LoL Worlds 2024: T1-GEN, the Tiger and the Goat

Who will join BLG in the O2 Arena of London, for League of Legends Worlds 2024 Grand Final? This Sunday, the reigning world champion T1 and the MSI titleholder Gen.G will clash to either a chance of keeping the Worlds crown or winning both international tournaments of the official LoL Esports circuit in 2024. Although these two teams have only met once in a tournament outside the land of morning calm (at the MSI 2023, won 3-2 by Gen.G), they have been the two main characters on the South Korean scene for some years. GEN were even the only team — along with JDG, for one game — to inflict a defeat to T1 at Worlds, on home soil last year.

The two Korean powerhouses have had their destinies linked in recent years in the LCK. And in the end, it's often Gen.G who wins. In fact, the two teams have met in every final in their region since Spring 2022, and this series of head-to-head encounters for the title came to an end this summer, when HLE knocked out T1 in the lower bracket final (3-1). Before that, Gen.G had won four out of five titles against the current world champions, with the exception of Spring 2022.

And while everyone is familiar with this recent rivalry, it should also be noted that the two organisations had already met once before in the final, in Spring 2020 (a 3-0 victory for T1). Back then, only Lee ‘Faker’ Sang-hyeok was among the protagonists who will face each other again this Sunday. And while all those home defeats might suggest that Paris won't be much different, there is one fact that can no longer be taken lightly. T1 is a different beast when it comes to Worlds and actually... Gen.G too.

Where the entire T1 roster are the reigning Worlds champions and Faker is four-time, on the other hand only Kim ‘Canyon’ Geon-bu has ever lifted the Summoner's Cup. The other GEN players have never even reached the final of the prestigious tournament in their careers, and will be appearing in the semi-finals for only the second time (the first for Kim ‘Kiin’ Ki-in and Kim "Peyz" Su-hwan). This year seemed different, however, as all four players lifted their first international trophy, at the MSI. But once again, at Worlds, they showed signs of weakness, particularly in the quarter-finals where they were expected to be ultra-dominant against FlyQuest, and yet they trembled, being dominated 2-1 before winning on the edge of elimination.

Perhaps this pugnacity, which they have finally shown in a high-stakes international series, will have given them the weapons they need to beat T1. In fact, the reigning champions have only lost once since the start of Worlds, to Top Esports at the Swiss Stage, and they made them pay dearly in the quarter-finals, destroying them with disconcerting ease: 3-0.

Inevitably, the most eagerly-awaited match-up in this fixture will be Faker against Jeong ‘Chovy’ Ji-hoon, who many consider to be the all-time best against the current best. But we've already devoted an article to that. Instead, the editors have chosen to highlight two players whose level always rises during this famous tournament: Canyon vs Mun ‘Oner’ Hyeon-jun.

The two junglers are known for reaching the heights of their roles when the most important moment of the competitive year comes around. Canyon proved once again that he is capable of transcending himself when his team is in trouble, with two XXL performances on his famous Nidalee in the quarter-finals. Oner, on the other hand, has shown the same ability to clutch, with two Barons Nashor steals since the start of the competition, but above all his insane proactivity across the entire map as well as the objectives — although he didn't have as much to do as his opposite number in his quarter-final, as his team dominated everywhere.

But the two players are opposites in the styles in which they excel. Whereas T1 jungler prefers bruisers capable of accelerating in skirmishes, or helping out his laners, particularly from level 6, the other prefers to try his hand at tanks, which will be dominant thanks to their ability to set up around neutral objectives and absorb the opposing pressure. All the while, Canyon still has his Joker card, with his legendary Nidalee pick, which should undoubtedly be out if she isn't banned this Sunday. All in all, it is arguably possible to say that the two are the best in the world in their role.

It is impossible to predict today's outcome 100%, as the balance could tip either way with T1 ultra-dominant at Worlds and Gen.G ultra-dominant against T1. It is what makes this series so exicting. Who will come on top, the goat or the tiger? The answer will come today at 2 PM CET.