Led by its hero Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok, South Korean team T1 won the League of Legends video game world championship on Saturday, November 2 in London for the fifth time, a new record.
At the end of a final of almost four hours of play, the T1 players defeated the Chinese Bilibili Gaming (3-2), winning a second consecutive title in the competition. They also won in 2013, 2015 and 2016, with “Fake” in common denominator.
The immense O2 Arena in the British capital hosted the final of the “Worlds”the most anticipated event of the year for fans of video game competitions. Warmed up by the group Linkin Park, who performed at the opening of the show, the spectators gave a triumphant welcome to the players of the two teams, with special affection for “Faker”, who enjoys iconic status in electronic sports in the age 28 years old.
Indecisive confrontation
The matchup seemed especially indecisive: the two teams had met six times in the last eighteen months with three wins each.
BLG started very strong, not giving T1 any chance in the first set. But the South Koreans immediately got back on track and dominated the second in spectacular fashion. The rest was largely Bilibili Gaming’s advantage during a third “game” unilateral, which offered a match point to the Chinese.
It was then that “Faker” took matters into his own hands, appearing when necessary to save his team with an XXL performance. He once again took responsibility in the decisive round before apnea spectators, leading T1 to another victory.
Hundreds of fans gathered in Seoul
Something rare in electronic sports where player transfers are much more frequent than in traditional sports, the team was formed for the third consecutive year by the same five players, “Zeus”, “Oner”, “Gumayusi” and “Keria” accompanying “Faker”.
League of legends (LoL) is an extremely popular game played five against five and the objective of which is to destroy the opposing team’s stronghold. Historically, South Korea has been the dominant nation in the competition, but in recent years, Chinese teams have ventured into the sport.
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BLG had hoped to offer China a fourth title, but in the end it is South Korea, the historic land of esports, that lifts the trophy once again.
Although the match started around midnight in Korea due to the time difference, hundreds of T1 fans gathered at LoL Park, an esports venue in central Seoul. As always, “Faker”, officially recognized as “national treasure” In his country, he made the room roar with each of his appearances on screen.
