T1 had a dream start.

T1 staged a spectacular comeback against HLE in their LCK Cup opening match, quickly shaking off their crushing defeat in game 1 to dominate their opponents in the remaining two games.

T1 staged an impressive comeback against their tough opponent HLE. Photo: LOLESport .

The highly anticipated highlight match of the LCK Cup 2026 sees Lee "Gumayusi" Min-hyeong facing his former T1 teammates for the first time.

In the first game, the world champions maintained a balanced laning phase but became overconfident in controlling major objectives, allowing their opponents to take a 2-Dragon and 3-Void Worm lead. Although they secured the first turret, T1 was once again not in a position to contest the third dragon, handing the dragon soul to HLE.

In team fights, Corki, in Gumayusi's hands, completely destroyed the T1 lineup.

The match was decided when T1 failed to secure a good position at the Elder Dragon pit. They played too passively and lacked focus in dragon contests. Delight's fierce resistance completely deprived T1 of any chance to contest the dragon. With the Elder Dragon buff, HLE swept through the reigning world champions and took a 1-0 lead.

T1 won against HLE.

Entering game 2, T1 immediately regained their advantage. Faker, playing Sylas, secured a double kill as early as the 4th minute, setting the stage for a snowballing momentum. Oner's proactive play and Keria's superb kiting skills completely overwhelmed HLE.

Under heavy pressure from the start, HLE made a critical mistake in assessing the situation at the second Dragon pit. T1 took full advantage of this opportunity to win the team fight 3-1 and snatch the Dragon buff.

After securing the Dragon Soul without significant resistance, T1 cruised to victory. Faker finished the game with an impressive KDA of 9/2/6, directly bringing the match back to square one.

In the decisive game, T1 surprised everyone by having Doran pick Akali in the top lane. In contrast to a damage-deficient HLE team, Doran's Akali showcased high-level individual skills, consistently executing tower dives and sweeping through HLE's backline.

HLE's lineup was currently severely lacking in damage output. Although Zeka managed to control multiple T1 members in several situations, HLE was still unable to secure even a single kill.

In a completely one-sided match, the reigning LCK Cup champions, despite their efforts to fight back, paid the price with the loss of 2 or 3 members for every kill they managed to trade. The late game left little room for analysis as T1 completely dominated, constantly picking off opponents and "strolling" through their own territory.

After a few careless mistakes, T1 managed to regroup and destroy the Nexus, closing out the series with a 2-1 victory. With a 9/3/9 score, Doran deserved to be the star of the game, completing an emotional comeback for T1.

This victory brought a sigh of relief to the red-shirted fans. T1 had one of their most successful starts in years. They won the Kespa Cup and defeated one of their biggest rivals in the LCK.

Source: https://znews.vn/t1-khoi-dau-nhu-mo-post1620380.html