T1 leaves fans skeptical after almost losing to Team Liquid at Worlds 2023

T1 is a team that needs no introduction, and they’re really hoping to finally get the Worlds 2023 title after falling short so many years in a row. However, their first match at the event was way closer than many thought it’d be, leaving fans and analysts skeptical of the team.

T1 vs Team Liquid is the sort of game that was made out to be one-sided from the get-go. Not many had faith Team Liquid would manage to win the set going in, with most writing it off as a win for T1 before the game started.

However, after a strong showing from Team Liquid in the Swiss Stage’s very first matchup at Worlds 2023, some T1 fans have been left worried about how good the team’s going to look.

While TL didn’t win, they made it incredibly close. With Faker getting caught out multiple times and T1 making some key errors at certain points in the game, there’s certainly cause for concern for those who are hoping T1 can win it all this year. Especially considering this could be the last year this T1 roster sticks together.

Team Liquid push T1 to the brink at Worlds 2023

Though Team Liquid have come into Worlds 2023 as the third seed NA team, they gave NRG a run for their money in the playoffs and have had a drastically increased power level with APA on the roster.

That said, the fact that they almost won against T1 didn’t come from their raw skill alone. With Faker getting caught in sidelanes multiple times, Oner having incredibly low impact in comparison to Pyosik, and Team Liquid playing better around objectives overall, T1’s being called out despite winning the match.

Twitter, Reddit, and other social media platforms are filled with the sentiment that Pyosik looked incredible, but that Oner also didn’t do much to stop him. Considering Oner was a player many pointed to as a problem on T1 through 2023, him getting so heavily outperformed by Pyosik doesn’t bode well.

Fans on HUPU were particularly hard on Oner and Faker in this match. Gumayusi and Zeus had strong showings and were able to close out the match, but that hasn’t shaken the rampant skepticism.

LS, meanwhile, was even more critical of T1 than usual. He’s been outspoken in the past about T1’s drafting and overall macro being subpar despite the team’s incredibly high level of individual skill, but he felt like they looked worse than usual.

The idea that it was an underwhelming end to a banger of a game is a widely held sentiment. Team Liquid really held their own for most of the match, only for them to take one bad fight against T1 and lose it all.

While T1 showed their true colors at the end with an incredibly one-sided teamfight, the rest of the match has shaken some fans’ confidence in the team.

However, there are many who feel like Team Liquid just played extremely well and executed their draft the way they needed to in order to give themselves the best chance of winning. Perhaps it was an off-day for T1 and they weren’t expecting Team Liquid to play as well as they did.

Considering T1’s downward spiral earlier this year, T1 fans being concerned about how strong the team will be is certainly nothing new. It remains to be seen if they can pick things up and become the best team in the world this year.