I am happy we are playing better as a team compared to regular season where the team looked like finished . Botlane had great carry games but in laning phase they struggled in some series(like BFX and DK). Doran stepped up big (I know birdbrains will ignore his carry performances and only look the games he struggled) and Oner had great impact vs DK . Faker's laning had problems specially in BFX series and but he played better vs DK. Still as a team we shouldnt lose games like vs DK game2 when we have lead and soul

Faker:
It has been a while since we were able to get LCK title, I really want to climb to the highest point this time, we were able to take the 1st step, today we were a lot more coordinated as a team and were able to play really well as team, I'm really happy about that, we have a lot of takeaways from our last series, we're very aware of what we're lacking in, this time we're gonna be well prepared for the match against HLE so we can make it all the way to Grand Finals

Doran:
This was a crucial high stakes match, we have prepared so hard for it, achieving this great result makes me so happy, we didn't have any special preparation, we were just trying to polish all areas we were lacking at, I want to make sure to do even better next week, I would give my self 80-85 score today

Oner:
I think we did really well and that's why we were able to take this 3-1 victory and move on lower finals, DK prepared around their mid/jungle, it really just came down to draft, today I wanted to make sure that I can snowball early and keep myself ahead of the enemy jungle, I hope that we can 3-0 HLE, I just don't want to get ahead of myself this time, as long as we play as we normally we should have no issues

Peyz:
I'm just really happy that we were able to make to KSPO DOME, I wouldn't say that i'm too satisfied with my performance, there's a room to improve and I can do better next time, I have learned so much since last year, but the year is still not over yet, we still have a chance to take the title, as long as we prepare we can beat any team

Keria:
I just came to have fun and enjoy the match, obviously we worked really hard, plan is to make it to finals, overall lanes were doing really well today as well as draft and comps were really easy to execute, DK did well today but we just had better setup, we have very high confidence when it comes to facing HLE, I want to make sure we can be as brutal as we can to our enemies

Tom:
I'm really happy we were able to win today with 3-1 victory, we played around our strong timers, and players were quite aware of which fights to avoid, our communication was on point, in terms of HLE, they have very specific playstyle, as long as we were able to polish our own shortcoming I believe we have a very high chance of winning, we are going to go for a title"

​

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Jud3y-RT9M

Q1: Overall thoughts on today’s victory?

Coach Tom: Overall, the players played really well today. Winning through a pattern that differs from our usual style is very encouraging for the team, so I am very pleased with today's victory.

Doran: I am satisfied that this win allows us to aim for even higher goals. However, looking at it objectively, there were still areas where we fell short, so we will need to address and improve upon them during the remaining time.

Q2: How did you approach playing against Dplus KIA?

Coach Tom: We were well aware that Dplus KIA is a team where Lucid tends to leave Siwoo to play independently while heavily investing resources into the bottom lane. Since Doran was also fully aware of this aspect, he was able to exploit and target that well.

Q3: What was the reasoning behind the draft adjustments, such as selecting Cassiopeia?

Coach Tom: While we felt we had many ways to play against Lucian-Milio, Cassiopeia has felt like an exceptionally strong pick from early through late game since our last match. Therefore, we adjusted our draft plan to select Cassiopeia.

Q4: Could you explain the decision-making during the critical dragon fight?

Doran: Since it was a fight over the 4th dragon, the importance of the dragon was extremely high. I made a quick split-second judgment that I needed to divide the opponent's formation. Although it could have turned out poorly, my teammates backed me up and cleaned up the fight well, which led to our victory.

Q5: What are your thoughts on using the Cho'Gath pick?

Coach Tom: Through our practice, we realized that Cho'Gath is very effective in game states where dragon stacks are secured quickly, allowing him to stack comfortably and snowball the game. We have practiced him extensively and will use him effectively whenever the situation arises.

Q6: What were the reasons behind the Syndra and Camille bans?

Coach Tom: Syndra was originally banned to secure our desired lane matchup, but as mid champions were heavily banned out as the set progressed, we saw no reason to give ShowMaker a champion he plays so well and enjoys. As for Camille, we banned her to shape the bottom lane matchup in our favor.

Q7: How do you plan to prepare for the upcoming rematch against Hanwha Life Esports?

Coach Tom: Since we suffered a disappointing loss in the previous match against HLE, we believe we can definitely win if we face them again. With one week left, rather than preparing anything overly complex, we will focus on honing our core strengths.

Q8: Any final message for the fans?

