LCK 2026 Playoffs T1 Versus FearX Review: T1 Survive a Dangerous Scare
T1 and FearX kicked off the LCK Playoffs. BFX took the fight to T1, pushing them to a fifth game. The LCK series saw Doran pick Nasus, a champion many expected earlier in the LCK. He was T1’s best performer throughout the series. His Kennen was the difference-maker in game five, carrying T1 to victory. They will face either Gen.G Esports or Hanwha Life Esports in Round 2.
The Circus Stays Away
Raptor opened the game for BFX with a gank on Faker. He died to VicLa for first blood. That gave BFX early priority. They tried to use that to target Peyz and Keria. Raptor blundered his engage, allowing Oner and Faker to arrive.
BFX looked for another play in the bot lane, but they hesitated. Faker caught VicLa and T1 took over. After a second T1 dive, Peyz had a 1.4k gold lead. T1 steadily built on their lead. Oner and Faker went for mid-lane plays. Oner died often, but T1 picked up more kills.
BFX earned a couple of picks on Peyz and Doran here and there, but it was not enough. T1 played the late game by the book. Not overforcing for the game end. They took Baron and approached the Elder Drake fight. Even with Oner caught, T1 turned and obliterated the rest of BFX.
And The Circus Returns
For the second game in a row, Faker dies for first blood. He died a second time when trying to fight VicLa in mid. A T1 bot lane play defined the game. Doran teleported in to punish BFX’s overforce. However, Raptor went out with Grand Starfall, and the map snowballed. T1 lost the Rift Herald fight, and the lead grew.
BFX took control of the game with their lead. Every skirmish went their way. VicLa played a big part, landing Charm after Charm. T1’s dive composition could not burn through BFX. Even with a perfect ultimate combination of Call of the Forge God and Encore, T1 lost the fight. While down 12k gold, T1 sent another Hail Mary play onto Taeyoon. Everything landed, but they did not kill anyone.
The Solo Lanes Crumble
Faker died again for first blood. It was the earliest of them all, dying at level 1. Shortly after, Doran died to a gank from Raptor. Clear hit level six, while Doran was only level four. Oner tried to cover the dive, but Doran still died.
T1’s only winning lane was bot lane. They did not have the champions or the gold to match Kled. T1 bled throughout the game. They found a couple of good plays, but that only stemmed the bleeding. One kick from Raptor caught Peyz and earned BFX Baron.
T1 had to give up Cloud Soul, but were forced to contest the second Baron. T1 had a perfect start, killing VicLa. The gold lead was too much for T1 to deal with.
T1 Scale Into Silver Scrapes
Doran picked Nasus. Many expected the top lane champion to come out earlier in the LCK. Doran fell behind early, but he remained stable while stacking. Peyz and Keria crushed the bot lane with Oner’s help. Raptor got ahead of Oner from minute one after invading Oner’s Raptors.
BFX clawed back some of the deficit with a dive on Peyz. He lost both Summoner Spells and died to Taeyoon. With BFX on the clock, they forced a Baron. T1 responded with four kills, but not the objective. T1 then overextended in BFX’s jungle, and they regained control of the map.
The third Baron saw another nail-biting fight with two members alive on both sides. Neither felt comfortable starting the Cloud Soul. Another 5v5 broke out; Oner took the Drake, and Doran teleported into the base. Taeyoon killed three, but no one could get back in time to stop Doran.
Doran Sends T1 to Round 2
Game 5 was a tense affair between the two teams. Neither team wanted to give away free kills. An Oner countergank opened the floodgates. T1 earned two kills to one. They overstepped on the Drake fight, which led to Peyz and Keria dying. Fortunately, Doran had the perfect Teleport flank and saved the play.
That became the story of the game. Whenever a play was tipping in BFX’s favor, Doran arrived to seal it for T1. T1 expertly snowballed, taking Baron at 20 minutes. They could go wherever they wanted, and they would win. One final teamfight for the Cloud Soul sealed the LCK series for T1.
Champions Played
T1
- Doran – Jayce, Ornn, Olaf, Nasus, Kennen
- Oner – Vi, Nocturne, Naafiri, Skarner, Poppy
- Faker – Taliyah, Akali, Galio, Anivia, Yone
- Peyz – Yunara, Ezreal, Jhin, Miss Fortune, Varus
- Keria – Lulu, Seraphine, Bard, Neeko, Renata Glasc
FearX
- Clear – K’Sante, Rumble, Kled, Yorick, Lissandra
- Raptor – Jarvan IV, Pantheon, Lee Sin, Maokai, Xin Zhao
- VicLa – Ryze, Ahri, Annie, Viktor, Azir
- Taeyoon – Lucian, Zeri, Kai’Sa, Corki, Kalista
- Kellin – Milio, Yuumi, Shen, Nami, Soraka
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