Gen.G take down T1 3-2 to win fourth straight LCK championship

Spring season winners Gen.G denied T1 a chance to take their first LCK championship since the 2022 spring season, knocking them into the runner-up spot, again.

Gen.G players lift the LCK 2024 Spring trophy after defeating T1 3-2 in the final round of the playoffs on Sunday at the KSPO Dome in southern Seoul. [NEWS1]

𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒 𝑳𝑪𝑲 𝑺𝑷𝑹𝑰𝑵𝑮 𝑪𝑯𝑨𝑴𝑷𝑰𝑶𝑵𝑺, 𝑮𝒆𝒏.𝑮 🏆

GEN.G LOL ARE YOUR 4-PEAT LCK CHAMPIONS 🐯#𝐓𝐈𝐆𝐄𝐑𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍#𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐆𝐋𝐎𝐋#𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐆𝐖𝐈𝐍pic.twitter.com/ocvxUDauKb

— Gen.G Esports (@GenG) April 14, 2024

Gen.G are the first team in the history of the LCK — League of Legends (LoL) Champions Korea, the top-tier domestic professional league — to secure four straight titles, beating the defending world champions T1 in the final playoff round, again.

The seats were packed inside the KSPO Dome in southern Seoul on Sunday as fans flocked to watch two of the best teams in the world compete for the coveted LCK Spring title, the first major event of the year for teams in the Korean professional LoL circuit.

Fans line up outside the KSPO Dome in southern Seoul on Sunday ahead of the final round between Gen.G and T1. [YONHAP]

Fans fill the seats at the KSPO Dome in southern Seoul on Sunday to watch the final round between T1 and Gen.G live. [NEWS1]

Gen.G and T1 have gone head-to-head for the past five LCK championships, but the last time T1 lifted the final-round trophy was in the spring of 2022. There are two LCK titles up for grabs per year — one in the spring and another in the summer.

Gen.G won the first game in the best-of-five series on Sunday, taking down their opponents after a well-matched 42 minutes. T1 were quick to respond, winning the second and third games to put the scoreboard at 2-1.

T1, last year's League of Legends Worlds champions, prepare ahead of the match against Gen.G. [NEWS1]

Gen.G players check their set-ups ahead of their final round match against T1 at KSPO Dome in southern Seoul on Sunday. [NEWS1]

But Gen.G denied T1 a 3-1 victory, winning the fourth game in less than 30 minutes, the shortest match of the round, to make things 2-2 and force a fifth and final battle for the championship.

It was Gen.G who triumphed, defeating T1 after another close 42-minute round to seal their fourth straight title, knocking T1 into the runner-up spot for a fourth straight time.

Gen.G, who ended the regular season at the top of the 10-team LCK table with 17 series wins and one loss, were dominant throughout an undefeated playoffs, beating Dplus KIA 3-2 and Hanwha Life Esports 3-1 en route to the finals. T1, meanwhile, lost 3-0 to Hanwha in their first game of the playoffs but clawed their way back to the top two.

Kwangdong Freecs and KT Rolster also qualified for the playoffs after finishing the LCK Spring in the top six but failed to advance past the first round.

Gen.G’s victory booked them a direct ticket to the bracket round of the Mid-Season Invitational, where 12 of the best teams from leagues across the world will fight for the first international title of the year.

"We will give credit to the players who have maintained the top spot throughout the regular league and have shown the best performance in the playoffs and finals," Gen.G manager Kim Jung-soo said after the win on Sunday. "We will do our best to achieve the best performance in the Mid-Season Invitational in Chengdu, China soon."

Runners-up T1, playing with the same roster that won the 2023 Worlds in Seoul, also automatically qualified for the Mid-Season Invitational, earning a spot in the Play-In stage.

LCK Spring champions Gen.G took home the grand prize of 200 million won ($145,000) while T1 walked away with 100 million won. Third-place Hanwha got 50 million won and fourth-place Dplus KIA earned half that.

Gen.G and T1 will head to China for the Mid-Season Invitational, which is set to run from May 1 to 19, before the LCK 2024 summer season begins in June.

BY MARY YANG [mary.yang@joongang.co.kr]