T1 win League of Legends title at Esports World Cup

It was the second straight match where T1 battled back from a one-game deficit for an eventual win.

T1 beat Top Esports 3-1 to win the League of Legends tournament at the inaugural Esports World Cup in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Sunday and pose with the trophy in a photo shared by T1 on X. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Korean League of Legends (LoL) team T1 took down Top Esports 3-1 on Sunday to claim the LoL title at the inaugural Esports World Cup.

The tournament, which took place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia saw T1 come from behind to win the best-of-five series for a $400,000 grand prize, the biggest slice of a $1 million purse.

It was the second straight match where T1 battled back from a one-game deficit for an eventual win.

T1 veteran Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok was named MVP for his performance throughout the best-of-three elimination rounds and the eventual finale.

T1 beat Chinese team Bilibili Gaming in the quarterfinals before knocking out Team Liquid in the semifinals, winning both 2-1.

The Esports World Cup, running for the first time, replaced the Gamers8 tournament last year and is promoting competitions for 21 different games across two months with million-dollar prize pools.

Eight teams entered the invitational LoL tournament. Korea’s Gen.G were also in Riyadh but lost 2-0 to TES in the quarterfinals.

T1 came into the tournament on the back of a loss to KT Rolster in the domestic Summer Split and needed to demonstrate mechanical excellence in the first match — facing top-ranked Chinese team Bilibili Gaming.

T1’s Choi “Zeus” Woo-je showcased brilliance in late-game team fights and crucial 1v1s to end the quarterfinal series 2-1.

And T1 survived a well-matched semifinal, with Mun “Oner” Hyeon-jun displaying strong game knowledge and mechanical repertoire to see the team through to the finale.

T1 lost the first game but won three straight rounds to clinch the first-ever Esports World Cup LoL title, TES settled for $200,000 after finishing second.

T1 return to action in the LCK summer season and are set to face OKSavingsBank Brion on Wednesday.

BY KEVIN CHUNG [kjdsports@joongang.co.kr]