T1 are coming into Worlds 2023 as one of the favorites, similarly to last year’s edition. But, this time around the roster may fall apart if they don’t reach the Summoner’s Cup, according to their top laner, Zeus.
In a short interview from Oct. 15 conducted by T1, Zeus was reminiscent about Worlds 2022 and talked about the team’s preparations for this year’s League of Legends World Championship. During the interview, Zeus claimed, “this might be the last tournament we can participate in with this roster.”
Zeus confessed the team are hurt due to last year’s loss, where they fell against DRX in the grand final with a 3-2 score, which influenced the mood behind the scenes. “Our team originally had a really fun atmosphere, but due to repeated failures, or should I say, struggles, it felt like we became close, but something was off,” Zeus admitted.
With that in mind, besides winning Worlds this time around, Zeus has slightly different hopes when looking towards the tournament. “During our preparation for Worlds this time, I hope we can enjoy and have fun,” he said.
Seeing T1’s roster split up would be emotional to some degree for any professional League fan. The current lineup with Zeus, Oner, Faker, Gumayusi, and Keria has been together for almost three years now, and has competed in two Worlds editions and two Mid-Season Invitationals, with the game’s fanbase growing fond of them.
T1 were solid in each of these events, but it was always close but no cigar. They reached grand final and lower bracket final at MSI 2022 and 2023, respectively. At Worlds 2021 and 2022, they finished in semifinals and finals respectively. Maybe the third time’s the charm.
