T1 are back to winning on the international stage after claiming victory at the inaugural Esports World Cup. The reigning League of Legends world champion took home the trophy after defeating the LPL’s Top Esports in a comeback 3-1 victory.
Gumayusi was among the notable top performers in the tournament, but that is not all Gumayusi was recognized for. The LCK ADC hard-flexed on the entire tournament by playing a unique League champion in every game. This means for 10 games straight, Guma was on a new champion. Here is the complete list:
- Kai’Sa vs. BLG
- Senna vs. BLG
- Jhin vs. BLG
- Ezreal vs. Team Liquid
- Caitlyn vs. Team Liquid
- Sivir vs. Team Liquid
- Zeri vs. Top Esports
- Kalista vs. Top Esports
- Ashe vs. Top Esports
- Xayah vs. Top Esports
While his intentions were unclear, fans on Reddit pointed to Gumayusi potentially adopting a fearless draft approach. In 2025, the fearless draft format will be coming to professional League. Perhaps the EWC was an opportunity for Gumayusi to test out his champion pool against the international competition ahead of those changes.
Although none of the champions he selected were off-meta in any sense, it does pose the question of whether teams were using the Saudi Arabian event as a testing opportunity to prepare for a much bigger event in Worlds 2024. T1 at the EWC gave Gumayusi more love than they have done in recent times, with a counter-pick rate of 88 percent, according to Oracle’s Elixir. In the LCK, that percentage drops significantly to 29 percent.
T1 now returns to Korea as they look to climb the LCK ladder once more. The squad is tied for fourth place, having recently lost to KT Rolster before departing for the EWC.
