T1 reaches first-ever international final with 3-1 win

T1 T1 Korea Rank #1 stax Kim Gu-taek (김구택) Meteor Kim Tae-oh (김태오) Sylvan Go Young-sup (고영섭) BuZz Yu Byeong-cheol (유병철) iZu Ham Woo-ju (함우주) continues their run after defeating EDward Gaming EDward Gaming China Rank #1 S1Mon Hsien Meng-Hsun (谢孟勋) ZmjjKK Zheng Yongkang (郑永康) nobody Wang Senxu (王森旭) CHICHOO Wan Shunzhi (万顺治) Smoggy Zhang Zhao (张钊) in the Masters: Bangkok lower bracket, reaching their first-ever grand final at a VCT global event. With a 3-1 victory, the South Korean team guaranteed a new tournament winner, as they will face off against G2 Esports G2 Esports North America Rank #1 jawgemo Alexander Mor trent Trent Cairns valyn Jacob Batio JonahP Jonah Pulice leaf Nathan Orf in the grand final. EDG is now eliminated from the event, ending with a modest third-place finish as the defending Champions.

Including off-season matches, T1 and EDward Gaming had an equal head-to-head record prior to the series, with three wins apiece. In official series, however, EDward Gaming had the lead 2-1, including a victory earlier in the Bangkok playoffs. A win for T1 meant they could continue their best-ever performance, for both organization and lineup, as only Meteor (and super-substitute carpe , with the same organization but in a different game) had reached an international grand final.

EDward Gaming, meanwhile, needed to reach the final for an opportunity to defend the Champions 2024 title in the next international event. Only LOUD came close to accomplishing the feat in 2023, reaching the LOCK//IN grand final after winning Champions. Coming into the match, EDward Gaming had never lost a best-of-five in VCT, boasting an 8-0 record in officials and a 23-3 record overall since ZmjjKK joined in 2022.

In the map veto, the teams chose to ban their least favored maps, Abyss and Lotus. EDward Gaming chose to start the series on Bind, which they lost in the previous matchup, while T1 selected Haven as the second map, a weaker map for the Korean roster. Fracture and Split were picked next, leaving the relatively neutral Pearl as the decider map. Having reached this stage of the tournament with fewer losses, the veto favored EDward Gaming, but offered a strong start for T1.

T1 had a dominant start on Bind, thanks in part to Meteor starting the day with an ace. Playing Vyse, he continued being an obstacle to the attack, his utility isolating players and leading the scoreboard with 19 eliminations and 421 ACS by the break. EDG attempted B plants for most of the half with little success, as T1 ended seven rounds before the offense was able to plant.

The 9-3 lead proved too large to overcome for EDG, unable to find their footing despite winning the second pistol round. T1 continued winning rounds before a plant, with BuZz and stax leading their team to success in the second half. The underdogs won three of the final five opening engagements, the advantage helping them take Bind 13-4.

“After losing to EDG, we had nothing left to lose,” coach Autumn said after map one. “Everyone's just stepping up, trying to show we can be the best team.”

Haven continued the series, with a strong start for EDward Gaming despite losing the pistol round. T1's defense had an opportunity to recover after going down 4-1, but EDG recovered two rounds to stay in the lead. The 2024 Champions further extended the gap after a round streak, but BuZz averted disaster with an Operator ace, ending the first half 8-4.

T1 showed a better performance on the attack, closing the gap after a clutch from BuZz gave them an eco round. Their duelist duo led the charge to help equalize at 10-10. T1 later reached match point after a successful fake, and iZu capped off the second map by winning a 1v1, ending Haven 13-10.

“The team believes in me,” Meteor commented on his Iso performance. “Everyone rooting for us, cheering for us, that's what makes me a great player.”

The defending Champions took an early lead on Fracture, taking the pistol and stringing together a series of rounds on the attack. Hero plays ensued, with CHICHOO winning a clutch to extend the advantage and BuZz netting a Sheriff 4K to begin closing the gap. The thrifty represented a turning point for the South Korean squad, winning four rounds in a row and sending the map to halftime 7-5 in EDG's favor.

The Chinese team won their fourth pistol round of the series to remain in the lead, but T1's attack, led by BuZz's Raze, was able to recover the map. Crucially, CHICHOO found a defuse with milliseconds to spare, which was just enough for Smoggy to force overtime with only a single rifle vs. rifle round win in the half. In the end, two quick rounds from EDG closed out Fracture 14-12, keeping the team alive.

Heading into Split, T1 took the opening pistol round to gain an early advantage. iZu's Yoru helped stall the offense, exploiting the agent's mobility and the Operator to keep EDG at bay. He ended the half with 13 eliminations and three first kills, completely shutting down the B site. Overall, T1 won nine opening engagements on defense, which helped take the first half 7-5 despite Smoggy's best efforts.

In the second half, a key lurk from Meteor kept T1 ahead, and the bonus round dashed any hopes for EDward Gaming. The Korean roster continued winning opening fights, forcing a player advantage on five of six remaining rounds. The Raze-Yoru, double-Controller composition overwhelmed the defense, winning six rounds in a row to end the final map 13-5 and take the series 3-1.

“We learned how to win [thanks to our losses],” Meteor said after their win. He also talked about their match against G2. “They will probably try to predict and analyze us,” he said. “We're more flexible, so it won't be that easy.” Meteor talked about their win conditions for the grand final. “We need more confidence and a good night's sleep.”

“At last, we made it,” stax commented on reaching the grand final. “It's not over ‘til it's over,” he added. “We'll celebrate when we get the trophy.”

“In past events, I was just chasing for the trophy, anxious to win,” BuZz reflected. “This time was different,” he added. “Tomorrow, I'll try to have as much fun as possible.”

The win continues T1's best performance at an international event, giving the South Korean team an opportunity to win a second trophy for country and region. The grand final matchup means a new victor will be crowned, and one player, either jawgemo from G2 or Meteor from T1, will join the exclusive club of two-time winners.

“I'm not satisfied until I win,” Sylvan said in the conference. “We need to get hyped up,” he added.

“It's satisfying when iZu and Meteor overperform based on what I request,” T1 coach Autumn said after the series. “G2 will be prepared, coming from the upper bracket,” he added. “If they play Abyss, they'll likely play Chamber, and we won't lose to a Chamber.”

EDward Gaming has been eliminated from the event and will return to VCT in Stage 1. For their troubles, they have been awarded 2 Championship points, which will aid the team's qualification to Champions: Paris later this year.

“We're going to practice more,” ZmjjKK said in the post-match conference. “We're still a really competitive team,” he added. “We have one more Masters, one more Champions this year.”

“We had a lot of pressure, a lot of mistakes in our macro,” nobody commented.

“We didn't execute our strategy well,” coach Muggle added. “It was a coaching problem.”