T1 League of Legends top laner Zeus poses in front of a huge orange and red OBEY DEFY sign.
Photo by Colin Young-Wolff for Riot Games

T1 Zeus’ flippant LEC takedown will leave European LoL fans fuming

The reigning League world champ is taking no prisoners.

Superstar T1 top laner Zeus has come out swinging at the LEC ahead of his team’s blockbuster clash with G2 Esports in Chengdu, with his barb sure to get European League of Legends loyalists all riled up.

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Zeus and his star-studded world championship team, T1⁠—which, of course, also boasts League GOAT Faker in its ranks⁠—are on the brink of wading into the MSI 2024 bracket stage with a meeting that always commands top billing at nearly every international League tournament: The Korean powerhouses are taking on G2, the long-reigning kings of Europe, in the opening round.

G2 caps in the LEC studio looking at his monitor
G2 is quite often heralded as the very best in the west. Photo by Michal Konkol via Riot Games

While some in the League world are tipping a G2 upset, Zeus is more confident in his roster’s imminent success. When asked by Sheep Esports this week if G2 ranks as the best team in the west, the LCK top laner agreed… with a brutal caveat.

“I do think that a lot of people believe they are really good, and maybe the top team in the Western region,” Zeus conceded when asked about G2’s chances, “but I also believe being good in the LEC versus being good and playing well on the international stage are quite different.”

There’s not much more to say here then: Ouch. It’s a particularly big blow for Europe considering the LEC fandom usually ranks its representatives quite highly in the international arena, sometimes even just behind the eastern heavyweights. To hear that a long-time rival and the reigning champion of the League top lane disagrees so thoroughly⁠—and is happy to say it⁠—hurts.

It’s not all doom and gloom though, with Zeus adding he’s eager to play G2. He tips the match-up to be “very different for everyone” and teased T1 would be bringing new weapons to bear against their old EU enemies.

None of this means Zeus is going to take things lightly come Friday evening either. He and T1 have turned up to win the whole thing, he explained, and that means destroying every team in their way. “So as long as we’re able to adapt well and showcase our skill sets, if we can prove that we are the better players, I’m sure we will be able to win MSI,” he declared ahead of the bracket stage.

The Korean second seed has already started their international run well, destroying Estral Esports and FlyQuest 2-0 each in Play Ins.

T1 vs. G2 Esports gets started at 3am CT on Friday, May 10.


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Author
Isaac McIntyre
Isaac McIntyre is the Aussie Editor at Dot Esports. He previously worked in sports journalism at Fairfax Media in Mudgee and Newcastle for six years before falling in love with esports—an ever-evolving world he's been covering since 2018. Since joining Dot, he's twice been nominated for Best Gaming Journalist at the Australian IT Journalism Awards and continues to sink unholy hours into losing games as a barely-Platinum AD carry. When the League servers go down he'll sneak in a few quick hands of the One Piece card game. Got a tip for us? Email: isaac@dotesports.com.