The first T1 game without Faker was a disaster

As reported a few days ago, the best player in the history of competitive League of Legends and, of course, of his team in the LCK, the “Demon King” Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok, had to leave the T1 lineup due to an injury to one of his arms. As a result, the organization had to decide to promote Yoon “Poby” Sung-won from the team’s academy for the upcoming LCK Summer Split 2023 matches. However, the team’s first game without Faker was a complete and terrible disaster.

Undoubtedly, the absence of a team’s star player can take its toll on the performance of his teammates. However, a player like Faker is virtually impossible to replace and even more so without preparation time and especially in a last-minute emergency substitution. In addition, it is also worth noting that the player replacing him, Poby, is only 17 years old and has never played at the highest competitive level in the LCK.

T1 and its disastrous match without Faker

As mentioned, T1 had to decide to promote Poby, a 17-year-old mid-laner, from their academy team to fill in for Faker, who is recovering from an arm injury. However, this move did not go as expected, as in the match against DRX played a few hours ago, the team’s performance was disappointing.

On the other hand, it is worth noting that DRX came into this match with a 2-6 record, and, due to history, current events, and level of play, there was no doubt that T1 was the favorite to take the victory. However, the opposite happened, as DRX defeated T1 with a resounding 2-0.

T1 vs. DRX – Game Recap

In the first match of the series, DRX took advantage of Faker’s absence and T1’s confusion to take control of the match in the first minutes. As a result, T1 was completely out of the loop and suffocated, but, Poby, the team’s young academy mid-laner, was the only one who could get any kills with a total of 2. Finally, after DRX’s victory in this first map, T1 finished with a terrible KDA of 2-19-4.

Oner’s Great Escape 😳 #LCK pic.twitter. com/fPvlyVohD1

— LCK (@LCK) July 5, 2023

In the second match, we had practically a replica of what was observed in the first, as DRX took absolute dominance of Summoner’s Rift from start to finish. As a result, T1 fell again to DRX in 32 minutes after they took control of the map, preventing any chance of recovery for T1.

.@DRXGlobal take the win in 2! #LCK pic.twitter.com/3fe2mVqhGM

— LCK (@LCK) July 5, 2023

While this is a terrible and disappointing loss for T1 and makes them move much further away from Gen.G in the first place, there is no doubt that it can become an understandable defeat. As mentioned, Poby played their first BO3 in the LCK, indeed, their first series at the highest competitive level of League of Legends. In addition, without Faker in their lineup, the team loses its main pillar, and, as we can see, this team depends a lot on the “Demon King.”

Likewise, T1 can correct this mistake in this fifth week of the LCK Summer Split 2023 to avoid closing the week with a 0-2 record. However, their next opponent is Gen.G, the best team in the tournament, which has only lost three maps in 2023.

Header: T1