T1 Advance To Round 3 Of The LCK Summer Playoffs Loser’s Bracket After Beating DK

It’s one step at a time. T1 LCK Summer Playoffs run will continue after securing a victory against DK. 

A spectacular showcase of skill and determination played on September 1, 2024, between the lower bracket teams. T1 and DPlus KIA (DK) challenged each other in the semifinals match to decide who gets the spot in the next round. Fortunately for T1, the experience must have paid off as they got to survive another crucial match. 

As they move on to the lower bracket finals with their hard-fought victory, they’ll have to face the second placer of the group stage, Hanwha Life Esports. T1 have to win the match to reach the grand finals and get a chance to return to the Worlds 2024. 

A Rocky Road to Victory

The League of Legends Korea (LCK) Summer Playoffs started rough for the powerhouse team, T1. Their group stage run consists of several challenges as they struggle to dominate their opponents. With this, it affected the team performance and gameplay execution as an incident also arose along their run. Eventually, they concluded 11-7 in the first stage of the tournament to place fourth in their seed.

Certainly, their tournament experience showed up as they started their playoff strongly. T1 secured a 3-1 victory in their opening match against KT Rolster to proceed in the Upper Bracket Semifinals. However, Hanwha Life Esports (HLE) blocked their run in the upper bracket as T1 suffered a 3-0 sweep. It is definitely a tough season in the LCK Summer 2024 for the world champion team. 

The sweep led to a T1 encounter against DPlus KIA in a four-round series in the Lower Bracket Semifinals. 

The Battle Against DPlus KIA

This crucial match determined the fate of the competing lower bracket teams in the tournament. The losing team ends their journey to settle for fourth place in the LCK Summer Playoffs. Meanwhile, the winner gets to fight one more time for a shot at a grand final spot through the Lower Bracket Finals. With this, the teams are more eager to secure themselves the win in this series. 

DK took off in Game 1 as they dominated T1 with their performance. They were able to secure a 33-minute victory through their advantage of Taliyah mid and Ziggs in the botlane. This win set the tempo of the game in favor of DK.

However, T1 showed maturity in these situations as they easily bounced back in Game 2. They harassed DK with their aggressive play to end the game in a 29-minute bloodbath. This placed the teams side-by-side as T1 erased the lead and tied the series. 

Continuing the series with the momentum from the previous match, T1 maintained their play to take another win. This time, Faker’s Corki and Gumayusi’s Ziggs aggression challenged DK and made them lose their footing in the game. The game 4 was no different from the earlier matches, as T1 outplayed DK in another 29-minute performance. 

T1 sealed the series 3-1 to eliminate the opposing team, DPlus Kia. 

The Road Ahead for T1

The quest to return to the World stage continues for the reigning world champs. T1’s victory led them to advance in the Lower Bracket Finals to face HLE in a rematch on September 7, 2024. Besides that, they are now assured of a third-place finish in the Summer Split and of an additional 80 Championship Points.

Along with their 70 points from the Spring split, they now have a total of 150 Championship Points. If they manage to secure the victory against HLE, they are now guaranteed at least a second seed for the Worlds 2024 based on their total Championship Points. 

While it may seem an easy task, T1 has been struggling against HLE and Gen. G in the tournament. HLE is up with a 3-1 record against them, while they remained winless against the tournament’s leader, Gen. G, in their four matches across the Splits. T1 will have to compete in the Regional Finals if they finish third in the LCK Summer Split. 

DPlus KIA’s Tournament Run Ends

It was a well-fought journey for DPlus KIA as their LCK Summer Playoffs ended in fourth place. They managed to display an impressive performance against the powerhouse teams of Korean League of Legends. For this Summer Split, they’ll have to settle with ₩25,000,000 (approximately $18,071.35) and an overall total of 80 Championship points. However, they still have a chance for the Worlds 2024 through competing in the Regional Finals. 

Conclusion

LCK Summer Playoffs is nearing its end, and the fans are curious who’ll get to secure the first Worlds spot. With T1’s securing a 3-1 win against DPlus KIA, they are now two steps behind the World stage. This just means that all attention will definitely be on their upcoming match against Hanwha Life Esports. 

Fans are now thinking about which team will be able to secure the last spot in the grand finals. With the current record of T1 against HLE, it seems to be an extremely difficult task to pass through. But this dilemma just proves how hard the road to the World Championship is even for the world champs. 

In the meantime, the fans can enjoy the remaining matches that will play ahead in the LCK Summer Playoffs.