T1 mounts comeback to seal MSI 2024 spot with LCK win over HLE

After losing an early game in the series, T1 swept 3-1 Hanwa Life Esports to secure their spot at this year’s Mid-Season Invitational. With this win, Faker has qualified for his 16th LCK finale where he and his team will go up against Gen.G.

HLE looked to repeat their 3-0 performance earlier in the LCK playoffs with their early game lane swap in game one, which put T1 Zeus’ Twisted Fate on the back foot in the top lane. However, the team brushed through the shenanigans and got a sizeable lead in the match leading to the mid game, only for HLE to pull a rabbit out of their hat by securing the Elder dragon in the match, securing the opener soon thereafter.

Zeus meeting his fans in LCK — _{Zeus had two unconventional top lane picks against HLE. Image via LCK}

It was as good as it would get for HLE, however, as T1 would go on to reverse sweep the series. Faker showed why he’s deemed the GOAT of Korean Azir as he demolished the opponents in the teamfights over and over again. His role was instrumental in the victory, ending up with a KDA of 9/0/4 along the way, with Vayne going deathless in the match.

Congratulations to @T1LoL Zeus for earning his 200th #LCK win! 🎉🎉 pic.twitter.com/5bRMbrNy8m
— LCK (@LCK) April 13, 2024

This result confirmed that the LCK Spring 2024 final will mark the fifth consecutive time T1 and Gen.G will face off in the competition. T1 will be looking to upset Gen.G and break their curse of not winning an LCK title since 2022, having lost their last three LCK finals against them. While both the powerhouses have punched their ticket to MSI 2024, they still have a seven-year drought to deal with as the region hasn’t lifted the MSI trophy since 2017—back when T1 was known as SK Telecom T1.