T1 (esports)

T1 (previously known as SK Telecom T1 or SKT T1) is a South Korean esports organization operated by T1 Entertainment & Sports, a joint venture between SK Telecom and Comcast Spectacor. The team that would become SKT T1 was originally founded in 2002 by StarCraft player Lim "BoxeR" Yo-hwan under the name Team Orion, which was later renamed to 4 Union in December 2003. In April 2004, South Korean wireless carrier SK Telecom began sponsoring the team, officially creating the team SK Telecom T1.

T1

Divisions	League of Legends Valorant
Founded	April 13, 2004; 20 years ago (April 13, 2004)
Based in	Seoul, South Korea
Colors	Red, white, and black
CEO	Joe Marsh
Partners	SK Telecom, Samsung Electronics, Red Bull, AfreecaTV, Mercedes-Benz, Nike, Hana Bank, HP, SteelSeries[1]
Parent group	SK Telecom (54%) Comcast Spectacor (34%) Highland Capital (12%)
Website	t1.gg

T1's League of Legends team has won a record five League of Legends World Championship titles (2013, 2015, 2016, 2023 and 2024), two Mid-Season Invitational titles (2016 and 2017), one Esports World Cup title (2024), and ten League of Legends Champions Korea championships, also a record.

History

The team that would become T1 was originally founded in 2002 by StarCraft player Lim "BoxeR" Yo-hwan under the name Team Orion, which was later renamed to 4 Union in December 2003.^[2] On April 13, 2004, South Korean wireless carrier SK Telecom sponsored the team with an investment of US$2 million, officially creating the team SK Telecom T1; by May 2005, it was estimated to have earned $15 million worth of market effects.^[3][4]

On December 13, 2012, SK Telecom expanded into League of Legends esports by acquiring the roster of Eat Sleep Game, and created the team SK Telecom T1 S. On February 26, 2013, they created a second League of Legends team, SK Telecom T1 K.^[5]

In 2016, SKT closed their StarCraft II division, after KeSPA announced that they would be discontinuing the Proleague.^[6]

In 2018, SK Telecom T1 expanded into two more esports, establishing a Hearthstone division on July 29 and a PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds division on August 13.^[7][8] By 2019, SKT T1 had expanded to own and operate teams in at least eight games, including the two aforementioned, League of Legends, Fortnite, Dota 2, Super Smash Bros., and Apex Legends.^[9]

In October 2019, SK Telecom T1 was rebranded to simply T1, after SK Telecom and Comcast Spectacor partnered to create T1 Entertainment & Sports, and Joe Marsh was named the CEO.^[9] League of Legends player Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok then became a part-owner of T1 Entertainment & Sports in February 2020.^[10]

On March 9, 2020, T1 signed its first player to its newly formed Valorant team.^[11]

On May 6, 2024, the Esports World Cup Foundation, funded by the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund and organizers of the Esports World Cup tournament series, announced the 30 organizations that would make up the World Cup Club Support Program, with T1 being one of them. This program gives teams a one-time six-figure stipend if an organization is willing to enter new esports as well as additional funding each year if they drive viewership and fan engagement to the Esports World Cup.^[12]

League of Legends

SK Telecom T1 League of Legends team at the 2013 World Championship

On December 13, 2012, SK Telecom expanded into League of Legends esports by acquiring the roster of Eat Sleep Game, and created the team SK Telecom T1 S. On February 26, 2013, they created their second League of Legends team, SK Telecom T1 K.^[5] In the same year, SKT T1 won their first League of Legends World Championship.^[13] In 2014, SK Telecom T1 K followed their success through in the OGN winter season, winning the tournament without dropping a single game. They would then go on to win All-Star Paris 2014.^[14] However, their Winter season success did not follow through and after the Spring and Summer seasons, SKT T1 K failed to qualify for the 2014 World Championship. In the following offseason, Riot Games changed the team regulations so that each organizations may only have one team participating in each league. This led to the merger of SKT T1 K and SKT T1 S, and the subsequent departures of Impact and Piglet for the NA LCS.^[15] The new team would compete under the name SKT T1.

SK Telecom T1 celebrating after winning the 2015 World Championship.

