Earlier in the 2021 LCK season, T1 was the only team that was operating with a 10-man roster. Although these players were exempt from T1’s Worlds roster, Zeus-Ellim-Clozer all played regular split matches in the LCK. Eventually, as T1 headed into the latter half of the season, Canna, Oner, Faker, and Keria have locked in their spots as 4/5ths of the starting five, while rotating Gumayusi and Teddy in for the adc position. This rendition of the roster, alongside Cuzz as T1’s second jungler, will be competing in group B, against LPL’s EDG, LCS’ 100 Thieves, and one of the play-in stage teams.

The performance that T1 put on during the 2021 LCK Summer finals and during the regional qualifiers exceeded many people’s expectations. Personally, the biggest surprise from T1 was with their rookie jungler, Oner. Even in the games he was losing, he was proactively trying to find angles to come back; it’s a trait that’s rarely found with rookies during important matches. 

However, they aren’t a team that’s not without flaws, and T1’s biggest flaw, without a doubt, has to be in their drafts. A prime example of this is in game 4 of the Summer finals, where it looked like DK was able to draft winning lanes in all lanes and still outscaled T1’s team composition. T1 also continues to prioritize champions that just doesn’t seem to work for them, such as Gwen during the LCK Summer finals.

It’s been two years since T1 made an appearance at Worlds, and this year, they’re coming into the tournament with confidence. Faker, although not at his peak, still proved that he’s in his best form in years, and T1’s bot lane is considered to be one of the strongest of the tournament. How will T1 fare against the best of the LPL and the rest of international competition? Will the team prove the doubters wrong and be able to capture their 4th Worlds title? Group B matches start on Oct 12 with T1 facing the play-in stage team.