Worlds 2023 Finals: Will T1's 4th Seed Curse Prove to be True?
As the grand finale of the League of Legends 2023 Worlds Finals approaches this Sunday, November 19th, we have a possible mirror of the events that partook last year in 2022 finals. 4th seed DRX, the underdog team of the LCK defeating the favorite to win T1. An epic saga destined to echo throughout the annals of LoL esports history.
With T1 coming back from the ashes and making their way back to the finals stronger than ever, one questions remains. Will T1 finally reclaim the worlds title? Or will the 4th seed curse prove to be true?
The Mirror
Looking back at Worlds 2022, T1 vs DRX, there were a lot of pros and cons weighing in for both teams. BeryL and Deft was an excellent bot lane match up for the notorious Gumayusi and Keria. And as the tournament progressed we witnessed the rise of DRX's chemistry and playmaking. The narrative definitely started stirring towards a very possible DRX victory.
Weibo gaming, an LPL team has been underrated for the entirety of the tournament, with the favorites of LPL teams, JDGaming or Bilibili Gaming, favored to win it all. This mirrors last year's DRX, with GenG and T1 to be the favorites to win. However, T1 still has yet to ever be defeated by an LPL team in a worlds international tournament.
This year, though another underdog 4th seed of a major region is in the finals, seems to have major undisputed differences. Though heavily underrated, there seems to be a clear line of the strengths of T1 vs Weibo.
Credit: Riot GamesT1's Bot Lane: Gumayusi + Keria
T1's team has shown to have a larger champion pool, primarily in the bot lane. T1 Gumayusi and T1 Keria both agree that they are the greatest bot lane in the world right now. And their performance and wide variety of playstyles shows for that. There seems to be no contest between T1 and Weibo gaming on who has the better bot lane. With Weibo bot lane notably getting gapped versus BLG and T1 not showing any weaknesses bot side during laning phase.
With a wide variety of champions, it gives T1 much more freedom during champ selection. With their secret weapon being Keria. Keria has had one of the largest champion pools this worlds tournament as a support player. Pulling picks such as Varus, Twitch, Jhin, Caitlyn, Kalista, Annie, and Ashe as support. With each of these picks showing great results for T1. It goes to show that T1's large champ pool and understanding of the meta will be T1's greatest asset.
Credit: Riot GamesWeibo Gaming: Top Lane - TheShy
Weibo gaming, has consistently proven that they are not to be underestimated. And it's largely thanks to their dominating top lane, TheShy. TheShy has been on the top of his game this worlds. From a stat perspective he has been one of the best laners at worlds.
With his Gold Differential at 15 minutes being +725ahead of his enemy laner. And his XP differential being +640 ahead of his enemy laner. This is almost miles ahead of T1 Zeus, the God of Top Lane. Zeus at worlds is averaging at +420 Gold differential at 15 minutes. And an XP differential at 15 minutes at +566.
TheShy's amazing mechanical skills have really made him stand out. Always showing off incredible micro-mechanics this worlds, making him a powerhouse in 1v1 scenarios. With extremely notable plays against BLG that made the difference between a win and a loss. His Graves against BLG Bin's Aatrox in Game 3 is notably one of the largest gaps this tournament has seen.
TheShy's performance has been able to cover their team when their Bot lane falls short. With exceptional plays and coordination with his jungler WeiWei, TheShy has proven to be the ultimate challenge for T1's "God of Top Lane".
Credit: Riot GamesFinal Outlook
It is heavily anticipated that this Worlds Finals will be a true top lane showdown. With a sizeable lead in the top lane against T1 Zeus, things may turn around in favor of Weibo. They will need to play around their strengths in order to shake up T1. There is much support for Weibo Gaming to make the 4th seed curse a reality.
If Weibo can learn anything from DRX's win in 2022, is the possible use of any pocket picks they could have.. Trying to win in team matchup can prove difficult with T1's large champion pool. In the end, Meta's can make a team predictable, the element of surprise puts all pre-game predictions to chance.
Hopes are very high for the Unkillable Demon King, and his T1 powerhouse. T1 as a whole is showing to be in their greatest form in a while. And Weibo has shown that they are here to defy all odds. Things are shaping up to be an exciting series this 2023 Worlds finals.
Featured Image Source: Colin YoungWolff/Riot Games