League of Legends Worlds 2022 has its first finalist, as Korean powerhouse T1 managed to overcome Chinese first seed JD Gaming 3-1 in a thrilling series that could certainly rank among the best of all time.
T1 found itself at a game deficit early on in the series as JDG struck first blood. However, in game two things began to get a little spicy in the draft, with Seo ‘Kanavi’ Jin-hyeok locking in his notorious Bel’Veth, and Lee ‘Faker’ Sang-hyeok opting for his patented Ryze. Although all eyes were initially on both players to see how they would perform, it was Choi ‘Zeus’ Woo-je who stole the show with his fancy footwork on Yone.
As T1 pulled apart the map in game two, opening up a path for victory, the team decided to go all-in on global pressure in game three. Here, Nocturne made his Worlds 2022 debut, as Mun ‘Oner’ Hyeon-jun found himself sandwiched between fellow global ult-toters Ryze and Gangplank.
While globals weren’t quite on the menu in the fourth and final game, an Azir masterclass from Faker was. Time after time, fight after fight, the undeniable greatest of all time scooped up JDG’s hopes (and Hope), and threw them to the curb.
T1 now moves on to face the winner of tomorrow’s LoL Worlds Semifinal Gen.G and DRX, potentially setting up a 2022 LCK Summer Playoffs rerun should the reigning LCK champion get the job done.
