T1’s mid laner Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok was booed while on stage at the Red Bull League of its Own event in Berlin.
A portion of the European fans present at the Velodrom were not thrilled to see Faker destroy their favorite teams. The showmatch, hosted by Red Bull, featured the current 2023 World Champion T1 and six European organizations, including G2 Esports and Team Heretics. As the main attraction in the event, T1 played five matches and won four of them.
For most of the series, T1 opted for fun and flashy compositions. Against No Need Orga, T1 only played champions with a T1 skin. This choice marked just the third time in his entire career that Faker played on stage using a skin. The incident took place before the event even started. As part of the opening ceremony, Faker answered questions on stage and the booing could be heard through the microphones.
Steamer Marc “Caedrel” Lamont, who was co-streaming Red Bull League of its Own, reacted live to the situation, asking his viewers if they could hear the booing from “the Kcorp fans.” On social media, people who claimed to be present at the arena, state that only the Karmine Corp fans booed the T1 players. Fans of KCorp, known as “the Blue Wall,” are not afraid of voicing their opinions, even in situations that don’t warrant such reactions. Later in the day, T1 would end up defeating the newly minted LEC franchise.
During the incident, the rest of the T1 players nervously looked around. When asked if he had a message to Kcorp, T1’s bot laner Lee “Gumayusi” Min-hyeong said the team realized what a home advantage is and that he hoped the fans would cheer for T1 as well.
G2 Esports defeats T1 at Red Bull League of its Own
Only G2 Esports defeated T1 during the event, in the final match of the day.
Against Team Heretics and G2, T1 showed a respectful style and drafted a traditional comp. The first match of Team Heretics’ newly formed roster showed the team’s potential. The organization signed three players from the LEC-dominating G2 Esports roster from 2019, and proved itself to be a squad to watch in the upcoming 2024 competitive LoL season.
As for G2, the combination of mechanical prowess and aggressive play earned them a win against T1 in Red Bull League of its Own. Defeating the current world champions is a big feather in the squad’s cap, even if it just came in a show match. The 2024 LEC Winter Season starts on January 13, 2024.
