Worlds 2023 has already entered the all-important Knockout Stage with just eight teams remaining in the tournament. However, teams have a break of almost a week before the commencement of the quarterfinal matches. While this break is not for teams and pro players to relax, all teams look forward to scrimming in blocks (morning and evening) and players also practice on solo queues with other top-rated players on the server.
During such an important time, T1’s general manager Jeong “becker” Hoi-yoon tweeted on 31st October that the team has not been able to practice properly and called out Riot Games to offer a better practice environment.
T1 Unable to Scrim & Practice Ahead of Worlds 2023 Knockout Stage
On 31st October, becker tweeted, “Due to internet issues for two days after arriving in Busan, the team has not been able to properly practice for scrims and solo queue. Despite repeated requests, the environment is such that practice is impossible, so we ask the organizers to provide a better practice environment.“
Likewise, T1’s COO Josh Woongki Ahn tweeted, “@riotgames @LCK @lolesports whoever in charge, please fix the internet issue in our practice room in Busan asap.“
Notably, many comments under the tweet called out Riot Games, seeking better facilities for the pros and teams.
Former pro player for Golden Guardians Kim “Olleh” Joo-sung provided proof, stating that he was in a game with T1’s support Ryu “Keria” Min-seok when Keria abruptly disconnected from a game.
Meanwhile, esports journalist Ashley Kang noted that Gen.G’s mid-laner Jeong “Chovy” Ji-hoon retweeted becker’s statement and that she was in the process of reaching out to other teams and Riot Games for an update on the situation.
Riot Games has yet to comment on the alleged internet outage in the hotel/facility where the teams are staying in Busan, South Korea.
Notably, the Knockout Stage of the tournament includes the quarterfinals, semifinals, and the grand finale. The eight qualifiers from Stage 2 (Swiss) will participate in the Knockout Stage of Worlds 2023. Stage 3 features a single-elimination bracket, making things all the more spicy for the teams.
The Worlds 2023 quarterfinals is scheduled to kick off on 2nd November and for four days, fans will be treated to intense best-of-fives. Following this, there will be a break of six days, after which the semifinals will take place on 11th and 12th November. The grand finals is scheduled for 19th November.
The eight teams in the quarterfinals are Gen.G, Bilibili Gaming, NRG Esports, Weibo Gaming, JD Gaming, KT Rolster, LNG Esports and T1.