T1 pulled off an incredible Spring Split, going undefeated in the regular season with just 7 sets lost in all games. The team did not shake during the playoffs, even finishing with a better win ratio than in the regular season (86% against 84%). Even if the title of world champion returned to LPL with the victory of EDG, the LCK remains one of the leagues where the level of play is the highest. With the unchallenged dominance of the T1s, it makes sense to place them among MSI’s favorites. Nevertheless, are they really future champions or do they have some weaknesses?
An irreproachable macro
T1’s stats on a macro level are incredible, both in the regular season and in the playoffs. The first tower falls in their favor in more than 80% of the games, while the first blood goes to them “only” in 70% of the games. The DNA of T1s hasn’t changed in years, and one of the team’s greatest strengths is their fantastic map management. They don’t miss any resources, and it’s not uncommon to see them have a slight lead over their opponents when no action has really taken place, just because the team has better optimized its farm. Neutral objectives are equally contested, with T1 averaging over 1.5 Heralds of the Rift per game, a statistic of 75% of heralds killable (rise to 90% during the playoffs). It’s obviously a little less impressive on dragons, since it often happens that the opposing team takes the dragon while the T1s kill the Herald, but it shows that it’s still the T1s who have the initiative on the menu. Faker and his teammates choose which neutral objective they will recover, based on the state of the game and the compositions of each team, while their opponents play in reaction, to prevent them from snowballing too much.
In the regular season, the T1s generally needed a Nashor to conclude the games (average greater than 1 per game), even if this was somewhat reduced in the playoffs (0.75 Nashor/game). This does not mean that the team has trouble finishing its games without the Baron, because with an average duration of less than 30 minutes per game, and often no tank in the composition, it is complicated to make the final push without outside help. T1 therefore completely dominates its subject on the macro, and even a turtling-based strategy is not enough to counter them.
In-game strategies
T1s very often play without a pure frontlaner. Even if Nautilus is the champion most played by Keria, the latter does not play Leona, and does not necessarily jump on the Titan of the Deep. Zeus and Oner prefer aggressive champions, and are very rarely on characters whose resilience is the main quality. This reveals a lot about the game plan of the T1s, the latter have enough confidence in their game mechanics and their management of the map to take a significant advantage over their opponents even before the first phases of regrouping. And when we see Faker’s KDA in the playoffs (28 on Ahri in 3 games, 20 on Vex in 2 games), the confidence is more than justified.
Curiously the team didn’t show much else during their matches. It seems highly unlikely that players will only master one strategy, and it’s a safe bet that they have a few hidden tricks up their sleeves. Nevertheless, the team is not unbeatable either. Original game plans can surprise them perfectly, and some MSI teams are perfectly capable of speeding up games enough to outrun T1s, especially with an aggressive botlane. The real question is how Gumayusi’s partners will react when they are put in trouble, which hasn’t happened yet this season. T1 is today the most scary team for MSI, even the final victory is not yet acquired.
The revamp of fantasy content on League of Legends has brought a new theme, Knight of Ashes. After Pyke, the next champion would have already been chosen… and it should arrive soon in the fantasy shop.