Buzz
(Homeland) - From 2017 until now, there has been an unwanted 'record' always haunting Faker and T1.
Entering the match against Gen.G at MSI 2023, T1 perhaps faced more pressure. They have failed in 4 consecutive finals starting from MSI 2022 until now. Not to mention, 3/4 of the teams that defeated T1 came from LCK - where Faker and teammates are always considered 'unrivaled'. Among them, Gen.G alone has defeated T1 in 2 domestic finals. And another loss would significantly affect the psychology as well as the journey of T1 at MSI 2023.
After numerous efforts, T1 finally emerged victorious with a score of 3-2. This is a result that if anyone watched from the beginning, they would not believe that Gen.G could push the match to game 5. Even in game 3, Chovy and teammates could only come back with the premise of Chovy's 'amazing play' with Stopwatch.
However, the victory against Gen.G in game 5 helped T1 break a 'sad record' that has been haunting this team since 2017. Accordingly, since 2017, this is the first time T1 has won a BO5 match when the match extended to game 5. And the team has opened up the days of 'T1 cannot win if the match goes to game 5' which is none other than G2 Esports. That was the loss to G2 at MSI 2019.
With having put an end to this unwanted record, T1 is being highly regarded by the League of Legends community at MSI 2023. However, many still haven't forgotten that T1 has a 'losing history' in its last 4 finals. In all 4 of their losses, T1 has always been the higher-rated team. They might even lose to DRX - a team considered very weak.
Currently, it can be said that the mindset of the players has become much clearer. However, the match against Gen.G also revealed some areas that T1 needs to improve. Faker and his teammates are just two matches away from winning the MSI 2023 championship. And T1 definitely doesn't want history to repeat itself, especially when they have prepared as thoroughly as possible for this title.
