It was the match within the match. On Thursday, as T1 faced Hanwha Life Esports (HLE) in the first round of the LCK Cup playoffs, the two toplaners found themselves competing against their former teams. Last November, shortly after T1 secured its second consecutive world title, Choi “Zeus” Woo-je left the organization to join HLE following an unresolved standoff between the team and his agent. Meanwhile, Choi “Doran” Hyeon-jun moved in the opposite direction, signing with the most decorated club in history and stepping into a role fraught with immense expectations.

Their first encounter since the roster swap ultimately favored Zeus and HLE, as they eliminated T1 from LCK Cup after a grueling five-game series. Enhanced by the diversity of the Hard Fearless Draft—highlighted by Ryu “Keria” Min-seok's pick of LeBlanc support, the first in Korea since 2014—the BO remained fiercely contested and delivered on its promise. Zeus navigated the matchup masterfully and was named Man of the Match, boasting a cumulative KDA of 18/7/17 (5.0). The best toplaner in the world was especially dominant in the deciding game, spearheading his team’s victory with an unstoppable Olaf hunting the enemy backline.

A solid performance for Doran

His performance in Game 3 with Gnar was just as solid, despite facing an Irelia counterpick, and he executed numerous mechanical outplays on Jayce and Aatrox. Doran, on the other hand, had a strong showing on Rumble in Game 2 and Jax in Game 4, closing the series with a respectable KDA of 17/15/26. He was by no means a liability for his team and, in fact, delivered a solid performance. Notably, he was far from the primary reason behind T1’s defeat in Game 5. While his Akali was somewhat inconspicuous, he was not helped by Mun “Oner” Hyeon-jun’s inconsistent Skarner ultimates or Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok’s lackluster Zoe.

Doran’s 63/100 Sheep Score was the highest on his team, even surpassing that of his direct opponent (59/100). He also led in key statistics, including Gold per Minute (396 vs. 387) and Damage per Minute (601 vs. 507). However, despite a few statistical shortcomings, Zeus—whose overall rating was mainly impacted by his K’Sante game (31/100)—once again demonstrated his ability to deliver in the most crucial moments. This clutch factor was something T1 sorely lacked on Thursday, and not just in the toplane.