“T1’s Choi Woo-je Aims to Overturn Public Opinion and Win Big at 2023 MSI”

T1 top laner Choi “Zeus” Woo-je revealed that he would overturn the public opinion of the team and himself.

T1 won with a set score of 3 to 2 in the top 2 rounds of the bracket stage against Gen.G eSports (Gen.G) at the ‘2023 Mid-Season Invitational (MSI)’ held at the Copper Box Arena in London, England on the 13th at 8:00 pm (Korean time). He won the 1st and 2nd sets, but was shaken by dropping 2 sets. However, he laughed as he finished the game with a single skirmish in the midfield for about 20 minutes in the 5th set.

Choi Woo-je, who was interviewed by Cookie News after the game, said, “I was excited that the first two sets were brought quickly and today was going well, but they gave me two sets and I think I put a lot of effort into getting my mental back. I was able to win the 5th set with the mindset of doing only the basics as well as possible,” he looked back on the match. Regarding the complete defeat in the 4th set, “The role of the top was to think about how each other would help the team. The growth of the bottom was very important, but it seems that it was difficult from there as that plan was gradually disrupted.”

Choi Woo-je said, “I’m happy to win, but there were a lot of things I regretted in the middle of it.” “I haven’t played ‘Gragas’ a lot recently. Since the opponent was so good at Gragas, I felt like I had stolen it. Even though it’s a pick I’m confident in, it’s a pity that I didn’t use the taste well,” he added.

T1 doesn’t have a very good memory of the 5th set of the international competition. Last year, MSI and ‘LoL World Championship (Roll Cup)’ had a close match with opponents in 5 sets, but lost all of them.

Choi Woo-je said, “My body remembers that the winning rate was not that good compared to the five sets I went through several times. So I almost felt intimidated, but since the team members had so much experience, everyone talked about the core and important things and helped each other with mind control.”

T1 met Gen.G in the Spring Finals of the ‘LoL Champions Korea (LCK)’ last month and lost with a set score of 1-3. Even before leaving the country, the T1 team had been seeking revenge against Gen.G.

However, Choi Woo-je revealed, “From a step back, today could be a very important game, but if I was too conscious of it, it would have a negative effect, so I came in with the mindset of ‘let’s just do what we do.'”

In this tournament, T1 puts strength on the bottom like last spring, but puts a tanker on the top to form a stronger combination. Wooje Choi played the tank champion in all five sets that day.

Choi Woo-je said, “In the spring finals, when we went to team fights against Gen.G’s favorite combinations, the results were not good. While preparing for this time, we tried to make up for many of the parts we lacked. I’m not 100% satisfied with the competition so far, but I think I’m showing better than before.” He said, “I decided that it would be easier to win by choosing and playing in this combination. These days, I think there are many times when the tower needs to fill the front line, so I am playing a tank. I could pull out other picks at any time, but today I continued to play with my angles.”

He mainly plays ‘sword champ’ in the league, where he shoots down opponents. He said that he is not tired of playing tank. Choi Woo-je said, “If you are a good tanker, you may feel that it is not fun. But compared to before, I don’t feel good about playing a tank, so I’m having fun thinking of it as a process of practice.”

Regarding ‘Scion’, who played down 4 sets, “I think there are many positive strengths that can influence the game in the early or mid-early period. It seems to be a good pick because it doesn’t die well in the second half.” Regarding the previous Mad Lions match and the level 1 bottom dive that we tried repeatedly that day, “When we do it, we play with the idea that it is almost a dive. We are ahead in this area, so (even if the opponent does a level 1 dive with Sion), it is worth stopping.”

T1 has been runner-up for four consecutive times from MSI last year to the spring finals. That’s why this MSI stage is even more special.

Choi Woo-je said, “I always have a lot of desire to win because I always finish runner-up even after going to the finals. It seems that the desire to win the competition right now is enormous. I think the current flow is good,” he said.

He said he wanted to erase the evaluation that ‘Zeus is weak in big matches’ through this tournament. Choi Woo-je said, “When I first heard about it, I didn’t pay much attention to it, but now that I’ve heard it continuously, I think it’s time to show it. It seems like something I have to prove.” He added, “Through this MSI, I think I have a lot of personal greed to prove to the evaluations that I show a lacking figure when I go to the multi-premise or finals.”

T1 will face off in the top 3 rounds of the bracket with the winner of the head-to-head match between Jingdong Gaming and Bilibili Gaming in the Chinese Pro League. Choi Woo-je evaluated, “Both teams are so good that no matter who comes up, it will be a very fierce match.”

Reporter Moon Dae-chan [email protected] View articles