T1 have survived an elimination match in the LCK Summer playoffs, prolonging their winning streak following Lee ‘Faker’ Sang-hyeok’s return from injury.
T1 beat fourth-seed Dplus 3-1 on August 9 to enter the double-elimination phase of the playoffs, where they will join Hanwha Life Esports, KT Rolster, and Gen.G Esports in a battle for the LCK Summer trophy.
In the third game of the series, Faker went 5/2/3 on Corki, picking up his 17th straight win with the champion. That was his best game of the series, in which Choi ‘Zeus’ Woo-je was a constant threat on Aatrox.
Advancing to Round 2 of 2023 #LCK Summer Playoffs: @T1LoL! pic.twitter.com/L2IFxCxWqm
— LCK (@LCK) August 9, 2023
This was T1’s third consecutive victory since Faker returned to action on August 4 after a month on the sidelines with an arm injury. The improvements were immediate as T1 beat Kwangdong Freecs and SANDBOX Gaming to finish the regular season in fifth place with a 9-9 record.
In the following round of the playoffs, T1 will face KT Rolster, who, as the No.1 seed, got to choose their opponent. The match is scheduled for August 10 at 1 am PT.
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Questioned after the Dplus series about his recovery, Faker said that he’s slowly finding his form back.
“I’m playing with a posture that allows me to be free from those main symptoms,” he is quoted by Naver as saying. “It’s getting better, and I’m still adjusting to the posture. I’m slowly building my game up.”
Even though T1 are not yet qualified for Worlds 2023, Faker already seems to be looking ahead to the international event. He said that he would like to have “a good match” if he faced JD Gaming, whom T1 lost to in the MSI 2023 upper bracket final. The reigning MSI winners are one of the four LPL teams that have qualified for Worlds, alongside Bilibili Gaming, LNG Esports and Weibo Gaming.