Whenever we discuss which top laner is the strongest in League of Legends, we may get a different answer. But when asked which team is the best to do the work, it has to be G2 in Europe. G2 is a team of former pros who have a strong ability to stand out in the European esports scene, and they have always been able to integrate the memes well into the team culture. On September 22nd, G2 released the latest video of the whole game, in which only the mid-laner Caps appeared, but it was full of all kinds of laughs.
The video begins with Caps wiping his championship trophy at home, and Faker sends Caps a message about Hey, because Faker and Caps have filmed a lot of interactive videos before, and the relationship between the two is still very good. Caps' wallpaper is a photo of their win over the Red Bull Cup last year, and when Caps saw the information, his heart began to be full of OS, which can be described as a brain opener.
"Why did he message me? Maybe it's just a mistake? No, Faker can't make mistakes. He probably just wanted to send me a message. "This minute-long self-talk and various analyses still make people feel very funny, and even playing Caps is no longer Baby Faker, and now Faker is a Baby Caps meme." I guess that's a good thing? We almost beat them at MSI and we did beat them at the Red Bull Cup. ”
Eventually, Caps came to the conclusion that Faker was not sending messages to him to catch up, but to influence his mindset ahead of Worlds. "Now he knows it's going to be a rematch in Paris, so he wants to influence your mentality. In fact, it should be you who influence him. Caps edited long messages with various expressions to reply to Faker, but he was so nervous that his forehead was sweating and his whole body was shaking, and he finally only replied with a "Hi".
Faker then replied, saying that the wrong number had been sent, and the entire video clip came to an abrupt end. In the back, a poster of a photo of the five G2 players appeared, and the words "Red Bull Cup" on December 15, 2024 appeared. Apparently, this video is a warm-up for the 2024 Red Bull Cup Invitational, and Caps also mentions that they beat T1 in the Red Bull Cup. Red Bull is a sponsor of G2 and T1, and they held the League of Legends Invitational in Europe last December, pit T1 and other European teams against each other, and will continue to host the event on December 15 this year.
T1 and G2 are now confirmed for this tournament, so we will be able to see Faker take on Caps again in the Red Bull Cup. However, with the 2024 World Finals just around the corner, we may not have to wait for the Red Bull Cup to see the two mid-laners meet again, with G2 playing as the hosts, eager to defend the LEC honor on the European stage. The T1 club has not responded further to the video for the time being, as they are busy attending a fan meeting in Hong Kong, China.
After attending the Red Bull fan meeting in Korea on September 20 and sharing their experience of the T1 documentary filmed by Red Bull, the T1 team members flew to Hong Kong, China on the afternoon of September 21 and will attend the HSBC fan meeting on the afternoon of September 22. The organizer also shared photos of the T1 players getting off the plane, and although the schedule was relatively full, it could be seen that the T1 players were still in a good mood. After all, this is a sponsor-sponsored event, and T1 offers players a very high salary contract, which includes added commercial value.
But surprisingly, the T1 Club is not entirely dependent on sponsors for its revenue. According to Chief Operating Officer Josh in an interview this week, T1 currently has five main sources of revenue, the first is sponsors such as Red Bull, Samsung, and Mercedes-Benz, the second is the sales of T-shirts, accessories, and cushions, the third is documentaries, videos and other content businesses, the fourth is the sales of bonuses and skins for league and international events, and the fifth is the fan experience business such as T1's home stadium and pop-up stores.
T1 is currently investing heavily in the fan experience business, and merchandising is expected to surpass partner sponsorship revenue by the end of the year. I have to say that T1's peripherals are selling too well, and the money earned almost exceeds the sponsorship fee, which can be said to be unique in the e-sports club. Josh mentioned that esports teams must find new ways to generate revenue in addition to sponsorships and prize money, and that home events, T1 stores, and merchandising are part of this strategy that has already generated millions of dollars for the team.