With Worlds 2023 entering the first-ever Swiss stage, let’s see what we can expect from the opening series between T1 and TL.
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Worlds 2023 Swiss Stage – T1 vs TL – October 19, 07:00 CET
In the new Swiss stage, the top 16 teams will have to win three matches out of five rounds to qualify for the Knockout stage. To learn everything about the new format, check out our info page.
LCK #2 seed T1 and LCS #3 seed Team Liquid will clash in the first match that will officially kick off the Worlds 2023 Main Event. With the tournament taking place in South Korea, there will be a lot of hype and support for Faker and the rest of the T1 squad, as they are chasing their fourth World Championship title.
Team Liquid, on the other hand, will want to prove themselves that they are not just mere passengers in this Swiss Stage. Let’s see what are their chances going into this series.
Read more: LoL Worlds 2023 Power Rankings
The ultimate Korean clash
Considering T1 and its pool of players, this should be almost guaranteed to be a T1 win. Not only have they shown strong performances (aside from when Faker was benched) but the LCK team is known to step up hugely toward the end of the season.
Even though they lost to Gen.G in the LCK Summer Finals, the team still has immense potential and they will definitely make a step up at Worlds 2023. The question is whether T1 will be able to make the correct meta read and find things that work out for them while also having adaptability when things get rough. That was what they struggled with the most at MSI and every time they had their back against the wall.
For TL, this series will be more of a learning opportunity for them. As long as they can keep up with T1 in the early game, they might have a chance later. It doesn’t matter whether they lose, as long as they can learn and improve from their enemies.
I’m interested in seeing the top lane matchup between Summit and Zeus: both have strong carry potential so their laning phase might be exciting. Same thing for the bottom lane: Gumayusi and Keria are scary but Yeon and CoreJJ might have a card up their sleeve. Nonetheless, T1 will eventually win out in the mid and late-game fights with the superior macro. Let’s see how much TL can last: it will probably be over by 30 minutes.
Prediction: T1 1 – 0 TL
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