Gen G are your 2023 LCK Spring Split Champions

It looks like the tables have turned. T1 has long been considered Gen G’s kryptonite in the LCK. And that’s understandable considering someone has to come in second place when the greatest League of Legends player of all time in Faker has spent his entire decade-long career with T1 or formerly known as SK Telecom. But since adding mid laner Chovy, Gen G has won 2 straight LCK titles, beating T1 both times to do so. 

2023 LCK Spring Split Recap

It’s the second season T1 is running with this iteration of the roster. Top laner Zeus replaced Canna heading into the 2022 season, and their reign of dominance has continued on the same trajectory. The 2023 LCK Spring Split was no different, with T1 dismantling teams on a regular basis. The result of this was a 17-1 record, with their only loss coming against Hanwha Life Esports led by reigning World Champions Zeka and Kingen alongside superstar bot laner Viper.

Gen G or short for Generation Gaming came in tied for second with KT Rolster, with both teams mustering a 13-5 record. And while T1 was steamrolling teams throughout the regular season, Gen G still had things to worry about. Their franchise piece in bot laner Ruler left during the 2022 offseason, joining LPL juggernaut JDG after finally winning an LCK title and MVP award during their run in the 2022 LCK Summer Split. Working in a completely new bot lane featuring a rookie bot laner named Peyz that doesn’t turn 18 until December of this year was supposed to be a challenge for Gen G. They were always going to be competitive, but their title aspirations were shrouded in doubt.

2023 LCK Spring Split Playoffs

But that was the case until the playoffs rolled around. T1 and Gen G had the first week off since they were the first two seeds. And while Gen G was methodically choking teams out of resources en route to a clean 3-1 victory over HLE, T1 had nerve wrecking games left and right. Their entire playstyle that made them so explosive and hard to deal with was having trouble adjusting to best of five competitions. And nowhere was that more evident than in game 5 of their first-round matchup against KT Rolster. Going for aggressive plays creates a lot of leads but also exposes your team to unnecessary risks. 

And KT abused that perfectly, jumping out to a 5000 gold lead by the 20 minute mark in the deciding game 5. Multiple Baron and Elder Dragon buffs later, T1 managed to close out the game in 55 minutes despite their base being in shambles. The entire series was a hard test, but that last game was a marathon of mental fortitude and precision. The following week T1 handed Gen G a 3-1 loss that sent them to the lower bracket. Despite the result, the games were much closer than one would expect, even though watching them you would think that T1 were in control all along. But that only made the Grand Finals even spicier. 

2023 LCK Spring Split Grand Finals

With that win, T1 qualified for the Grand Finals. Gen G had to fight through the lower bracket, where they beat KT Rolster with a score of 3-1. The stage was set for a rematch and nearly everyone had an idea of who would win. T1 was the clear favorite, having beaten them a week ago and resting while Gen G were showing their cards fighting through the lower bracket.

Game one kicked off with both teams putting pressure, resulting in 6 kills in the first 15 minutes. That’s not the case for most LCK games, but when T1 shows up, there is always action. Unfortunately for them, that fighting did not work out in their favor. The gold difference was miniscule until the end of the game, but T1 was losing every fight. They lost 4 drakes, the cloud soul and 2 Baron buffs to seal the deal. Gen G top laner Doran has an exceptional performance on Gragas, which combined with the Wukong and Rakan ultimate abilities meant that superstar bot laner for T1 Gumayusi could not play the game. Fights were already decided with a precise engage from Gen G before he could make an impact, and it led to Gen G taking game one.

Gen G take game two

Game two was more of the same, with both teams being dead even in gold and kills 30 minutes into the game. But Gen G managed to get Wukong and Gragas once again, and even though there was no Rakan anymore, those champions still managed to be more useful in fights than the Kennen and Lux picks T1 top laner Zeus and support Keria went for. Gen G found a way to counter T1 by abusing their tendency to pick carry champions such as Jayce and Kennen in the top lane. The Gragas Casks decided so many fights and created so much pressure that Gen G were able to collect the Hextech soul, the Baron buff and the T1’s base in the next 7 minutes to go up 2-0 in the series.

T1 bounces back in game three

T1 finally noticed their shortcomings and took Wukong while banning Gragas in game three, to force Gen G to adapt. They still managed to come away with a 2000 gold lead and 2 drakes by the 20 minute mark, signaling to everyone that their strong early game and macro were not flukes, but rather a sign of clean methodical League of Legends gameplay. Gen G tried to convert this lead into a Baron buff, but with T1 having two Smites thanks to Faker’s Veigar pick which used the Unsealed Spellbook rune, T1 managed to steal the objective despite losing the subsequent team fight.

With T1 marching down toward Gen G’s base, the team felt compelled to go for another fight. But this time around, T1 had a Sion in the top lane, not a carry champ. Combining this with a dual threat team composition with Faker on Veigar and Gumayusi on Jinx, meant that T1 could dictate the pace of the fight, which escalated after the Jinx got excited. 6 of Gen G’s towers fell in less than 5 minutes, as T1 managed to cut the lead to 2-1.

Gen G win LCK title in game four

Gen G proved they deserved the title by pulling the rug from under T1’s feet in game 4. They took their playbook, drafting 2 tanks and a Lulu for their Tristana and Jinx, with Chovy taking the Tristana in the mid lane. With the roles being reversed, T1 had a 5 kill, 2 drakes and 2000 gold lead at 18 minutes, but Gen G had the better team composition. T1 drafted Ahri and Lee Sin, two champions that want to engage, kill and get out. But they surrounded them with a Sion that has no way to assist them, and a bot lane of Aphelios and Braum, two champions that like kiting back and being engaged upon.

T1’s mid jungle duo had a rough time against the Maokai and Lulu and the peel they provided. T1 lost two fights in a row, handing over the Baron buff to Gen G. Combining this with the range Tristana and Jinx got as they leveled up, meant that T1 had no hope of winning this game unless Gen G made several consecutive blunders. T1 did their best to force fights, but Gen G always inched a bit closer before closing out the game in 35 minutes. With this 3-1 win, Gen G handed T1 their second consecutive loss in the Grand Finals of the domestic competition. The entire Gen G squad played great, with rookie bot laner Peyz receiving MVP honors for his impressive performance. 

Faker Celebrates 10 Years of Greatness

And while everyone talks about this T1 squad losing 4 of the last 5 finals they have attended both internationally and domestically, the end of this split means that Faker has officially played League of Legends competitively for a decade. That in itself is an achievement on its own, considering most Esports careers barely last more than 2 years. We probably don’t need to give you a retrospective of his career or how dominant he has been since joining SKT. And while everyone is freaking out about the future of T1 following this LCK Finals loss, let’s take a look at Faker’s performance during this 2023 LCK Spring Split.

Throughout the 9 weeks prior to the playoffs, T1 played 18 best of three series against the rest of the LCK. During that period, this were Faker’s statistics compared to other LCK mid laners:

• CS per min – 8.2 – 10th
• CS% in the team after 15 min – 23.1% – 10th
• GD% in the team – 21.3% – 10th
• DPM – 642 – 2nd

On top of this, in those 39  separate games, he topped the damage graph within the team 17 times while doing the most damage from both teams 13 times. League of Legends is a game of numbers, with gold and experience being the most important ones.

During these 10 years of his dominance, Faker has transcended League of Legends. When you can do the most damage in the game without taking resources, that enables your teammates to become the best version of themselves. As T1 recover and learn from this loss with their sights set on the international opponents awaiting them in Europe for MSI, Faker is poised to reclaim his throne by guiding this young squad through the growing hardships they have experienced recently.