The competition on the Rumble Stage of MSI 2022 continued to heat up on day 2. T1 defeated Saigon Buffalos in a commanding fashion in their first match of the day. T1 faced off against RNG in the classic LCK vs LPL showdown, where they suffered their second defeat of the Rumble Stage.

Prior to the match, we at Inven briefly caught up with the CEO of T1, Joe Marsh. Among the swarm of fans who were waiting to take photos, Joe spoke about his experience in Busan so far, how the team’s doing after their loss against G2 Esports on day 1, and his appreciation to the fans.

How do you feel about being here? How are you absorbing the atmosphere at BEXCO so far?

It’s great to be here. It’s great to have live events back. Obviously, this is our first time playing in Korea for an international event, so the support from the fans have been insane. We have a pop-up store right across the street from the arena, and it’s been packed every single day. It’s been great.

I met caPs’ dad real quick as well, and it’s super cool to see him travel all over the world to support his son, who’s an incredible player in his own right. It’s also been great to hear all the cheers for T1; it’s only the Rumble Stage right now, but we’re looking forward to finishing strong and see where we go once we get to the Knockout Stage.

It must obviously suck to see the team lose against G2 in their first match. Have you heard back on how the team handled their loss?

I talked to Polt right after we lost; we still feel very confident and good. We know what mistake we made, and it’s correctible. We feel pretty confident against all the teams in the tournament, including G2. Anything can happen on a Bo1; it’s a lot different when it’s a Bo5 or a Bo3. They feel pretty good at the moment.

Is there anything you’d like to say to all the fans cheering you on from the venue and around the world?

The fan support has been amazing. I think I took like a thousand pictures. It’s just been great to see everybody and see them support T1. I’m so appreciative of the fans, especially after a couple tough years of COVID. To have live events again is a different feeling. To have live League, live esports is just amazing. It’s just the best there is. We’re excited to keep putting on a show for our fans and hopefully we can keep putting on a show for our fans.

Lastly, I heard that Arnold [CEO of Gen.G] promised his players a taco party if they won LCK this past Spring. What kind of a party is planned for the T1 players if they win MSI?

Well, our tradition is that we get steak dinners after big wins. We don’t do tacos; we go more upscale with some nice beef. When we win MSI, Keria’s from Busan, so we’ll make sure to enjoy a great meal, the nightlife, and some festivities after that. I’m excited! We take it one game, one day at a time.

To the fans: Thank you guys so much. Please keep supporting us. We suffered our first loss of 2022, but that’s okay. It’s a Bo1. The guys have been talking about the fan reaction non-stop, and they’re really feeding into it. We feel confident, so keep cheering us on.