The 2023 League of Legends World Championship has come to an end in an exciting finale and the Finals MVP truly stood out with his champion picks.
In 2022 T1 came within an inch of winning the Summoner's Cup. A year later the team, with the same roster, stand victorious in front of a huge crowd on home soil in Seoul. The road the team took wasn't easy, with no one believing in them even going into the tournament.
Then, when the stakes were highest, T1 trusted in their youngest member who ended up crowned the Finals MVP for his performance on Yone, Gwen and Aatrox. But one of those picks is reminiscent of the 2022 Finals against DRX.
LoL Worlds 2023 Finals: Zeus Redemption Arc With 2022 Pick
In the second game of the 2023 League of Legends World Championship Finals, Weibo Gaming picked blind Aatrox for TheShy in the top lane. Zeus' usual counter pick, Yone, had been banned so it was still a mystery what he would pick into the champion.
Without hesitating, T1 locked in Gwen for Zeus. For any T1 who watched the devastating loss in game 5 against DRX last year, this brought back an ominous feeling in the pit of their stomach. Gwen into Aatrox was the exact coutner pick Zeus tried in that game and we all know how that ended.
Gwen getting solo killed in the top lane and with DRX winning it all in 2022. But this isn't 2022 T1 and the opponent wasn't a surging DRX team. Instead, Zeus took matters into his own hands. He carried the entire game, managing to snip through Aatrox as though he was smooth butter.
Even with Weiwei and Weibo trying to put resources into the top lane to get TheShy going on Aatrox, it didn't help. Nocturne and Gwen, together with Sylas were just too good of a combo and it gave Zeus the chance to carry his team to the finish line, even managing a Flame Horizon over TheShy by the 27th minute.
The second game was a true stomp and Zeus finally got his redemption against Aatrox, even if it wasn't against Kingen.