T1 to face Weibo Gaming in League of Legends Worlds final

Two teams now sit on the brink of victory. Korea’s T1 will face China’s Weibo Gaming in the final of the 2023 League of Legends World Championship in Seoul.

Lee ″Faker″ Sang-hyeok, left, Lee ″Gumayusi″ Min-hyeong and Ryu ″Keria″ Min-seok of T1 react after winning their semifinal match at the 2023 League of Legends World Championship on Sunday in Busan. [RIOT GAMES]

Two teams now sit on the brink of victory. Korea’s T1 will face China’s Weibo Gaming in the final of the 2023 League of Legends World Championship in Seoul.

T1 took down undefeated Chinese team JD Gaming 3-1 in their semifinal match on Sunday, earning a finals ticket for the fifth time in tournament history. A day earlier, Weibo Gaming bested fellow Chinese-owned squad Bilibili Gaming 3-2 to secure the first coveted spot.

Wei ″Weiwei″ Bohan, left, Kang ″TheShy″ Seung-lok and Coach Yang ″Daeny″ Dae-in of Weibo Gaming react after victory at the 2023 League of Legends World Championship on Saturday in Busan. [RIOT GAMES]

Sunday’s loss was a particularly bitter one for JD Gaming, who were also bested by T1 in the semifinals last year, losing 3-1.

And playing for JD Gaming were Korean esports athletes Seo “Kanavi” Jin-hyeok and Park “Ruler” Jae-hyeok, who just weeks ago helped propel the Korean national team to victory at the Hangzhou Asian Games, winning League of Legends gold.

Park ″Ruler″ Jae-hyeok, left, and Seo ″Kanavi″ Jin-hyuk, center, exit after JD Gaming loses the semifinal to T1 at the 2023 League of Legends World Championship on Sunday in Busan. [RIOT GAMES]

T1 was the only Korean team to make the semifinals, with the three other spots all occupied by teams from China’s professional LoL circuit. Chinese team Bilibili Gaming knocked out Korea’s Gen.G Esports, who were so far undefeated at the tournament, and Korea’s KT Rolster fell to China’s JD Gaming during the quarterfinals.

For fans of T1, arguably the most popular team in Korea’s top professional League of Legends circuit, this year is a chance for redemption after losing to underdogs Korean team DRX in the final round at last year’s Worlds in San Francisco.

While T1 has three world championship titles under its belt, it has never won at home. Korea co-hosted the tournament in 2014 and alone in 2018.

Worlds is the biggest stage in the world of LoL, a massively franchised online game with more than 150 million players per month and professional leagues around the world.

Players on professional teams, owned by major global companies, rake in sponsorship deals with huge brands. T1, for example, has sported the blue and white BMW emblem and familiar Nike swoosh.

This year’s finals will take place in-person at Gocheok Sky Dome in western Seoul, and K-pop girl group NewJeans is due to perform at its opening ceremony on Nov. 19. The match, which begins at 5 p.m. local time, will also be streamed online.

The winners of the final will take home a guaranteed grand prize of $445,000 — 20 percent of the $2,225,000 purse.

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