ChangkS responds to the loss against T1

After T1 swapped in Doran as their top laner, many LPL fans were confident this year was LPL’s best chance, considering Doran’s subpar performance at Worlds. Yet unexpectedly, Faker managed to guide Doran to victory over AL. Before the quarterfinals, many LPL casters and streamers believed AL was stronger than T1, but the final result saw AL eliminated. After AL’s exit, many viewers openly admitted that LPL had lost its chance to win the championship.

Following AL’s defeat, the AL coaching staff backstage and LPL live commentators were seen in tears. Many LPL fans lamented that T1 is like an “eSports wall” for LPL. Even with Faker now 29 years old, LPL teams still cannot overcome T1 in best-of-five series at Worlds. AL’s mid laner ChangkS publicly addressed the close loss to T1 in a post-match interview, stating that before the BO5, the entire AL roster and coaching staff took the tournament very seriously. AL players practiced ranked games until 3 a.m., and the coaches spent a long time strategizing the draft, yet AL still couldn’t beat T1.

Tabe “called out” by T1 coach

Although ChangkS admitted in the interview that AL and their coaches gave their all, many viewers believe AL’s coach Tabe and AD carry HOPE should bear responsibility for the loss. Especially in games four and five, AL’s draft was quite questionable, with the critical decision to pick Jinx for HOPE in the deciding match frustrating many LPL fans. HOPE rarely carries games in his career, so building the team around him in a do-or-die scenario made winning very difficult.

Even T1 coach TOM openly “called out” Tabe during an interview. TOM said AL is a team centered on jungle and support, and T1’s coaching staff focused on shutting down AL’s jungle-support champion pool. AL’s choice to first pick Jinx in the final game reassured T1’s coaches, since Jinx requires a protective support to thrive, and T1’s bot lane duo had several champions that counter both Jinx and Lulu. (It must be said, T1’s bot lane champion pool is very deep—an Ashe and Seraphine combo completely crushed AL’s bot lane.)

TES’s flaws exposed by T1 coach

After AL’s elimination in the quarterfinals, many LPL fans joked, “For international matches, watch TES,” since TES was the only remaining LPL team. Fans hoped TES could pull off an upset, but surprisingly, T1’s players didn’t take TES seriously at all. T1’s bot lane AD carry, Little Lu Bu, said in an interview that T1 has already achieved 12 consecutive wins against LPL teams, so T1 wasn’t worried about facing TES; instead, TES should be the ones feeling anxious.

Beyond Little Lu Bu’s remarks mocking TES, T1’s coach also revealed TES’s current shortcomings. According to the coach, TES’s core player is Kanavi, and TES tends to revolve their play around him. Meanwhile, T1’s jungler is ONER, so T1 isn’t concerned about losing to TES. This comment left many LPL fans speechless because Kanavi often struggles against LCK junglers. Many believe that if T1 targets Kanavi, they can easily secure victory.

Conclusion

AL’s narrow loss to T1 is truly disappointing. Apart from jungler Tarzan and top laner Saint, the rest of AL’s roster consists of players rejected by other teams. AL’s achievements this year are commendable—they never lost a BO1 and played all their BO5 matches to the fullest. It seems AL’s limits come down to their players’ champion pools and core lineup. What do you think? Will AL make roster changes next year?