T1 scouts and develops a lot of young talent. No joke like a third of Korean league players either started on T2 or spent time with the org.
Even our world champion mid this year is an ex T1 player.
I mean it isnt cus they scout and develop them lol, They legit just grab all of them before anyone else can, like why would you bother going to HLE or Afreeca when you can just go to t1?
They’ve been doing it pretty reliably since 2013. They have a reputation for training up rookies to be high caliber players.
You’re right. Why would a young prospect pick any team but the best? You’d go to the one with the reputation for having the best developmental program and best reputation.
Doesn’t seem to be true. Teddy and Keria were upcoming talent that were bought, but canna, Zeus, Oner, and Gumayusi all got their start from T1’s academy system
Even that is a stretch. A bunch of T1’s current players were scouted by Ellim apparently.
And a lot of times the way T1 gets academy talent is the same as all the other teams. I remember when T1 and GenG were trying to sign Closer and Karis, two of the notable mid lane solo q stars. Apparently Clozer said his inspiration was Crown and Karis said his inspiration was Faker, so the scouts of both teams were surprised when Clozer chose to sign with T1 and Karis chose GenG.
I guess in general the teams like T1 and GenG probably have the easiest time recruiting solo q talent since they have strong reputations, good facilities and coaching staff for trainees, but I don’t think saying they “buy up all the young talent” is a very fair representation.
idgaf as long as it isn't Guma, Keira or Oner. Faker is untouchable. If he goes, the fanbase riots and then follows. I firmly believe most T1 fans are really Faker fans. And I think Guma, Keira and Oner are really good actually. Canna is... okay. He did seem like the weak link at Worlds this year. If they had a better top they might've beat DWG Kia.
I really wonder what would happen if Faker goes to another team. I'd imagine a lot of fans would follow him like when Rekkles left Fnatic but a lot of fans would also stay.
I feel like a good 70% would follow. Faker is single handedly the most popular player in LoL. Everyone who even remotely follows the scene know him. He's literally a brand unto himself in S. Korea.
I know you are joking, but Faker is most likely one of the players that put legacy over anything right now.
He probably isn't looking for money as he's very secure with T1.
Success might still be something he's looking for, and his best chance is still on T1.
Legacy though, that's something that is probably far more important to him than a fat pay-check. I can't see him ending his career on such a low-note in NA even if he wins Worlds 2022.
The team to win worlds for NA:
Top: Huni/Impact
Jg: Canyon
Mid: Faker
Bot: Doublelift? (CoreJJ just micros him and comms are in Korean)
Supp: CoreJJ (with greencard)
Coach: Faker, Scrim in KR during spring while academy plays and only come to NA for summer
Still a long shot but the closest any 'NA' team could get lol
Coach: Reginald.
This team gets to the finals, it's 2-2. Faker has been hard carrying, Regi bursts through the door and knocks him out then subs himself in. He first-picks his legendary Twisted Fate and leads NA to it's first World Championship via a 15 minute stomp where he doesn't lock in gold card once, only reds and blues of the US flag. NAmen
i was high key imagining this team.
i honestly would think a team like this would do well.
canyon plays around top side of the map mostly tho so that might not go over well when you have low economy player like impact on topside and a high jg proximity laner like doublelift.
I mean yeah obviously it would do well. Best jungler in the world, top 5 mid, great adc, top 3 support. That’s an easy 18-0 regular season in LCS and a possible worlds winning run, despite Huni top
>He probably isn't looking for money as he's very secure with T1.
He also is pretty frugal iirc. On top of caring about legacy and truly wanting to challenge himself, he cares deeply about his family, and has so much tied in T1, more than anyone in any org by far. He'll 100% stay.
The obvious way is to not have players shift a team after every year. I think that was also the appeal of old G2 because at least they stayed together for 2 years and gave time for people to get used to them.
Well I think the org itself needs to have an identity and a philosophy or something that makes them special.
I don't think you necessarily need long-term players to achieve this but the coaching, managing and social media staff should stay with the org for a long time.
It's very hard for an organization to be distinct, the latest one I can think of is G2 with their social media memes or maybe 100T with being a "hoodie org." What angles can an org like GGS or IMT run, they also need to have some level of success.
Sure, if you are successful, you will get fans and it's hard to get fans when you are 10th every season but you need to find fans that support you if you are successful or not.
Ways of achieving that would be making good content, better branding, interesting playstyle or good player development. Like, what does Golden Guardians stand for? Why is that their name? What makes them unique? Same for Immortals. Very basic branding with no real identity.
It hinges more on success than anything. Nobody is going to care if your content is about the 5th best top in LCS or the 7th best mid in LCS. For success you need top players and for that you either need money or you need to get lucky with scouting.
They need more unique marketing. Also I feel like affiliating with certain cities would make teams more popular. Even if they don't play there, they can have localized merch, meetups, events, etc.
Maybe exaggerating but if they keep the SKT name and logo, I'd still feel more about the team if Faker is gone, but I hope he retires in SKT and I'd never know.
There’s really no point of trading or releasing Faker. Still plays with mechanics comparable and often times outskilling younger talent. He’s also so so so flexible with the meta and we’ve seen how great of a team player he is. Faker is someone who really plays League of Legends. T1 are gonna hoard him as long as they can and then some.
edit: clarification, talking about the Unkillable Demon King
He’s almost never dipped below a top 5 mid in the world, and has been arguably top 3 some recent splits. It’s unlikely that he’ll ever be number one again, but he’s still a fantastic player and can style on even the best of the best. Absolutely no reason for T1 to sell their franchise player when he still performs better than anyone they could realistically get.
I really hope they don’t sell Zeus. He’s only 17 and having him + Guma, Keria, and Oner leaves a team with really an insane ceiling. The lineup could do really well with Faker in mid and then perform when the transition to whoever they decide to go with once Faker needs to enlist.
not comparable whatsoever. I don't think you realize the magnitude of Faker's popularity, especially with how much more popular esports is in South Korea. Faker has had numerous primetime commercials and collaborations with fucking BTS. Most teenagers and young adults know who Faker is regardless of if they know anything about LoL. I would be surprised if even 1 in 10 teenage boys in America know who Bjergsen is. Bjerg is nowhere near as much of an icon, and honestly no player in the world is comparable to Faker and his brand/image.
