The dynasty unexpectedly crumbled. Zeus left T1’s “ZOFGK” roster after their successful campaign in the World Championship. Besides the gameplay, the competition between signing players is also tight in the League of Legends. Given that, some player transfers tend to be controversial and filled with drama as parties fail to negotiate. This article unravels the T1 Zeus controversy in his contract and negotiations with his former team, T1.
The Contract Negotiations: A Timeline of Tension
What affected the contract negotiations was the competing interests between Zeus, T1, and his agency, The Play. Based on the detailed timelines from The Play and T1, their negotiations for Zeus 2025 season contract was direct. They took part in multiple face-to-face and virtual discussions from November 12 to November 19.
However, the parties failed to meet each other’s demands resulting in rejection of T1’s multiple contract proposals. With that, T1 CEO Joe Marsh claimed the agency to seemingly create pressure during the contract negotiations by imposing a deadline. Certainly, it became a factor that prevented Zeus from renewing his contract for another season with T1.
But it is not how The Play sees the matter on hand as they think the offer for Zeus was “unacceptable.” It was insufficient and did not reflect Zeus’ value on his team despite his contribution in consecutive World Championship victories.
On November 19, the issue created discussions in the community, as both sides shared their accounts of the negotiation process. While T1 thinks they are close to an agreement with Zeus, his agency thinks otherwise. The Play had a different idea in regards to the contract offer that pushed Zeus to explore his other options.
The Agency’s Defense: Protecting the Player’s Interests
Accusations hit the social media following The Play’s handling of Zeus’ transfer to Hanwha Life Esports (HLE). It is inevitable for the news to blow out since he was one of the core players in the T1 roster. Yet, the agency addressed these directly in statements as to merely protect the interests of their players.
Even if Zeus was at a financial disadvantage under T1’s proposal terms, he was willing to stay with the team. Instead, he only asked to be appropriately recognized for his contributions to the T1 organization. However, what T1 has offered to them failed to reflect Zeus’ value to the team as the top laner.
Ultimately, they claimed to accommodate contract negotiations with T1 by extending the supposed deadline with Hanwha Life Esports (HLE). This certainly contradicts Joe Marsh’s account of an artificially imposed deadline during the discussion.
Zeus Speaks: A Heartfelt Farewell to T1
Zeus took his time on Instagram despite the issue on his departure from the team. He gives his thanks towards his teammates, particularly Faker who’s been playing with him since then. These two been long enough together to create dynamics beyond the Summoner’s rift. Further, he apologized to the fans following his non-renewal of contract with the team.
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Rather than diving into the contract details, his message showed his appreciation of the support given to him.
Besides the fans, Zeus understands the sadness that rummaged through the community after the news broke out. From 2019, Zeus has spent significant time of his career with T1 as a trainee developing his skills. Eventually, Zeus had a breakthrough and stepped on stage as a back-to-back World Champion with the team.
Conclusion
Wrapping up this T1 Zeus controversy, this just leads him to another playing opportunity in his career. This time, he’ll be taking his talents to another top LCK team, Hanwha Life Esports (HLE). Definitely, he played a huge part in the ZOFGK dynasty that conquered the World Championship stage. As tension dissipates, many look forward to his upcoming performance for HLE coming this 2025 season.
