Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok is the unquestioned all-time greatest player in League of Legends history is on the precipice of yet another World Championship victory. But Weibo Gaming is standing in his and T1’s way.
That’s the way things stand after more than a month of pro play at the 2023 World Championship. T1, the most accomplished side in League of Legends’ long history, will face the LPL’s Weibo Gaming in the grand final with the trophy on the line. Does Weibo stand a chance of stopping T1 from achieving glory once again?
Faker and his T1 teammates have been running through their LPL opposition at the 2023 World Championship. That run of play began in the tournament’s swiss stage, as T1 defeated Bilibili Gaming in a 2-0 sweep to move on and qualify for the knockout round.
In the quarterfinals, T1 managed another sweeping victory over LPL opposition, defeating LNG Esports 3-0 in an impressive showing. That set up the most-anticipated match-up of the Worlds 2023, a semifinals date between T1 and JD Gaming.
JDG was thought by many fans and analysts to be the tournament favorite this year, but they didn’t have what it takes to stand up to T1. The series started tight, with the two powerhouse teams splitting the opening two games. But after T1 came out of the third game on top, it was all but decided. A dominant fourth game sealed up a 3-1 series victory for T1 and sent the Korean side to the final.
For Weibo Gaming to stand a chance of stopping T1 in the 2023 Worlds final, they’ll have start by slowing down Faker in the mid lane. That’s something teams have struggled with at this tournament.
If Weibo were to fall, it would be a massive disappointment for Chinese fans and LPL fans in general. The LPL was able to fill out the first three spots in the semifinals, as WBG as joined by BLG and JDG. T1’s victory over LNG narrowly prevented the LPL from taking all four semifinals positions.
But now, T1 is just three games away from stealing the Worlds 2023 trophy as an LCK representative.
There are big names on the Weibo roster. None are bigger than Kang “TheShy” Seung-lok, himself a former world champion after his 2018 World Championship victory with Invictus Gaming. Could he supplant Faker in recapturing former glory?
Anything is possible. But with the way T1 has looked thus far in the tournament, and with a home crowd in Korea behind Faker his teammates, it’ll be a very tall task.
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