T1 vs Edward Gaming

Talk about an absolute spectacle — EDward Gaming taking on T1 is all but guaranteed to result in fireworks, so if you're a fan of top-tier League and happen to have an hour to spare, definitely make sure to tune in! This, in short, is what dreams are made of: a clash between LPL and LCK royalty. Still, there's a noticeable gap in terms of momentum behind these two teams. On the one side, we have the reigning Chinese champions, a team that went through thick and thin in order to mount the LPL throne. On the other, we have T1, a venerable Korean giant, but also a team that simply paled in comparison to DWG KIA.

Now, on the one hand, there' no shame in losing to one of the best teams ever assembled in competitive LoL history, but we still hoped that they'd be able to make things a bit more competitive. A few close games are by no means enough to build hype and dethrone a team as dangerous and capable as DWG.

But that's all in the past. How did these two teams perform in their very first outing on the Worlds stage? Well, in short, they were absolutely sublime. T1 had a much easier time seeing how they faced DetonatioN FocusMe rather than 100 Thieves, but at least they made next to no mistakes and basically blew the LJL champions out of the water. It was an absolute shellacking and, well, for a good minute there it was a bit too hard to watch — it as a beatdown of the highest degree, as if they were playing against a bunch of solo queue randoms rather than a team fit to compete on the Worlds stage.

So that one game, in short, told us one important thing: T1 are well-equipped to dominate and are motivated to leave a mark. Still, it's just a single game against a relatively weak opponent (weak in relation to most major regions), so it should definitely be taken with a bit of reserve.

By the same token, EDward Gaming outclassed 100 Thieves with ease, and if Scout continues playing at this level, this LPL behemoth will no doubt stand a chance of leaving a mark. Whether they're better than T1 specifically still remains to be seen, but they're definitely favored and, well, there's a good reason why. Until we see one of these top-tier LPL giants bleed (LNG Esports doesn't really count) we simply have to consider them the favorites almost by default. There's just no other way to put it, really. They revel in today's hectic, skirmish-heavy meta, and their unhinged style of play and mechanical ingenuity provides them with a most noticeable upper hand, no matter whom they're up against. The only team equipped to compete is DWG KIA, and we already knew as much even before they beat FunPlus Phoenix to a pulp.

So, needless to say, we're siding with EDward Gaming on this one, but it's definitely going to be close!