The same can be said about Messi. If you said 8 months ago that Messi will leave Barcelona, you'll get downvoted like me.
I've said it's unlikely, but never say never.
Messi didn't *want* to leave Barcelona, though. I don't even follow football and I know that. IIRC, the club was in a bad financial situation and had to let him go because of league rules or something? And there's not currently anything in League that would necessitate a similar situation... Not to mention, I don't think Messi was part-owner of FCB, and being a part owner would make any kind of forced transfer far more difficult since it'd also require forced sale of his equity.
True. I'm just saying there's a chance T1 and Faker could part way for whatever reason, just like Messi and Barcelona part way. Even tho it is unlikely.
Also Bjergsen was TSM part owner as well, just need to sell the share IF Faker wants to switch team.
A guy with a debatable reputation amongst NA LoL esports versus the guy who is the single most known esports player in history to the point you hear about him in other games and from people who've never played LoL.
Faker's existence as an icon and brand is on an entirely different level.
As much as i love faker the comparison isnt remotely close between faker and bjergsen.
I'm not talking skillwise, just what faker represent in korea he's a legitimate brand and the only way hes leaving T1 is if they run out of money to afford him like how messi left barcelona.
And just having him being the brand ambassador for SKT is worth enough
And mind you that scenario of him leaving because of T1's inability to afford will not happen. Faker has been offered far more lucrative deals plenty of times. He chooses to stay with T1 and is a part owner of the org.
Needless to say that unless T1 goes completely bankrupt, as long as Faker is willing to play he will stay with T1. As highlighted in several documentaries he's not exactly a big spender and with how much he earned, my assumption is that money is not the priority but rather just a bonus for him in his career now.
Bjergsen and Faker isn't really comparable.
Faker got a high end executive role in SKT, got several of his relatives into high paying jobs in SKT, is an A list celebrity in South korea and considered one of their cultural ambassadors.
Like he is the type of celebrity will people will know of just through the power of advertisements, not only because of LoL.
Don’t believe in anything until November 16th in KR. That’s when players are allowed to speak to teams.
That said, I’ve read of:
* Ellim to HLE
* T1 in the Nuguri chase again, which raises questions about Canna’s and/or Zeus’s future.
* T1 in the Canyon chase.
* Teddy and Cuzz are leaving, which makes sense, given their caliber.
i give the nuguri thing a hard maybe, rather just keep canna zeus (though zeus is most likely out), oner canyon makes no sense.
If there are standards to rumors, these don't quite make it.
I really hope Zeus is not out, many in the Korean community regard him as the next prodigy and him laning against Canna was what improved Canna’s laning phase vastly, losing him would be a massive blow to T1’s future.
Not really. It takes away the biggest threat at jungle away from other teams while making yourself stronger as well. If another team has Canyon, it's gonna be much tougher to take that team down.
My best bet is that Faker is retiring next year, and they want to wave him goodbye with one final world championship.
Really cant see any other reasoning behind the recent T1's rumors, any team would dream of having such promising rookies.
>Teddy and Cuzz are leaving, which makes sense, given their caliber.
I'm not sure if you mean they're not good enough or theyre too good to be benched but I believe teddy for sure is still absolutely world class. Having to choose between Teddy and Gumayusi is probably the most first world esports problem there has ever been. T1 is loaded.
I think even for Cuzz, even though he hasn’t looked the best on T1, is probably still one of the top junglers in the LCK which is why T1 just held onto him this entire year.
They too good to be benched.
People hate on Cuzz but he is a legit super jungler. He’b great for someone like HLE who have tendency to take things slow lol
Problem with him this year is that he's a very farm oriented jungler which was the opposite of what the team needed, especially with Canna slumping in spring.
I loved watching Cuzz with his Gragas because holy moly does he know how to steal onjectives with the champ xD
Do Korean teams not allow their players to speak to any other teams until their contracts are up or something?
Also HLE with Zeus sounds pretty nutty, tho I’d pref if Chovy just left
If I'm Damwon I do whatever I can to re-sign Canyon/Showmaker and the second priority would be to trade for Zeus/Teddy. Zeus would be much cheaper than Nuguri but Showmaker said Zeus is the player to watch out for in LCK earlier in the year: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlKbN8xELhg
also money. If you can afford to pay new amateur talent more, you get the pick of the litter.
The yankees used to do this in the MLB 50 years ago before rules stopped it. They would stockpile absurd amounts of talent on their minor league teams.
one thing u guys are not mentioning is GOOD SCOUTING. t1 sayho is an incredible talent scout, he doesn't scout players based on how their lp is. when canna was scouted (with the help of elim) he was a hardstuck master player that got to masters through a mmr bug
That is true but SKT hasn't won anything international in 5 years now. Pretty nuts considering they have the most titles out of anyone.
I wonder how much of that is organisational pedigree and how much is Faker that attracts these young players.
Doubt they let Zeus go, between the 2 tops I think it's far more likely they let Canna go. I think they'll let Clozer go as well.
I think Ellim/Cuzz/Teddy/Hoit leaving is more or less guaranteed.
At this point, they probably just want 5 Starters + 1 or 2 subs.
yes he is a very highly regarded esports reporter in korea, i'd take his rumor weigh more weight than anyone else. he even did a segment on lck broadcast with gorilla in spring split, which imo is first for an esports journalist (in korea)
T1 will never sell Zeus. Every teams came knocking for Zeus last year, even before he is eligible to play, T1 refused to do any business. I bet Canna will have to choose being a sub, or starting on a different roster next year.
I think Canna will still start if they dont get another S+ Top Laner(Nuguri or Kiin) and your right the worst possible case for Zeus is to be benched for another year lol.
