In this semifinal matchup, the reigning World champions faced their strongest opponent from Korea: GenG. Were T1 able to stand up for themselves for the first time this entire year or fall short before reaching Finals?
Game 1
Draft phase seemed weird for GenG. Their bans seemed like they were going in a certain direction but once champions started being picked it went into a different one. This gives the impression they didn't have a clear plan for Game 1. They have tons of AoE damage and abilities, but their targeted damage is very lackluster. T1 didn't really do anything special for theirs, very standard and well rounded.
As the game starts, T1 expected GenG to lane swap early, stacking their players topside. However this was expected, as they don't actually lane swap. The map is now split, Guma Keria will lane toplane with Oner splitting the jungle topside while Canyon takes the botside part of the map, putting pressure on Zeus who must survive a 1v3. As the wave crashes the botlane go for a dive with help from Canyon. Zeus plays this dive perfectly, burning the enemy jungler and support's Flash, almost getting a double kill in the process. This will be a costly mistake. GenG is trying their hardest at maximizing the CS they can get across the map by coordinating their player's movements very well. Lots of resources are being spent for this so they may not be able to keep this up forever.
GenG is in no position to win a fight; focusing on avoiding such a scenario Canyon sneaks Dragon while T1 is taking Voidgrubs. The tension is clear, neither team has fully commited everything on a play. They're either very respectful or a bit scared in this first match. Lanes are being constantly swapped with T1 claiming most of the tower platings. With the tempo advantage they have the first move towards Voidgrubs, taking control of the map right before they spawn again. GenG must regain such control before walking into the objective, during this time two thirds of it are claimed. Everyone is rotating for this single grubb; a short skirmish breaks out with Oner being the one to die, failing to claim the last stack. A good Flash from Kiin decided this outcome, as it denied his engage.
Map is now split, T1 taking the lower portion and claiming their first Dragon; meanwhile GenG is making progress on toplane tower. As soon as the objective falls both teams are racing to get the First Turret gold. GenG was just miliseconds faster with both towers falling at almost the same time.
This Herald is very important for GenG to claim and all players are gravitating towards this objective. T1's carries have important power spikes in base, thus recalling while their teammates stall their opponents from taking the objective in order to buy time for them to come back. This was definitely a long shot that didn't pay off. Keria oversteps as the objective is claimed giving away a kill. Herald is immidiately used to push midlane, which is promptly defended. With GenG now recalling, T1 groups up to put pressure on the toplane turret. GenG however is able to play the map better, using Teleport to successfully defend their tower while taking the one in botlane.
Their gold lead is too significant to take them head on in this moment in time, as such T1 opt to cross map by pushing top while Dragon is being taken. This is instantly covered and we can see how much of a problem Ziggs is going to be, as he is able to quickly clear entire waves using his ultimate spell, negating entire pushes.
T1 is taking their first midlane tower, only to be Teleport flanked by Chovy. Faker goes down and the rest of his team makes it out safely. The single target damage I mentioned in draft is clear in this moment, GenG can't possibly take Baron after this since they lack the damage. This applies to any objective; T1 is trying to get control over Baron before Dragon spawns hoping to potentially trade these objectives, considering they're still unable to fight. This strategy actually payed off; Canyon was the only one taking Drake which gave them enough time to claim Baron right in front of GenG. They saw this as an opportunity to fight them but the tables have completely flipped. Oner dies in order to kill Chovy, Zeus secures the kill on Lehends and Canyon gets kited to death.
Even against Baron buff Ziggs' waveclear is too strong, thus T1 send Faker to push toplane alone while the rest of the team groups in botlane. They avoid fights and play around pushing waves, the pressure must be on the towers and not the players. After Faker takes down toplane the whole team groups to start juggling pressure between mid and bot. Slowly but surely all Tier 2 towers fall and T1 find the perfect engage, picking off both Canyon and Lehends.
