Wolf : T1 has this history, when you think they're done, they suddenly play very well

——Third topic: LCK teams, Generation Gaming & Hanwha Life Esports & T1

Wolf : Next is T1, how is T1's current state? And who is T1's core player?

Untara : I think T1's core is player Zeus. The scene where Zeus's Gragas solo killed Hans Sama's Draven also sparked heated discussion. Zeus's champion pool is very deep, and he can choose the right champion at crucial moments. At that time, G2's double carries were Draven and Orianna, both of which have no mobility skills, making them very suitable for Gragas. Zeus's biggest advantage is that when playing against BLG, his Gnar was solo killed by player Bin, who played exceptionally well, but even when Zeus is at a disadvantage, he can still develop back, and if the early game goes smoothly, he plays even better. He is very good at finding opportunities, has a diverse champion pool, and his mechanics are not inferior to other top laners. I believe the Zeus & Oner top-jungle duo will perform well.

A-ddeung: When talking about GEN earlier, I said that the first wave of Scuttle from 4:30 to 6:30 is GEN's time, while after 10 minutes is T1's time, when teleport can be freely used. I think T1's core players are Faker and Zeus. Oner also performs very well in the early game, and Ahri is actually hard to play against Orianna early on, Oner will definitely gank mid at level 3, whether it's Skarner or Vi, to give Faker lane dominance. The second wave of Raptors is very important for junglers, and Faker will definitely help the jungler protect the second wave of Raptors, resulting in good synergy between T1's mid and jungle early on.

Recently, lane swaps have become common, and after pushing the wave, Zeus doesn't immediately return to his lane, but instead goes to mid or bot lane, returning to top lane when the wave pushes back. Zeus's early roaming is outstanding. Faker is also the mid laner most skilled at using teleport, which is both simple and important. T1 has also suffered in Scuttle and dragon fights, as was the case against BLG, but they immediately teleport to bot lane to take the first turret, opening up the game. After 10 minutes, T1 is very good at using teleport.T1 doesn't profit in the jungle, they always profit on the top or bottom lane. They are very good at using teleport after 10 minutes, and their top and mid are very adept at managing side lanes, making them the team most skilled at using side lanes among all teams.

Pony : Compared to the summer season, T1's overall condition has improved, and they have found their preferred game rhythm. Although they lost to TES, their early game lane swaps were particularly good, something they previously struggled with. When playing against BLG, the opponent's lineup was actually very strong, but T1 quickly took control of the game rhythm. Both teams were constantly making decisions, but T1 always made the better final choices. The same was true against G2. G2 almost won, but they couldn't overcome their nerves, whereas T1 did. T1 is well-suited to this kind of game rhythm. The overall condition of the lane players has improved, and in such times, Oner's activity stands out. When the lane players are in good form, Oner is very good at using champions like Vi to crush opponents, and he is adept at utilizing lane dominance. When the game reaches this state, Oner plays smoothly, and the lane players can also perform better. Moreover, when the lane players are in good form, opponents invest a lot of bans on the lane players' champions, so they can't ban the jungler, allowing Oner to play more comfortably. This is a virtuous cycle for T1.

Wolf : If you hadn't mentioned Oner, I was planning to. As Pony explained, when the lane players are playing comfortably, Oner has the advantage as a jungler. But when the lane players are not in good form, everyone ends up losing together, really struggling all the way. Now the lane players have improved a lot, and the team's synergy has improved significantly. I used to think T1 was the worst team at responding to lane swaps, no matter which team they faced, as long as they swapped lanes against us, they would definitely profit.

Pony : In the past, when other teams swapped lanes, T1 seemed to be in a daze, thinking "Why are they doing this? We want to lane," and then they would be even more led by the nose.

Wolf : Yes, whenever the opponent swapped lanes, T1 would lose their spirit. I originally thought that when the opponent swapped lanes, T1 would struggle. But once they reached the World Championship, T1 suddenly became a team very good at lane swapping. Everyone chose the core players. I believe that BP and the team's operational direction are very important. As long as they have confidence in this and play like they are now, it will be great.

T1 has a history like this, when thinking "We're really done for, this season is really tough," they suddenly turn into "What is this? Who are you guys? Why are you playing so well?" They often repeat this cycle infinitely, and now T1 is on an upward curve. This is difficult to analyze with theoretical basis, many industry insiders say T1 is done for, and suddenly they play very well. Many people say this is really T1's good opportunity, and then they suddenly start losing. They often turn industry insiders into fools who don't understand League of Legends.

When T1 is on a downward curve, they don't play what they're good at, but think "Does this fit the version?" "Are these champions often played by strong teams?" When they try to learn from others, they often get eliminated.

When other teams weren't picking Neeko, T1 picked it, and they also picked a variety of champions. They found a rhythm that suits them, and not losing this rhythm is the most important. As long as T1 doesn't throw, it's fine.

A-ddeung: T1 often finds themselves in such situations, like when they played against TES. One more thing I'd like to add is that I think it was difficult to pick Gragas in that game against G2. T1 picked Gragas, Ahri, and Skarner in the first three picks, so who would push the side lanes? Gragas doesn't appear often and isn't a mainstream top lane champion. I remember when playing against G2, Faker played Ahri in two games, Zeus picked Gragas in the first game and Jax in the second. When playing Jax, he could manage the side lanes, and Faker built Everfrost and Luden's Tempest. In the first game, the top and mid were Gragas and Ahri, unable to manage the side lanes, so Faker built Lich Bane. Such item choices were also outstanding.