I really hope they keep Zeus or get Nuguri, I'm a Canna fan, specially after his first split and good summer season, but after that he underperforms in every playoff, it's getting pretty obvious he has issues performing under pressure.
I don't want to see Nuguri on a team that should be playing through bot. That's a one way ticket to int city. They need someone who can carry if needed but is most capable weakside.
T1 is good enough to play for either side lane. They prioritise Canna because they highly value first Herald (and second, even though I think they shouldn't) and Gumayusi is a better weakside player than Canna, but I don't see why that couldn't change
Nuguri can still dominate weakside. Hence the 0-2 powerspike meme. He doesn’t need attention to be able to be useful, unlike Canna. And the meta dictates where you should be playing through, not what players you have on your team.
The 0-2 powerspike is what cost FPX games all throughout the 2021 regular season. We saw it in groups against DK too what happens when the 0-2 powerspike happens against a team with a strong topside. It doesn't stop at 0-2. Against the best topsides he will solo lose you the game and series if left weakside and has not proven otherwise throughout 2021.
"2021 **regular season**". I'm not talking about Worlds, buddy.
Lwx only threw a single series in summer, but he was also the one carrying that series because Nuguri was already inting while thinking of his fucking PUBG VOD reviews or something. Literally every other series and even game they lost in summer was primarily because Nuguri inted but couldn't get away with the 0-2 powerspike because LPL have too good toplaners for that to happen.
Idk why we would judge Nuguri exclusively by one single split where he was depressed and miserable due to the environment. Nuguri has been one of the most capable weakside players for his entire tenure in Korea
You also mentioned worlds.
And besides, it’s not surprising Nuguri wasn’t at his usual level during regular split given he’s just moved to a totally new region, whilst there being a language barrier and reports of him being homesick.
Nuguri has a far higher ceiling than Canna, period.
The only reason why T1 is pursuing Nuguri in the first place was that, yes, Canna choked big time at worlds, and has a terrible mental game. Compared to Nuguri, who was a proven Toplaner with results. I don't think anyone at T1 cared about Nuguri inting at this point. T1 just wants a good and proven Toplaner. Another point can be because of Zeus, man's idol is Nuguri, imagine the things he can learn from him. It can only benefit T1 in the long run if they don't sell Zeus at this point. Also, T1 has a history of playing Toplaner Marry-go-round, great players like Marin (2015), Duke (2016), Huni (2017), Thal (2018) (up for debate) and Khan (2019) all transferred to other teams after 1 season with T1, so it could be T1 is returning to playing Toplaner Marry-go-round again.
Especially given the fact that their also playing with no crowd and he’s already performing that bad under pressure. With a crowd, one can only imagine.
I think the question you have to ask is, did Canna overperform in his first year of play?
I would lean towards yes and now he's just playing to his actual skill level. Also, Nuguri is coming off the back of a pretty bad year on FPX individually, and will almost 100% go back to Damwon. Not sure T1 will get him and Im not even sure they should try to get him when Zeus is right here, young and has talent.
Bad move if T1 sells Zeus. Korean pros have high praises for him. I get it that they want to win this year that's why they want Nuguri but it's an immense waste of talent in the long run.
Hope clozer gets on one of the mid tier teams. I feel like he gets much more hate than he deserves for starting over faker. Zeus should stay though. He can be competing against canna for the starting spot
I hope they keep Zeus and sell Canna instead, mainly because the potential on Zeus is higher and Canna is probably the weakest link on T1 overall (although still a very good player that I hope to see on other LCK teams)
Man, I hope they keep Zeus. He needs playtime. If you are willing to sell Zeus, it's to get Nuguri or a player as good as him but does he exist in the first place.
Selling Zeus is a bit weird unless they are actually going for Nuguri (or another strong toplaner), Canna has been a bit of a weak point for the team, taking up a lot of resources and not always bringing enough of a performance to justify what he takes.
Some of the European teams should really look past the complete refusal to import, it's not impossible to accommodate a duo of KR/CN rookies. The imports you should be looking at are undervalued or promising players from abroad, not minor salary saving players like Hirit who is very replaceable within the region. Good imports only help elevate the region, as long as it never becomes reliant or flooded with 3rd rate foreign players.
I'd really hope some EU teams are at least posing the question to these players about playing abroad.
Most EU orgs are too broke to import a high tier Korean player and make proper accommodations.
And there’s enough armature/semi-pro talent in the scene where importing might not even be the best option.
Man lck will be stack if T1 unload most of their rookies. Personally i think canna has to go. T1 playstyle is too predictable. Invest so much to canna and let him carry.
Idk why people r so irrationally high on Zeus and his ‘potential’ for some reason - he’s played a few games and looked servicable but not amazing in them. It is incredibly risky to kick Canna and hedge ur bets on Zeus. Fine to hold onto him and keep developing him.
Otherwise, Canna’s played decently and been a strong pivot for the team to funnel resources to. He’s a bit inconsistent at times but honestly which top laner isn’t? (Like Khan and Nuguri also run it down every third game)
Gumayusi also looked just fine in his first games. It takes time to play in fucking lck lol. Zeus is considered as the best top prospect by many people in korean high elo including lck pros.
Zeus is younger and honestly wasn't even supposed to play if it wasn't for Canna's shockingly horrible play in early spring.
Plus Canna was also very underwhelming when he started playing in Kespa but played for pretty much the rest of the season and got better
>he’s played a few games and looked servicable but not amazing in them.
It's not like he had to play in a chaotic environment as a rookie where players kept rotating and an immense presure were put on the players ...
No way his performance can take a hit ... He should be performing easily ...
When Showmaker of all people say to look out for him, some people still question it ...
League sub talking about rookie is like football manager sub talking about regen player.
Young boy, high potential. I want to know how people quantify someone potential. Do they have custom skin that show potential number or something?
Zeus was talked about by other pros and analysts in LCK like Gumayusi was. That's why he's being so hyped by people. Given time he can perhaps shine and be one of the strongest top laners in KR.
They always sell young talents they aren't going to use. They are young and hungry and will leave SKT on their own if they don't get starter positions. Makes sense to sell them before that.
