Faker discusses his first loss at Worlds

As the world’s top team, many LPL fans were worried T1 would continue to grow stronger in the Swiss round. But after T1’s match with CFO, many realized that top laner Doran and jungler ONER were truly unreliable. During the match, Doran gave up many deaths, and ONER made even bigger errors. Doran was killed under tower in a 1v1 lane duel, and his reckless flanking in team fights, which “dragged down teammates,” frustrated many T1 fans. Some even called Doran “Faker’s biggest obstacle to winning the championship,” since in the T1 vs. IG qualifiers, Doran gave up multiple chances. If it weren’t for the other four T1 players performing at their peak, Doran might not have even made it to the Swiss stage.

Because of Doran’s poor form, many fans worried about T1’s future performance. However, Faker himself explained the reason behind T1’s first defeat in a post-match interview. He said that recently T1 players had not trained properly due to shooting promotional videos. Also, the initial rounds of the Swiss stage are BO1 matches, which introduce high unpredictability. Finally, Faker expressed hope that fans would continue supporting T1, promising that the team would learn from this loss and come back stronger.

IG legend helps LPL draw an incredible group!

After T1 lost to CFO, this S15 Worlds saw a bizarre situation where the four pre-tournament favorites—HLE, GEN, T1, and BLG—all fell into the 1/1 loser’s bracket. Because the loser’s bracket is fiercely competitive, many BLG fans worried BLG might face an LCK team in the Swiss stage. Fortunately, IG legend player Baolan performed a “divine move” during the draw, first pairing BLG with G2, then forcing T1 and GEN to meet early in the Swiss round. Many LCK fans questioned whether Baolan was “setting up” the LCK teams.

With T1 and GEN meeting earlier than expected in the Swiss round, one team is guaranteed to finish with a 1-2 record—something no one predicted before Worlds began. Of course, every Swiss round match is a BO3, so many T1 and GEN fans believe that even if their team starts 1-2, there is still a chance to advance to the top 8. (Both GEN and T1 have jungling weaknesses: ONER is strong in the league but seems to falter at Worlds, while Canyon has been outperformed by Tarzan significantly.)

Besides BLG falling into the 1/1 group, AL and TES currently hold undefeated records. They need to win a BO3 to qualify for the knockout stage, facing KT and CFO respectively. KT is considered the weakest LCK team on paper, so many LPL fans believe TES will beat KT. Since CFO defeated T1, many LPL fans worry AL might suffer an upset against CFO. (Who do you think will win the AL vs CFO match?)

LeftHand’s call-out to T1 sparks discussion

After BLG defeated FNC to advance to the 1/1 group, BLG’s mid laner LeftHand confidently called out T1, hoping to face them for revenge in upcoming matches. LeftHand said BLG’s form has returned and expressed eagerness to eliminate T1. His statement delighted many BLG fans, since T1 is struggling in the Swiss stage. If BLG meets T1 there, a BLG victory seems very possible. Do you think BLG can really beat T1 if they meet? (Personally, I feel BLG’s form isn’t fully back yet—they were sweating even against FNC.)