Preface: The S15 season is fully over, and most players have surely been paying attention to the recent off-season. The LCK region’s entertainment matches attracted a lot of attention, with multiple elite teams competing consecutively, resulting in a relatively good competitive vibe. Since LPL fans cannot watch the live streams, many have resorted to alternative ways to follow the scores. T1’s first match went quite well, with Peyz earning MVP, while Gen encountered problems, losing three straight matches and becoming the first team eliminated. Meanwhile, T1 was manipulated by capital interests who twisted official narrative and distorted in-team voice chats to fabricate internal discord.

T1 manipulated by LCK capital interests

Most players still pay close attention to T1 as one of the top teams in the LCK region. Over recent years, T1 has achieved outstanding results, and their performance has helped maintain League of Legends’ popularity steadily. It was expected that LCK would give special support to T1 this time, but surprisingly they faced some suppression. It even seems that LCK capital isn’t particularly friendly toward T1. After all, T1 dominates the scene, capturing the vast majority of LCK fans’ attention, leaving other teams with little spotlight. Such unhealthy development is actually not beneficial for the LCK overall.

Recently, an issue arose with T1’s in-team voice recordings released by LCK officials, causing a huge uproar on Korean forums. This was a blatant distortion of facts. During the decisive match between T1 and AL, in the team fight where Santas used TP to the bot lane, the official video showed Faker ordering the formation to scatter and retreat, but Oner disobeyed, saying he couldn’t retreat. Meanwhile, Little Lu Bu saved the team, downplaying Faker’s role. However, this was not true. Multiple T1 players publicly stated during review sessions that Oner’s Mundo positioning was a team decision, not solely his, and Faker played a crucial role in that fight. The misaligned voice clips completely misrepresented the team’s intentions.

So far, LCK officials have not issued any apology regarding this matter. Many Korean fans are demanding that T1 hold LCK’s responsible parties accountable and protect their players. Frankly, it feels like LCK is somewhat resentful of Faker’s dominance. The search for a successor has been ongoing for years—from Chovy to Showmaker—but none have succeeded. If Faker falters or retires, LCK will likely fall into a deep decline. The officials probably want to cultivate a successor, but no one has caught up to Faker’s level yet. LCK should consider that without Faker, LPL teams might have already taken the championship these past years.

In the K Cup entertainment tournament, T1 also won their opening match. Although top laner Doran was solo killed by Japan’s Sion, it wasn’t critical. Peyz secured MVP, and the overall form was decent. The unfortunate team was Gen, who lost consecutively to C9 and Vietnam teams on the first day. On the second day, they were swept by BFX, with all three matches lasting less than an hour and a half combined. On the second day, their jungler Canyon didn’t even play. This three-game losing streak made Gen the first team eliminated from the competition. Are they already preparing to give up?

Farewell thoughts

It seems that subjective bias from staff is not only present in the LPL region but also exists in LCK. Previously, some LPL staff members acted improperly toward certain teams. Likely, after investigation, LCK concluded this was also the personal behavior of some staff. It’s puzzling why Faker is singled out so much. If they really dislike him, why not just let him join an LPL team?

What do all the viewers think about this situation?