T1 wins the League Of Legends World Championship… again

T1 won the League of Legends World Championship at the O2 Arena in London, England, defeating Bilibili Gaming 3-2 in the grand final.

The win marks the sixth World Championship for T1 and star player Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok, further cementing them as the best team and player to ever play League of Legends.

The final, held at the O2 Arena in London, England, was a back-and-forth affair, with Bilibili taking the first map before T1 fired back on the second. Bilibili then won the third game, putting them on match point and just one game away from engraving themselves in the League of Legends history books for the first time. However, T1 had other ideas and won game four despite falling behind early to set up a final game five which they would go on to win.

T1 rarely looked troubled throughout the tournament and finished the Swiss stage in third place, where they defeated Bilibili Gaming in the best time of a stage. They also defeated G2 Esports on the Swiss stage, which earned them a spot in the quarterfinals where they could face Top Esports. T1 won that game 3-0 before defeating local rivals Gen.G Esports 3-1 to secure a place in the seventh World Championship final.

On the other hand, Bilibili Gaming had a difficult path through the event after only finishing sixth in the Swiss stage, where they eliminated European favorites G2 Esports to qualify for the playoff stage but lost to T1. After a very mediocre performance on the Swiss stage, Bilibili Gaming then turned things up, dominating Hanwha Life Esports 3-1 in the quarterfinals and then defeating Weibo Gaming in the semifinals to set up a rematch against T1 in the grand final.

Winning Worlds gives T1 $445,000 and of course the title of World Champion, which will likely mean a lot more than just the money. Bilibili Gaming takes home $356,000, while Weibo Gaming and Gen.G Esports, who placed 3rd and 4th, take home $178,000.

With the competitive season now over, all eyes in the League of Legends world are turning to the release of new champion Ambessa, set to release in the coming days. She is, of course, best known as a character from the first season of Arcane, the League of Legends-themed anime on Netflix, which will also return for a second season in the next few days.