At the 2015 World Championship, SKT won the title while losing only one game in the finals for a record of 15–1 over the course of the tournament.^[16]

SKT team started off the 2016 Season by winning the LCK Spring Split.^[17] With this victory, SKT was guaranteed a spot in the 2016 Mid-Season Invitational.^[18] At that point in time, MSI was the only major international tournament they had yet to win. They were heavily favored coming into the tournament, but were initially unable to perform up to their usual standards, unexpectedly losing several games in the group stage.^[19] However, they managed to turn things around during the elimination round and eventually clinched the title by sweeping the North American team, Counter Logic Gaming, in the finals.^[20] SKT placed third in the 2016 LCK Summer Split, but still qualified for the 2016 World Championship through circuit points. The team swept through the group stage and advanced towards the playoff round. In the semifinals they defeated the ROX Tigers in a close 3–2 series.^[21] In the finals they defeated Samsung Galaxy in another close 3–2 series, winning their third world championship title.^[22][23] Faker was voted as the Most Valuable Player of the tournament.^[24]

SKT won the 2017 LCK Spring Split, clean sweeping KT Rolster 3–0 in the finals. This win qualified them for the 2017 Mid-Season Invitational.^[25] At the 2017 Mid-Season Invitational, SKT topped the group stage with a 8–2 record. SKT then swept Flash Wolves 3–0 in the semifinals and defeated G2 Esports 3–1 in the finals, becoming the first team to win the Mid-Season Invitational back-to-back.^[26] At the 2017 World Championship, SKT were considered to be strong favourites to lift the cup for a third consecutive time despite not winning the LCK Summer Split. After a 5–1 group stage, SKT narrowly defeated Misfits and Royal Never Give Up in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively, before facing Samsung Galaxy in a repeat of the previous year's final. Despite being favourites going into the game, Samsung Galaxy swept SKT 3–0, ending their domination at the World Championship.^[27]

SKT lost to Gen.G in the 2018 Korea Regional Finals, failing to qualify for the 2018 World Championship.^[28]

In April 2019, SKT won the LCK Spring Split.^[29] As champions, SKT represented the LCK at the 2019 Mid-Season Invitational. They finished the group stage in second place but lost 3–2 to G2 Esports in the semifinals.^[30] In the LCK Summer Split, SKT repeated the success and defended their title.^[31] SKT qualified as the LCK's first seed for the 2019 League of Legends World Championship, where they were once again defeated by G2 Esports in a semifinals series, losing 3–1.^[32][33][34]

In October 2019, SKT rebranded as T1 after partnering with Comcast Spectacor.^[35] In February 2020, Faker had re-signed with the team for three years, in which his contract would last until 2022. He also became a part owner of T1 Entertainment and Sports.^[36][37] In April of the same year, T1 defeated Gen.G and won their ninth LCK title.^[38]

At the 2021 League of Legends World Championship, T1 was eliminated in the semifinals by DWG KIA, losing 3–2 in a best-of-five series.^[39]

T1 players celebrating after winning the 2023 World Championship.

During the 2022 LCK Spring, T1 went undefeated in the regular season with an 18–0 record, becoming the first team to achieve this record since the league's inception.^[40] In the playoffs, T1 won its tenth LCK title, defeating Gen.G 3–1 in the finals.^[41] On the international stage, T1 finished as the runners-up of the 2022 Mid-Season Invitational, losing in the final to Royal Never Give Up.^[42] The team also finished as the runners-up at the 2022 League of Legends World Championship after losing 3–2 to DRX in the final.^[43] The team had qualified for the tournament as the second seed from the LCK by the virtue of having the most Championship Points.^[44]

In the 2023 LCK Spring Split, T1 qualified for the playoffs as the first seed, posting a 17–1 record as all five members of the roster were chosen for the All-LCK First Team, a first in LCK history.^[45][46] The team won every series to advance to the finals, qualifying for the 2023 Mid-Season Invitational after defeating Gen.G in the upper bracket semifinals.^[47] T1 lost the Spring Split title against the same opponent in a rematch of the 2022 LCK Summer 2022 finals, as Gen.G won the match 3–1.^[48] T1 was then defeated 3–2 by JD Gaming and 3–1 by Bilibili Gaming to exit the Mid-Season Invitational at the loser-bracket final.^[49] At the 2023 League of Legends World Championship, T1 won its fourth World Championship title, the first in seven years, after defeating Weibo Gaming 3–0 in the finals held at the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul.^[50] T1's top laner Choi "Zeus" Woo-je was named finals MVP.^[51]

At the 2024 League of Legends World Championship, T1 won its fifth World Championship title after defeating Bilibili Gaming 3–2 in the final, held in London.^[52] Faker was named the finals MVP, marking his second time receiving the honour.^[53]

Seasons overview

Year		League of Legends Champions Korea						World Championship
		P	W	L	W–L%	Pos.[a]	Playoffs
2013	Spring	10	5	5	.500	3rd	Quarterfinals	Did not qualify
	Summer	Did not qualify
2014	Winter	6	3	3	.500	3rd	Did not qualify	Did not qualify
	Spring	6	3	3	.500	3rd	Did not qualify
	Summer	6	4	2	.667	2nd	Semifinals
Totals		28	15	13	.536	(2013–2014, includes only regular season)

