Sometimes you have to take risks to come out victorious. And that is exactly what T1 and Ryu “Keria” Min-seok did when they chose to pull out Kalista for support during their deciding game against Dplus KIA in League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) Spring 2023 last week.
The match between the two undefeated teams was fierce with Dplus KIA taking the first game and T1 taking the second. With their eyes set on victory, T1 decided to take an unconventional approach; They picked Kalista, which is usually played as an ADC, to play in support. And with Keria behind the controls, they made it work and came out on top.
This comes just one game after T1 and Keria took another off-meta champion, Caitlyn, and won with her too. These champions are seen as fragile who are prone to be countered in later stages of the game but Keria is clearly showing that when used well, they can be tools towards success.
In a post-match interview, Keria’s T1 teammate, Lee “Gumayusi” Min-hyeong shared: “We practice those champions together and decide they’re good. Kalista today, and Caitlyn support in the last game seemed good, so we all agreed that we should play it. Since we’re the only team that can play Caitlyn or Kalista support, it’s a big advantage for us in the draft.”
Going into their next match against Hanwha Life Esports, they are not underestimating their opponents. Even though “they aren’t having that good results, they’re great players. They can rise back up at any time,” said head coach Bae “Bengi” Seong-woong.
Especially when the current meta has been called out as “stale” and “prohibiting innovation”, these successful unconventional picks will push for more exciting tournaments that will surely bring us, fans, to the edge of our seats.
