T1 and KT Rolster are meeting on January 24 for round one of the Telecom War in the 2021 LCK Spring Split.
The Telecom War needs no introduction. The rivalry started during the days of pro StarCraft: Brood War and is now going stronger than ever. On Sunday, fans will watch as these long-time adversaries meet for the first time in 2021.
Both teams had similar starts in the season with a victory and a defeat. The teams also had similar schedules with one top opponent and an easier one.
T1 took everyone by surprise when it decided to start substitute players over Moon “Cuzz” Woo-chan, Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok, and Park “Teddy” Jin-seong. The rookies lived up to expectations and earned a big victory in their LCK debut. For the second series of week one, Faker rejoined the starting roster and took DWG Kia to game three. Despite still using some substitute players, T1 looked strong in every lane and left everyone thinking this could be the return of T1.
KT Rolster had a consistent performance during week one, but nothing too notable. In the series against Liiv SANDBOX, KT used for the first time the combination of Kang “Blank” Sun-gu and Son “Ucal” Woo-hyeon. This duo seemed to work better than previous iterations and made the team look like a cohesive unit.
In the offseason, fans criticized KT management because the team lacked big names. The new squad has quickly proved that it doesn’t need a superstar on its roster to perform.
Top lane – Kim “Canna” Chang-dong
Jungle – Choi “Ellim” El-lim
Mid lane – Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok
Bot lane – Lee “Gumayusi” Min-hyeong
Support – Ryu “Keria” Min-seok
*T1’s roster could change. The starting r
Top lane – Choi “Doran” Hyeon-joon
Jungle – Kang “Blank” Sun-gu
Mid lane – Son “Ucal” Woo-hyeon
Bot lane – Lee “HyBriD” Woo-jin
Support – Jang “Zzus” Joon-soo
Despite getting the same results in week one, the balance is in T1’s favor for this match. Bookmakers put T1 with a 1.28 odds advantage over KT Rolster’s 3.30.
This series will be decided in the jungle. It’s Blank’s responsibility to enable his laners and to set them up for success. On T1’s side, it should be business as usual. The team might even bring back its substitute mid laner or change starting players from one game to the next. It could be an easy win for T1, but when it comes to the Telecom War, one should always be prepared for a surprise.
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