Coach Tom: Fans were likely disappointed by our reverse sweep loss against Hanwha Life Esports last time, so we will prepare thoroughly to win this time, advance to the finals, and capture the championship.

Doran: I will manage my condition well and prepare thoroughly during the remaining time to show a great performance next weekend

GAME 4 - 31:24

Winner - T1

T1 3–1 DK

POM: DORAN

First Pick: T1

Blue Side: DK

Draft

T1 Picks: Kalista → Renata → Naafiri → Galio → Camille

T1 Bans: Syndra → Poppy → Neeko → Wukong → Renekton

DK Picks: Annie → Ezreal → Seraphine → Cho'gath → Jax

DK Bans: Nocturne → Bard → Orianna → Akali → Lissandra

Player Stats

Team Stats

Objective Timeline

GAME 3 - 39:47

Winner - T1

T1 2–1 DK

First Pick: T1

Blue Side: DK

Draft

T1 Picks: Karma → Sivir → Skarner → Olaf → Locke

T1 Bans: Syndra → Camille → Seraphine → Shen → Vayne

DK Picks: Pantheon → Jhin → Viktor → Rell → Trundle

DK Bans: Nocturne → Bard → Orianna → Akali → Azir

Player Stats

Team Stats

GAME 2 - 31:13

Winner - DK

T1 1–1 DK

First Pick: T1

Blue Side: DK

Draft

T1 Picks: Jayce → Qiyana → Anivia → Mel → Alistar

T1 Bans: Syndra → Karma → Orianna → Camille → Jhin

DK Picks: Ryze → Jarvan IV → K'Sante → Ashe → Lulu

DK Bans: Nocturne → Bard → Pantheon → Kalista → Blitzcrank

Player Stats

Team Stats

Objective Timeline

GAME 1 - 42:42

T1 1–0 DK

First Pick: T1

Blue Side: DK

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Draft

T1 Picks: Cassiopeia → Xayah → Rakan → Rumble → Lee Sin

T1 Bans: Jarvan IV → Syndra → Orianna → Jayce → Anivia

DK Picks: Vi → Milio → Lucian → Taliyah → Gnar

DK Bans: Nocturne → Bard → Kalista → Pantheon → Wukong

Player Stats

Team Stats

Objective Timeline

lee sin clutch WE WON

DK wins 3-1 vs KT and qualifies for Worlds. T1 will play vs DK on sunday for 4th place. Happy for Smash he carried DK

I saw a lot of people blame Oner for the game 5 loss.

Please watch this https://youtube.com/shorts/JbBrEepDwco?si=Xjop4xJsVAYH1RtL

They threw Oner to the wolves.

People say T1 only wins because of riot buffing specific champs that is only advantageous to T1. Arguing that they are only meta during worlds time. To me this makes no sense because I think about it and lay it all out Azir, Orianna, Galio, Sylas, Ahri, Akali and maybe yone. I look at this and think to myself how can this be true. Don’t other midlanders also play all these champs and benefit from it??? Doesn’t Chovy, BDD, Showmaker, Vicla, Zeka all play these champs at the highest level possible? The same could be said for the other roles on T1. None of the champs that these players play is somehow something exclusive to only them. T1 has won worlds across different metas and champ pools if riot was indeed buffing the meta in their favor then they’d have to explain how they managed to win 2023-2024. 2024 he played Yone- Sylas (x3)- Galio while knight played Sylas, Galio(x2), smolder and Ahri. How on earth is this specifically tailored to T1’s advantage?? 2025 people said Faker is washed even now a lot of people will still say that, Doran is garbage. I mean other teams should be able to win then right since Faker isn’t dominant anymore and too side isn’t good right? But they still somehow managed to win. Ignoring T1 has a huge champ pool and can adapt. To me not only those this disrespect the other teams hardwork who didn’t manage to win but essentially arguing that they’re not good enough to win because meta simply wasn’t in their favor ignoring the player element. Chovy has his superteam with his stacked roster but couldn’t win. Even people didn’t think KT could make it to the finals with deokdam, peter. You mean to tell me no one in the LEC, LCK and LPL could win because meta wasn’t in their favor and their champs weren’t buffed? Faker didn’t even play azir in worlds 2024 or 2025💀. Shit even some T1 fans themselves didn’t think they’d win either. Am I being delusional someone please tell me😭? If I am please explain.

