In the transfer window at the end of the 2021 season, T1 is one of the teams with quite a lot of personnel changes. Although it did not have to change the entire lineup like DWG KIA, Gen.G Esports or Hanwha Life Esports, T1 also bid farewell to a number of players, including Canna – the only one in the main lineup in the recent Worlds 2021. via. In addition, T1 also renewed with Faker in a “record-breaking” contract and this is also a deal that is of interest to the entire League of Legends community.
Faker’s re-signing is the most noticeable deal of T1 in the last transfer window of the 2021 season
But with Faker now regressing to become a playmaker, call team, and less shocking handling than before, it’s very likely that, in the new season, it will be the bot lane duo Gumayusi – Keria will decide the success or failure of T1.
But maybe it’s the couple Gumayusi – Keria that decides the success or failure of T1 in the new season
Gumayusi – Keria is in extremely high form
At the last Worlds 2021, if I had to find the strongest bot lane pair, many people would think of T1’s duo right away. If other couples like Viper – Meiko (EDward Gaming) favor stability, Ghost – BeryL is quite volatile and Ruler – Life is not prominent, then Gumayusi – Keria holds more than 50% of T1’s power.
This pair of players is the couple that absolutely dominates the KDA index after the quarterfinals, in which, Gumayusi has a “perfect index” and Keria is at the top of KDA even though it is only the Support position. Even more remarkable when it was Gumayusi’s first time participating in an international tournament, it was also Worlds and their opponent in the Quarterfinals was HLE – a familiar opponent in the LCK. This proves that the T1 couple has a very high level of bravery and performance, and is not overwhelmed when they fight together for the first time at a major tournament like Worlds.
The couple Gumayusi – Keria dominate the KDA chart after the quarterfinals of Worlds 2021
Keria owns a game rich in mutations with bold choices, not afraid of new experiments, typically bringing Thresh of Prey to use right in an official match. Another factor is that Keria is the only name that is almost unchanged of T1 even during the time of coach Daeny – a person who likes the style of rotating positions still in power.
Keria’s Thresh of Prey against DK
As for Gumayusi, he is gradually making T1 fans forget about veteran AD carry Teddy. Since returning in the 2021 LCK Summer Finals, Gumayusi has not lost another position. At the last Worlds 2021, even though it was the first time he attended, the player born in 2002 played very well and did not give Teddy any chance to play.
Gumayusi’s good performance at Worlds 2021 even though this is his first time participating in the biggest tournament in League of Legends
T1’s gameplay
Since starting to dominate the village of League of Legends until now, T1 has almost never had a gameplay revolving around any particular lane. At the time when Faker was still in high form, they still had MaRin, Duke and bottom lane Piglet, Bang, and Wolf all strong. After that, Canna, Faker, and Teddy were all at a good level. The T1 lineup can be considered as one of the most uniform squads in League of Legends. Even at the moment, T1 is in all positions while most teams tend to miss 1 wing, or hit 2 wings and mid lane is only good. As for T1, any of their lanes is potentially dangerous, even Faker – who is stepping down the career slope.
T1 always succeeds if there is a strong bot pair
And another factor is, T1 has always had talented and successful ADCs with those names. The T1 crisis phase, accidentally right at the time when this team did not have ADCs worthy of Bang – Wolf in the past, until Gumayusi – Keria appeared. In previous years, Teddy was fine but he was only in decent form. And not to mention, T1 didn’t have a good enough Support for Teddy either, until they brought Keria back from DRX.
The time is ripe
At the present time, the LCK in general and T1 in particular are entering the generational transition phase. Formerly talented ADCs like Deft have stepped to the other side of the career slope and at present, Gumayusi only has to compete with Teddy, Ruler, Ghost… Of these, perhaps only Ruler is the only one. really worrisome. As for Teddy, he was replaced by his own juniors while Ghost couldn’t keep up and was replaced by deokdam.
This is the time when young talents like Gumayusi – Keria show themselves when veteran players have turned to the other side of the career slope or approaching that stage.
Further, on the side of the big rival LPL, perhaps only the pairs Huanfeng – ON (Weibo Gaming), GALA – Ming (Royal Never Give Up) and Viper – Meiko are the most ominous. What all of these couples have in common is that they are all in good form, have youth (except for Ming and Meiko) and extremely good coordination. In addition, Uzi is back and Doggo also had a good performance at the last 2021 Worlds. However, while “Super ADC” is not sure to keep 100% due to a long break, Doggo does not have much experience in extreme tournaments.
Perhaps only couples from LPL, like GALA – Ming, can counterbalance Gumayusi – Keria right now.
The 2022 season is a highly anticipated season, extremely important as the LCK and LPL players have to prepare for the domestic tournament, MSI, Worlds and Asian Games. And this is the opportunity, for the Gumayusi – Keria couple to show themselves, bring T1 to glory as well as help the elder Faker complete the end of a great player career: the 4th World Championship trophy.
