T1’s Keria Makes History with Caitlyn Support Pick
T1’s support player Ryu “Keria” Min-seok made headlines today by choosing Caitlyn as a support champion in the LCK, marking the first time this pick has been seen in the league.
The 20-year-old surprised everyone by selecting Caitlyn as the Sheriff of Piltover in T1’s second game against Kwangdong Freecs. The intention behind this unconventional pick was to dominate the laning phase, and it proved successful as T1’s bottom lane pulled ahead in the first 15 minutes of the game.
During Keria’s Caitlyn support debut, his duo partner Gumayusi opted for Varus. Together, they faced off against Zeri and Yuumi, who have a reputation for exploiting weak laning duos in the bottom lane.
Thanks to Caitlyn and Varus’ long-ranged poke, T1’s bottom lane gained an advantage early on. Additionally, their jungler Oner provided support by helping them dive the enemy duo and securing a favorable two-for-one trade. T1’s duo exerted strong pressure, successfully eliminating the enemy ADC and second-tier turret by the 10th minute. At the 12th minute mark, Gumayusi held a two-thousand-gold lead over Zeri.
Although Caitlyn performed well during the laning phase, her contribution to teamfights became limited as the game progressed, especially with aggressive champions like Akali and Renekton targeting Varus. Fortunately, T1’s overall team composition was equipped to handle teamfights effectively, resulting in a 25-minute victory and T1 closing the series with a 2-0 score.
In the first game of the series, Faker also surprised fans by playing Sett in the mid lane. This marked the first time in 525 days that Sett had been chosen for this role.
T1, Keria, Caitlyn, support pick, LCK, debut, laning phase, bottom lane, Varus, duo partner, advantage, teamfights, Sett, mid lane