Every T1 roster change heading into 2025

Just weeks after winning the Worlds 2024, T1 has again become the spotlight of the League of Legends (LoL) community, namely because they are waiting for their announcement regarding whether the team will retain their World Champion roster heading into 2025.

Previously, contracts of four players, excluding Faker, were set to expire in mid-November 2024. Additionally, coaching staff and T1 Academy players are also in discussions about their future.

Esports.gg has recapped all T1 roster changes during the preseason leading up to 2025:

T1 announced on X that they have parted ways with T1 Esports Academy's Jungler, Gu "Guwon" Kwan Mo, who has been with them for a year. Guwon started his career at DRX Academy in September 2020, transferred to HLE Academy in July 2021, and was promoted to HLE Challengers until November 2023, before he moved to T1 Esports Academy in December 2023.

During his time as T1 Esports Academy's Jungler, his highest achievement was securing fourth place in the LCK CL Summer 2024. Additionally, Guwon delivered an impressive performance with the main roster, winning 2-0 against BRO in match 58 of the LCK Spring 2024 Regular Season. He stepped in as a substitute for Oner, who was sidelined due to health issues.

T1 welcomed Mata on November 21, 2024, which also marked the completion of the main roster. "Mata has joined T1's LCK team as a coach. Show your support as he returns as a coach, and we look forward to building up the future together with him," T1 announced on X.

Mata played as T1's Support from 2018 to 2019 and has had an impressive career. As a player, he won many titles, including LCK Spring 2013 with MVP Ozone, LPL Spring 2014 with RNG, LCK Summer 2018 with KT Rolster, and the Worlds 2014 Championship with Samsung White. He also helped SKT T1 win both LCK Spring and Summer 2019.

After retiring from the front line, Mata became a coach and continued his winning streak. He helped Gen.G win the LCK Summer 2024 championship and the MSI 2024. In T1, Mata will become the coaching staff with kkOma and Tom, filling Roach's previous role.

Tom, who has been T1's coach since November 2022, will remain with the team until 2026 following a two-year contract extension.

During his tenure, Tom has been part of T1’s success, helping the team secure the Worlds 2023, Worlds 2024, and EWC 2024 titles. Looking ahead, Tom alongside coaching legends kkOma and Mata, aims to lead T1 to even greater achievements in the coming year.

"Tom' has re-signed a multi-year contract with T1. His unwavering dedication to the team has been evident in every way, and together, we will strive towards even greater achievements," T1 announced on X on November 21, 2024.

Just minutes after announcing Zeus' departure, T1 announced on X that former HLE and Gen.G Top Laner "Doran" will be joining as the new Top Laner for 2025, saying, "Please support him as the new Top Laner for T1 and help him shine even brighter at T1!"

Since debuting in the LCK in 2019, Doran has been to six different teams: Griffin, DRX, KT Roster, Gen.G, HLE, and T1. His achievements include LCK Champion for three consecutive seasons in Summer 2022, Spring 2023, and Summer 2024 while in Gen.G, in addition to his fourth LCK title in Summer 2024 while in HLE.

"I had this opportunity to join T1 and I want to make the most of this opportunity to play with the best teammates, the best coaching staff, and get the best results so that I can return the fans' support. I would greatly appreciate your support," said Doran through a video message on X.

One that might be one of the most shocking roster changes in LoL Esports this year is, Zeus departing from T1, especially after securing his back-to-back Worlds titles. T1 has not made any changes to their main roster for three consecutive years, at least not until they announced Zeus' departure on November 19.

Zeus has been with T1 since 2020 and started from the T1 Academy together with Oner. He made it into the main roster in 2021 as the substitute Top Laner of Canna and was promoted to the primary Top Laner in 2022 until 2024.

As a young player born in 2004, Zeus has achieved so many titles during his time at T1, including champions for LCK Spring 2022, Worlds 2023, Esports World Cup 2024, and Worlds 2024 Champion, as well as being granted the Finals MVP of Worlds 2023.

Zeus left an emotional message on his personal Instagram on November 20, expressing his gratitude to his former teammates.

"I want to express my gratitude to Hyun-jun hyung [Oner], who has been with me through everything since my trainee days; Sang-hyeok hyung [Faker], who was always someone I could learn a lot from; Min-hyung hyung [Gumayusi], who always brought positive energy; and Min-seok hyung [Keria], who helped me play comfortably. I also want to thank the team for believing in me and giving me opportunities," as translated from Zeus' message.

In addition, he also thanked T1 management and coaching staff for their faith in him and apologized to the fans for having to leave so suddenly.

"It was an honor to receive so much love as a member of T1, and I’m deeply sorry for leaving so suddenly despite the love and support I’ve received. I’m still having a hard time processing it myself, and I’m sure the fans must have been very surprised, so I feel apologetic toward you as well. I’m also very grateful to our manager, the general manager, Woonggi-nim, and the coaches and staff who always believed in me and taught me so much," he added.

The head coach of T1 Esports Academy, GBM, announced his departure on November 18, 2024, after two seasons of participating in the LCK CK. He worked with fellow coach, Rather, and secured fourth place in LCK CL Summer 2024.

