T1 vs CFO MSI Preview – Will T1 Show up in Playoff Form?

With two of the four upper bracket MSI matches already done and dusted, it’s time to take a look at the last match of Round 1, T1 vs CFO.

T1 vs CFO – MSI Playoffs Round 1 Preview

At the start of the LCK season, no one was expecting T1 to make it to the Mid-Season Invitational. The team had struggled to find its footing with the new Doran pickup, but those impressions were shattered in the LCK Road to MSI. With two impressive series against KT Rolster and Hanwha Life Esports, the team locked their ticket to Vancouver and completely changed the expectations for the team.

In our previous analysis, we explained why there are enough reasons to believe T1 will be competing for the MSI title. That being said, a lot of it will depend on the players’ form, especially top laner Doran. His performance and ability to be an important pressure point for the team will directly influence the whole ceiling of the team.

Luckily for T1, their Round 1 opponent might not be the toughest one to be matched with. CTBC Flying Oyster, despite an impressive run at First Stand, might not have the same firepower as the other first seeds in the competition. The team is strong, led by veterans like Junjia and Doggo, but the team was also almost beaten by GAM in the LCP playoffs.

CFO relies on Junjia, jungle will be a talking point in the series

CFO is known for being able to push leads when having the early advantage through well-planned skirmishes. The heart of the team is none other than Junjia, whose performance directly dictates the potential of the team. Whenever he gets pinched, the team struggles to find its footing. Against T1, he will be put to the test by Oner, who has arguably been T1’s most consistent player this season.

The other interesting matchup will be in the mid lane: rookie HongQ will finally get the chance to play against the living legend Faker. CFO’s mid laner, who just turned 18 yesterday, might surprise us, as he has shown his willingness to make risky plays and pull the trigger when needed.

Prediction time – All according to plan

Even though the matches between Gen.G vs G2 and AL vs FLY were quite easy to predict on paper, we’ve nailed two of the four matches in our MSI Pick’Ems. Based on how things stand, T1 is the expected winner of the series. There might be a chance where CFO takes one game, but we wouldn’t be surprised to see T1 get a clean 3-0.

Regardless of where you’re looking, T1 has arguably the better players. Doran could be a hit or miss, but shouldn’t have that many issues dealing with either Rest or Driver. He is not necessarily required to stomp them, as long as he can stabilize his lane and let his teammates do the job.

The thing I’m curious to see from T1 is their draft approach. They’ve had some time to prepare picks and drafts ahead of the tournament and while they are usually slower at adapting, they shouldn’t have this handicap right now. The CFO vs T1 series will take place right after the end of BLG vs MKOI, around 02:00 CET.