Game slows down at this point, next fight will be around Dragon. T1 arrives first and utilizes their single target damage again to burst the objective. Teamfight ensues, Gumayusi's positioning is spot on. GenG relies entirely in their burst damage, but once these spells are used they're powerless. Ashe is able to kite everybody after spacing every ability. GenG is aced and their Nexus is destroyed.
Game 2
GenG tried to target Gumayusi since his champion pool is weak in this Worlds meta. T1 responed by first picking Caitlyn and Kindred, a bold move. Oner has not played this champion since MSI 2023. A surprising draft from both teams, although for different reasons. GenG seemed as if they weren't sure what to do, similar to Game 1. T1 opting to pick champions away to throw off their opponents, a daring strategy the likes of which usually pay off for them.
T1 is behind right out of the gates as they failed to properly match or commit to the lane swap. While being unsure of what to do they didn't arrive to the sidelanes in time. This led to Keria being killed while trying to walk towards botlane and Zeus dies from a dive quickly after. After all is said and done, Oner was the only one who found a lead in this early stages. GenG takes Voidgrubs, T1 doesn't have enough tempo to cross map to take Dragon and Faker is ganked toplane right after. A very smart Flash guarantees he has no escape, securing the kill.
Struggling to find solid ground, T1 cannot contest Dragon. While Voidgrubs are being taken by GenG again, this time they were at least able to cross map by taking turret platings from botlane. It seems as if Oner is being somewhat funneled, they might consider him their win condition, hoping he wins the teamfights in the future by front to backing. GenG stack on botlane as their push cannot be contested thanks to the 6 stacks of Voidgrubs.
Herald and Dragon are spawning close to eachother, this gives GenG the opportunity to take the former, instantly push midlane, open up the map and rotate to Dragon. This would put them in a crushing position. As Canyon was taking Herald, Lehends walks right into T1 as they were invading, giving away a free kill. This put them in a position to actually regain some control of the map and take Drake. Unfortunately Canyon made it just in time to steal the objective. Herald is then used midlane and T1 have now lost all Tier 1 towers.
Slowly running down the clock, waiting to hit the 2 item spike on every player, T1 is keeping their eyes on Baron as they farm up. This is the closest they're going to be in terms of gold, they must look for a fight soon before it becomes hopeless. Both teams are juggling control around the Baron pit, it's during these standoffs that Keria oversteps and gets killed in his own jungle. Baron is being taken but the tension is palpable, a fight can break out at any second. Trying to buy time to find a good opportunity T1 starts getting picked off, unable to remove GenG from the objective. Once Baron is claimed all the players fall. The game doesn't end here but with Dragon Soul also in their pocket it doesn't seem like there's anything T1 can do anymore.
T1's bold strategy did not pay off this game, their Nexus falls and series is now 1-1.
Game 3
T1 have almost the exact same composition as Game 1, Akali instead of Yone may not be ideal considering Faker's setup was a big reason they won fights. Their win condition will clearly be getting picks at the right times, something that is very hard to execute. GenG just has a solid and well-rounded composition, focusing on putting power inside of sidelanes.
All of GenG grouped topside when the game started, this took Zeus by surprise as Peyz gets First Blood just one minute into the game. T1 is finally successful at predicting who will be inside of which lanes; even though both botlanes are inside of botlane this is not as simple as the average player may think. Ezreal and Rell showed top in hopes of making T1 think they would lane swap and try to match it. They were able to call the bluff and stay in botlane, making sure they're now there when minions arrive, taking control of the lane and putting GenG at a disadvantage as Lehends now has to run back bot. If it wasn't for the First Blood GenG would've been in a pretty bad situation.
Thanks to their early game being quite favorable for T1, they get a tempo lead making them able to have first move everywhere on the map. Botlane rotations helped funnel gold towards Gumayusi and almost everyone has a CS lead at this point. Voidgrubs are taken but GenG managed to trade them for Dragon. Their rotations start being a bit confusing as they start dropping waves due to having the wrong players in the wrong places. However they were able to tempo trap Kiin by fake recalling; very well timed ultimate from Oner guaranteed the kill as it followed his Flash.