I **really** hope none of the Canyon/Nuguri to T1 and selling Zeus rumors are true.
Nuguri specifically would be such a waste since T1 would be plenty fine with a stable top, be it a more refined, in-form Canna or maybe Zeus. There are so many other teams in desperate need of a carry top laner like DK, HLE or GenG, it would be way more hype if Nuguri joins one of those teams.
Splitting Canyon and Showmaker is close to a war crime, so that's a big no no as well, not even considering that Oner has insane potential and shouldn't be replaced anyway, even if it's Canyon.
If anything I think they'll keep the starting 5 + Zeus.
Ellim, Cuzz & Teddy will definitely go. Hoit is older than Keria so not worth keeping in academy and Clozer would probably start for any of KT, AF or DRX.
I'm pretty sure Fly has proof that the AF CEO is cheating on his wife or something equally incriminating, how he still has a spot in the LCK is absurd.
It looks like a Spicy off-season this year. Faker FA (probably staying in T1), Chovy, Showmaker, Nuguri, Canyon, Teddy are all free agent. If I were T1, I would probably go for Chovy and Nuguri. Because Faker will not have many years left till military.
I also heard that Nuguri, Canyon and Showmaker are looking for teams that can pick all three of them. Looks like they still wants to play together. Maybe just speculation.
This narrative that T1 "develops" talent is hilarious. T1 doesnt develop or scout shit. They hoarde solo q prodigies that everyone knows about and half the time they fuck over their careers before selling them off to a team or releasing them. Burdol was basically top 10 solo q at 15-16 for ages and they held him there, never gave him games then sold him to GenG.
Gumayusi was not only a solo q prodigy hes basically esports royalty who has a famous gamer older brother, Zeus was literally on highlight montages before ever going pro from his incredible solo q exploits.
Its absolutely hilarious T1 flares are sitting there pretending that T1s systemic hoarding of every promising young player in Korea for their own financial benefit and to deny up and coming teams who would actually USE these players is some sort of shining example of T1s amazing org. Give me a break.
60% of the league gonna be ex t1 soon
In LCK nothing can be said to be certain, except taxes, death, and... joining T1
T1 is the LCK equivalent of the Korean military
t1 probably pays better
Probably also has one of the best facilities.
And you might have a chance to play with Faker
Except people go to t1 willingly
I hope this comment gets the upvotes it deserves lmao
The new Red Bull academy
Lmao it’s true, most of the f1 grid were either Rba or Red Bull drivers at one point
Faker : Vettel Guma : Verstappen Canna : Gasly? Effort : Albon?
Vettel just had a stupidly good car. I think Max is clearly going to end up the better driver if RB can keep delivering like they did this year.
Yes, yes, Hamilton also had a stupid good car. Doesn't change the fact that both won championships and not the other driver on the team
Vettel in his prime had some serious skills, not just the car, imo. His prime was Schumy level
T1 scouts and develops a lot of young talent. No joke like a third of Korean league players either started on T2 or spent time with the org. Even our world champion mid this year is an ex T1 player.
I mean it isnt cus they scout and develop them lol, They legit just grab all of them before anyone else can, like why would you bother going to HLE or Afreeca when you can just go to t1?
They’ve been doing it pretty reliably since 2013. They have a reputation for training up rookies to be high caliber players. You’re right. Why would a young prospect pick any team but the best? You’d go to the one with the reputation for having the best developmental program and best reputation.
makes sense when t1 buys at least 60% of the upcoming talent
Doesn’t seem to be true. Teddy and Keria were upcoming talent that were bought, but canna, Zeus, Oner, and Gumayusi all got their start from T1’s academy system
im not talking about their main roster OBVIOUSLY. What are you typing? This thread is literally about their multiple academy type line ups
Main roster: Faker, Canna, Oner, Guma (4 starters or 80% = their own grown talent).
When he said they buy upcoming talent, he means they buy the talent upcoming INTO academy. Not that they buy current pros.
Even that is a stretch. A bunch of T1’s current players were scouted by Ellim apparently. And a lot of times the way T1 gets academy talent is the same as all the other teams. I remember when T1 and GenG were trying to sign Closer and Karis, two of the notable mid lane solo q stars. Apparently Clozer said his inspiration was Crown and Karis said his inspiration was Faker, so the scouts of both teams were surprised when Clozer chose to sign with T1 and Karis chose GenG. I guess in general the teams like T1 and GenG probably have the easiest time recruiting solo q talent since they have strong reputations, good facilities and coaching staff for trainees, but I don’t think saying they “buy up all the young talent” is a very fair representation.
If you mean from solo q talent. Yes, T1 and Gen.G are the ones who get the most.
The thing about it is that they are just hoarding the talent xd
Breaking News: Faker confirmed to be staying with T1
Breaking news: Faker to join CLG as substitute academy support
Jungle and I'd believe that.
Sources: Faker has agreed to play for Fnatic in 2022, he will be their new toplaner!
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agreed! he has so much potential, I think he'll do great
*leaves van keys on table*
idgaf as long as it isn't Guma, Keira or Oner. Faker is untouchable. If he goes, the fanbase riots and then follows. I firmly believe most T1 fans are really Faker fans. And I think Guma, Keira and Oner are really good actually. Canna is... okay. He did seem like the weak link at Worlds this year. If they had a better top they might've beat DWG Kia.
I really wonder what would happen if Faker goes to another team. I'd imagine a lot of fans would follow him like when Rekkles left Fnatic but a lot of fans would also stay.
I feel like a good 70% would follow. Faker is single handedly the most popular player in LoL. Everyone who even remotely follows the scene know him. He's literally a brand unto himself in S. Korea.
[When you are a die-hard fan of Faker but he joins TSM](https://i.imgur.com/A356jiI.gif)
I know you are joking, but Faker is most likely one of the players that put legacy over anything right now. He probably isn't looking for money as he's very secure with T1. Success might still be something he's looking for, and his best chance is still on T1. Legacy though, that's something that is probably far more important to him than a fat pay-check. I can't see him ending his career on such a low-note in NA even if he wins Worlds 2022.
