In the first round of the LCK CUP playoffs, which ended today, T1 lost 2-3 to HLE and stopped the semi-finals. The defeat knocked T1 out of the World Pioneer event in South Korea in March.

T1 has been a regular on the international stage since the 2021 World Championships, having competed in the 2022 Mid-Season Championship, 2022 World Championship, 2023 Mid-Season Championship, 2023 World Championship, 2024 Mid-Season Championship, 2024 Esports World Cup, and 2024 World Championship. However, the loss of the LCK CUP left them out of the World Pioneer and missed out on this new international event.

In this game, HLE top laner Zeus performed particularly eye-catchingly, slashing 18-7-17 in BO5 and becoming the key figure leading the team to eliminate T1. In a post-match interview, Zeus said of the key factors in the tiebreaker: "First of all, we did make a couple of mistakes during the match, and at one point we almost got the main crystal dropped. But it played a big role in keeping their cool, focusing on the game and having a lot of confidence that they could win the team fight. ”

With HLE advancing to the Final Four, they will be challenging for the title in their next races, while T1 will need to adjust their form and prepare for the rest of the race. The defeat was not only a major setback for T1 in the LCK in recent years, but it also raised questions about their form.