With HLE eliminated from Worlds, can T1 avenge their LCK comrades in their series against the LPL #2 seed, TES? Find out their chances in our preview.
Image Credit: Liu Yicun/Riot Games
TES vs T1 – CN vs KR Round 2 at Worlds
Is it fate or mere coincidence? This is the third time TES and T1 face each other in an official match but this time, everything is on the line.
On one hand, T1 is looking to defend their Worlds title and make it once again to a top four finish. On the other, TES wants to show that this year is the LPL’s year and send home yet another LCK representative. To better understand what we can expect from the series, let’s quickly go over the two teams’ performance so far at Worlds.
Series Breakdown – the meta read will be crucial
While TES won the Bo1 against T1 in the Swiss stage, I don’t think that is a good representation of the two teams’ potential heading into this series. Both teams have stepped up and looked more convincing throughout the Swiss stage and in particular, T1 seems to have found a much better meta read than what they showed against TES in their opening round.
The LCK #4 seed is known for playing around number advantage and playing around their strong solo laners to handle side lanes. This is, on paper, the optimal playstyle we’ve seen at Worlds so far. On top of that, T1 seems to have good synergy with the meta picks: the only small issue would be that Gumayusi is not known for his Kai’Sa and I think that Jhin is not as strong as people make it seem to be.
But aside from that, Zeus is known for his Gnar and Jax, and Oner is super comfortable engaging champions like Vi, Sejuani, and others.
For Top Esports, instead, what we have seen the most is consistency. Tian, JackeyLove, and Meiko have looked impressive so far and 369 is one of the best at handling lane swaps and weakside matchups. The only question mark comes from mid-lane: Creme has been a tier below the elite mids in the tournament and unless we see an evolution from him, he might be a weak link T1 looks to target.
Overall, I would say that the matchup will be quite even, and just like the other two quarterfinals, it will ultimately come down to draft preparation and how the two teams adapt in each game. Judging by the champions played and the amount of adaptability from both teams, I still believe T1 is slightly favored. That said, it won’t be an easy ride and we might actually see the series go to Silver Scrapes. Will it happen? There’s only one way to find out.
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