Faker's national team is in trouble! LCK suffers a huge blow, fantasy scenario shattered, final ticket value drops

Hello to all LPL viewers and League of Legends summoners, this is Tianxia Game Review.

The LCK playoffs have once again seen an upset, this time involving T1. First, they unexpectedly lost to BFX in the playoffs and dropped to the losers' bracket, then were defeated by DK. Despite holding a high position in the round-robin outside the group, they ultimately finished in fourth place.

The outcome of this match has caused many negative consequences, which neither T1 nor the LCK officials can easily accept.

Faker's national team is at risk, GEN emerges as the winner

Many viewers might think that T1 losing is nothing new—they lost last year too but still won the championship at the end of the year. If they don't qualify for the VCT, they simply miss out; after all, it’s the least prestigious international title of the year. But the truth is, this year's VCT is not just a tournament; it will also determine the final roster of the national team.

In other words, T1 losing to DK means they won’t go to Hong Kong, miss the VCT, and the Asian Games national team selection is over.

The national team roster for this year’s Asian Games must be submitted after the VCT concludes, meaning the VCT results will directly decide the national team members. Now that T1 is only ranked fourth, several players in the team likely won’t make the cut. Everyone assumed Faker’s spot was secure due to his status, and as long as the results weren’t too poor, he had a good chance to be selected. But he didn’t even make the top three.

This puts Faker’s national team spot in jeopardy. His playoff performance was indeed poor. Among the other players, Doran and Oner are the most eager to join the national team. It seems Doran has no chance now, while Oner and Keria still have some hope. GEN will definitely be the biggest winner.

LCK’s fantasy script shattered, final match tickets lose value

Faker is underperforming, Chovy is very likely to be the national team’s starting mid laner, probably without a substitute. Kiin is almost certain to be the top laner, Ruler likely the bottom laner. DurO might not go, while Keria still has a chance. If Diable performs exceptionally well, he could potentially replace Ruler. Judging by the current situation, LCK might send two junglers this year, which would increase Oner’s chances.

Putting the national team aside, there is also the impact on the league itself. This year, the LCK finals are being held in Hong Kong for the first time, largely because of the value placed on LCK, especially T1 and Faker’s overseas influence. However, T1 was eliminated and didn’t make it, which is undoubtedly a huge blow to the LCK.

The long-held fantasy in LCK was a grand final showdown between GEN and T1, with T1 playing a losers’ bracket final beforehand.

Tickets would surely have sold out then. But since this ideal scenario didn’t happen, the appeal of the LCK finals and the qualifying matches has greatly diminished. Scalpers who stocked up on many tickets are now suffering, as ticket prices will plummet and may even need to be sold at a discount.

Analysis of T1’s failure: multiple factors at play

Let’s analyze the reasons behind T1’s playoff failure. I believe there are three main points. First is player form: while they performed well in the round-robin, several players struggled in the playoffs. Faker was lackluster, Peyz became the team’s biggest weak point, and Oner and Doran made mistakes that affected the game.

Second is team dynamics: poor decision-making and lack of attention to detail, which influence each other. Sometimes fans judge whether a team fight or contesting a map objective was right based solely on the outcome, ignoring individual player details like positioning and skill usage. For example, after T1 forced a dragon fight, Doran wanted to continue fighting while Oner wanted to retreat; Oner used his ultimate to escape after being engaged; Peyz pulled away instead of contesting the small dragon—all these affected the overall situation.

Lastly, coaching and draft strategy had issues. Although the draft was better than the previous match, problems remained. I think T1’s strong round-robin performance caused them to be overconfident in many playoff games, underestimating opponents. The third game against DK with the mantis pick is a good example—they thought they had the win and relaxed, but the situation quietly reversed.