Let’s go back to 2015. At this time, SKT T1 are not just the best team in South Korea, but also the best team in the world. During the world championships, it will be necessary to wait for the final to see them lose a single game, against their best rivals: the KOO Tigers. Their performance in this tournament still deserves to be nuanced, because they inherit a relatively easy group with the Bangkok Titans (qualified via the seed of the Wildcards), H2K (European second team, but inexperienced on the international scene) and EDG (which did not really impress during these championships) .
Even the final stages are rather favorable to them, falling on ahQ in the quarter-finals, then the Origen in the semi-finals. What will catch the attention of observers is their 23-game unbeaten streak in the LCK. A record that was undefeated to date despite their perfect split in the spring, but which fell this afternoon, with their 23rd and 24th consecutive victories.
Record beaten with style!
There’s nothing more frustrating than a record falling to an inferior opponent. But we can’t really consider DAMWON Kia as a second-class team. The latter tried everything to bring down the winners of the Spring Split, and their defeats were crushing. In the first run, the team wanted to focus their efforts on Nuguri and his Mordekaiser. The plan seemed to be going well, and at the start of the game, they even took a slight advantage. Only the macro and the science of T1 teamfights allowed them to come back and win. The height of humiliation, it is indeed the Camille of Zeus the toplaner of T1 who will end up inflicting the most damage among all the players, even if the MVP has returned to the incredible Pyke of Keria. The DAMWON strategy was therefore a total failure.
They didn’t even have that many chances in the second game. While they chose to bet heavily on Skirmishes with Twisted Fate and Nocturne picks, Faker’s Galio managed to counter most of their onslaught. Even if the midlaner was named MVP, we must not forget the fantastic Lee Sin from Oner, who put the team on very good track by being present on 2 kills and an Ocean dragon (the best dragon in the early game) , all before 6 minutes of play. Even though DAMWON is only 2-2 currently in the LCK, they lost to Gen.G and T1, which aren’t particularly the weakest teams in the league. This only makes the T1 victory even more impressive.
Is it as impressive as their old record?
While the numbers don’t lie, you have to put things in context. At their previous record, the LCK was unquestionably the strongest league on the planet, and beating the Korean teams seemed very unlikely. Today things are more complicated, because the LPL can claim this title. Beaten in the MSI final, it is difficult to objectively consider T1 as the best team in the world. The question can be debated (after all even the best can lose a match), but it is impossible to be as categorical as in 2015. The record has fallen, but the road is still long, because in the end only the playoffs and then the world championships will count.
This is a very unusual synergy. Players have found an original way to steal the first Blue Buff from the nose and beard of opponents, despite their presence around this objective. And all without taking too many risks.