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superstudioReview of the Matches
Results: T1 3-2 GEN
Preview: Both matches were rematches of the regional finals due to the unlucky bracket draw. T1 vs GENG for the LCK Spring finals rematch where T1 was defeated by GEN-G 3-1. G2 vs MAD for LEC Winter Finals where G2 won 3-0. Riot really leaned into the whole theme of regional finals rematches not only by getting the regional casters to cast the matches, but also made sure that the matches took place in the right time zone.
Upper bracket R1: T1 vs GEN (League of Legends Champions Korea in London)
If you are just here to watch League of Legends without cheering for any side, or if you are just a fan of LCK, this series definitely lived up to the expectations. I thought all 10 players had their moments where they popped off. HOWEVER, I don’t think this series was good for fans cheering for either side. T1 fans were mad over the huge throw in game 3 and they would have won it 3-0 otherwise. I was kind of annoyed witnessing the huge throw live in the arena and even contemplated leaving the arena for good. I honestly felt that had I would just quit watching lolesports had T1 lost the series. I had the feeling that T1 would lose G4 once I saw the Ahri blind pick when the Lissandra counter was available for GEN. I even thought to myself that T1 dropping to the losers' bracket is not that bad afterall because they may just learn from their mistakes and this is the best opportunity for them to go to the losers’ bracket.
Oddly enough, I felt really calm when the draft phase started for game 5. I scrolled through social media after the match and I was surprised to see fans announcing their loss prematurely. Choker allegations were on the line; T1 haters were ready to jump; Arnold Hur was ready to celebrate; Oner was about to lose his passport; trucks were ready. I only learned that T1 has never won an international BO5 since 2017 afterwards hence the reaction made sense. Fans were all doubting the draft but I knew that T1 would win once GEN had forgone a R4 Gragas in favour of Alistar and picking Gwen B5 as a K’sante counter even though K’sante can be flexed mid. I knew that the Rumble was for jungle because Oner was literally playing it on soloqueue yesterday. Game 5 ended in the most LCK way ever. There was little to no action for 25 minutes, only for a perfect teamfight to occur and the series just ended. The LCK style of casting was just the cherry on top.
I think I really have to give credit to Gumayusi who was a standout player in this series.Before MSI started, I wished for an eventual T1 MSI win and I wanted Gumayusi to be awarded the MVP of the tournament because he has been phenomenal so far. While the meta for MSI does not fit T1 as a team stylistically, it felt like he was right at home. It has always felt very off putting to me to see Korean and Chinese T1 fans calling for him to be replaced by Viper as I have always rated him very highly as a player. Aside from his stability, I’ve always appreciated the fact that he excels in niche picks such as Caitlyn and Draven. (Caitlyn is not meant to be a niche pick but I’ve seen way too many teams failing to execute Caitlyn comps and way too many awkward trap placements).
I still think that T1 needs to shore up on their weaknesses and I did not like that they had to show their Rumble pick before playing against JDG but this series also proved that T1 has the best meta read out of all teams this tournament.
Lower bracket R1 :G2 Esports vs MAD Lions (League of Legends EMEA Championship in London)
Results: G2 3-0 MAD
If the previous match was peak LCK, this was definitely the epitome of LEC: they lean heavily into the no brains, just vibes style of gameplay. These guys were brawling around the rift for nothing. It was just a regular day for the LEC casters as they kept on rapping. Both teams took turns throwing their leads but MAD was just allergic to winning. I think the constant hate that MAD got on social media really affected their performance because it felt that their gameplay went down drastically as compared to what I have seen from them in the LEC. I think I would definitely not enjoy this if I were watching it at home but it was incredibly entertaining seeing it live. Why did a Braum and Kindred decide to 1v1 each other? We don’t know!
I guess G2 is sort of having a redemption arc in my head. I would just turn off the LEC stream if I saw that G2 gained an early lead in the game. But I found myself going along with the ‘let’s go G2 chant’ because I felt that G2 was the better team and Yike won me over when he was playing against GENG. It was incredibly funny to see Brokenblade 1v9ing everyone on Cassiopeia when he was supposedly the worst G2 member. Also both T1 and G2 sat on the same side of the stage.
Crowd:
The crowd was more neutral for the LCK match. While there were the occasional ‘let’s go T1 chants’, the cheers were way louder when GEN were winning out fights. Quite a lot the audience behind me left after the first match ended. The crowd was definitely heavily G2 biased as the whole arena was filled with the ‘let’s go G2 chants’. Some guy tried to start a ‘let’s go MAD lions’ chant but only a few people joined in. Sad lions indeed.
Afterthought:
Sometimes, the authentic lolesports experience is when the whole arena starts chanting TSM randomly. Or when people do the LEC rift herald woo wee chant when the Rift Herald crashes the turret. Or when the arena was filled with cheers when the loudspeakers started blasting Silver Scrapes. I thought I would actually watch the players a lot since I liked them but I ended up just glueing my eyes to the screen since I was invested in the match. It could be because my seat was so far away and the gamers were just…gaming so there wasn’t a lot to see. The ticket was worth it since I got to watch two matches and not everyone gets to listen to Silver Scrapes in an arena for their first LAN event. Maybe T1 threw game 3 so that I can listen to it. Who knows!
