T1 is a Win Away From 4th World Championship

T1 finds themselves in a familiar situation as they prepare for another Grand Final of Worlds. Will they find the win once again?

The most successful franchise in League of Legends history is one match win away from their 4th Summoner’s Cup. T1 and the “Unkillable Demon King” Faker look to further cement their legacy at the top of League of Legends esports by adding yet another Championship under their belt.

After upsetting the best team in the LPL and the favorite to win the whole tournament, JDG Intel Esports Club, in the last round, the hopes and confidence are high that Faker and company will be able to once again taste victory in front of a hometown crowd at a filled up Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, South Korea. The Grand Finals will be played on Sunday, November 19th, at 3 AM Eastern Time, and you can catch the action live on Twitch and YouTube. 

T1 Turns it Around for Worlds 2023

A few short months ago, it was uncertain if T1 would be making an appearance at the world championships as T1 had a mid-split slump in the middle of the Summer Split, during which the team would be without their star player and veteran leader of the team Lee “Faker” Sang-Hyeok as he was sidelined with due to injury.

 The rest of the roster comprised of Choi “Zeus” Woo-je, Moon “Oner” Hyeon-joon, Lee “Gumayusi” Min-hyeong, and Ryu “Keria” and Min-seok were unable to find any success with their substitute Yoon “Poby” Seong-won. Faker would rejoin the squad right before the end of the season, but T1 would end the season 9-9 and in 5th place in the standings. 

Despite being the 5th seed heading into the LCK Summer Split Playoffs, T1 made an incredible run and only fell to Gen.G Esports as they were able to finish the playoffs in 2nd place, which would give them enough Championship Points to qualify for the 2023 World Championships. At Worlds, they’ve looked absolutely electric, ending the Swiss Stage 3-1 with wins over Team Liquid, Cloud9, and Bilibili Gaming. 

In the Knockout Stage, they’ve been absolutely dominant, taking down LNG Esports 3-0 in the Quarterfinals before taking down Beijing JDG Intel Esports Club 3-1 in the Semifinals. T1 looked calm, collected, and in control throughout their last match with the best team in China’s LPL. The only team standing between them and another World Championship is WeiboGaming FAW AUDI, the 4th seed from the LPL, who doesn’t plan on backing down from a fight. 

T1’s Legacy

T1, also formerly known as SKT T1, is the most famous organization in League of Legends and possibly all of esports. They’ve been able to sit at the top of the League of Legends scene basically since the beginning, with their first World Title all the way back in 2013 at the Season 3 World Championships. A young up-and-coming Faker led the 2013 team. He quickly burst onto the scene and took the international competition by storm. 

SKT T1 and Faker would find themselves in the World Grand Finals again two years later at the 2015 World Championships, where they would take down the KOO Tigers to become the first team to win the League of Legends World Championships more than once. The dynasty continued the next year as SKT T1 would find their 3rd Championship over Samsung Galaxy. Since then, they’ve found themselves in the Grand Finals twice in 2017 and 2022, but have been unable to find the win since. Will this weekend be a return to the top?