Preface: The S15 season has fully wrapped up, and T1 triumphed over KT with a 3-2 scoreline to secure their sixth World Championship crown. Their top laner Doran also achieved his first-ever championship in his professional career. This series was thrilling for many fans, especially after the first three games when a large number of supporters thought T1’s chances of winning were fading. But no one expected them to stage a comeback in the last two games. After the match, leaked team voice chats and interviews clearly showed plenty of teasing directed at Doran. Oner openly joked in voice chat asking if Doran didn’t want to win, while Faker admitted Doran did give away too much in game five.

Oner’s team voice chat teasing Doran for not wanting to win

Most players are quite familiar with top laner Doran. As a solid top player in the LCK region, he has won many LCK titles but lacked a world-class honor until now. During the winter transfer period, due to the signing fee issue with T1’s top laner Zeus, an exchange happened between HLE and T1 where Zeus moved to HLE and Doran joined T1. At that time, many believed T1’s strength would drop significantly since the two top laners’ achievements and skills were on completely different levels, and the internal league matches seemed to confirm this.

T1 only secured the 4th seed in the LCK region. Doran made many mistakes during matches but often managed to survive thanks to his teammates’ support. The five players fought through the qualifiers all the way to the finals. After the first three games in the final, many thought KT would lift the trophy, but surprisingly, the last two games saw outstanding performances by "Little Lu Bu," especially in the final game with Graves. If it weren’t for his explosive mid-game damage, KT might have completed the comeback. Doran gave his all in the final game and, with his teammates’ help, finally claimed his first S-series championship.

The team voice chat after the match was hilarious. Oner openly said, "Doran, do you not want to win?" His mistakes on Rell in game five were numerous, and many of his deaths happened at critical moments, especially the high ground fight. Despite having momentum to push, he charged into the enemy team trying to create an opportunity for Faker’s ultimate. However, the other four T1 members stayed disciplined and ignored him. From the camera angle, Faker instantly looked stressed, making Doran one of the few players who actually put pressure on Faker.

In the post-match interview, when asked about Doran’s mistakes, Faker responded quite diplomatically. He said he didn’t think Doran performed perfectly all the time, but he took responsibility well during important moments. Although he did give away kills in game five, he also did many good things. Indeed, there were errors in game five, but the key factor was the multiple impactful ultimates from the mid laner, which repeatedly hit the enemy Ashe. Without that performance in the first game, KT might have swept 3-0.

Farewell Thoughts

It seems Doran’s mistakes in game five were due to being overly excited. After all, he has played professionally for six years, and this was his closest chance to a championship, so he definitely wanted to finish the match quickly. As of now, Doran has not yet renewed his contract with T1, so his future depends on upcoming decisions. However, I feel he probably won’t give up on this powerhouse team. If a top laner like Doran can be led to a championship by these four players, it shows just how strong they all are.

What do all the fans think about this situation?