Only four teams remain in the hunt for the Worlds 2024 title as semifinals begin this weekend. Among those four squads is T1, the winningest organization in League of Legends history. Yes, through countless new seasons and metas and even chronic injury, Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok continues to make deep runs into League’s most prestigious event.

Worlds 2024: Can Faker Win 5th Trophy?

However, Faker doesn’t do it alone. T1 has a roster of some of the best talent in the world in their roles with one of the best esports infrastructures behind them. You don’t win four Summoners’ Cups from one name alone after all. As Worlds 2024 winds down, how likely is it for Faker and T1 to make it five?

The Biggest Hurdle Appears

T1’s semifinal matchup will be against Gen.G. For those unaware of the recent history between these two squads, it’s not pretty for T1. They’ve lost the last 10 meetings against their LCK rivals, so much so that calling them rivals feels like a bit of a stretch. T1 just hasn’t been able to beat Gen.G in the LCK regular season or Playoffs.

So, what’s different this time? Well for one, T1 at Worlds is notoriously different from T1 in the LCK.

Despite struggling with their form in the Summer Split last year, T1 still pulled it all together for one of the best Worlds runs ever a couple months later. Something similar happened this year. After falling in third in the Playoffs, T1 barely scraped through the Regional Gauntlet to earn Korea’s last seed at Worlds. They didn’t look good then, but here they are at Worlds semis anyway.

T1 has more going for them right now than just “aura”. They’ve been playing amazingly across the board. T1’s only game loss came against TOP Esports in the first round of Swiss in a BO1. Since then, they’ve gone undefeated, even sweeping TES in the Quarterfinals rematch.

T1 has been playing like they’re tournament favorites despite being seen as anything but prior to Worlds starting. Looking at the top KDA’s from Quarters paints a startling picture.

Worlds is Always Unpredictable

Now, this isn’t to say that T1 is unbeatable. No team is, and any stats or anecdotes in this game are prone to small sample size or bias. Gen.G IS an amazing team with the highest floor in the whole world. Their main issue has come with performing at their theoretical ceiling when the pressure is highest at international competition. Faker has been to six Worlds Finals, while Jeong “Chovy” Ji-hoon is still searching for his first after all.

Nerves will be the biggest enemy of Gen.G. Being forced to play five games against FlyQuest won’t help either, since T1 has a ton more tape to watch for preparation. If any match is going to be the one where T1 breaks their losing streak, it would be this one.

Worlds 2024 Gen.G QFs
Image Credit Riot Games (Liu Yicun)

Putting the Capstone On

If T1 gets past Gen.G, then they’ll face the winner of Weibo Gaming vs Bilibili Gaming for the Summoners’ Cup. As strange as this sounds, this match would likely be easier to win than the Gen.G match regardless of who advances.

BLG has been struggling all Worlds to live up to being the LPL’s number one seed. They’ve shown tons of weaknesses in the Swiss Stage and only recently pulled themselves together enough to beat LNG in the Quarters. BLG has relied on giving Zhuo “knight” Ding peanuts and still expecting him to be one of the best players at Worlds, so a team that can punish him will have a much easier time winning.

WBG has been in this spot before, last year in fact. Everyone saw them as being on the weaker side of LPL teams coming into Worlds both times. Yet, they still manage to hit their peak on the biggest stage. Of course, T1 put them down last year in dominant 3-0 fashion, and there’s no reason to think they can’t do it again.

Overall, Faker and T1’s path to a fifth Worlds trophy isn’t easy, but the road is there and clearly visible. Everyone will be watching this Sunday as T1 attempts to make their seventh Worlds Finals.