Unfathomable: T1 Did It Again

TL;DR

T1 won their third consecutive World Championship despite losing Zeus, benching Gumayushi, and starting Worlds 1-2 in Swiss.

Key Points

• 1.Zeus departed T1 for HLE in the offseason, forcing T1 to sign Doran, a player widely considered a downgrade whom analysts said would never win Worlds
• 2.T1's coaching staff benched legendary ADC Gumayushi in favor of rookie Smash, citing his inability to play mobile carries like Kai'Sa and Ezreal; T1's CEO Joe Marsh eventually overruled the staff and reinstated Guma
• 3.Gumayushi responded to his benching by grinding solo queue on historically weak champions, transforming his Kai'Sa into a weapon he'd later use on the World's stage
• 4.T1 qualified for Worlds as the 4th seed, forced to play a play-in best-of-five against IG just to reach Swiss, which they won convincingly
• 5.T1 went 1-2 in Swiss — the worst World's start in the organization's 10-year history — while players were reportedly sick and struggling
• 6.In quarterfinals against AL, Gumayushi delivered a legendary quadra kill on Kai'Sa in Game 4, the same champion he'd been benched for not knowing
• 7.Oner had never played Dr. Mundo on stage or in scrims; he reportedly read the champion's abilities in a bush during AL's level-one trap and still helped close out the series
• 8.KT Rolster upset Gen G in the semis, ending Chovy vs. Faker finals dreams, and pushed T1 to a grueling Game 5 in the World's final
• 9.Gumayushi's Miss Fortune ultimate dealt 7,700 damage in the decisive Game 5 teamfight, breaking KT and securing T1's historic third consecutive World Championship title