Gaming
T1 took top spot in the League of Legends Championship Korea with a perfect record – here’s how one of the longest-running organisations in the LCK completed the feat.
South Korean esports organisation T1 has had a historic season in the League of Legends Championship Korea (LCK). The long-time organisation has successfully finished the 2022 Spring Split with a record-breaking 18-0 record. The previous record, 15-0, was held by T1's 2015 iteration.
The common thread between the two? Lee 'Faker' Sang-hyeok. But the story of T1's success is as much a story about the organisation as it is about the greatest League of Legends player of all time.
T1 has been one of the most consistent organisations in the LCK, and this year they've taken it to a new level. The introduction of several rookies that developed through the T1 Challenger team has brought an already successful T1 team to new heights. The additions of Choi 'Zeus' Woo-je, Moon 'Oner' Hyeon-joon and Lee 'Gumayusi' Min-hyeong to the main roster combined the greatest League of Legends player of all time with some of the most mechanically gifted players in the world.
The South Korean giant started their LCK run this split with a clean 2-0 sweep against the Kwangdong Freecs. But they encountered their first bump in the road with defeat to Fredit BRION. T1 finished the best-of-three series 2-1 and was able to conclude the first week with a perfect record. The second week of the split was much of the same, except this time T1 didn't drop a game against DRX or Liiv Sandbox.
In the third week, T1 was faced with two strong teams ahead of them. Nongshim RedForce had a 3-1 record coming into the week, and T1's second opponents, DWG Kia, were playing in the League of Legends World Championship Grand Finals just a few months prior. Nongshim RedForce fought valiantly against T1, but with a secured Mountain Soul, T1 was able to outfight RedForce and handed them their second loss of the season.
T1's series against DWG Kia went to all three games, but Kim 'Canyon' Geon-bu's Gwen wasn't strong enough to overpower the carry potential of Gumayushi's Caitlyn in the final game. T1's record remained untarnished and they went into week four with a 6-0 record.
Week four was another test for T1 as they faced one of the few teams that could really challenge them in the league, Gen.G. Even though they were the second-place team in the LCK with a 5-1 record, T1 were able to sweep them in the series. A flank in the Baron pit with Gumayushi's wall-jumping Zeri secured another 2-0 victory for T1.
T1 continued to dominate the next few weeks of competition and broke records in the process. T1's win against KT Rolster in Week 5 was symbolic of their dominance throughout the split. The second game was a 22-minute win for T1 and was the shortest game of the split so far. Ryu 'Keria' Min-seok's Death Sentence on Lee 'Aria' Ga-eul's Orianna was the cherry on top of the cake, reminding every viewer why he's the only player to win the Spring Split MVP award from the Support position.
The victory was also Faker's 1,000th game played as a professional, which he celebrated by giving away 400 boxes of fried chicken to both T1 fans and members of the press in attendance at the post-game press conference.
From weeks six to seven, T1 didn't drop a single game. They went 4-0 in the series, including another sweep against Gen.G, the second-place team in the league. More importantly, T1's win against KT Rolster in week seven tied their own record that the team set in 2015, winning 14 series in a row.
The next game in week eight saw T1 etch their names into LCK history by beating KT Rolster. A third game was needed to secure the feat, though, with Faker using Void Seeker to dominate from long range, while Gumayusi's Jinx dealt out consistent damage.
After their win against KT Rolster, T1 only continued their trajectory. A 2-0 sweep against Fredit BRION and another victory against Liiv SANDBOX brought the team to the cusp of another historic moment.
T1 only needed to win one more series against DRX to secure an undefeated season, a feat that hadn't been achieved in the history of the LCK. T1 took the first game in dominant fashion, rushing to the Cloud Soul win condition in a sub-30 minute game. The second game saw more of the same as Keria's Nautilus found openings in every lane. A bush gank at top, a dive bottom – T1 didn't give DRX any space as they cemented their spot at the top of the LCK and in the history books.
The development that T1 has invested into their rookies has finally come to bear fruit. With the experience and leadership of the greatest player of all time, T1 look to enter the Playoffs in top form, ready to finish this historic season with another LCK championship in their trophy case.
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