It was a close call when Moon “Curse” Woo-chan unleashed Nidalee, the game-winning card, to lose the opening game, but T1 eventually defeated Guangdong in a full-set thriller to clinch a spot in the playoffs on their own. Along with T1's playoff berth, KT also clinched a playoff spot.
T1 rallied from a first-set deficit to take the second and third sets in straight sets to win 2-1 against Guangdong in the second round of the '2024 LOL Champions Korea (LCK) Summer at the LCK Arena in Jongno, Seoul on Thursday afternoon. Moon “Owner” Hyun-joon and Lee “Kumayushi” Min-hyung were the key men in the victory. Guangdong's hopes of qualifying for the playoffs were dashed when Nidalee “Cuz” Moon Woo-chan and Bulldog “Bulldog” Lee “Tristana” Tae-young's undefeated records came to an end.
With the win, the winning streaking T1 improved to 10 wins (7 L, +4 goal difference) on the season and punched their ticket to the playoffs. Guangdong, on the other hand, suffered their 10th loss of the season (7 W, Goal Difference -1). After failing to qualify on their own, Guangdong's playoff fate will be determined by the outcome of Peerless' remaining games.
Things started off well for Guangdong. They were able to withstand T1's rushes well, led by Moon “Curz” Woo-chan, who picked up the trump card, Nidalee, and took 안전놀이터 control of the game at 33:29. T1 started off well, effectively blocking their opponent's early interventions, but they were unstable in their one-hit compositions and lost the opening game.
However, T1 bounced back in the second game with a strong showing, casting 'Uttle'. With a Rumble-By-Azir-Varus-Notalis combo, T1 took control of the game as they dealt well with Guangdong's aggression. With a slight advantage in the mid-game, T1 hunted down the Dragon and Baron Nasher, effectively sealing the win.
Guangdong fought back, but T1 was able to take back-to-back kills to break Guangdong's nexus and level the game at 1-1.
T1 played to their strengths and maintained the momentum they had created in the third set to close out the close match. After quickly surrendering the initiative, Guangdong put on a brilliant display of base to stop T1's snowballs in the middle game, but ultimately couldn't overcome the power differential and surrendered the nexus.