Will Faker win Worlds 2023?

In less than 30 hours, Worlds 2023 will end and we will have a new world champion. The Grand Final of the tournament takes place between Weibo Gaming and T1. Both teams have demonstrated to be exceptional, beating strong opponents like Bilibili Gaming and JD Gaming, which were supposed to be the biggest favorites.

For Faker, winning this edition of Worlds would not be a new experience. But it would be something he’s been trying to accomplish for the past seven years. Imagine being the best in the world at what you do and not being able to win the world championship with your team for seven years. That must feel very difficult for someone as ambitious as Faker.

The story so far

We caught up with @T1LoL’s Zeus and Oner after their #Worlds2023 Semifinals win

This is what they had to say about the match and their thoughts going into the final this Sunday #T1WIN #T1Fighting pic.twitter.com/jF0tcrfF2n

— Red Bull Gaming (@redbullgaming) November 17, 2023

T1 came close to winning Worlds in 2017 and then more recently, in 2022. The 2017 Grand Final was a stomp. Samsung Galaxy defeated T1 with a score of 3-0. But in 2022, T1 had a 2-1 advantage against DragonX before losing to them 2-3. The pain felt by the entire team and its fans was palpable.

Not only did Faker lose his prize at the very last moment. He lost it against a team that was supposed to be an underdog. The Grand Final games were analyzed and reanalyzed, in an attempt to explain what happened.

Almost for certain, T1’s players became emotional and lost their ability to focus on the games. They were a bit too eager to lift the trophy, and ended up losing it as a result.

Now, one year later, T1 have another opportunity to make their dream come true. They’ve gone through a lot to be here. At one point, Faker got injured, the head coach left, and it seemed that T1 might not qualify for Worlds!

Eventually, Faker returned to the active roster and carried his team to a good result in LCK Summer: 2^nd place. The team that managed to beat them was Gen.G Esports.

T1’s chances against Weibo Gaming

T1 are much stronger than Weibo. This Chinese team finished both splits 5^th – 6^th, and it’s an absolute miracle that they’ve qualified for the Grand Final of Worlds. If Faker plays his usual game and his team helps him enough, this match should be a quick 3-0 for T1.

Weibo do have the strength to win, but to do that they would have to play even better than they did in the semifinal against Bilibili.

Header: T1