Match of the month: GEN.G vs T1 clash in LCK Summer 2022

After a disappointing match history these teams had back in Spring 2022 due to all the COVID-related mishaps, Summer 2022 finally gives us a treat as both teams are strapped in and ready for a rematch. It took us four weeks of waiting, but the payoff is worth it as the two LCK favorites finally clash in full numbers.

This time, the tables are turned as T1 find themselves in the position of runner-ups after their record has been struck down by Kwandong Freecs’ clever planning in the previous week. GEN.G, on the other side, enter the match still undefeated.

There’s a good reason for GEN.G’s dominance: the team seems to be on top of their map control game this split. For instance, GEN.G have secured 92% of first Baron Nashors in their games. With the team’s deadly efficiency, a single objective of that caliber is enough to close out the game. Even T1, who are universally lauded for being the best laning and macro team, lag behind in Dragon and Baron control.

Match rundown

As usual, it’s time for a short summary of the games. If you were unlucky enough to miss this match of the month, be sure to tune in to the official LCK channel on Youtube! It has all the VODs and live streams – no need to wait until loleventvods gets updated. However, if you’re too busy for even that, here’s a quick rundown for every map:

Map One

Game one started off pretty timid, with both teams relying heavily on the jungle presence in the botside to get around. The game was kicked into overdrive at the 13-minute-mark as GEN.G Peanut utilized his pick of jungle Poppy to its fullest by landing a massive Keeper’s Verdict that led to a quick turnaround on T1’s botlane and jungle.

After this single skirmish, GEN.G wrestled the map away and accrued a whopping 7K gold lead at 20 minutes despite a modest 3:0 kill score.

Desperation settled in as T1 frantically looked for any mistakes by their opponents, but GEN.G would simply not make any (here’s a good tip for winning your games in SoloQ, by the way). T1 Keria’s chance Flash into Hostile Takeover hit nothing but the wind as GEN pranced away.

GEN.G Doran felt terrible about his team’s dominance over T1, so he decided to give the underdogs a bunch of kills. Except for every time he died, his team picked up a Dragon Soul or an Inhibitor. As a result, GEN.G took the game in 30 minutes without ever dropping a beat.

Map summary: GEN.G find perfect answers to T1’s comp. As GEN.G employs high-range carries like Azir, Jinx, and combines them with the incredible power of disengage offered by Poppy, Gnar, and Tahm Kench, T1 find themselves helpless with their chase comp fueled by Wukong and Swain. T1 needed an absolute miracle to have a fighting chance in Map One after this draft diff, but, as Peanut’s botlane rotations shattered their early game hopes, the game was over before the 15th-minute mark.

MVP Vote: As for Map MVP, for me, it’s definitely Peanut, even though the majority of the votes went to Chovy. GEN.G’s midlaner delivered a perfect game on his Azir, got his signature 12CSPM, and outdamaged everyone on the map by at least a multiple of 3. However, Peanut’s Poppy split the map wide open by turning T1’s Herald push into a stunning victory and a 7K gold lead.

Map Two

T1 decided to put draft diff into their own hands by acquiring the most aggressive botlane we’ve seen in LCK this split so far. The fabled T1 Draven was locked in for Gumayusi as Keria picked up Pyke. T1 have seemingly decided to end the rumors of their botlane becoming washed as they aimed for complete dominance over GEN.G’s bot duo – and they succeeded.

Once again, both teams placed heavy attention on their botlane – but this time, T1 was quicker on the draw as Oner drew First Blood this time. This, in turn, enabled Keria’s roams towards the toplane, where he assisted Zeus in taking down GEN.G Doran’s Gangplank.

In stark contrast to the previous game, this map had both teams fighting for their lives at every point. T1 have committed a cardinal sin: Faker’s failed engage on Lissandra led to the team losing a hopeless 3v5 fight which allowed GEN to begin taking Baron. Even as a T1 fan, I must say that T1 simply got lucky: Zeus and Oner managed to delay GEN.G’s Baron take just enough for Faker to rejoin the fight via TP and miraculously steal the objective away (via Spellbook-enabled Smite), leading to GEN.G’s instant crumbling.

Map summary: If Map One was all about clean control and slow choke-out by GEN.G, Map Two was the complete opposite: scrappy, aggressive, and with both teams making mistakes and plays in an equal manner. T1 threw a hail mary with their botlane draft against GEN.G’s immobile Ashe and Renata, resulting in the bot gap that allowed Keria’s Pyke to roam freely around the map. Still, even with all the counter drafts, T1 managed to make the game close with their nearly fatal mistake around the Baron pit. If T1 are to win LCK again, they need to settle down – this victory did not feel like that of a reigning champion’s.

MVP Vote: T1 Keria gets the Player of the Game. Nothing surprising here: he set up Gumayusi for success, then spent the rest of the game propping down Zeus and bringing down Doran. You could say that Faker deserves the POG for the miraculous Spellbook steal on Baron… but let’s be honest: if not for his misplay in the first place, there would be no need for these low-chance plays.

Map Three

T1 is reverting to their classic Red Side drafting as we watch Ezreal+Yuumi getting locked in for the reigning LCK champions. This safe botlane draft is a standard answer to the Senna+Tahm Kench combo used by GEN.G.

It’s a bit weird to keep using Map One as the ultimate benchmark as it seems to be a massive outlier in this series. However, it’s also a great indication of how T1 managed to adapt to this series. Instead of opting for a teamfighting comp as they did in Game One, T1 are perfectly content with the disengage composition of Gnar+Lee Sin+Lissandra+Ezreal+Yuumi. GEN.G’s limited engage is severely limited in this game. Finally, T1 seems to have broken the draft diff curse.

This composition shines to the max at around the 25th-minute-mark as T1 achieve a bloodless Baron Nashor take. GEN.G can do nothing but watch T1 perform a heist of a century – smack the giant worm and then jump the wall.

This map is perfectly summed up in the final fight around Baron at the 31st minute. Even despite T1 Gumayusi getting absolutely smashed before the fight even starts, T1 claws a victory in a 4v5 teamfight and end the match 2:1.

Map summary: The dynamic duo of Oner and Faker split the game wide open with their coordinated plays around midlane. Denying GEN’s Chovy his 12CSPM power spike in the early game, rotating bot to ensure Guma+Keria get all the plates they can, and finally breaking GEN.G’s back in the skirmish around Rift Herald – this was the extent of what Lee Sin can do together with Lissandra.

MVP Vote: No doubt an even split between Oner and Faker. These two players working together seemed absolutely unstoppable – and they were the ones who stepped up in the most crucial of moments. The majority vote goes to Oner – a real shame there can be only one POG.

Moving forward

The series being this close was expected. The way the series was close? Not quite. T1’s shaky performance in Game Two almost cost them the whole match – let alone the way they got smashed to pulp in Game One. Even though GEN.G entered the series as the unbeaten favorites, T1 still have to uphold their reputation as the reigning LCK champs. Only Game Three looked that way, however.