T1 maintains its ultra-strong roster, takes one last step forward

T1 2023 Roster
(TOP) Choi “Zeus” Woo-je
(JUG) Moon “Owner” Hyun-joon
(MID) Lee ‘Faker’ Sang-hyuk
(BOT) Lee ‘Kumayushi’ Min-hyung
(SUP) Ryu “Keria” Min-seok

T1 is a team that is considered a strong favorite to win again this year. They kept a similar roster from 2021 to 2022 (with only Top replacing Zeus) and consistently made the finals. There was no doubt that T1 was at the top of their game.

However, it was disappointing that they couldn’t take a step towards the championship since last summer. After winning the LCK Spring 2022, they finished as runners-up in the LCK Summer-MSI-LoL World Championship (Rold Cup) Finals. They lost to DK in the 2021 Rold Cup Quarterfinals and DRX in the 2022 Rold Cup Finals on the biggest stage.

In 2023, they opted to come back together to take a step forward from last year. In the LCK, only T1 retained its 2022 roster. Even at the LCK Media Day, many pros emphasized the advantages of teams keeping their rosters intact. In a game where sum is everything, it’s been said that “team chemistry is the foundation and you just have to follow the meta”.

In 2023, T1 should be able to confirm that assessment. Despite the disappointment of not winning the championship from mid to late last year, Lee “Kumayushi” Min-hyung is determined to try again, saying, “Even if I couldn’t do it in 2022, I can do it someday”. “Faker” Lee “Faker” Sang-hyuk also expressed his passion as the driving force behind his steady professional gaming career, and expressed his intention to work hard and not settle for the current roster.

The newly organized coaching staff also aimed to build trust in the team. Coach Bae “Bengi” Seong-woong, who joined the LCK first team roster just before last year’s Rold Cup, was praised for his ability to build synergy with his teammates in a short period of time. This year, he is preparing to solidify the team by replacing the coaching staff, centering on the keyword ‘trust’. Bae had a strong belief that “the basic skills of the players are outstanding.” His role is to trust the players and the team. He painted a picture of 2023, saying that his role is to build trust in the players and the team and help them showcase their skills in a tense stage like the final.

As good as they are as a team, T1 can be even more synergistic if they improve their meta-adaptation and individual skills. In that sense, T1 has a lot to look forward to individually as well. At the start of the new season, Jace received a buff on the top lane. There was a time when we used to say ‘Zeus’ when talking about Jace, but now that he’s been buffed, we’re looking forward to seeing a new side of him. Even in the preseason before Jace’s buff, Zeus showed off his ability to utilize Jace by choosing a critical item build. It will be interesting to see if the ‘Zeus=Jace’ formula can be proven in the LCK.

Faker will also be able to utilize many of his favorite champions. Staff of Eternity was added back to the list of items, and the addition of shields to Archangel’s Embrace brought champions like Rise and Cassadine to the forefront. Faker’s Rise was the iconic card that propelled him to victory in the Rold Cup. The situation is set for the best of friends to join forces as they attempt to win the Rold Cup once again.

The bot duo boasted some of the best metrics together in last year’s Rold Cup, and while they came up short in the final, they still boasted some of the best numbers in key metrics such as damage, kills, KDA, and assists by the end of the quarterfinals. This came from their lane-to-lane and one-hit performances in every game. The bot duo’s performance at the Rold Cup was nothing short of spectacular, so expectations are high for them this year.

For T1, there is only one step left. As of last year, T1 was the team that made it to the finals the most times. 토토사이트 Let’s see if they can take a step forward this year with the combination of trust and individual skill that Coach Bengie talks about.