T1 are known for having the best talent-development system (or "farm", colloquially) in the LCK. There is a saying in the industry to "trust and sign the T1 rookies" — a decree that has followed some of the best T1 prospects to lucrative overseas careers.
The majority of T1's 2022 starting roster is from their farm system. Choi "Zeus" Woo-je, Lee "Gumayusi" Min-hyeong, and Moon "Oner" Hyeon-joon will fight alongside Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok and Ryu "Keria" Min-seok in the new year. Last year, they also had Kim "Canna" Chang-dong, who's since moved to Nongshim RedForce during the offseason.
The League of Legends scene is rich on T1 farm alumni. 2021 world champion Lee "Scout" Ye-chan used to be a substitute for Faker, before he moved on to EDward Gaming and started his career as an SKT T1 trainee. Players like Lee "Effort" Sang-ho (two-times LCK champion and Worlds semifinalist), Han "Leo" Gyeo-re (bot laner for Kwangdong Freecs), Son "Lehends" Si-woo (two-times LCK finalist and Worlds quarterfinalist), Kim "Aiming" Ha-ran, and Kim "Lava" Tae-hoon were also nurtured in T1 Rookies.
T1's farm system is also the reason why the org's 2022 roster is so saturated. The club has so many great rookies that even some more experienced players cannot get a chance to play over the new talent. That's why T1 opened up their farm system during the off-season and immediately found starting-roster deals for several of their players: a win-win(-win) scenario.
Even some players from T1's main roster moved houses. Canna, Moon "Cuzz" Woo-chan, and Park "Teddy" Jin-seong moved to new teams all switched to new teams. Meanwhile, Lee "Clozer" Ju-hyeon transferred to Liiv SANDBOX, Choi "Ellim" El-lim and Ryu "Hoit" Ho-seong moved to Kwangdong Freecs. Kim "Berserker" Min-cheol found a team overseas and joined Cloud9.
The aggressive trading and selling of players, however, has led to some criticism towards T1, as their main 2022 roster is now very young. With no new signees during the offseason, the average age of the starting five is 19.8 years. Count Faker's 25 years out, the average age drops to 18.5 — quite young for a team that is supposed to challenge for Worlds titles. Still, most of T1's starting members have made Worlds semifinals, so the worries might be premature, especially after a year in which young blood continuously trumped experience.
The upcoming spring split will tell if T1's decisions were right. 2022 LCK Spring begins Jan. 12.
- David "Viion" Jang
- Email : viion@inven.co.kr
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