Updated on November 3, 2:11 p.m. (GMT+8): Added links to articles detailing Faker’s MVP, Worlds 2024 skins.
Updated on November 3, 4:27 a.m. (GMT+8): Fixed typos.
T1 are your Worlds 2024 champions! They defeated Bilibili Gaming 3-2 in the final that went the distance.
It is the organization’s fifth world championship and Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok’s as well. Last year when this same T1 roster won Worlds 2023, Faker became the only player in the world to win four titles.
By winning Worlds 2024, he extends that record to five, one which no one seems close to surpassing.
Prior to this final, it’s worth noting that T1 has never lost to an LPL team in a best-of-five at the League of Legends World Championship — and this record holds true.
Similarly, Bilibili Gaming have never lost to T1 in a best-of-five internationally. At MSI 2024 earlier this year, they defeated the LCK representative 3-2 in the lower bracket final, knocking them out of the running. This time, they weren’t as lucky.
How T1 defeated Bilibili Gaming to become the Worlds 2024 champions
BLG put the right foot forward in game one
T1 on blue side first picked Yone, a popular mid lane champion this tournament. Lee “Gumayusi” Min-hyeong picked one of this signature AD carries, Caitlyn, who, in contrast, hasn’t seen much play at Worlds 2024.
On the red side, Bilibili Gaming put together a team fighting, front to back composition with many front liners for Ashe. Wombo combo potential is high in Skarner, Sylas, Rumble, and Rell.
BLG reaped the first three kills of the game, which included a sneaky level one invade into T1’s bot side jungle for first blood onto Gumayusi. It set the tone for the rest of the game: they out rotated their opponents during the laning phase, kept finding picks with Ashe’s ultimate, kept the pressure on, and didn’t let their opponents scale.
They broke T1’s base in just 18 minutes. Finding more picks, BLG secured Baron and closed out game one in 27 minutes.
T1 bounce back in game two by changing up their draft
On blue side again, T1 changed things up during the pick and ban phase. Ditching scaling, they chose Kalista, denied Sylas, and rounded it up with Nocturne jungle.
BLG went with what worked in game one — Ashe and Rumble, and responded to their opponent’s lineup with Galio, Xin Zhao, and Rakan.
Using the tools they were given, T1 instigated early lane swaps, out maneuvered their opponents, and found picks successfully because they had the damage to do so unlike the previous game. They put themselves up six kills to three from early to mid game.
During a mid game skirmish at top side river, BLG brought Faker down to a quarter health — but their positioning cost them big time.
Seeing three members of BLG grouped up, Choi “Zeus” Woo-je’s Ornn flashed in for the knock-up, which was perfectly comboed with Renata Glasc’s Hostile Takeover. Unable to move, BLG perished in T1’s re-engage.
A key turning point in the game, the LPL number one seed couldn’t claw anything back because T1 out-damaged them every fight. Gumayusi’s Kalista and Mun “Oner” Hyeon-jun’s Nocturne were two major outputs.
Double wombo-combo for the winners of game three
Game three is the first game we see BLG on the blue side and right off the bat, they deny Kalista. But because of this, Chen “Bin” Ze-Bin’s signature champion Jax was in turn, denied.
They built more synergy in their team composition compared to game two in Kalista-Blitzcrank and a classic, Kindred-Galio, which provides a lot of protection for the backline or whoever gets caught.
Grabbing the third consecutive first blood of the final, BLG roamed the map with Luo “ON” Wen-Jun’s Blitzcrank. They ganked all lanes and caught T1 out of rotation, amassing five kills to none.
They brought it up to seven before T1 attempted a deep Teleport flank at the 21-minute mark. Even though it was 3v2, Galio and Rumble were too tanky and barely lost any HP. By the time the rest of the team caught up, it was too late, as BLG’s carries wiped the floor. With Baron buff and a second follow-up push, they put themselves ahead in the series with this 27-minute victory.
Game four’s sinful drafts
Backs against the wall, T1 blind picked Sylas mid on blue side . Even though Faker got countered by Smolder, he pulled his weight in team fights.
Despite BLG’s double AP and AD scaling team composition, they still chose to take fights early, which did not work out the way they planned. Both teams kept trading kills across the board, before things exploded in the mid game.
Positioning himself to the side, Faker used Hijack to steal The Quickness, then propelled himself forward onto both of BLG’s carries, finding the two most important targets. The rest of his team followed up with their combo of linear spells.
Turning the tides, they finally took the gold lead, then Chemtech Dragon Soul, and the game to stay in the series.
Silver Scrapes at the Worlds 2024 final
Drafts in this game five were possibly the most interesting of the lot as both teams leaned into their strengths. T1 on red side chose to ban Kalista, which means that Bin was finally free to pick up Jax, a champion that is synonymous with his name.
In response, Zeus got his hands on Gragas, which he holds an impressive 23-4 record on. Faker joins the front line on Galio in T1’s “protect the Xayah team composition.”
BLG reaped first blood again, making it five out of five this series. Unlike the past few games, however, they were more controlled. Jax and Kai’Sa after all, require items to come online.
After a 25-minute standstill, T1 turned the tides in a full-on 5v5 — and it’s Faker once again who turned the tides with Galio’s ultimate. A second clutch fight in the top lane where he escaped with a sliver of health led them to eliminate four BLG members and their base to be crowned Worlds 2024 champion.
For his exceptional playmaking abilities, Faker was awarded the Worlds 2024 final MVP, his second after their Worlds 2016 run. At the post-final press conference, T1 also shared their first thoughts on which champions they’d like to get Worlds 2024 skins for.
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