The LCK playoffs kicked off on Wednesday, September 10, with a first series that went the full five games. T1 struggled to secure the win against Dplus KIA, who showed plenty of grit. Recall that the reigning double world champions had the choice between DK and BNK FearX for Round 1, opting for DK—a choice that nearly backfired. Ultimately, T1 managed to prevail in the series. Next, they will face either Gen.G or Hanwha Life Esports, with Gen.G later getting to choose between T1 and the winner of KT Rolster versus BFX.

From the very first game, the tone of the series was set. For over 30 minutes, neither side managed to build a meaningful gold lead, until Choi "Doran" Hyeon-joon was caught out alone. That mistake opened the door for Dplus KIA, who won a decisive fight thanks to Jeon "Siwoo" Si-woo’s outstanding Ambessa performance. The rookie toplaner topped the damage charts with over 30k and secured the opening game for DK.

Siwoo against the world

Game 2 saw Choi "Lucid" Yong-hyeok bring out the first Qiyana in the LCK in more than three years. Siwoo once again started strong with a solo kill on Doran, but the T1 toplaner held his ground on Jax with solid weakside play. Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok had an excellent showing on Ryze, but for a long stretch, it was only Mun "Oner" Hyeon-jun’s Wukong keeping T1 in the game while DK looked in control.

Game 3 turned out to be the only real stomp of the series, with T1 grabbing the first match point. Lee "Gumayusi" Min-hyeong delivered a key performance, but the true standout was Ryu "Keria" Min-seok. His Leona was everywhere, participating in 25 of his team’s 27 kills and carrying T1 to a commanding win.

May the better botlane win

DK struck back in Game 4 on the back of their botlane, in what was a constant tug-of-war on the gold graph. That set the stage for a nail-biting Game 5. DK built an early lead around Siwoo’s Gwen, while Heo "ShowMaker" Su pulled out midlane Tryndamere, though the pick failed to gain traction. Faker remained steady on Viktor, rarely making mistakes, and Keria once again rose to the occasion—this time on Blitzcrank—setting up Gumayusi’s Xayah to shine and closing out the series for T1.

The LCK Playoffs continue tomorrow with KT Rolster facing BNK FearX. The loser won’t be eliminated but will instead drop down to the Lower Bracket to face Dplus KIA in a do-or-die match. Gen.G will have to decide on September 13 which opponent they want to face, leaving the other to Hanwha Life Esports on September 14. Both upcoming Upper Bracket Round 2 series are qualifying matches for Worlds 2025 in China, with Gen.G already locked in as at least the region’s fourth seed.