T1 are only Korean team still in game after Worlds quarterfinals

Korea's T1 stands on the stage after victory in the League of Legends 2023 World Championship Knockout Stage on Sunday in Busan. [RIOT GAMES]

Just one Korean team is still standing at the 2023 League of Legends (LoL) World Championship, which Korea is hosting this year in Seoul and Busan.

League of Legends World Championship descends on Seoul

Fan favorite Korea’s T1 defeated Chinese team LNG Esports 3-0 in their quarterfinal match on Sunday, earning a semifinals spot for the eighth time in the young tournament’s history.

T1’s victory denied China's professional LoL circuit a final four sweep after three Chinese-owned teams knocked out Korea’s two other squads and a North American team in the quarterfinals.

Chinese team Bilibili Gaming won 3-2 against Korea’s Gen.G Esports, who were so far undefeated at this year’s Worlds, denying them a comeback during the match after they lost the first two games in a best-of-five on Friday.

Korean team KT Rolster then fell to China’s JD Gaming 3-1 during their match on Saturday, leaving just T1 to represent the League of Legends Champions Korea, the LCK, Korea’s top-tier professional LoL circuit. China’s Weibo Gaming had earlier won the first quarterfinal match 3-0 against North American team NRG on Thursday.

Despite the LCK’s quarterfinal losses, three of the bracket’s four remaining teams have at least one Korean player on their roster.

Worlds is a very Korean affair with 36 of 91 players on home turf

T1 is of course one of them. All six members are Korean.

Among the Chinese teams, JD Gaming is currently home to Korean gamers Park “Ruler” Jae-hyuk and Seo “Kanavi” Jin-hyeok, both of whom competed on Korea’s League of Legends team at the Hangzhou Asian Games, defeating the Chinese national team to win gold in September. Kang “TheShy” Seung-lok, who was born in Korea, plays for Weibo Gaming.

Bilibili was the only Chinese team at Worlds without a Korean player on their roster.

Still, this year’s Worlds has so far been a series of disappointing and perhaps surprising defeats for Korea’s previous champions.

And then there were none: Reigning LoL champions crash out of Worlds

Dplus KIA became the first Korean team to exit the tournament after losing 2-0 to KT Rolster in an all-Korean showdown during the Round of 16.

It marked the end of the road for 27-year-old Kim “Deft” Hyuk-kyu, who became a poster boy for the LoL franchise after helping his then-team DRX defeat T1 during last year’s final.

DRX's underdog story — entering the tournament unseeded before advancing to the finals against longtime rival T1 — captured the game’s international fans and became the subject of discussions on online forums and a high-production documentary following their Nov. 2022 win. Deft is also the main character of the music video for this year’s Worlds anthem, “Gods,” sung by Korean girl group NewJeans.

The group is set to perform the song live for the first time at the Worlds final in Seoul on Nov. 19.

But none of last year’s champions will have a chance to again take the stage. Hong “Pyosik” Chang-hyeon was the only other reigning champion at this year’s Worlds. The 23-year-old played for North American Team Liquid who were eliminated after three straight round robin losses.

All eyes are on T1 and star player Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok as the team next faces JD Gaming in their best-of-five semifinal match on Sunday.

BY MARY YANG [mary.yang@joongang.co.kr]