T1 has once again established itself as the best League of Legends team on the planet, winning the 2023 World Championship by capping off a dominant run through the event’s playoff bracket.
T1 was certainly among the favorites entering Worlds 2023, but was by no means a lock to win the event. The Korean side failed to win the LCK summer split, and it had been seven long years since T1 last achieved glory at the biggest event on the pro League of Legends calendar.
None of that mattered when T1 took the stage in front of a raucous home crowd, as the most storied franchise in LoL once again ascended to the top of the mountain.
T1 beat Weibo Gaming in the Worlds 2023 finals with a dominant 3-0 sweep, and the team was steadied by its legendary mid-laner, Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok. Faker was far from alone in powering his side to victory, however.
The most impressive player for T1 might very well have been top laner Choi “Zeus” Woo-je, who dominated top-lane opponent Kang “TheShy” Seung-lok. The imbalance in the top lane in particular made it difficult for Weibo to find its footing in the series.
While the top lane was a consistent problem, Weibo Gaming wasn’t able to find much meaningful progress elsewhere on the map either. What little advantage might be found wasn’t enough to overcome Zeus, Faker, and their T1 teammates.
The win might be the most satisfying in T1’s long history. The franchise’s previous World Championship trophies were all won between 2013-2016. The team’s current roster has played together on an international stage more than any other single roster in the game’s history, and rumors are swirling that this would be the last event for that roster. If that ends up being the case, there’s no better way for it to go out than with a Worlds win.
The home crowd at this year’s World Championship was very happy to see the result. LCK teams seemed a step behind their LPL opponents throughout the event, with three LPL teams qualifying for the semifinals compared to only one LCK representative. But that single team from Korea is the one that will be best-remembered from the event.
The run through the playoffs was almost flawless for T1. The Korean side swept LNG Esports in the quarterfinals just as it swept Weibo Gaming in the final. T1’s only Worlds 2023 playoff loss was a single game dropped to JD Gaming in the semifinal round.
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