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T1 Keria reflects on Worlds 2026 elimination: "I wanted to win with Peyz this year"
Who would have thought that Worlds 2026 would crown a new champion for the first time in years?
In the tournament's second semifinal, two of the best League of Legends teams from South Korea and China faced off for a place in the Grand Finals, which will take place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. However, few expected the result that followed.
After years of trying to break the curse, Bilibili Gaming finally took down their biggest rivals, T1. With this victory, BLG not only eliminated the defending champions, who were chasing an unprecedented fourth consecutive Worlds title, but also became the first LPL team to defeat T1 in a best-of-five series at Worlds.
On the other side, T1 couldn't find a way past BLG, struggling to find their footing against a team that played with confidence and aggression. They eventually fell 1-3, bringing their Worlds 2026 campaign to an end.
Following the match, Strafe Esports spoke with Ryu "Keria" Min-seok about the series, the factors behind T1's defeat, and his experience playing alongside Kim "Peyz" Su-hwan.
It's obviously a difficult result, especially considering how much T1 has achieved at Worlds over the past few years. How are you feeling now?
"It's been a while since we've been eliminated from Worlds. I'm not in a good mood right now. If I had performed better today, we could have won the match. I'm a bit sad about that."
You've faced BLG several times before, so you know each other pretty well by now. What made this semifinal different from your previous matchups?
"I think BLG is a team that plays very boldly, and they have a lot of confidence in their playstyle. When you look at other teams, you can see that they sometimes get intimidated by BLG's bold approach.
However, today, we didn't have the same confidence in our playstyle that we had in our previous matches against BLG. I think we lacked confidence and were a bit intimidated, so those could have been contributing factors. That's how I felt about our performance, and I'm a bit sad about that."
Do you think winning multiple championships has made these defeats easier to process, or has it made losing even harder?
"It's difficult for me to accept today's defeat, and I'm not just talking about this year's Worlds. Looking back at the year as a whole, we didn't make it to any finals, and our performances weren't good at all. I'm a bit sad about that, but I think we can do better next year."
Do you think today's defeat was the result of issues you've struggled to fix throughout the year, or was it more because certain aspects of this Worlds' meta made things difficult for you?
"I don't know if it's because we haven't been able to overcome the issues behind today's defeat throughout the year, but I guess there are still things we could have done better that we haven't managed to fix."
You've reached the highest level of League of Legends and won multiple international titles, but every season brings a new challenge. After this elimination, do you feel there is still something missing from your career?
"I feel like League of Legends is a game where I can constantly learn new things. As for my future goals, I have a lot of things I want to achieve and hope to show better performances. Like I said before, I don't think I've been consistent enough over the past year. I just want to perform well. That's my main goal."
T1 has a very particular identity and history. Do you ever feel that playing for this organization comes with a responsibility that goes beyond simply winning games?
"As a professional player, I always want to carry that sense of responsibility with me. Since joining T1, I've received a lot of attention and support from the fans, so I feel that my responsibility has grown even bigger. I really want to live up to their expectations, and that's what I always try to do."
How would you describe your year playing alongside Peyz and the synergy you’ve built together? Do you think this bot lane has the potential to bring better results next year?
"I think I've learned a lot from playing with Peyz this year. I have many great memories of playing with him, and not just from winning games. Thanks to him, I really enjoyed playing this year, and I'm grateful that we got to share the bot lane.
At the same time, I feel sorry that I wasn't able to win with him this year, as that was something I really wanted. Next year, we'll do our best to improve and perform better."
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Featured image credit: Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games
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