As SK Telecom T1 S

Year		League of Legends Champions Korea						World Championship
		P	W	L	W–L%	Pos.[a]	Playoffs
2013	Spring	10	7	3	.700	1st	Third place	Winners
	Summer	6	6	0	1.000	1st	Winners
2014	Winter	6	6	0	1.000	1st	Winners	Did not qualify
	Spring	6	3	3	.500	2nd	Quarterfinals
	Summer	6	3	3	.500	2nd	Quarterfinals
Totals		34	25	9	.735	(2013–2014, includes only regular season)

As SK Telecom T1 K

As SK Telecom T1 / T1

Year		League of Legends Champions Korea						Mid-Season Invitational	World Championship
		P	W	L	W–L%	Pos.	Playoffs
2015	Spring	14	11	3	.786	2nd	Winners	Runners-up	Winners
	Summer	18	17	1	.944	1st	Winners
2016	Spring	18	12	6	.667	3rd	Winners	Winners	Winners
	Summer	18	13	5	.722	2nd	Round 3
2017	Spring	18	16	2	.889	1st	Winners	Winners	Runners-up
	Summer	18	13	5	.722	4th	Runners-up
2018	Spring	18	9	9	.500	4th	Round 2	Did not qualify	Did not qualify
	Summer	18	8	10	.444	7th	Did not qualify
2019	Spring	18	14	4	.778	2nd	Winners	Semifinals	Semifinals
	Summer	18	11	7	.611	4th	Winners
2020	Spring	18	14	4	.778	2nd	Winners	Not held[b]	Did not qualify
	Summer	18	13	5	.722	4th	Round 1
2021	Spring	18	11	7	.611	4th	Semifinals	Did not qualify	Semifinals
	Summer	18	11	7	.611	4th	Runners-up
2022	Spring	18	18	0	1.000	1st	Winners	Runners-up	Runners-up
	Summer	18	15	3	.833	2nd	Runners-up
2023	Spring	18	17	1	.944	1st	Runners-up	Lower bracket final	Winners
	Summer	18	9	9	.500	5th	Runners-up
2024	Spring	18	15	3	.833	2nd	Runners-up	Lower bracket final	Winners
	Summer	18	11	7	.611	4th	Round 3
Totals		356	258	98	.725	(2015–2024, includes only regular season)

Roster

T1 League of Legends roster
Players	Coaches
Role Handle Name Nationality Top Doran Choi Hyeon-jun South Korea Jungle Oner Mun Hyeon-jun South Korea Mid Faker Lee Sang-hyeok South Korea Bot Gumayusi Lee Min-hyeong South Korea Support Keria Ryu Min-seok South Korea	Head coach Kim "kkOma" Jeong-gyun Assistant coach(es) Im "Tom" Jae-hyeon Cho "Mata" Se-hyeong
Legend: (I) Inactive (S) Suspended Substitute Injury / Illness	Roster updated 22 November 2024.

StarCraft

The StarCraft division of SKT was originally founded in 2002 by player Lim "BoxeR" Yo-hwan under the name Team Orion, which was later renamed to 4 Union in December 2003.^[2] The team won the first-ever StarCraft Proleague, and by 2011, they had won the most championships of any team in Brood War history.^[54]

In 2016, SKT closed their StarCraft II division after the Proleague was discontinued.^[6]

Tournament results

StarCraft

Year	Event	Season	Place	Last match	Result
2003	KTF EVER Cup		1st	SKT x Woongjin Stars	3–0
2003–2004	LG IBM MBC Team League		1st	SKT x KTF MagicNs	3–2
2004	Tucsan MBCGame	Team League I	1st	SKT x Suma GO	4–3
		Team League II	1st		4–3
2005	SKY	Season 1	1st	SKT x KTF MagicNs	4–2
		Season 2	1st	SKT x Samsung KHAN	4–2
		Grand Final	1st	SKT x KTF MagicNs	4–3
2006		Season 1	1st	SKT x MBC Game Hero	3–0
		Grand Final	2nd		3–0
2008–2009	Shinhan Bank		1st	SKT x Hwaseung Oz	2–0
2009–2010			2nd	SKT x KT Rolster	4–2
2010-2011	Winners League		1st		4–3
	Shinhan Bank	Grand Final	2nd		4–3
2011–2012	SK Planet	Proleague	1st		4–3