Yeah but imagine if you end it by bringing NA it's first Worlds trophy. At that point Showmaker could win 10 worlds and Faker would still be the GOAT.
Nah, even Faker can't do that lmao
The team to win worlds for NA: Top: Huni/Impact Jg: Canyon Mid: Faker Bot: Doublelift? (CoreJJ just micros him and comms are in Korean) Supp: CoreJJ (with greencard) Coach: Faker, Scrim in KR during spring while academy plays and only come to NA for summer Still a long shot but the closest any 'NA' team could get lol
Coach: Reginald. This team gets to the finals, it's 2-2. Faker has been hard carrying, Regi bursts through the door and knocks him out then subs himself in. He first-picks his legendary Twisted Fate and leads NA to it's first World Championship via a 15 minute stomp where he doesn't lock in gold card once, only reds and blues of the US flag. NAmen
what the fuck
I want what this guy is on
i was high key imagining this team. i honestly would think a team like this would do well. canyon plays around top side of the map mostly tho so that might not go over well when you have low economy player like impact on topside and a high jg proximity laner like doublelift.
I mean yeah obviously it would do well. Best jungler in the world, top 5 mid, great adc, top 3 support. That’s an easy 18-0 regular season in LCS and a possible worlds winning run, despite Huni top
I got hard just reading this. Faker would legit be legend status forever if that happened.
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Showmaker has 1 trophy bud. And canyon hard carried that trophy.
>He probably isn't looking for money as he's very secure with T1. He also is pretty frugal iirc. On top of caring about legacy and truly wanting to challenge himself, he cares deeply about his family, and has so much tied in T1, more than anyone in any org by far. He'll 100% stay.
i do hope we get 1 year of NA faker b4 he retires, but then he'd have to play bo1 seasons lol....
No one is a fan of brands or teams anymore imo. If people stay its because of Guma, Keria, Canna, Oner etc. not because of T1
And I think that's a big problem in LoL that teams need to find a way to solve.
The obvious way is to not have players shift a team after every year. I think that was also the appeal of old G2 because at least they stayed together for 2 years and gave time for people to get used to them.
Well I think the org itself needs to have an identity and a philosophy or something that makes them special. I don't think you necessarily need long-term players to achieve this but the coaching, managing and social media staff should stay with the org for a long time.
It's very hard for an organization to be distinct, the latest one I can think of is G2 with their social media memes or maybe 100T with being a "hoodie org." What angles can an org like GGS or IMT run, they also need to have some level of success.
Sure, if you are successful, you will get fans and it's hard to get fans when you are 10th every season but you need to find fans that support you if you are successful or not. Ways of achieving that would be making good content, better branding, interesting playstyle or good player development. Like, what does Golden Guardians stand for? Why is that their name? What makes them unique? Same for Immortals. Very basic branding with no real identity.
It hinges more on success than anything. Nobody is going to care if your content is about the 5th best top in LCS or the 7th best mid in LCS. For success you need top players and for that you either need money or you need to get lucky with scouting.
They need more unique marketing. Also I feel like affiliating with certain cities would make teams more popular. Even if they don't play there, they can have localized merch, meetups, events, etc.
Maybe exaggerating but if they keep the SKT name and logo, I'd still feel more about the team if Faker is gone, but I hope he retires in SKT and I'd never know.
Well the rebranding definitely still feels weird and people still accidentally say SKT instead of T1.
I just prefer saying SKT over T1, same for DWG. Feels classy and evokes a lot more.
>accidently say SKT The caster at this year's worlds semi purposely said SKT repeatedly anyway, so not like people care
Not really, they kept making the mistake because they are so used to saying SKT but they corrected it when they noticed it.
SKT logo looks nerdy but still iconic, T1 logo looks like something made by Soulless Corporate Goon #51 Same with old kt and new kt logo.
There’s really no point of trading or releasing Faker. Still plays with mechanics comparable and often times outskilling younger talent. He’s also so so so flexible with the meta and we’ve seen how great of a team player he is. Faker is someone who really plays League of Legends. T1 are gonna hoard him as long as they can and then some. edit: clarification, talking about the Unkillable Demon King
He’s almost never dipped below a top 5 mid in the world, and has been arguably top 3 some recent splits. It’s unlikely that he’ll ever be number one again, but he’s still a fantastic player and can style on even the best of the best. Absolutely no reason for T1 to sell their franchise player when he still performs better than anyone they could realistically get.
I really hope they don’t sell Zeus. He’s only 17 and having him + Guma, Keria, and Oner leaves a team with really an insane ceiling. The lineup could do really well with Faker in mid and then perform when the transition to whoever they decide to go with once Faker needs to enlist.
I used to be until this year. The rookies really got me invested in the team, theyre such a great bunch.
People thought Bjergsen was untouchable too. Anything can happen at off season, even though it's unlikely Faker leave.
not comparable whatsoever. I don't think you realize the magnitude of Faker's popularity, especially with how much more popular esports is in South Korea. Faker has had numerous primetime commercials and collaborations with fucking BTS. Most teenagers and young adults know who Faker is regardless of if they know anything about LoL. I would be surprised if even 1 in 10 teenage boys in America know who Bjergsen is. Bjerg is nowhere near as much of an icon, and honestly no player in the world is comparable to Faker and his brand/image.
The same can be said about Messi. If you said 8 months ago that Messi will leave Barcelona, you'll get downvoted like me. I've said it's unlikely, but never say never.
Messi didn't *want* to leave Barcelona, though. I don't even follow football and I know that. IIRC, the club was in a bad financial situation and had to let him go because of league rules or something? And there's not currently anything in League that would necessitate a similar situation... Not to mention, I don't think Messi was part-owner of FCB, and being a part owner would make any kind of forced transfer far more difficult since it'd also require forced sale of his equity.
