The League of Legends S15 World Championship is set to begin in just over two weeks. The Play-In match-up between the leading teams of two major regions has captured the attention of the LOL community. Barring surprises, the BO5 series between T1 and IG is expected to surpass the World Championship finals in popularity. Consequently, ticket prices for the Play-In have skyrocketed, with an official price range of 388 to 488.

After hype from the fans, ticket prices have now reached between 4000 and 8000. Calculated against the highest official price of 488, this represents a premium of 16 times. Although this cost is far from economical, many fans still want to attend the live event. This clearly shows how insanely popular the T1 vs IG match is — calling it a sellout is no exaggeration.

Honestly, IG’s chances in this BO5 are slim. Apart from the bot lane where Gala is in better form than Gumayusi, T1 holds an advantage in the other four roles. Doran’s performance this year has been impressive with rapid growth. Though he sometimes falters, his floor is higher than TheShy’s. The jungle role is even more one-sided; BigO was held back by teammates throughout the playoffs, while his individual performance outshined ThreeUncle.

The mid lane might show the biggest gap, as Rookie has been struggling consistently. Even after a break of over ten days, he hasn’t recovered form, and the upcoming two-week period is unlikely to change that. In support, Keria’s roaming and vision control surpass Meiko’s, although his mentality is questionable. Overall, if IG wants to beat T1, they must rely heavily on Gala in the bot lane.

However, Gumayusi is a typical clutch player who performs average in the regular season but dominates on the world stage. If Little Lu Bu can also regain form, IG’s only edge disappears, making a win even harder. The good news is GEN seems to be scrimming with IG recently. If IG can learn some of GEN’s secrets to beating T1, they might still have a shot in the Play-In.

A self-proclaimed insider posted that GEN and IG are scrimming intensely, with ThreeUncle personally contacting Daeny to share a tailored strategy for facing T1. This sounds somewhat dubious, but given Coach Daeny’s connections, arranging scrims with GEN is plausible. Based on the picks and bans from both teams’ playoffs and Play-In matches, it’s likely they did scrim since IG’s champion choices closely resemble GEN’s.

During IG’s Play-In series against TES, Rookie’s Ryze pick against Orianna was clearly inspired by GEN. Only Chovy from the two regions would pick Ryze on red side to counter Orianna. Daeny learned this tactic, but Rookie’s Ryze was heavily outplayed. Additionally, the second game’s picks of Senna and Galio were also copied from GEN, but IG found themselves unable to play those champions effectively.

They definitely scheduled scrims, probably before the Play-In. During the BO5 against TES, IG’s picks were heavily influenced by GEN but didn’t yield results. Against JDG, they reverted to their own style. Honestly, there’s no need to imitate GEN because their compositions don’t suit IG’s players. Even Zhu Kai noticed the difference and thinks scrimming with GEN is pointless.

Conclusion:

All five GEN players have solid individual skills. Chovy in mid lane can create advantages even on countered champions through sheer ability, whereas Rookie cannot. Training with GEN might lead both players and coaches to overestimate certain champions’ strength. When facing T1, IG will have to rely on their own capabilities.

So, what do you think? Is GEN’s style suitable for IG?

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