LCK

T1 Secure Top 4 Finish In LCK Behind Faker’s Return

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For a moment, it looked like T1 were going to crash out of the LCK Summer split early. With Faker sidelined with an arm injury, the perennial LCK contenders went 3-7 across the final 10 games of the regular season. That saw them finish fifth with a 9-9 record. While Faker was able to return for the regular season finale on August 4, it was a scary time for the team. However, despite qualifying for the playoffs, Faker’s absence had put them in a bad position. They would now need to survive a do-or-die best-of-five against an equally underperforming Dplus. The loser would be sent straight to the Regional Finals.

In the end, it appeared that they had little to worry about. T1 dispatched Dplus 3-1 to secure a minimum of fourth place in the league. The result allowed T1 to maintain their slim lead in the championship points standings. This will be crucial in determining seeding for the Regional Finals, as well as automatic qualification for Worlds. The two automatic qualifications spots from the LCK go to the Summer champion and the season’s championship points leader. T1 currently has 120 points, 20 points ahead of third-place KT Rolster.

Read More: Worlds 2023 hub

Faker Addresses Injury

Faker
LONDON, ENGLAND – MAY 20: Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok of T1 competes at the League of Legends – Mid-Season Invitational Bracket Stage on May 20 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games via Getty Images)

In the post-game press conference, Faker was asked about his injury. “I’m playing with a posture that allows me to be free from those main symptoms,” he said. “It’s getting better, and I’m still adjusting to the posture. I’m slowly building my game up.” Furthermore, Faker said he was hoping to face off against Chinese first seed JDG if T1 makes it to Worlds. JDG eliminated T1 at MSI earlier this year on their way to the tournament title. Meanwhile, T1 dominated JDG in the semifinals of Worlds 2022.

T1’s next match will be against KT Rolster on August 10. A win would not only secure T1 a top-three finish, but it would also widen the championship points gap between the two sides. At the time of writing, the only region to have finalized its Worlds participants is China. The LPL will be represented by JDG, Bilibili Gaming, LNG, and Weibo Gaming. Furthermore, Worlds 2023 is currently scheduled to take place in South Korea between mid-October and mid-November.

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T1 Lose Bad As Faker Benched

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Speaking after T1’s 2-1 series win over Nongshim RedForce on July 2, Faker revealed that he was being treated for an arm injury. “I haven’t been feeling well recently. I believe my performance since the BRION match may have been impacted because of this […] I am under treatment and in talks with the team,” Faker told the media. The news hit an international audience thanks to a translation from veteran reporter Ashley Kang. While Faker assured fans that he was doing okay, there were fears that Faker would have to step away from the rift to recover. This was especially the case, given the hectic LCK schedule that the fact that T1 were scheduled to play on July 5.

Subsequently, that’s exactly what happened. On July 5, T1 announced that they would bench Faker to allow him to “take a break and focus on his treatment and recovery.” It would be the first time that Faker would miss LCK matches since 2021. Toward the end of the 2021 Spring split, Faker benched himself because he did not believe that he was playing well enough. Ahead of their July 5 series against DRX, T1 announced that academy mid laner Poby would be taking over from Faker.

T1 Swept

In theory, it should have been the perfect debut for Poby. Despite being the reigning world champions, DRX have struggled mightily in 2023. They were just 2-6 entering the match against T1. However, they looked like a completely different team in this rematch of the 2022 Worlds Grand Final. In Game 1, they outkilled T1 19-2. While things were a little less lopsided in Game 2, DRX still outkilled the perennial champions 18-6. DRX improved to 3-6 while T1 fell to 6-3.

17-year-old Poby had a debut that he will likely prefer to forget. Playing Jayce and Annie, he went 2/8/2 across the two-game sweep. T1 is next in action on July 8 against league leaders Gen.G. It’s unknown how long Faker will remain sidelined. However, T1’s announcement of his benching makes it sound like they are hoping he will return before the end of the split. This is a developing story and we’ll have any updates here at HotNewHipHop.

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Faker Reveals Arm Injury Has Been Affecting His Play

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By the lofty standards of T1, the 2023 Summer split has been somewhat disappointing. At the time of writing, the team is 6-2 in the LCK. By comparison, T1 have lost just four matches over the last two splits combined. The slow start has seen them leapfrogged by an undefeated Gen.G as well as a one-loss KT Rolster. However, part of the issue may lie with the health of their veteran mid laner, Faker.

Faker, who has been spent his entire career with T1, has essentially professional League of Legends every week since 2013. When he’s not in pro play, he’s more than like at home or at the training facility playing the game. Faker has a 3.7 KDA this split, which puts him around the middle of the league for that category. If he maintains that KDA, it would be his lowest tally since the 2021 Summer split. However, Faker recently revealed that he has been dealing with an injury that has affected his play.

Read More: Meet Noah – the KT Rolster reject turned Fnatic superstar

Faker Receives Treatment For Arm Injury

Speaking after T1’s 2-1 series win over Nongshim RedForce on July 2, Faker revealed that he was being treated for an arm injury. “I haven’t been feeling well recently. I believe my performance since the BRION match may have been impacted because of this […] I am under treatment and in talks with the team,” Faker told the media. The news hit an international audience thanks to a translation from veteran reporter Ashley Kang. Arm injuries can be common, especially in more intense leagues such as the LCK. Dplus star Showmaker received treatment for a wrist injury in 2020. Meanwhile a recurring shoulder injury led to the first retirement of Chinese legend Uzi in 2019.

T1 played BRION Esports on June 17, meaning that the issue has been hampering Faker’s play for nearly two weeks. However, T1 has gone 4-1 during that span, only losing to the aforementioned KT Rolster. While Faker reassured fans that the injury wasn’t too severe, he won’t have much time to recover. T1 are scheduled to play DRX on July 5, giving him just three days of rest. This is a developing story and we’ll have any updates here at HotNewHipHop.

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