T1’s Loss Sparks Controversy in LCK Cup 2025
Recently, T1 faced defeat against Hanwha Life Esports in a “survival match” at the LCK Cup 2025. This marks T1’s second loss in the opening stage of the 2025 LCK season, continuing a journey fraught with challenges, despite T1 being a team that has achieved the best Baron stats.
Interestingly, this is the first time in nearly 5 years that T1 has faced such setbacks. Historically, they have performed well in playoff rounds of major LCK tournaments. Since then, the discourse surrounding the legitimacy of the LCK Cup 2025 has intensified.
According to reports, if the team representing the Golden Ring Age, Nongshim RedForce, continues to maintain their position in the LCK Cup 2025, they will first face KT Rolster, a well-known team renowned for their intense rivalry. This will also be the toughest match for them in the playoffs leading up to their encounter with Gen.G – HLE.
Moreover, even after their defeat against Dplus KIA, NS continues to compete in the LCK Cup 2025. Meanwhile, T1 and HLE are two teams that have consistently achieved the best Baron stats and will need to avoid facing each other as the playoffs of the LCK Cup 2025 progress beyond just Round 1. Only after winning this round will the teams have further opportunities.
These developments are indeed quite… contentious. In fact, NS has nearly lost all matches against the Baron teams but remains higher in the standings than T1, a team that has only lost one match in the round robin stage. Fans are rightfully concerned for T1, as their competitors (DK, Gen.G, KT) seem to be performing exceptionally well.
LCK Organizers May Need to Reconsider Tournament Legitimacy After T1’s Situation
The LCK Cup 2025 initially aimed to introduce the Fearless Draft format and find representatives from the LCK to participate in Riot’s new tournament. However, with the excitement that the tournament brings, the LCK organizers may need to carefully consider more equitable formats to avoid the potential backlash from teams impacted by external factors.
Therefore, if the teams continue to perform poorly in Baron stats, this tournament could have yielded different results. The inconsistency of T1’s performance is apparent, as they have been categorized as having “low efficiency,” while teams with lesser achievements are still able to continue their journey.
