T1 is the 2023 Worlds Champion

T1 is the 2023 League of Legends Worlds Champion after defeating Weibo Gaming.

T1 just made history. The LCK organization became the first team to win a World Championship hosted in their own region. Along the way, T1 defeated all four LPL representatives, solidifying its place as the LPL slayer. Most notably, T1 put an end to JD Gaming’s golden road and its aspirations of winning every tournament of the year.

Faker wins his fourth Worlds

This victory represents the fourth Summoner’s Cup won by Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok, all of them under the T1 banner. Faker now goes down in history as the player with the most Worlds titles.

It hasn’t been an easy road for this T1 roster. Despite being one of the most talented rosters in the world, titles eluded them for the past couple of seasons. During the summer season, while Faker was subbed out due to a wrist injury, the team struggled to get wins. This poor performance put T1’s playoff qualifications at risk. In the final weeks of the season, Faker rejoined the team, and T1 advanced to playoffs.

The path to winning Worlds 2023

T1 lost the summer title to Gen.G and qualified for Worlds with a noticeable question mark around them. Analysts expected T1 to perform, but it was not by any means considered one of the favorites to win the tournament. Once in the Knockout Stage, everything changed.

T1 took a different approach to the meta, going for new and unexpected picks. The team also decided to rely on its regional partners to prepare for the rest of the tournament. T1 only played scrims against other LCK teams, ensuring that all of their strategies wouldn’t leak to the LPL opponents. As a result, the LPL teams had no answers to T1’s game.

There was nothing WBG could do in the finals to counter T1. Even in their best moment, WBG was one step behind. The remarkable macro play and individual talent earned T1 a well-deserved Worlds title.