T1 is still able to stay ahead in tempo, recalling before their opponents therefore having faster map movements. This time GenG is putting up a fight over Voidgrubs though. Their flank was not enough to catch Oner and Keria as they were taking the objective. With not enough damage to burst down anyone, T1 quickly rotates and is the one walking away with a double kill, not giving a single Voidgrub stack. Instead of rotating to Dragon, toplane tower is targeted which was destroyed very quickly thanks to these 6 stacks.
Crosshairs are set on GenG's botlane tower now. A dive is impossible but the objective damage is massive, it only took 2 waves to destroy this turret and claim its plates. Interestingly though, T1 is dropping waves on the opposite side of the map during these pushes.
As T1 take Herald, GenG decide to split the map via pushing botlane. This seems suboptimal as Herald is used midlane, tower falls, Lehends is killed, Canyon is doved while defending the push, everybody rotates toplane, dives Kiin and takes another tower. A devastating sequence that skyrocketed T1's lead. Incredible usage of 6 Voidgrub stacks as 3 towers fall in less than 2 minutes.
Dragon is claimed without a fight and somehow, Lehends is picked off in river which led to Canyon and Kiin being chased all the way to where their Tier 2 Tower used to be at. T1 ran from one side of the map to the other, claiming three kills. With no time to breathe a teamfight starts inside of GenG's topside jungle. They're being dominated with another triple kill for T1 who almost get another tower off this play.
With Baron finally spawning it's all or nothing for GenG. If they don't fight soon their chances at a comeback will become non-existent. Trying to get control of the area, Gumayusi ends up mispositioning, trading his life for Kiin's. Neither side can do any more than this, the stalemate ensues until Dragon spawns.
After wasting ultimates taking control of the area around Baron, T1 make their way towards Dragon while GenG resets. Oner claims the objective as GenG tries to regain some map control around Baron in hopes of getting a pick. This almost pays off, but T1 played it better getting a pick themselves. Not enough to go for Baron as their objective damage is not great. They need to be very careful of making that call; they may have to play around Dragons even though that gives GenG tons of time to stabilize.
With control around Baron being constantly juggled, T1 is able to start a teamfight after Keria barely grabs Peyz and Oner barely connecting his ultimate as well. GenG's champions are incredibly slippery but it doesn't matter. Three players die with no return kills. Voidgrubs once again empowering T1 as this was more than enough to take down the entire base. They now lead this series 2-1.
Game 4
The most exciting draft so far. GenG seems to have picked champions the players are very comfortable on. T1 is sticking to a composition that plays for picks, but with very different characters this time around. It may seem like GenG's draft will dominate this early game; Keria however will be their wildcard used to throw them off their game. This has been a consistent strategy for T1 this entire tournament.
Gumayusi and Keria are both running Hail of Blades, giving them insane power in the first few levels. GenG tried to level 1 invade blue buff but are spotted by Keria's sweeper. After a nice hook, Peyz is forced to burn Flash. In order to not lose their botlane strength, Oner clears his raptors and then moves to his botside jungle. Being down a blue buff will be better for his whole team over him splitting the map and taking Oner's topside jungle.
Keria uses his level up timers, dashing forwards to land a hook on Lehends burning yet another Flash. Oner also burns Chovy's Flash on his way to bot. Canyon defends the potential dive, but this pressure is massive and T1 once again have created a tempo lead within their first recall.
