At the LCK KesPa Cup, only one BO5 match remains to decide the champion. On the previous matchday, DK and T1 faced off in the losers' bracket final. The series went the full distance, with T1 ultimately advancing to the finals thanks to Peyz’s strong performance. Unfortunately, DK failed to qualify; despite winning the first two games, they were pushed to the final match where T1 made a comeback from a large deficit.

In the first game, T1 seemed half-asleep, with the mid and jungle lanes falling behind DK’s counterparts. DK closed out the match in just 27 minutes. The second game saw T1 still struggling, with Peyz being outperformed by Smash, earning MVP honors. Just when everyone started mocking T1, the players suddenly woke up: Peyz’s Caitlyn dominated in the third game, scoring back-to-back quadrakills and easily leveling the series. The fourth game was even more impressive, with Doran stepping up to carry.

In the decider, DK maintained the lead. Doran made a critical mistake early, giving kills away, and Olaf started 0-3. By 18 minutes, DK held an 8,300 gold advantage over T1, a position that usually guarantees victory. However, Xu suddenly lost his way in the jungle, gifting Peyz a crucial 1,000-gold kill. In the subsequent team fights, DK’s coordination fell apart, with players repeatedly dying one after another.

The support was caught out and killed, the jungler was instantly taken down upon entering fights. Siwoo’s Renekton managed to secure two kills, but Peyz was too slippery, sticking close to Xu and dealing heavy damage, securing a quadrakill. Unfortunately, Peyz was killed by Faker diving under the tower, missing a potential pentakill. T1 managed to claw back over 4,000 gold in economy through that team fight. DK’s composition of Ziggs, Renekton, and Qiyana began to falter in the late game, allowing T1 to complete the comeback.

Being able to overturn an 8K deficit is truly absurd; T1’s performance was incredible. To summarize this match: T1 was sweating heavily, lost the match point, and came back from 2-0 down to win 3-2. They truly are the world’s most popular team, knowing exactly how to create drama. If Xu hadn’t been caught and given Peyz that 1,000 gold kill, DK likely would have won. After that mistake, Peyz had the resources to make game-changing plays.

They played well early on but unexpectedly collapsed in the mid-game, wasting four hours of effort. Next time, they might as well concede early and skip the slow parts, giving fans hope before pulling off a big play at the crucial moment—who could handle that? That said, DK showed they can go toe-to-toe with HLE and T1 in full BO5 series. Next year’s DK looks promising, with much stronger potential than this year. With better team synergy, they could secure a stable top-four finish.

However, T1 is not yet at their strongest since Peyz joined; the team hasn’t trained together as a unit. Faker mentioned in an interview that recently they have only done individual practice during free time. After finishing the Red Bull Cup, they competed in the KesPa Cup, and upcoming is the "Four Nations Showmatch" in Vietnam. The schedule is packed, and these matches also serve as practice. The team needs to address and fix some internal issues moving forward.

The upcoming grand final features HLE versus T1, both top-tier LCK teams likely to go the full BO5 distance. HLE’s biggest problem is Kanavi’s tendency to go on tilt. Although Zeus privately confronted him, such impulsive behavior is hard to correct quickly. T1 struggles with consistency but shows great resilience. It’s still uncertain who will claim the championship.

Conclusion:

All three top teams in the KesPa Cup have AD carries developed by T1’s academy, proving T1’s global leadership in youth training. Although Smash is from the second team, his playstyle resembles his older brother’s—high damage output but somewhat careless dodging. The coach needs to work on that. If DK improves their teamwork next year, they have the strength to challenge T1 and HLE.

So, who do you think will win the championship, T1 or HLE?

Feel free to leave your thoughts and discuss!