T1 defeated EDward Gaming in the best-of-five lower final to lock themselves in as the second grand finalist at Masters Bangkok
The penultimate day of Masters Bangkok had the best-of-five lower finals matchup between Chinese titans EDG and Pacific’s newest superteam T1. While EDG had won their initial matchup against T1 but had fallen to G2 in the upper final, T1 had eliminated Vitality on their way to claim revenge against EDG and to have a shot at a second trophy for the Pacific region on their home turf.
The series opened on EDG’s map pick of Bind, where both teams had an almost-mirror comp, with EDG preferring Tejo over T1’s Fade. T1 on defense amply demonstrated the capabilities of Vyse, streaking off to a 7-0 then 9-1 start, eventually culminating in a 9-3 lead for the Koreans. After the sideswap, EDG won the pistol but losing the antieco cemented the death knell for the team, with T1 winning the next three rounds needed to take the map 13-4. Meteor on Vyse had 24 kills and five first kills, along with a 379 ACS – the highest on the server.
T1 were able to take the momentum of their map one win into map two with a pistol win but EDG looked comfortable on Haven, starting on attack. EDG got off to a 4-1 start, with ZmjjKK on Jett and CHICHOO on Cypher both finding crucial kills in terms of openings and lurks. They were able to extend this to an 8-4 half despite a round 12 ace from BuZz, pushing this to a 9-4 and then a 10-6 lead thanks to T1 narrowing the gap with two consecutive 3Ks from BuZz.
However, EDG were not able to hold T1 back once they commenced their attack, with each member of the Korean squad finding crucial multi-kills to enable T1 to win seven rounds in a row to take a 13-10 win and get a two map lead on EDG. Meteor had six first kills, while BuZz had 25 kills and a 330 ACS, despite ZmjjKK having 27 kills and six first kills of his own.
Map three was once again EDG’s pick of Fracture, where ZmjjKK’s Neon faced off against BuZz’s Raze. EDG’s fiery 7-1 start was tempered by T1 winning the last four rounds in the half, ending in a 7-5 in favor of the Chinese side. EDG pushed this further to 9-5, then 11-8, but T1 got to match point first at 12-11. EDG denied them the perfect 3-0 to push the series to OT, where they won the next to rounds to win Fracture and keep the series going. ZmjjKK was the MVP with eight first kills and 24 frags total.
T1’s choice of map was Split, where they ran the Yoru/Raze against ZmjjKK’s Jett. T1 won the pistol but EDG kept it close, bringing the score to 3-3. T1 were able to hold off EDG’s onslaught to find a mild advantage in their defensive half ending at 7-5. With the sideswap, their double duelist composition jumped into play, winning out the next six rounds to take the series 3-1 and eliminate EDG from Masters Bangkok.
I want to show the world that we are still competitive on the international stage. Just being able to stand here and shine in our own way is already enough. This third-place finish is a birthday gift for me, and I think third place is pretty good. I also hope my teammates will keep pushing forward together.
EDG ZmjjKK
T1 are now the second grand finalist at Masters Bangkok, and they will face off against G2 Esports to determine who the trophy winner of Masters Bangkok will be. The new agent will also debut in the showmatch.