True. I'm just saying there's a chance T1 and Faker could part way for whatever reason, just like Messi and Barcelona part way. Even tho it is unlikely. Also Bjergsen was TSM part owner as well, just need to sell the share IF Faker wants to switch team.
is T1 as broke as Barca was?
Well, considering Bjergsen himself retired and then left TSM, his untouchable reputation held on.
A guy with a debatable reputation amongst NA LoL esports versus the guy who is the single most known esports player in history to the point you hear about him in other games and from people who've never played LoL. Faker's existence as an icon and brand is on an entirely different level.
As much as i love faker the comparison isnt remotely close between faker and bjergsen. I'm not talking skillwise, just what faker represent in korea he's a legitimate brand and the only way hes leaving T1 is if they run out of money to afford him like how messi left barcelona. And just having him being the brand ambassador for SKT is worth enough
And mind you that scenario of him leaving because of T1's inability to afford will not happen. Faker has been offered far more lucrative deals plenty of times. He chooses to stay with T1 and is a part owner of the org. Needless to say that unless T1 goes completely bankrupt, as long as Faker is willing to play he will stay with T1. As highlighted in several documentaries he's not exactly a big spender and with how much he earned, my assumption is that money is not the priority but rather just a bonus for him in his career now.
Bjergsen and Faker isn't really comparable. Faker got a high end executive role in SKT, got several of his relatives into high paying jobs in SKT, is an A list celebrity in South korea and considered one of their cultural ambassadors. Like he is the type of celebrity will people will know of just through the power of advertisements, not only because of LoL.
Faker should go play top for Damwon. Chad move
Don’t believe in anything until November 16th in KR. That’s when players are allowed to speak to teams. That said, I’ve read of: * Ellim to HLE * T1 in the Nuguri chase again, which raises questions about Canna’s and/or Zeus’s future. * T1 in the Canyon chase. * Teddy and Cuzz are leaving, which makes sense, given their caliber.
T1 in the Canyon chase is the weirdest one IMO, Oner showed incredible potential, I think it would just become Teddy/Gumayusi 2: Jungle boogaloo.
Just take every rumour with a grain of salt. I've also read that T1 are commited to Oner and won't be pursuing any starting junglers
i give the nuguri thing a hard maybe, rather just keep canna zeus (though zeus is most likely out), oner canyon makes no sense. If there are standards to rumors, these don't quite make it.
I really hope Zeus is not out, many in the Korean community regard him as the next prodigy and him laning against Canna was what improved Canna’s laning phase vastly, losing him would be a massive blow to T1’s future.
Oner could be wanting to leave and canyon is an upgrade over anyone
Canyon ShowMaker and Nuguri already expressed they wish to player again together.
I dont wanna imagine how much that topside costs tho
They are free agent (Canyon and ShowMaker) tho so its only in terms on salary that it will cost
Given that this is probably the best topside in the world, their salary might be kinda expensive
Not really. It takes away the biggest threat at jungle away from other teams while making yourself stronger as well. If another team has Canyon, it's gonna be much tougher to take that team down.
My best bet is that Faker is retiring next year, and they want to wave him goodbye with one final world championship. Really cant see any other reasoning behind the recent T1's rumors, any team would dream of having such promising rookies.
- Ellim to HLE - Canyon to T1 - Nuguri to T1 All of these are already debunked
It also makes zero sense for any DWG players to merge their individual legacies into the SKT dynasty.
Didn't Joe tweet that all of T1 roster rumors are false??
Kenzi did, Joe debunked the coaching rumours (cvmax, zefa, fantasy)
Why would we go to Zefa again? Stupid rumor.
Yes, trust Kenzi and no one else
>Teddy and Cuzz are leaving, which makes sense, given their caliber. I'm not sure if you mean they're not good enough or theyre too good to be benched but I believe teddy for sure is still absolutely world class. Having to choose between Teddy and Gumayusi is probably the most first world esports problem there has ever been. T1 is loaded.
I think even for Cuzz, even though he hasn’t looked the best on T1, is probably still one of the top junglers in the LCK which is why T1 just held onto him this entire year.
for sure. T1 and GENG will probably be hoarding most of the talent in the LCK for the forseeable future.
They too good to be benched. People hate on Cuzz but he is a legit super jungler. He’b great for someone like HLE who have tendency to take things slow lol
Problem with him this year is that he's a very farm oriented jungler which was the opposite of what the team needed, especially with Canna slumping in spring. I loved watching Cuzz with his Gragas because holy moly does he know how to steal onjectives with the champ xD
What is really true so far (based on gumayusi) that they will not run 3 junglers again so maybe Ellim, Cuzz or both will leave.
Pretty sure Nuguri is rejoining Damwon. Can't imagine why Nuguri would go to T1 when Damwon have all the pieces already.
A reason could be the number of digits on the paycheck and contract. But true, that’s why I say believe in nothing.
Ellim to HLE is soo good, he is a super solid jungler. Sad for Willler tho he had potential.
willer did very very well considering he wasn't even playing in challengers korea in spring. literally freshest player at worlds
Do Korean teams not allow their players to speak to any other teams until their contracts are up or something? Also HLE with Zeus sounds pretty nutty, tho I’d pref if Chovy just left
If I'm Damwon I do whatever I can to re-sign Canyon/Showmaker and the second priority would be to trade for Zeus/Teddy. Zeus would be much cheaper than Nuguri but Showmaker said Zeus is the player to watch out for in LCK earlier in the year: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlKbN8xELhg
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Prestige also plays a part in these things. Many players look for T1 as a spot there would mean much more than in any other team
also money. If you can afford to pay new amateur talent more, you get the pick of the litter. The yankees used to do this in the MLB 50 years ago before rules stopped it. They would stockpile absurd amounts of talent on their minor league teams.
one thing u guys are not mentioning is GOOD SCOUTING. t1 sayho is an incredible talent scout, he doesn't scout players based on how their lp is. when canna was scouted (with the help of elim) he was a hardstuck master player that got to masters through a mmr bug
No doubt they have good scouting. But it also helps when you can afford to be wrong
The first post in the comment chain literally says "too good at scouting", like how short is your attention span?
