok, recently inducted into the LoL Hall of Legends, the roster remained unchanged for two years but faced significant challenges this season.
Before diving into the dramatic series that confirmed their ticket to the biggest event in LoL esports, let’s recap T1’s tumultuous road to Worlds 2024 and how close they came to missing out.
T1’s challenging Summer Split
T1’s troubles began early in the Summer Split. Frustrating DDoS attacks disrupted their ability to stream and practise effectively in the off-season, leading to a rocky start.
They kicked off the split with a 2-0 victory over Nongshim RedForce, showcasing their signature dominance. But their momentum stalled in a devastating 0-2 loss to one of the LCK's strongest teams, Gen.G.
T1's AD carry Lee “Gumayusi” Min-hyeong voiced his frustrations, saying they needed to adjust to the meta faster.
Despite a strong showing in Week 2, sweeping DPlus KIA 2-0 and narrowly beating Kwangdong Freecs 2-1, T1 continued to falter. In Week 3, they started with a convincing 2-0 win over DRX but then stumbled in a 1-2 loss to KT Rolster.
During the break for the Esports World Cup (4-7 July), T1 found their groove and dominated the competition, taking home the championship. However, their return to the LCK Summer Split followed a familiar pattern—losses to top-tier teams like Gen.G, eventual LCK Summer Champions Hanwha Life Esports, and a mix of surprise defeats like a 1-2 loss to FearX and a 0-2 loss to Nongshim RedForce.
As the pressure mounted, internal frustrations bubbled up, exemplified by an incident where Faker was seen hitting his head against the wall after a tough loss to Gen.G on 3 August. Despite these challenges, T1 ended the Summer Split in fourth place with an 11-7 record, securing a playoff berth.
Summer Playoffs: A rollercoaster ride
In the Summer Playoffs, T1 initially seemed to have regained form, defeating KT Rolster 3-1 in the Upper Bracket Quarterfinals. However, they were no match for the eventual champions Hanwha Life Esports, who swept them 3-0 in the Upper Bracket Semifinals.
T1 dropped to the Lower Bracket, where they beat DPlus KIA 3-1 to advance to the Lower Bracket Final. Once again, they faced Hanwha Life Esports and were eliminated after a 3-1 loss. Yet, thanks to their Spring performance and third-place finish in Summer, T1 still qualified for the LCK Regional Finals.
Regional Finals: The last stand
In the Regional Finals, T1 faced DPlus KIA in a do-or-die series. Despite DPlus KIA never having beaten T1 since 2022, nerves seemed to get the better of T1. Questionable drafts and mistakes marred the series, leading to a nail-biting 3-2 loss.
This set up T1’s final chance to qualify for Worlds on 14 September.
One last shot at worlds: T1 vs KT Rolster telecom wars
In the LCK Regional Finals Round 3, T1 faced their telecom rivals KT Rolster in a battle to end the LCK season. T1 opted for balanced picks, focusing on contested champions like Ziggs, Bard, and Poppy, while banning Smolder—a pick that had troubled them throughout the playoffs.
KT Rolster mirrored this, favouring champions like Miss Fortune, Corki, and Rumble.
In Game 1, T1 controlled the early game, snowballing their lead by dominating map objectives. KT struggled to recover, overwhelmed by T1’s long-range, damage-heavy comp with Ziggs, Azir, and Vayne. After 26 minutes, T1 secured the first win.
Game 2 saw T1 start strong again, but KT fought back, setting up big team fights and punishing T1's mistakes around the Baron pit. KT snowballed their lead and, after a 31-minute siege with a 25-8 kill advantage, evened the series 1-1.
The third game was a different story, with T1 once again gaining an early lead. KT had no response, managing only two kills as T1 methodically took down all objectives and won the game in 28 minutes.
In Game 4, with their backs against the wall, KT came out swinging. A crucial Dragon pit fight went in their favour, and they took the Baron, eventually winning after a 36-minute brawl to push the series to Game 5.
Silver Scrapes and victory: T1’s clutch performance
Game 5 was the definition of tense. T1 opted for long-range engage with Yone, Corki, and Jhin, while KT went for a durable, dive-heavy comp with Camille, Sejuani, and Alistar. KT secured 8 kills early, but T1 stayed in the game by focusing on map objectives.
In a pivotal Baron fight, KT's team-fight execution faltered, allowing T1 to clean up, claim both the Baron and Dragon, and extend their gold lead. T1 then caught KT off guard in the jungle, took down three members, and stormed their base to end the game after 33 minutes, with a 9-8 kill lead and a 10,000 gold advantage.
T1's hard-fought 3-2 series win secured their spot as the LCK’s fourth seed for Worlds 2024. Despite an unstable road to qualification, they’ll need to address their issues if they want to make a deep run at this year’s World Championship.