StarCraft II

Year	Event	Place
2012	WCS 2012: Asia	1st
	GSL Season 4 2012 (Code S)	3rd
	Auction All-Kill OSL 2012	1st
	MLG vs Proleague Invitational 2012	1st
	WCS 2012: Global Finals	3rd
2013	IEM VII – Katowice	3rd
	WCS Korea 2013 Season 2 Premier	2nd
	WCS Korea 2013 Season 3 Premier	2nd
	StarsWar League Season 3	1st
	Red Bull Battle Grounds: Grand Finals New York 2013	1st
	WCG 2013	3rd
	GSL Hot6ix Cup 2013	1st
2014	Proleague 2014 Round 1	2nd
	IEM VIII - Cologne	3rd
	WCS Korea 2014 Season 1 Premier	2nd
	GSL Global Championship 2014	2nd
	Proleague 2014 Round 3	1st
	WCS Korea 2014 Season 2 Premier	2nd
		1st
	Proleague 2014 Round 4	2nd
	Proleague 2014 Playoffs	2nd
	KeSPA Cup 2014	3rd
	DreamHack Stockholm 2014 (SC2)	2nd
	WCS Korea 2014 Season 3 Premier	2nd
		1st
	WCS 2014 Global Finals	3rd
2015	Proleague 2015 Round 1	1st
	IEM IX – World Championship	3rd
	2015 StarCraft II StarLeague Season 1	2nd
	KeSPA Cup Season 1 2015	2nd
	2015 StarCraft II StarLeague Season 2 (Main Event)	1st
		2nd
	Proleague 2015 Round 3	1st
	Leifeng Cup Monthly #3	1st
		2nd
	KeSPA Cup Season 2 2015	2nd
		1st
		3rd
	IEM X - Shenzhen	1st
	IEM X - gamescom	2nd
		1st
	MSI Masters Gaming Arena 2015 (SC2)	3rd
	Proleague 2015 Round 4	2nd
	ASL Season 5 Prime	1st
	GSL Season 3 2015 (Code S)	1st
	Proleague 2015 Playoffs	1st
	WCS 2015 Global Finals	3rd
2016	Proleague 2016 Round 1	1st
	2016 StarCraft II StarLeague Season 1	1st
	Leifeng Cup #145	2nd
	WCS 2016: Korean Cross Finals Season 1	2nd
	SHOUTcraft Kings July 2016	1st
	GSL Season 2 2016 (Code S)	3rd
	2016 StarCraft II StarLeague Season 2	2nd
		3rd
	WCS 2016: Korean Cross Finals Season 2	1st
		1st
	OlimoLeague Week #75	1st
	OlimoLeague October 2016	1st
	WCS 2016 Global Finals	2nd
	OlimoLeague Grand Final	1st
	VSL Team League	2nd
		1st
	Leifeng Cup #157	1st

Valorant

T1 Valorant roster
Players	Coaches
Handle Name Nationality Carpe Lee Jae-hyeok South Korea iZu Ham Woo-joo South Korea stax (C) Gu-taek, Kim South Korea Sylvan Young-sub, Ko South Korea Meteor Kim Tae-o South Korea BuZz Yu Byung-chul South Korea	Head coach Yoon "Autumn" Eu-teum Assistant coach(es) Lee "CheongGak" Il-ho Seol "Indigo" Do-hoon
Legend: (I) Inactive (S) Suspended (C) Team captain Substitute Injury / Illness	Latest roster transaction: 18 January 2025.

Awards and nominations

Year	Event	Award	Team
2013	2013 Korea e-Sports Awards[55]	Best Esports Team Esports grand prize of the year	SK Telecom T1 K
2015	2015 Korea e-Sports Awards[56]	Best Esports Team	SK Telecom T1
2016	2016 Korea Esports Awards[57]	Best Esports Team	SK Telecom T1
2019	2019 Korea Esports Hall of Fame[58]	Best Esports Team of the Year	T1
2022	2022 Brand of the Year Award[59]	Best Esports Team of the Year	T1
2023	2023 Esports Awards[60]	Esports Team of the Year	T1
2024	The Game Awards 2024[61]	Esports Team of the Year	T1
2024	2024 Esports Awards[61]	Esports Team of the Year	T1
2024	2024 KeSPA Esports Hall of Fame[61]	Esports Team of the Year	T1

Literature

• Lim Yo-hwan (May 21, 2007). 나만큼 미쳐봐 [Be as crazy as me] (in Korean). Bookroad. ISBN 978-89-91239-15-9.

Notes

1. Placements reflect standings in the team's respective group and not the entire region.
2. T1 qualified for the 2020 Mid-Season Invitational, but the event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[62]