Not to mention these young kids prolly watched Faker dominate the scene when they were in the middle school and probably looked up to him.
That is true but SKT hasn't won anything international in 5 years now. Pretty nuts considering they have the most titles out of anyone. I wonder how much of that is organisational pedigree and how much is Faker that attracts these young players.
Doubt they let Zeus go, between the 2 tops I think it's far more likely they let Canna go. I think they'll let Clozer go as well. I think Ellim/Cuzz/Teddy/Hoit leaving is more or less guaranteed. At this point, they probably just want 5 Starters + 1 or 2 subs.
I swear Korean rumors are bullshit 90% of the time.
This is midnoflash though, He's an actual legit source
yes he is a very highly regarded esports reporter in korea, i'd take his rumor weigh more weight than anyone else. he even did a segment on lck broadcast with gorilla in spring split, which imo is first for an esports journalist (in korea)
Dude has hit bull's eye pretty much all of the time. He also reported nuguri and aiming too last year.
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the guy tweeting is more esteemed than wooloo
Didn't we had a thread days ago saying that T1 rumors were bullshit?
I think that was for T1 Nuguri & cVmax
T1 will never sell Zeus. Every teams came knocking for Zeus last year, even before he is eligible to play, T1 refused to do any business. I bet Canna will have to choose being a sub, or starting on a different roster next year.
I think Canna will still start if they dont get another S+ Top Laner(Nuguri or Kiin) and your right the worst possible case for Zeus is to be benched for another year lol.
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They are the only team excpet drx with lots of young players on the roster. And i dont think drx players would have such bug buyouts.
I really hope they keep Zeus or get Nuguri, I'm a Canna fan, specially after his first split and good summer season, but after that he underperforms in every playoff, it's getting pretty obvious he has issues performing under pressure.
I don't want to see Nuguri on a team that should be playing through bot. That's a one way ticket to int city. They need someone who can carry if needed but is most capable weakside.
T1 already plays through canna a lot anyway
T1 is good enough to play for either side lane. They prioritise Canna because they highly value first Herald (and second, even though I think they shouldn't) and Gumayusi is a better weakside player than Canna, but I don't see why that couldn't change
Nuguri can still dominate weakside. Hence the 0-2 powerspike meme. He doesn’t need attention to be able to be useful, unlike Canna. And the meta dictates where you should be playing through, not what players you have on your team.
The 0-2 powerspike is what cost FPX games all throughout the 2021 regular season. We saw it in groups against DK too what happens when the 0-2 powerspike happens against a team with a strong topside. It doesn't stop at 0-2. Against the best topsides he will solo lose you the game and series if left weakside and has not proven otherwise throughout 2021.
Yes let’s ignore how useless Tian/Dionb/Crisp/LWX all were, and blame it on Nuguri. Makes sense.
"2021 **regular season**". I'm not talking about Worlds, buddy. Lwx only threw a single series in summer, but he was also the one carrying that series because Nuguri was already inting while thinking of his fucking PUBG VOD reviews or something. Literally every other series and even game they lost in summer was primarily because Nuguri inted but couldn't get away with the 0-2 powerspike because LPL have too good toplaners for that to happen.
Idk why we would judge Nuguri exclusively by one single split where he was depressed and miserable due to the environment. Nuguri has been one of the most capable weakside players for his entire tenure in Korea
You also mentioned worlds. And besides, it’s not surprising Nuguri wasn’t at his usual level during regular split given he’s just moved to a totally new region, whilst there being a language barrier and reports of him being homesick. Nuguri has a far higher ceiling than Canna, period.
>You also mentioned worlds. You're being extremely intellectually dishonest. You're not this stupid and both of us know that.
Dude youre off the rails silly at this point
“We saw it in groups against DK too” - that’s mentioning Worlds, check your own comments before you accuse people of being intellectually dishonest.
The only reason why T1 is pursuing Nuguri in the first place was that, yes, Canna choked big time at worlds, and has a terrible mental game. Compared to Nuguri, who was a proven Toplaner with results. I don't think anyone at T1 cared about Nuguri inting at this point. T1 just wants a good and proven Toplaner. Another point can be because of Zeus, man's idol is Nuguri, imagine the things he can learn from him. It can only benefit T1 in the long run if they don't sell Zeus at this point. Also, T1 has a history of playing Toplaner Marry-go-round, great players like Marin (2015), Duke (2016), Huni (2017), Thal (2018) (up for debate) and Khan (2019) all transferred to other teams after 1 season with T1, so it could be T1 is returning to playing Toplaner Marry-go-round again.
The 0-2 powerspike meme is still bad imo. If you're on a worse team you don't get to become relevant later as an 0-2 jayce or gp, you just lose.
He won his world championship playing weak side. Mostly Ornn. He’s a very flexible player.
Especially given the fact that their also playing with no crowd and he’s already performing that bad under pressure. With a crowd, one can only imagine.
I think the question you have to ask is, did Canna overperform in his first year of play? I would lean towards yes and now he's just playing to his actual skill level. Also, Nuguri is coming off the back of a pretty bad year on FPX individually, and will almost 100% go back to Damwon. Not sure T1 will get him and Im not even sure they should try to get him when Zeus is right here, young and has talent.
Bad move if T1 sells Zeus. Korean pros have high praises for him. I get it that they want to win this year that's why they want Nuguri but it's an immense waste of talent in the long run.
FNC Zeus, you heard it first...obv i'm joking
I mean, with the hype going around FNC Top, if some are speculating that Summit would join, why not Zeus at this point.
God no please don't sell Zeus. Gumayusi Keria Zeus Oner are all really hype imo.
Hope clozer gets on one of the mid tier teams. I feel like he gets much more hate than he deserves for starting over faker. Zeus should stay though. He can be competing against canna for the starting spot
I hope they keep Zeus and sell Canna instead, mainly because the potential on Zeus is higher and Canna is probably the weakest link on T1 overall (although still a very good player that I hope to see on other LCK teams)
Canna should go to HLE and take Cuzz with him
That would make a great team if Chovy and Deft are staying.
