LCK: KT v T1, Faker v Deft, two storylines meet for a Worlds spot

The story couldn’t have written itself better. For the final major BO5 of the year before Worlds kicks off, we’ll witness an old-fashioned T1 vs. KT match—a confrontation so emblematic of the Korean League of Legends circuit that it has earned its own nickname: the Telecom War. The cherry on top? We also get another chapter in the shared history of Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok and Kim "Deft" Hyuk-kyu, a chapter that is likely to be the last.

Both present in the LCK since 2013, Faker and Deft have shared their careers from start to finish, culminating at the 2022 Worlds finals, where Deft, playing for DRX, defeated Faker 3-2 in one of the most surprising upsets of all time. Given Faker's dominance in League of Legends and the LCK, it's hard to call it a true rivalry—Faker has claimed 10 domestic titles in Korea, far surpassing Deft’s two trophies from 2014 Spring (with SSB) and the 2018 Summer split with KT Rolster. However, this BO5 marks the first time the two will face off with a Worlds spot on the line. While HLE, with Deft as their ADC, lost to T1 in the 2021 regional finals, that match was merely for seeding.

Although Faker has appeared in the Korean Regional Finals multiple times (2013, 2014, 2018, 2020, and 2021), he has only faced Deft once in this stage, in 2021. Interestingly, despite Deft having played in 7 of the last 9 Regional Finals, the two have largely avoided each other in this tournament. Deft’s best years coincided with Faker’s weaker periods, such as in 2018 when Deft won the LCK and in 2020 when he qualified for Worlds through championship points. In the playoffs, however, they’ve met more frequently—7 times, which, while not a huge number in 11 years, still ranks among the most frequent head-to-heads in League’s playoffs history. The record in these 7 BO5s is heavily in Faker's favor, with a 6-1 scoreline. Yet, Deft has had his moments for revenge on the international stage, where he holds a 2-1 BO5 record against Faker, including victories in two Grand Finals: MSI 2015 and Worlds 2022.

To add to the drama, this BO5 between the two Korean legends will be the last between them, as Deft has announced that he intended to retire after this year. If Deft is to lose this match, it will be the last time we see him on the rift for the the top tier of League of Legends competition, something that could also be true for Faker, who's had a physically tough year (after an already difficult 2023 season) and could also be on the retirement if he was to face such a major failure.

Although Faker has dominated the head-to-head over Deft without any doubt, tomorrow, both players will have the occasion to write the last chapter of their dense shared history.

T1 v KT has earned the nickname "Telecom War", due to the fact that originally, both teams were playing under the banner of a Telecom company (T1 were formerly SK Telecom T1), although one name has changed, the nickname remained. KT and T1 have played 145 games, T1 have won 94 of them, if we narrow it to BO5 only, we find 10 matches with a similar win% for T1 as they have won 7 times against KT, including the last 4 BO5.

Playing against T1 hasn't been the best moments for KT players recently, with a defeat as recent as the opening round of the Summer 2024 Playoffs and a notorious double 3-2 loss in the 2023 Summer Playoffs. What adds a bit of spice is that KT Rolster had chosen T1 as their playoffs opponent in 2023, only to lose to them twice afterwards.

Contrary to the Faker v Deft story line, this BO5 is very unlikely to be the last Telecom War. The "rivalry" between the two orgs has been an integral part of the LCK's history since 2013, although it is very much one sided globally, every BO5 has his own taste. This one has particularly huge stakes with Worlds Spot on the line for two structures who are expected to reach Worlds every year without any question. While a KT defeat could send KT fans back in the depression they are since the 2018 heartbreak against IG, a T1 defeat could see some trucks move towards the T1 headquarters.