Results: T1 3-2 GEN
Preview: Both matches were rematches of the regional finals due to the unlucky bracket draw. T1 vs GENG for the LCK Spring finals rematch where T1 was defeated by GEN-G 3-1. G2 vs MAD for LEC Winter Finals where G2 won 3-0. Riot really leaned into the whole theme of regional finals rematches not only by getting the regional casters to cast the matches, but also made sure that the matches took place in the right time zone.
Upper bracket R1: T1 vs GEN (League of Legends Champions Korea in London)
If you are just here to watch League of Legends without cheering for any side, or if you are just a fan of LCK, this series definitely lived up to the expectations. I thought all 10 players had their moments where they popped off. HOWEVER, I don’t think this series was good for fans cheering for either side. T1 fans were mad over the huge throw in game 3 and they would have won it 3-0 otherwise. I was kind of annoyed witnessing the huge throw live in the arena and even contemplated leaving the arena for good. I honestly felt that had I would just quit watching lolesports had T1 lost the series. I had the feeling that T1 would lose G4 once I saw the Ahri blind pick when the Lissandra counter was available for GEN. I even thought to myself that T1 dropping to the losers' bracket is not that bad afterall because they may just learn from their mistakes and this is the best opportunity for them to go to the losers’ bracket.
Oddly enough, I felt really calm when the draft phase started for game 5. I scrolled through social media after the match and I was surprised to see fans announcing their loss prematurely. Choker allegations were on the line; T1 haters were ready to jump; Arnold Hur was ready to celebrate; Oner was about to lose his passport; trucks were ready. I only learned that T1 has never won an international BO5 since 2017 afterwards hence the reaction made sense. Fans were all doubting the draft but I knew that T1 would win once GEN had forgone a R4 Gragas in favour of Alistar and picking Gwen B5 as a K’sante counter even though K’sante can be flexed mid. I knew that the Rumble was for jungle because Oner was literally playing it on soloqueue yesterday. Game 5 ended in the most LCK way ever. There was little to no action for 25 minutes, only for a perfect teamfight to occur and the series just ended. The LCK style of casting was just the cherry on top.
I think I really have to give credit to Gumayusi who was a standout player in this series.Before MSI started, I wished for an eventual T1 MSI win and I wanted Gumayusi to be awarded the MVP of the tournament because he has been phenomenal so far. While the meta for MSI does not fit T1 as a team stylistically, it felt like he was right at home. It has always felt very off putting to me to see Korean and Chinese T1 fans calling for him to be replaced by Viper as I have always rated him very highly as a player. Aside from his stability, I’ve always appreciated the fact that he excels in niche picks such as Caitlyn and Draven. (Caitlyn is not meant to be a niche pick but I’ve seen way too many teams failing to execute Caitlyn comps and way too many awkward trap placements).
I still think that T1 needs to shore up on their weaknesses and I did not like that they had to show their Rumble pick before playing against JDG but this series also proved that T1 has the best meta read out of all teams this tournament.
Lower bracket R1 :G2 Esports vs MAD Lions (League of Legends EMEA Championship in London)
Results: G2 3-0 MAD
If the previous match was peak LCK, this was definitely the epitome of LEC: they lean heavily into the no brains, just vibes style of gameplay. These guys were brawling around the rift for nothing. It was just a regular day for the LEC casters as they kept on rapping. Both teams took turns throwing their leads but MAD was just allergic to winning. I think the constant hate that MAD got on social media really affected their performance because it felt that their gameplay went down drastically as compared to what I have seen from them in the LEC. I think I would definitely not enjoy this if I were watching it at home but it was incredibly entertaining seeing it live. Why did a Braum and Kindred decide to 1v1 each other? We don’t know!
I guess G2 is sort of having a redemption arc in my head. I would just turn off the LEC stream if I saw that G2 gained an early lead in the game. But I found myself going along with the ‘let’s go G2 chant’ because I felt that G2 was the better team and Yike won me over when he was playing against GENG. It was incredibly funny to see Brokenblade 1v9ing everyone on Cassiopeia when he was supposedly the worst G2 member. Also both T1 and G2 sat on the same side of the stage.
Crowd:
The crowd was more neutral for the LCK match. While there were the occasional ‘let’s go T1 chants’, the cheers were way louder when GEN were winning out fights. Quite a lot the audience behind me left after the first match ended. The crowd was definitely heavily G2 biased as the whole arena was filled with the ‘let’s go G2 chants’. Some guy tried to start a ‘let’s go MAD lions’ chant but only a few people joined in. Sad lions indeed.
Afterthought:
Sometimes, the authentic lolesports experience is when the whole arena starts chanting TSM randomly. Or when people do the LEC rift herald woo wee chant when the Rift Herald crashes the turret. Or when the arena was filled with cheers when the loudspeakers started blasting Silver Scrapes. I thought I would actually watch the players a lot since I liked them but I ended up just glueing my eyes to the screen since I was invested in the match. It could be because my seat was so far away and the gamers were just…gaming so there wasn’t a lot to see. The ticket was worth it since I got to watch two matches and not everyone gets to listen to Silver Scrapes in an arena for their first LAN event. Maybe T1 threw game 3 so that I can listen to it. Who knows!
