by in
T1 defeated Bilibili Gaming 3-2 in the League of Legends World Championship 2024 final on Saturday and defended their world championship throne.
The LoL World Championship 2024 will go down in history as one of the biggest events in LoL esports history.
Not only did it end with T1 winning their second consecutive Summoner’s Cup, but the tournament also broke all the viewership records, becoming the most-watched LoL event ever.
🏆 @T1LOL ARE THE 2024 WORLD CHAMPIONS! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/GyE2wp8KXY
— LoL Esports (@lolesports) November 2, 2024
The opening ceremony – featuring Mars Atlas of Forts, Ashnikko, Tiffany Aris, and Linkin Park, who wrote this year’s anthem, Heavy is the Crown – alone drew in over 4.2 million viewers, crushing the previous record of 3.3 million in 2022.
Yet it was the final series of the tournament, which far surpassed the previous record number, as 6.46 million people watched T1 deny the Chinese side their maiden world title.
T1 flip-flop to victory
The grand final series at O2 Arena started with Bilibili Gaming taking the lead with a commanding victory on the first map, which they ended with over 9k gold lead and 18-3 in kills.
T1 did not wait long to strike back, delivering an even bigger stomping against the Chinese champions on the second map, which Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok and co. won with a 14.4k gold lead 18-3 in kills.
FOUR FOR NOTHING for @BilibiliGaming! #Worlds2024 pic.twitter.com/Pf9tckiCMV
— LoL Esports (@lolesports) November 2, 2024
In the flip-flop fashion of the LoL Worlds 2024 finals, Bilibili Gaming won the third map, handing T1 a morale-crushing loss.
On the wings of top laner Chen “Bin” Ze-Bin and ADC Zhao “Elk” Jia-Hao, who combined for 14 kills, Bilibili Gaming continued the trend of allowing the losing team just three kills, ending the map with 17-3 in kills and 14.1k gold lead.
Game four of the series did not start well for the defending champions and was well on its way to ending in Bilibili Gaming’s favour.
However, despite BLG’s best attempts to seal the deal and win their first Summoner’s Cup, Faker had other plans and turned the tides of the battle around to tie the series at 2-2.
"FAKER IS NOT OF THIS EARTH" pic.twitter.com/tEl89qmork
— LoL Esports (@lolesports) November 2, 2024
With newly-found momentum, T1 wasted no time to get ahead early on the fifth and final map of the series.
They slowly chipped away at Bilibili Gaming with exceptional team play and excellent individual performances, ending the grand final after winning a crucial fight in the 31st minute.
Faker escapes! #Worlds2024 pic.twitter.com/pY5cYo2MC1
— LoL Esports (@lolesports) November 2, 2024
Faker was again under the spotlight as he led the charge for his team.
The LoL esports veteran absorbed a lot of pressure in the mid lane and, on multiple occasions, survived almost certain death, living up to his nickname, the “Unkillable Demon King”.
HUMBLE KING pic.twitter.com/MxyKQIJrOP
— LoL Esports (@lolesports) November 2, 2024
For his performance in the grand final and throughout the tournament, the 28-year-old was declared the LoL Worlds 2024 MVP and thus became the first player in history to win the accolade twice. He won his first MVP in 2016.
An unlikely road to the fifth World Championship title
From almost not qualifying for the season-culminating event to defeating the LoL Pro League’s (LPL) Bilibili Gaming on map five in LoL Worlds 2024 grand finals, T1 have completed their season in the most unlikely fashion.
Priced as +600 outsiders on the outright betting markets before the tournament began, T1 were not expected to have the tools to deal with the world’s elite teams.
Considering their run through the second half of the season, the tag of outsiders was more than justifiable.
They ended the LoL Champions Korea (LCK) 2024 Summer Playoffs in third place and edged past KT Rolster in the LCK 2024 Regional Finals to secure LCK’s fourth seed for the event.
Having struggled domestically, T1 did not seem ready to defend their throne.
Not only did T1 have to deal with the surging Hanwha Life Esports and their arch-rivals, Gen.G, the Korean juggernauts also faced stiff opposition from LPL titans in Bilibil Gaming, Top Esports, and LNG Esports, who were all priced as serious candidates to go all the way with the top LoL betting sites.
THE FIFTH. 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 pic.twitter.com/sO58ztvAIu
— LoL Esports (@lolesports) November 2, 2024
Yet, despite all the obstacles they had to overcome, T1 made it to the end and won their fifth world championship title, retaining their status as the most successful LoL esports team in history.
The League of Legends World Championship will return to China in 2025 for the first time since 2020.
