LoL - Worlds: Doran's redemption journey finally completed

Just crowned with the ultimate world champion title, Choi "Doran" Hyeon-jun reaches the peak of his career after many years of hardship. As the only T1 player to lift his first Summoner's Cup in his career, this trophy probably means much more to him than it does to others.

From his arrival to the team's title win, Doran's journey with T1 has not been easy and has been done under the fire of criticism. But in the end, he fulfilled his role and did what was expected of him by stepping up to help T1 win the Worlds once again.

At the end of 2024, while T1 had just achieved back-to-back with a second Worlds title, Doran suffered another failure in the competition with Hanwah Life Esports. His performances are particularly criticized for his mediocre quarter-final where HLE lost to Bilibili Gaming. While his team wanted to strengthen, they attracted the two-time world champion Choi "Zeus" Woo-je into their ranks. Doran then goes the opposite way and lands at T1.

The decision has drawn a lot of negative reaction from fans. Doran has a reputation as a player unable to raise his game to win an international competition. There was a general feeling that Doran would be made the scapegoat if T1's performances dipped, no matter how the season played out.

During the season, Doran held his own in the LCK as he always had in previous years. It took some time before T1 found their rhythm, but the team secured their qualification for the MSI at the expense of HLE with a perfectly integrated Doran. The toplaner actually had a good tournament before once again falling short against the biggest opponents. Beaten by Gen.G in the final, Doran appears to be the most struggling player on T1's side, especially when facing his counterpart Kim "Kiin" Ki-in, who is on fire. His season may be good, but it is also punctuated with unusual moments like dying alone against the krugs in a BO5 against KT Rolster in view of MSI qualification.

Despite this, Doran arrived at Worlds with the intention of doing well. Facing IG in the play-ins, he didn't stand out for his individual qualities or in the laning phase, but rather in the team fights where he blended perfectly with T1's synergy. Despite all the criticism about him, his self-confidence has never been tainted. In an interview for Sheep Esports during the competition, he explained that he had never doubted himself. "I know there were some doubts when I first joined, but even back then I was pretty confident in myself. Internally, I always had faith and belief in myself that I am the best toplaner in the world." This was followed by a tournament where the player and his team continued to perform well until the final. Despite his opponents like Li "Flandre" Xuanjun or Bai "369" Jiahao managing to express themselves against him in lane, Doran makes up for it in teamfights.

Then comes the final and the last straight for him. Doran has the opportunity to bury all his past failures. He delivered a superb first game on his Ambessa before becoming more discreet in the rest of the BO5, but without ever being the one dragging his team down. In his last game, he got a lot of resources on his Camille before often pushing a little too far and almost allowing KT to come back. But despite his mistakes, he doesn't lose his composure, especially reassured by the best of teammates Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok, advising him to "stay calm and just breathe" and not to worry about it after advancing too far under KT's T3.

After the last fight, Doran explodes with joy. After all the criticism he has taken and the doubts he has gone through, he can finally savor his victory, which is all the more beautiful. He concludes a year of ups and downs, where his performances have not always been praised but where in the end he was able to reclaim the title he had missed so much. It took courage to come behind Zeus and Doran did it and showed that he could also be a world champion.