Buzz
And this only adds to T1 fans' confidence.
One of T1's strengths at Worlds 2023 is possessing the most groundbreaking Bot Lane duo in the current LoL scene. While at JD Gaming, Ruler remains the dominant figure, and Missing even seems somewhat overshadowed, it's different at T1. Gumayusi - Keria are a duo that must be mentioned simultaneously because one excels even more when the other is performing well. In fact, there have been many opinions that if anyone wants to recruit one of them, they would have to pay extra to recruit the other as well.
And in the matches against Bilibili Gaming or LNG Esports, both Gumayusi - Keria had moments of brilliance to secure victory for their team. Especially, T1's Support with 'unusual' champions like Tahm Kench or Ashe, Renata even shone brightly in many matches, directly contributing to victory from laning phase to team fights. It's worth noting that Keria's agility is extremely familiar: it's associated with T1's undefeated period, spanning from Spring 2022 to Spring 2023. Only entering the grand finals, for various reasons, Keria couldn't maximize his potential.
Recently, a stat of Keria has surprised even the professional community but best illustrates T1's strong phase. Specifically, as of after the Quarterfinals, Keria is the player with the highest KDA among all those still participating or eliminated, with 10 KDA (5/7/65). And right behind him is his teammate Gumayusi - 9.29 KDA (33/7/32).
For those who don't know, Keria and Gumayusi dominating KDA was first announced at Worlds 2021. In their first pairing together at an international tournament, Gumayusi - Keria brought nearly perfect KDA stats (Gumayusi 30 - Keria 36). That year, if it weren't for DWG KIA being too strong, and Canyon being too groundbreaking, perhaps it would have been T1, not DK, entering the finals.
This year, there won't be any Korean representatives stopping T1 anymore. But ahead lies JDG, incredibly strong. That might be the biggest challenge T1 has to face on their journey to the title at this Worlds.
