On September 12, T1 lost 1-3 to Hanwha Life Esports in the 2026 LCK Playoff Finals Qualifier held at the KSPO Dome in Olympic Park, Seoul.
T1 had previously lost to Hanwha Life Esports after a full set earlier in these playoffs, but today they fell 1-3, missing out on a spot in the finals. Their gameplay left much to be desired as well. There were several disappointing moments in team movements, individual blunders occurred, and the draft ultimately proved underwhelming. Below is the post-match interview with T1 interim head coach Tom (Im Jae-hyeon) and Lee 'Faker' Sang-hyeok.
Q. What are your thoughts on today's match?
Interim Head Coach Tom: I didn't prepare well, and there were also some mistakes made in-game.
'Faker': It's disappointing because things like setting up skirmishes didn't go as intended.
Q. (To Interim Head Coach Tom) In what areas was the preparation lacking?
Interim Head Coach Tom: Our buildup when positioning ahead of objectives did not go well. Also, in Game 4, I think the composition itself was difficult. It was also a tough composition to play against Cho'Gath.
Q. (To Interim Head Coach Tom) What was the reason for drafting Jinx and Tahm Kench in the final Game 4?
As the games went on, there weren't many options left for bot lane compositions. When the opponent picked Xayah and Rakan, we thought it was a playable match-up.
Q. (To Interim Head Coach Tom) You previously went to a full set against Hanwha Life Esports. Based on that experience, what did you think you needed to do well to win?
We felt that when Hanwha Life Esports gets early initiative, they snowball the game well led by 'Kanavi'. We focused on that aspect in our preparation.
Q. (To 'Faker') How will you prepare for Worlds?
'Faker': I'm sorry that we couldn't show complete form in the playoffs. I believe we can perform well at Worlds, so I will do my absolute best. Through this loss, I think we learned what areas we lacked in and what we can improve.
Q. In terms of your series strategy today, you gave up a lot of Dragons to the opponent?
'Faker': In Games 1 and 2, the early-to-mid game leads we prepared succeeded, but afterwards, as team movements and individual mistakes combined, we ended up incurring losses.
Q. Your last LCK title was four years ago. This has been overshadowed by your three consecutive Worlds titles, but why do disappointing performances in the LCK keep occurring since V10?
Interim Head Coach Tom: We haven't won the LCK since 2023. At each of those moments, we fell short, and I think there were times when we let our guard down. Because of that, we haven't been able to achieve good results in the LCK.
'Faker': I don't really have anything to add.