"We sincerely thank him for taking on the new challenge of being a head coach with T1, and for giving his all for the development of the players. We wish him all the best and much happiness in his future endeavors and new beginnings," T1 announced on X.

T1 announced on November 17 that Gumayusi has re-signed his contract, and will continue to play as their main Bot. However, unlike Oner and Keria who extended their contract for two years, Gumayusi only signed a one-year contract.

His previous contract was set to expire on November 18, 2024, as per LoL Global Contract Database, and now has been extended until mid-November 2025 or sometime after Worlds 2025.

Gumayusi has been very vocal about his loyalty to T1 ever since his academy time, so his contract extension is not surprising for the fans.

He shared a short message on X, addressing his pursuit of becoming the best ADC in the world, "I'm so grateful to be able to be with T1 and the T1 fans once again. I'll do my best until the day I become the best ADC in the world. Thank you."

After being part of T1 since September 2021, Dal decided to depart from T1 by mutual agreement. The Top Laner was in T1 Rookies from 2021 to 2022 and was promoted to T1 Esports Academy from 2022 until 2024.

T1 announced through X on November 16, saying, "Today, we part ways with 'Dal' by mutual agreement. We sincerely thank him for his dedication as the team's top laner, from T1A Rookies to T1 Esports Academy. Just as he has grown with T1, we will continue to support his dreams as he strives for more in the future."

On November 15, T1 officially announced that Oner has re-signed his contract and will continue to play as their main jungler for another two years. According to the LoL Global Contract Database, Oner's contract was originally set to expire on November 18, 2024, but has now been extended until mid-November 2026 or sometime after Worlds 2026.

"As I have re-signed with T1, I am honored to secure the jungle position for T1 once again. I will do my best to achieve greater things with T1 over the next two years," said Oner.

He also mentioned that his next target with T1 will involve winning locally for the next two years, stating, "Since we won the World Championship for the last two years, I can say we have achieved a lot. I want to win LCK as well in the next two years, and create more fun memories with fans. I will do my best to perform well over the next two years."

On November 14, T1 announced that T1 coach "Roach" will be inactive from the roster to fulfill his mandatory military service duty. Previously, fellow T1 coach "Sky" also parted ways in November 2023 for the same reason.

However, Roach assured that he will only be stepping away for a while, and that this is only a temporary departure. Military service in South Korea lasts between 18 months and 24 years, meaning Roach will be away until Worlds 2026 at the earliest.

"I'll be stepping away for a while to fulfill my duty, so it's with a heavy heart that I announce my temporary departure. With all my experiences as a pro player and coach combined, T1 has become the team I've been with the longest. Over these past two years, being with the best team, alongside the best players, head coaches, coaches, and all the staff who provided endless support, has been an incredible journey, especially in these winning moments," Roach announced on X.

Roach first joined T1 as their Top from 2019 to 2020, before shifting to T1 Academy and playing for LCK CK until 2022. He then joined the main team as a coach alongside Tom and Sky.

"From my start as a player to now as a coach, it feels so meaningful to have been able to truly help the team. It's been an unforgettable time for me. And to the fans who have supported me from my days as a player all the way through to my time as a coach, I have truly had a lot of fun and felt so much happiness because of you. Thank you so much. Our team is doing great and I believe that we will continue to shine even brighter in the future," he concluded.

While the T1 roster is expected to stay together after their recent Worlds victory, it was only on November 14 that T1 confirmed on X that their support, Keria, will extend for another two years. Like Oner, Keria's contract was supposed to end on November 18, 2024, based on the LoL Global Contract Database, but has since been extended until mid-November 2026 or sometime after Worlds 2026.

"I have re-signed with T1 for a multi-years contract. I'm so pleased to continue with T1 for two years. As I won Worlds twice at T1, I know that there are more goals that I can achieve at T1, and I think that T1 would be the best team which can help me to achieve my goals. So I will show better performance for another two years with the support of my fans. Thank you for supporting me," Keria announced through a video message via X.

Rekkles' departure from T1 Academy and from being T1 substitute for the recent Worlds 2024 was officially announced on November 13, although not very surprising, as Rekkles has been vocal about his ambition to pursue playing in the Tier-1 league. He also previously mentioned that T1 has been helpful as a foster team, while also aiding him in joining a new team, especially in the LEC.

It didn't take long for Rekkles to announce his new home as on November 15, he was revealed to be joining Caedrel's new team, Los Ratones, along with Thebausffs, Velja, Nemesis, and Crownie.

Rekkles addressed his feelings through an emotional message on his X, explaining the reasons behind his decision, which includes reuniting with his family in Sweden to help him mentally recover, as well as to pursue his professional career.

In addition, Rekkles also mentioned that he will always be grateful to T1 for believing in him, saying, "I will always be grateful for my time with T1, not just for the experience but for how it has helped me grow as a player and a person. Coming to Korea without experience in the role or knowing the language was a challenge, but T1 believed in me anyway. I want to thank my teammates, coaches, and staff at T1 HQ for helping me along the way, and to all of our fans for supporting us. It has been an honor to wear the T1 badge."

Stay tuned on esports.gg for the updated news regarding T1 roster heading to 2025.