SK Telecom T1 Dominates Cloud9 in Opening Match of League of Legends World Championship
Defending champions SK Telecom T1 made a strong statement in their title defense by defeating North America’s Cloud9 in the opening match of the League of Legends World Championship. The game was completely one-sided, with SKT T1 taking the first eight kills. Faker, considered one of the best players in the game, secured a solo kill on Cloud9’s mid laner Jensen early on, setting the tone for the rest of the match.
SKT T1 with Something to Prove
Despite being the reigning World and Mid-Season Invitational champions, SKT T1 entered the tournament with doubts surrounding their ability to retain their title. Many experts believed that their Korean rivals, ROX Tigers, were the favorites this year. Analysts, including those at Riot Games, even ranked ROX top laner Smeb as the best player in the tournament. Despite this bias, Faker remains confident in his team’s ability to compete with the Tigers.
“I admit that ROX Tigers is the best team and they should be considered the favorite in the tournament,” Faker said in a post-game interview. “We are improving and we could beat them in the future.”
A Significant Loss for Cloud9
The defeat was a blow to Cloud9, particularly for top laner Impact, who won the World Championship as a member of SKT T1 in 2013. However, Cloud9 still has five more games in the group stage to recover. With this victory, SKT T1 takes an early lead in Group B, which also includes Flash Wolves and I May.
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