T1 start LCK Spring 2024 with a loss against Gen.G

It seems that no matter how much Gen.G change their roster, they will always find a way to beat T1. This rivalry goes back more than a few years, but what we can say for sure is that in the last three seasons, T1 and Gen.G have been the strongest teams in LCK.

Last year, at Worlds 2023, T1 won the trophy thanks in part to the fact that Gen.G were eliminated by Bilibili Gaming in the quarterfinals. Otherwise, given the results of T1’s matches against Gen.G in the last several years, there’s a high chance that Gen.G would have won again

At the end of last year, Gen.G’s roster suffered three important changes. The players who left decided to join Hanwha Life and build a new powerful roster there. But the ones who stayed seem to have already managed to rebuild the Gen.G roster in a way that allows them to win LCK Spring 2024.

Brotherhood: The Bond That Brings Victory#T1WIN #T1Fighting pic.twitter.com/hVKECbozlo

— T1 LoL (@T1LoL) January 10, 2024

T1’s first loss of the season

T1 entered this match against Gen.G with high hopes. Their roster did not change at all after the victory obtained at Worlds 2023, and Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok was, presumably, in great shape.

Game 1 went well for Faker’s team despite his individual score, which wasn’t very good. He died multiple times on Neeko and ended up dealing a relatively small amount of damage overall. But T1 still won in 29 minutes thanks to his teammates.

In games 2 and 3, however, the problem became much bigger. Once again, Faker played uncharacteristically bad. He dealt very little damage and died five times. What’s even worse, he got zero kills for the entire duration of the game, which must have demoralized him.

However, he was stubborn enough to pick Azir for the second time in game 3. This time he performed much better, but he still ended up losing because Gen.G’s champion composition was just too good in the ultra late game. With Udyr, Varus and Yone, Gen.G managed to take six Drakes and 10 towers before closing the match.

Most likely, this result will not affect T1, but they will have to be careful. There are plenty of excellent teams in LCK right now and not every match is going to be an instant victory. Without finding the right strategy to deal with each opponent, Faker’s squad might fall behind significantly in the coming weeks.

Header: T1