T1's early elimination caused controversy, the LCK competition system was questioned, and the team manager responded to the inside story

On February 15, in the global BP event of the League of Legends LCK region , T1 lost to HLE 2-3 and was eliminated in the top six, ending the cup journey ahead of schedule. This result triggered a lot of discussion, especially about the rationality of the LCK competition system and whether T1 's performance met expectations. As a veteran powerhouse in the LCK , T1 's elimination not only surprised fans, but also caused the LCK competition system to be questioned by the outside world. The manager of the T1 team spoke out after the game and revealed the inside story of the team rotation, which further deepened the discussion.

This LCK global BP event adopts a different competition system than the past. The ten participating teams are divided into two groups, and the teams in the groups compete against each other. The top three teams in the winning group will directly advance to the playoffs, and the top two teams will directly secure a place in the semi-finals. The top two teams in the losing group will need to advance to the playoffs through an additional qualifying match, and must directly compete in the first round. The winner will advance and the loser will be eliminated.

This arrangement of the competition system forced T1 and HLE , two teams with the strength of the top four, to fight a life-and-death battle in the top six stage. In the end, T1 lost regretfully and missed the chance to advance. After the game, many viewers questioned this rule, believing that this arrangement caused some strong teams to meet in advance, increasing the risk of being eliminated, while the team in the winning group gained more schedule advantages. However, there are also views that the competition system is fair to all teams, and T1 failed to advance entirely because of its poor performance. Questioning the rules after the game is inevitably suspected of making excuses for failure.

In addition to the competition system, T1 's personnel rotation in the game also became a focus of discussion. In the face of external doubts, the manager of the T1 team responded to the decision on the bottom lane rotation in an interview after the game. He said that the coaching staff hoped to make adjustments and attempts during the game, and after discussion, the management agreed to this plan.

In addition, the manager also mentioned that the global BP event is different from the LCK regular season or MSI , and its special nature gives the team the opportunity to make tactical adjustments and personnel experiments. Therefore, T1 decided to rotate in this event and use this opportunity to try different tactical combinations. The implication is that the importance of this event is relatively low, and T1 is more inclined to regard it as an opportunity to train the team.

However, this statement has caused greater controversy. Some viewers believe that T1 's attitude shows that it does not attach enough importance to the event, and the team manager's statement has deepened this impression. Although it is true that T1 has performed mediocrely in the league but performed well in international competitions in the past, the official's direct admission that it does not attach enough importance to a certain event will inevitably disappoint fans and even affect the team's brand image.

There are indeed some problems with the arrangement of the tournament. For example, the outcome of the group stage has too much impact on the knockout stage, causing strong teams to meet early and even causing a strong team like T1 to be eliminated early. But on the other hand, T1 fans blame the failure entirely on the tournament system, which is a bit one-sided. In global events, not all competitions have a double-elimination system. A truly strong team needs to have the strength to reach the end even in a single-elimination system.

Overall, T1 's early elimination was indeed unexpected, and the LCK competition system also has room for improvement. However, the team's performance is the key to victory or defeat, and how to adjust tactics and player status is what T1 needs to think about. For fans, we hope that T1 can better demonstrate its strength in future competitions and strive for higher honors.