Image: Riot Games
This is T1 and Faker's fifth Summoner's Cup.
After a month of fierce competition among the strongest teams in League of Legends (LoL) esports, this year's world champion has been crowned. South Korean juggernauts 
T1 triumphed against Bilibili Gaming in a 3-2 thriller in the grand finals to raise the Summoner’s Cup at the League of Legends World Championship 2024.
This is now the fifth Summoner's Cup for LoL G.O.A.T. Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok and the T1 organisation as a whole.
T1 had a rocky Summer split, and barely qualified for Worlds as the LoL Champions Korea (LCK) fourth seed. But once they got to Worlds, T1 remembered who they were and secured their Knockout Stage spot with a 3-1 finish in the Swiss Stage.
In the Quarterfinals, T1 swept LoL Pro League (LPL) powerhouse Top Esports in a 3-0 sweep. Then, they had to face tournament favourites and Mid-Season Invitational champions Gen.G in the semifinals. Throughout the whole year, T1 was unable to defeat Gen.G in any game domestically or internationally.
But T1 once again stepped up when it mattered, taking down Gen.G in a 3-1 rout and shattering the Tiger Nation’s win streak to make it to the grand finals.
Meanwhile, BLG were the kings of the LPL all year and came into Worlds as the region’s first seed. But BLG struggled with the meta early into the Swiss Stage, even facing potential elimination after the first week with a 1-2 standing. However, BLG bounced back in the second week, sweeping through PSG Talon and G2 Esports to secure their knockout stage slot.
At the quarterfinals, BLG looked extremely dominant, crushing LCK top seed Hanwha Life Esports, 3-1, to reach the semifinals. And in the semifinals, BLG faced their demons and trounced Weibo Gaming, 3-0, to make it to their first-ever Worlds grand finals.
Here's how the games went:
In the first game, BLG took control of the early game with smart plays and by choking T1’s bottom lane. Zhuo “knight” Ding and Zhao “Elk” Jia-Hao were exceptional, shutting down T1’s attempts for a comeback every single time. After a 27-minute encounter and a 17-4 kill lead, BLG crushed T1’s nexus in a statement match opener.
In the second game, BLG once again found T1 in the jungle and took first blood on Lee “Gumayusi” Minhyeong like in the first game. As BLG tried to bully T1 in the top lane, T1 fought back by taking kills to even out the gold.
T1’s Ornn and Nocturne combination proved lethal against BLG’s attempts to advance anywhere on the map. As T1 continued to press their advantage, the LPL powerhouse tried to set up flanks but failed to execute them properly. After a 27-minute siege, T1 took one final team fight to crush BLG’s base with an 18-3 kill lead to win the second game.
Both teams went for early game lane swaps in the third game, with BLG finding an early game lead after a few kills from punishing T1's mistakes. BLG found picks in the side lanes, outplaying the South Korean juggernauts. The Chinese team continued to snowball, and after a 27-minute encounter and a one-sided 17-3 kill lead, BLG took down T1's base to win the third game and take their team to match point.
In the fourth game, BLG once again were aggressive with their early game kills and executing clean plays all throughout the laning phase. However, with their backs against the wall, T1 focused on map objectives and by making sure BLG didn't snowball. T1 found a play in the bottom lane, allowing them to gain a small gold lead against BLG. It then became a back-and-forth exchange between both teams, trying to outplay each other and keeping their opponents from running away with the game.
However T1, continued to play calmly, with Faker finding crucial picks to help his team advance. After a 31-minute encounter and a kill lead, T1 crushed BLG's Nexus to win the fourth game, and pushing the series to Silver Scrapes.
In the decider, both teams were on equal footing as each went for cross-map plays as much as they could, with T1 having a very slight advantage. T1 continued to find advantages, with crucial plays from Faker on Galio. And after a 32-minute encounter and a 12-6 kill lead, T1 take down BLG's nexus to win the fifth game and the series.
Win their win, T1 take home $445,000 and become the 2024 World Champions. The Summoner’s Cup will be in their home region until Worlds 2025. Meanwhile, BLG bow out of the competition in second place, taking home $356,000 in consolation.
