Why T1 haven’t changed their roster ahead of 2023 LCK season

Despite narrowly missing out on the 2022 Worlds championship, the Korean organization T1 is entering the 2023 LCK without making any roster adjustments.

While League of Legends teams from all over the world have updated their rosters to keep up with the changing meta and competition, T1 hasn’t made a single change heading into the 2023 season. Earlier in November 2022, the organization allowed its most successful player, Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok, the opportunity to consider new opportunities.

However, the move turned out to be Faker’s standard procedure to gauge his value in the market, and the organization is ultimately heading into the new season with the same lineup. Although the decision may seem optimal in light of the team’s performance in 2022, there are other layers to it. Here are the possible reasons why T1 hasn’t made a single change to their roster for the 2023 season:

Faker found the synergy with the young roster

The organization’s decision to stick with the existing squad was greatly influenced by the team’s outstanding performance throughout the year and Faker and Bengi’s good chemistry with the young T1 players. With the experience, leadership, and talent of the greatest player of all time, T1 ruled the 2022 season. A number of key events have taken place for the Korean esports organization T1 during this year’s League of Legends Championship Korea (LCK). 

The Korean squad successfully completed the 2022 Spring Split with a perfect 18-0 record, beating the previous 15-0 mark held by T1’s 2015 iteration. They carried their winning streak over to the 2022 Mid-Season Invitational, finishing second after losing the best-of-five finals to Royal Never Give Up.  Although T1 lost the Summer Split grand final to Gen.G, the team shone on the international scene, defeating Chinese powerhouses JD Gaming and RNG in the playoffs to advance to the World Championship grand finals.

Faker and T1 were denied their fourth World Championship championship, however, when heavy underdogs DRX, led by Kim “Deft” Hyuk-kyu, pulled off a 3-2 shock in the championship match.

T1’s investment in the development of its rookies has now paid off

The organization that was already successful has reached new heights thanks to the addition of several rookies who were developed through the T1 Challenger team. Choi ‘Zeus’ Woo-je, Moon ‘Oner’ Hyeon-joon, and Lee ‘Gumayusi’ Min-hyeong joining the main roster brought together some of the most mechanically gifted players in the world with some of the greatest League of Legends players ever.

Four of the team’s players including the were selected to the first All-LCK squad as a result of the team’s dominance in the Spring Split. Additionally, at the LCK Awards, T1’s top laner Zeus, jungler Oner, and support Ryu “Keria” Min-seok all received Player of the Year honors for their respective positions.

Keria served as T1’s lynchpin throughout the season

All of the T1 players had their shining moments throughout the season, but Keria consistently delivered and helped his team, even though he rarely grabbed the headlines. Keria won the MVP award for the 2022 Spring Split for his performance, becoming the first support player in South Korean League of Legends history to accomplish the feat.

Keria broke the long-standing LCK record for the most assists in a single split during the 2022 Spring Split, which had been in place for almost seven seasons. Keria broke the previous record of 445 assists held by former SK Telecom support Wolf with his 462 assists in T1’s undefeated run.

 

This feat appears more prominent than it sounds because the support role is arguably the one that gets the least attention when it comes to individual performance. The last time a support player from any of the four major League—LCS, LCK, LEC, and LPL—-received the MVP award for a split was in 2020 when Jo “CoreJJ” Yong-in of Team Liquid won the LCS MVP title.

Bengi’s return as coach was the last piece of the puzzle

Bengi’s addition to T1’s coaching staff seemed to have completely changed the team for the better, as they were dominant for the second half of the season. Along with Faker, the renowned former T1 jungler is the only other individual to have three World Championship titles. Bengi would have become the first player to win the World Championship as a coach if T1 had defeated DRX in the 2022 Worlds championship match.

A new ride with the existing roster

With three World Championship victories—two of which came in back-to-back years—T1 is already the most decorated team in League of Legends history, in large part due to Faker’s brilliance. In addition, the team has won three LCK championships and two Mid-Season Invitational titles. The players of the T1 squad will be seeking to add more championships to T1’s case in the upcoming season now that they have spent two years together and discovered the chemistry to once again rule the scene.

Header: Lee Aiksoon/Riot Games