The competitive season hasn’t officially resumed yet on the League of Legends circuit, but some regions have already kicked off their preseason events — the LPL with the Demacia Cup, and the LCK with the KeSPA Cup, which began on December 6. This tournament will feature the first matchup between Lee “Gumayusi” Min-hyeong, now with Hanwha Life Esports, and T1.

It was the biggest shock of the 2025 offseason: the breakup between T1 and Gumayusi after winning the last three World Championships together. He joined Choi “Zeus” Woo-je at HLE, while the young prodigy Kim “Peyz” Su-hwan stepped in to replace him. The match scheduled for next Thursday carries real symbolic weight — it’s the meeting between a homegrown star many believed would never leave and the organization he once defined.

A sense of déjà vu

Last year, a similar story unfolded between T1 and Zeus. Although he was expected to stay, a long offseason saga eventually pushed him toward HLE. His first meeting with T1 came later than Gumayusi’s — it happened in the Playoffs of the 2025 LCK Cup in mid-February. Zeus took the series 3–2 against his former team and looked unstoppable at that moment. They went on to win the trophy, as well as the first edition of the First Stand.

Gumayusi will now have to face the players he spent the last five years with — except Choi “Doran” Hyeon-joon. His partnership with Ryu “Keria” Min-seok is one of the most iconic in the history of the game, but in a few days they’ll be on opposite sides. The stakes aren’t particularly high, but the symbolism is unmistakable: Gumayusi will face T1.

Both teams finished first in their groups and will now face each other in Round 1 of the KeSPA Cup in a BO3. This match won’t be an elimination round. The other series will feature Dplus KIA against Nongshim RedForce. For the players, the stakes are twofold: to be eligible for the Asian Games, they must have played in the KeSPA Cup.