Gen.G may have won the LCK Summer 2022 finals in a 3-0 sweep against longtime rivals T1, but don’t get the wrong idea — none of the games were a stomp.
The most fragile that T1 looked was in game two when the team flexed Renekton to mid, which Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok took against Jeong “Chovy” Ji-hoon’s Sylas. The team put Mun “Oner” Hyeon-jun on Morgana jungle, who had no answer to Gen.G’s mid pressure applied by Han “Peanut” Wang-ho’s Sejuani and Son “Lehends” Si-woo’s trademark Singed support.
In games one and three, both teams were neck and neck in terms of gold, and it was up to either team to show up during crucial team fights around objectives. Gen.G’s members stepped up as a unit when it mattered and pushed their champions to the limit.
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Gen.G’s team fighting in the LCK Summer 2022 finals deserves praise
19 minutes into game one, both teams were tied in gold. Gen.G led by one dragon, while T1 had two kills to zero.
After Cloud Drake and Ocean Drake, the third was Infernal, an important buff to contest. T1 started the dragon but gave up leash control when it dropped to below 50% health, which caused it to move back into its default position into the welcoming arms of Gen.G’s jungler.
Even though Oner managed to steal the buff, Gen.G did not back down. In the frontline, Sejuani and Aatrox bought so much time for the team with Stopwatch and World Ender respectively in a 2v4. On extremely low health, Choi “Doran” Hyeon-joon’s Aatrox flashed out over the wall and miraculously lived.
At this juncture, all five T1 members found themselves stuck in the pit between a rock and a hard place, with all their abilities on cooldown. The moment they tried to walk out, Park “Ruler” Jae-hyuk’s Zeri went on the assault, picking them off one by one for a triple kill.
The tempo Gen.G amassed from this one fight was huge. Right after, they secured the first Baron in the game, and later on, Infernal Dragon soul. Ruler’s Zeri was a menace who ended with a whopping 16 kills and only one death, running down every team fight on one of his best champions.
After struggling with the draft in game two, T1 were determined to keep themselves in the series in game three. In the late game 33 minutes in, they were only down by just over a thousand gold. After a tussle that chipped HP bars on both sides, Chovy’s Azir recalled to fountain and teleported back to Baron pit at full health.
Because the pit had been cleared of vision, T1 could not see anything and were desperate to contest. Top laner Choi “Zeus” Woo-je’s made the decision to teleport onto a Vision Ward at the small bush by top lane. Even before the channel could be completed, the entire Gen.G squad stopped Baron and moved towards him.
Though his teammates were on the opposite side of the river, Zeus did not flash towards them, but rather, further away towards the top side, isolating himself from the team and dying for no cause.
Left 4v5, T1 did their best to keep the pressure on their opponents. Oner’s Vi made a last ditch attempt to steal Baron over the wall at the back side of the pit, while Faker’s Ahri went straight for Ruler. Without their tank Mordekaiser however, T1 had no frontline, which left Lee “Gumayusi” Min-hyeong’s Sivir in a vulnerable spot.
Sweeping the floor, Gen.G made a beeline down mid lane with Baron buff to win the series 3-0 against the one team they could not seem to beat all these years. Previously, they lost to T1 3-1 in the LCK Summer 2021 semifinals and again at the LCK Spring 2022 finals.
The momentous victory is also extra special for Ruler, Doran, Chovy, and Lehends, who just won their first LCK title. Ruler previously took home the World Championship in 2017 with Samsung Galaxy, but had never won a title domestically until now.
Both Gen.G and T1 are qualified to Worlds 2022, which will run from September 29 to November 5.
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