Looking to take Voidgrubs, their players start to hover this area. Canyon is spotted in river with Faker being the one to pounce on the cougar. He demonstrates incredible discipline, holding his Charm for the very last second; it was impossible to react to it once he finally used it. An instant CC Chain from Oner secures First Blood for the Unkillable Demon King. Every single player has now rotated to this objective, T1 being the ones in control thanks to this fantastic play. It's indeed the wild card Keria that finds another pick, hooking Lehends who is bursted instantly. Kiin fights back, knocking Faker away and almost killing Gumayusi. This now becomes a 3v3 temporarily, more than enough time for GenG to actually gain control and claiming 2 out of 3 Voidgrubs.
T1 still carry momentum, Zeus is pushing botlane uncontested while topside is defended and Chovy is stuck catching a wave midlane. Once again Keria is dominating with the Pyke pick, hooking Peyz and dragging Lehends under tower. This team is showing no weaknesses.
GenG claims the first Dragon as T1 chooses to maintain control of the top side of the map. This lets them get the next Voidgrubs spawn uncontested. T1's pressure on towers is immense, getting almost every plate. By the time Herald spawns, every player in the team reached their first item spikes. GenG is trying to contest the objective, but T1 isn't having it; both Teleports are used, Faker in toplane and Zeus in midlane. GenG who was taking the objective is now being boxed in from both sides. Lehends dies but the objective is claimed without further bloodshed. In return T1 was able to claim two towers and the Dragon.
GenG will have lots of issues defending their side lanes due to not having a lead. T1 is constantly grouped up which leads to Lehends getting caught yet again. After using Herald midlane, he almost dies but narrowly escapes this time. After defending this push, Faker teleports toplane but is instantly punished; even Flash wasn't enough to escape. This however, came at a price as Zeus kills Canyon thanks to a perfectly timed Flash and Oner arrives in time to kill Lehends. Without skipping a beat T1 makes the call to take Baron. GenG instantly responds by taking down midlane and quickly moving to Dragon. There was no time to get the objective and must recall, with T1 being the ones to claim it.
Keria seems to be running around the map randomly to the untrained eye. What he is actually doing is 'marking' the enemy players, letting his team know exactly where everyone is. Information T1 uses to push botlane as three and have Zeus alone in toplane. After bot tier 2 falls and all players group toplane, Kiin finds another amazing ultimate, knocking away two players which completely disconnected his opponents. Zeus is the first to fall, as the team desperately tries to get return kills Keria dies aswell, with Kiin being the only one to die. GenG successfully defended from the siege as Baron buff dissipates.
Trying to push Top or Midlane without it is even harder, T1 has to calm down and wait for Dragon. This is a major fight. Both teams are hitting the objective, but it's Oner who manages to claim it. Teamfight ensues, Faker is knocked away very far away by Kiin and tries to use Teleport in order to rejoin. Oner died instantly after smiting Drake. This was enough to pull T1's players apart, acing them with Lehends being the only one to die. Baron now goes over to GenG.
It's become crucial for T1 to take it slow and wait for the next Dragon, their entire gold lead has dissappeared. They successfully defend the first push against their toplane Tower. This doesn't last long as they most concede the siege since their ultimate spells were burned. The Baron buff has ran out making this a small victory for them.
This is it, Dragon is spawning again making this potentially the last fight. As soon as all players are spotted, GenG engages midlane. Oner is the one being CC chained by the ultimate spells, but Kiin Flashes in order to stun Faker. The CC lasted long enough for the Unkillable Demon King to be killed instantly. Unfortunately for them, Keria and Oner coordinate their champions perfectly, stunning most of GenG and taking down four of their players.
This was more than enough, with the use of Voidgrubs they start pushing mid, one after the other Towers are falling. All attemps to defend the base are now futile as T1 wins the game and the series. The World Champions have reached finals once again.
This was a beautiful series to watch; One team always dominated the match from start to finish. T1's performance at international events is truly unparalleled, making even the best players and strongest teams seem clueless against them.
During the pre-match articles we mentioned a 70€ prize in the form of RP or Riot Store Merch for one random person that correctly guessed the outcome of the match. For this series, the winner is @Tindra! Keep an eye on your inbox as we will be contacting you shortly.