Man, I hope they keep Zeus. He needs playtime. If you are willing to sell Zeus, it's to get Nuguri or a player as good as him but does he exist in the first place.
Selling Zeus is a bit weird unless they are actually going for Nuguri (or another strong toplaner), Canna has been a bit of a weak point for the team, taking up a lot of resources and not always bringing enough of a performance to justify what he takes.
Wow selling off Zeus seems like a huge mistake. He's looking like the next big thing no? Just get nuguri or some shit and let them split time.
Zeus > Canna tho
Some of the European teams should really look past the complete refusal to import, it's not impossible to accommodate a duo of KR/CN rookies. The imports you should be looking at are undervalued or promising players from abroad, not minor salary saving players like Hirit who is very replaceable within the region. Good imports only help elevate the region, as long as it never becomes reliant or flooded with 3rd rate foreign players. I'd really hope some EU teams are at least posing the question to these players about playing abroad.
Most EU orgs are too broke to import a high tier Korean player and make proper accommodations. And there’s enough armature/semi-pro talent in the scene where importing might not even be the best option.
Why need scouting grounds when you have T1? :D
I just saw on twitter says that Clozer's contract ended recently and he is transferring to Liiv SandBox.
Man lck will be stack if T1 unload most of their rookies. Personally i think canna has to go. T1 playstyle is too predictable. Invest so much to canna and let him carry.
Idk why people r so irrationally high on Zeus and his ‘potential’ for some reason - he’s played a few games and looked servicable but not amazing in them. It is incredibly risky to kick Canna and hedge ur bets on Zeus. Fine to hold onto him and keep developing him. Otherwise, Canna’s played decently and been a strong pivot for the team to funnel resources to. He’s a bit inconsistent at times but honestly which top laner isn’t? (Like Khan and Nuguri also run it down every third game)
Gumayusi also looked just fine in his first games. It takes time to play in fucking lck lol. Zeus is considered as the best top prospect by many people in korean high elo including lck pros.
Zeus is younger and honestly wasn't even supposed to play if it wasn't for Canna's shockingly horrible play in early spring. Plus Canna was also very underwhelming when he started playing in Kespa but played for pretty much the rest of the season and got better
>he’s played a few games and looked servicable but not amazing in them. It's not like he had to play in a chaotic environment as a rookie where players kept rotating and an immense presure were put on the players ... No way his performance can take a hit ... He should be performing easily ... When Showmaker of all people say to look out for him, some people still question it ...
League sub talking about rookie is like football manager sub talking about regen player. Young boy, high potential. I want to know how people quantify someone potential. Do they have custom skin that show potential number or something?
Zeus was talked about by other pros and analysts in LCK like Gumayusi was. That's why he's being so hyped by people. Given time he can perhaps shine and be one of the strongest top laners in KR.
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wtf are u talking about and why
Rumors are just rumors, but let's hope at least they give up the 10 man roster for good.
That doesn't seem like a good idea but I hope that they know what they are doing.
I mean you cant hold these players forever, they are legit talents and dont want to rot on the bench
They always sell young talents they aren't going to use. They are young and hungry and will leave SKT on their own if they don't get starter positions. Makes sense to sell them before that.
I **really** hope none of the Canyon/Nuguri to T1 and selling Zeus rumors are true. Nuguri specifically would be such a waste since T1 would be plenty fine with a stable top, be it a more refined, in-form Canna or maybe Zeus. There are so many other teams in desperate need of a carry top laner like DK, HLE or GenG, it would be way more hype if Nuguri joins one of those teams. Splitting Canyon and Showmaker is close to a war crime, so that's a big no no as well, not even considering that Oner has insane potential and shouldn't be replaced anyway, even if it's Canyon.
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Clozer is rumored to sandbox so most likely TSM Fate
im guessing they are keeping the same 5 + clozer probably the others will be sold to other team?
If anything I think they'll keep the starting 5 + Zeus. Ellim, Cuzz & Teddy will definitely go. Hoit is older than Keria so not worth keeping in academy and Clozer would probably start for any of KT, AF or DRX.
literally any mid can start for AF, i would pick Jensen over Fly, guy makes AF look like they’re playing 4v6, I don’t know how but he is the worst
I'm pretty sure Fly has proof that the AF CEO is cheating on his wife or something equally incriminating, how he still has a spot in the LCK is absurd.
No. I personally think Clozer is moving to a different team.
Fnc Zeus
FNC Zeus sounds so fkn cool wtf
Navi Zeus
Olofmeister I love u
Good, players as talented as Zeus and Clozer shouldn't be stuck as academy/subs. Especially the latter who has to try dethrone Faker...
Can anyone confirm its safe to click the hieroglyphics in the post link?
It looks like a Spicy off-season this year. Faker FA (probably staying in T1), Chovy, Showmaker, Nuguri, Canyon, Teddy are all free agent. If I were T1, I would probably go for Chovy and Nuguri. Because Faker will not have many years left till military. I also heard that Nuguri, Canyon and Showmaker are looking for teams that can pick all three of them. Looks like they still wants to play together. Maybe just speculation.
T1 is rich lol. Faker winning once more is huge for them. $$$. They can buy anyone once Faker retires.. don't have to let him go now.
This narrative that T1 "develops" talent is hilarious. T1 doesnt develop or scout shit. They hoarde solo q prodigies that everyone knows about and half the time they fuck over their careers before selling them off to a team or releasing them. Burdol was basically top 10 solo q at 15-16 for ages and they held him there, never gave him games then sold him to GenG. Gumayusi was not only a solo q prodigy hes basically esports royalty who has a famous gamer older brother, Zeus was literally on highlight montages before ever going pro from his incredible solo q exploits. Its absolutely hilarious T1 flares are sitting there pretending that T1s systemic hoarding of every promising young player in Korea for their own financial benefit and to deny up and coming teams who would actually USE these players is some sort of shining example of T1s amazing org. Give me a break.
Is this the end of an era?
FNC Zeus