In unexpected fashion T1 has locked their spot at the upcoming 2025 Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) in Vancouver after dismantling Hanwha Life Esports, and proving that T1 is still a team to fear in the LCK.

T1 Crushes HLE to Punch Ticket for MSI

T1 will be the second seed for the LCK at MSI

Coming into the series, everyone was expecting a closer series compared to the previous battles seen during the regular season, but no one would’ve thought T1 would put up a massive performance to dominate HLE. The series immediately started off with T1 striking first, disrupting HLE’s Vi-Rell-Miss Fortune combo in the first early mid-game, gaining a substantial lead and closing out the game by the 30-minute mark.

It was clear that T1 was locked in and riding the momentum from yesterday’s series against KT Rolster. Oner overshadowed Peanut most of the series, and Keria was comfortable on his playmaking champions, which was always the characteristic that defied him as a player. But the real protagonist of this Road to MSI in Busan was Doran, who looked nothing like the top laner we’ve seen struggle over the past few months.

All the issues seem to have vanished in Busan

In a much closer Game 2, it was Doran who created space in the late-game teamfights, first disposing of Viper’s Jhin with Ambessa, and then pulling off a 2v1 play against Viper and Zeka, killing the mid laner in the process. At that point, it became clear that HLE wasn’t meeting expectations. Considering the team was able to get a 2-0 lead over Gen.G in the first qualification series, HLE‘s form deteriorated over time.

Game 3 saw T1 get their hands on more of their comfortable picks while HLE decided to pick up a full early-game focused team composition with Lucian-Braum and Nidalee-Galio. Despite this, HLE never looked in control. After overstaying for a top-lane play, Faker cleaned up for a 4-0 play, and T1 controlled the pace of the game until the very end, picking up all objectives and nearly pulling off a perfect game.

Stepping up when it counts

T1 fans will rejoice now, having witnessed the team’s best form in the season so far at such an important moment of the season. After being under scrutiny for many months with concerns regarding both player form and drafting approach, T1 put up a master class against a Korean powerhouse. Unfortunately, we won’t get to know whether T1 had what it takes to fight Gen.G due to the new LCK format.

For HLE, instead, this will mean they have to go back to the drawing board and figure out what went wrong. The team looked disjointed and the individual performances were also poorer than usual. With this loss, another team that was at First Stand will not make it to MSI (LCP’s CTBC Flying Oyster is the only returning team for the second international tournament).

T1 will now fly to Vancouver, Canada, joining Anyone’s Legend, Gen.G, Movistar KOI, and CTBC Flying Oyster as the teams qualified for MSI Bracket Stage. With the 2024 Worlds champion taking part, the second international tournament is looking to be even more explosive than anticipated.