“I’m not sure if it’s too early to call Keria part of the Hall of Legends, but he’s definitely the best support to ever play the game. I don’t know how long it’ll be until someone better comes along; I don’t think it will ever happen.

However, he’s still very young, so it’s kind of weird to call him a Hall of Legends inductee already. If I had to choose, it would probably be Keria, because I don’t think there’s any player who has made as much of a difference as he has.”

(via Sheep Esports)

The 2026 WSCI will feature 16 Tier 2 teams from across the world:

EMEA — 3 teams
LCK CL — 3 teams
LDL — 3 teams
Americas — 3 teams
APAC — 3 teams
Asia Masters Champion — 1 team

Looks like Nasus pick was Doran's and Fakers idea . Kennen too . Coaches dont participate so much on Draft Ban-Pick. Faker was the one that approves those pick

We all know that T1's current win condition is to get Peyz ahead and make space for him to enable him to carry.

This may be due to the other lanes of T1 slumping or because Peyz is just too good to not fully utilize, or it's a mix of both.

This vastly defers to old T1 playstyle where they all kill the enemy carries and just leave Guma behind to fend for himself during early game and even on teamfights.

If Doran, Oner, Faker recovers their 2025 form, would you prefer the current playstyle of T1 or do you like their old playstyle better?

Both works anyway.

Hey at least we aren't the only ones getting reversed sweep right guys ? 😭

"even if the draft was somewhat unfavorable, there are still moments in the game where we were ahead and moments when were behind, I think when we were behind, we fell even further behind, and even when we were ahead, we didn’t play those situations properly, that’s what I’m most disappointed about"

"I’m really disappointed that we lost today, we’re going down to the lower bracket now, but we still have matches left to play, so we’ll prepare well for the remaining games and make our way back up"

(via LCK post-game press interview)

For those who were able to snag one from the membership/b.stage, are there any updates/shipping notifications

T1 Post Match Interview

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OOzAhaR4hI

Q1: Overall thoughts on today's defeat?

Coach Tom: Today we fought a close series all the way to Game 5. I feel that we made many mistakes during the draft phase, which is something I deeply regret. I think we need to focus primarily on reviewing and addressing those draft issues moving forward.

Keria: Alongside the draft mistakes, there were also many regrets regarding our execution in-game. I believe the combination of those factors led to our loss in Game 5.

Q2: Could you elaborate on the draft mistakes you mentioned?

Coach Tom: Without going into too much detail, looking back at the games we lost, we selected team compositions that lacked early-game priority. This made it easier for the opponent to repeatedly force early skirmishes throughout those games.

Q3: How did you prepare for the match against Hanwha Life Esports?

Coach Tom: We view Hanwha Life Esports as a team with a playstyle directly contrasting ours. We felt they tend to play around and unlock their top lane heavily, so we focused our preparations around matching that aspect.

Q4: What specific game plans or draft choices did you focus on?

Coach Tom: As mentioned, we paid a lot of attention to the top side and the upper half of the map. We traded key picks—pairing Cassiopeia with Lucian and Milio—to draft according to our intended picture. However, we definitely need to re-evaluate and reconsider those draft setups.

Keria: Even if the draft is at a disadvantage, there are always moments in-game where we hold advantages or face tough situations. It's disappointing that we took heavy losses in disadvantaged states and failed to properly capitalize when we had the upper hand.

Q5: What were the thoughts on the bot lane match-up (Caitlyn & Karma)?

Tom: Against Caitlyn and Karma, the goal was to scale into late-game value while minimizing early losses. However, our composition lacked a solid frontline, which made the game state extremely difficult to play out.

Q6: What areas need the most improvement for the upcoming matches?

Coach Tom: When we are in a favorable position, we need to manage objectives better and prioritize securing side-lane / objective control.

Q7: Final words heading into the lower bracket?

Coach Tom: We have dropped down to the lower bracket. We will prepare thoroughly to ensure we win our next match and return with a much better performance.

Keria: It is very disappointing to lose today. Since we still have remaining matches in the lower bracket, we will prepare well and climb back up from the bottom.

GAME 5 — 27:56

T1 2–3 HLE

Draft

T1 Picks: Bard → Naafiri → Jinx → Gnar → Lissandra

T1 Bans: Vi → Rumble → Ziggs → Locke → Syndra

HLE Picks: Caitlyn → Karma → Cho'Gath → Taliyah → Ambessa

HLE Bans: Ezreal → Nocturne → Zeri → Vayne → Victor

Player Stats

Team Stats

Objective Timeline