The LCK Mid-Season Cup Qualifiers' winners' bracket final is over. HLE played against T1, and after just four games, Hanwha Life won, taking the first MSI slot for LCK. Because both teams were in the winners' bracket, HLE's victory immediately secures them the LCK's number one seed, allowing them to skip the play-in stage and enter the main event. The second seed will be contested among T1, KT, and GEN.

HLE's victory in this BO5 was surprisingly easy. Almost every game, a T1 player was outmatched. Even when they had a chance to turn things around, someone would make a mistake and throw away the opportunity. In the first game, Doran was targeted, losing his first tower at 13 minutes and feeding a fed Jayce. However, the mid, jungle, and bot lanes held the line, and T1 even managed to secure the dragon soul in the mid game. But in the late game, Oner got caught out alone, directly handing the game to HLE.

After T1 tied the series in the second game, Oner ran into trouble again in the pivotal third game. He ventured into the jungle with no vision and got ambushed, not only dying himself but also dragging down his mid laner. That death cost them the Baron. Later, in HLE's dragon soul fight, T1 initiated the dragon but Kanavi stole it, ending the game quickly. The decisive game needs little explanation—all lanes were winning for HLE, and Oner seemed completely lost. The support hooked an enemy, and Oner promptly knocked them away with a hammer.

Over four games, T1 lost every lane. The only game they won came from their opponents making mistakes. To put it bluntly, this BO5 was essentially 4-0. T1's laning phase was terrible—bot lane was weak, top lane was weak, and mid lane was weak too. Given that state, winning even one game exceeded expectations. Oner was also completely disoriented: when his teammates weren't ahead, he didn't know how to play, constantly making mistakes in team fights.

Aside from the support, who put in a decent effort, the other four T1 members performed poorly. Doran and Peyz playing this badly was somewhat expected, but Faker and Oner failing to step up in a single game was truly puzzling. Based on this performance, it's clear why LCK chose Canyon for the Asian Games—Kanavi, when not playing recklessly, easily dominated his counterpart and took the MVP. What more can be said?

After falling into the losers' bracket, T1's chances of going to MSI have further decreased. If GEN makes it through, T1 in their current form definitely won't be able to handle them. However, if KT suddenly pulls off an upset and eliminates GEN, then T1 might still have a chance—after all, BDD is known to be Faker's personal "battery charger." If KT reaches the losers' bracket final, they might send T1 to MSI. But that possibility is quite slim.

Two players who came from T1 have proven themselves by defeating their former team. Zeus still seems to hold some resentment toward T1—when signing autographs after the match, he wrote "GG" in front of everyone. Gumayusi was more sentimental. During a post-match interview, when asked which team he predicted would become the second seed, he immediately replied, "I think T1 will be the second seed."

His former team kicked him out, and now they're playing poorly, yet he still hopes T1 can advance. Calling that "greatness" is not an exaggeration. TES has already made it to MSI, and now HLE has as well. Both teams go directly into the main event, so if they meet, it should be interesting to watch. JackeyLove and Creme know Kanavi very well. I wonder if TES's infamous "full team rush to the F6 camp" strategy could drive Kanavi crazy—honestly, I'm a bit excited to see that.

Conclusion:

T1 really needs to find their form now. Although they still have one more chance to compete for the slot, with their current performance, even against KT, it feels like they can't win. Doran can't even survive when playing tank champions—he really needs to reflect. The rest of the team also needs to improve their laning ability; otherwise, they'll collapse early and can't expect to come back every single game.

So, do you think T1 can still make it to MSI?

Feel free to leave your comments and discuss!