What seemed to be a closed chapter has unexpectedly reopened. On Wednesday, T1 announced that it will be hosting a livestream at 10 PM KST (3 PM CET) to officially comment on and apologize for the “issues" with its former toplaner, Choi "Zeus" Woo-je — most likely about the player's departure. Undeniably the best in the world at his position at the time and a two-time world champion, Zeus made a surprising move on November 19, 2024, joining direct rival Hanwha Life Esports. Choi "Doran" Hyeon-jun took the opposite path and joined the best team in the world.

The transfer made headlines for several reasons. Firstly, it marked the end of the celebrated ZOFGK era—T1’s golden roster that had reached three consecutive Worlds finals, winning the last two. Secondly, the move came shortly after the other members of the lineup—Ryu "Keria" Min-seok, Mun "Oner" Hyeon-jun, and Lee "Gumayusi" Min-hyeong—had all renewed their contracts with the organization. But most notably, the situation was intensified by the public fallout between T1 and Zeus’s agency, THE PLAY, during the extension negotiations. Both sides had reportedly wanted to continue together, but the transfer occurred after the parties failed to reach a timely agreement on Zeus’s salary, while HLE’s offer neared expiration.

Dispute over the timeline

In the immediate aftermath, both parties publicly blamed each other. T1 CEO Joe Marsh stated that THE PLAY failed to submit a counter-offer before the November 19 deadline regarding Zeus’s salary demands. In response, the agency published a series of documents detailing the negotiation timeline. According to these materials, discussions between the two sides were active from November 12 through 19. HLE had reportedly set a deadline for 3 PM KST on the 19th. Negotiations between T1 and THE PLAY were ultimately abandoned at 3:30 PM, finalizing Zeus’s move to Hanwha Life Esports.

In March, a report by Iven shed further light on the incident. The article corroborated the timeline previously presented by THE PLAY, stating that T1 submitted a final offer at 3:10 PM, to which the agency responded with a counter-proposal. That offer was rejected by T1, leading to the end to negotiations. Zeus then promptly accepted the offer from HLE. The article also clarified that THE PLAY did not receive any commission from HLE following the transfer, directly contradicting Joe Marsh’s allegations that the agency had prioritized financial gain over the player’s best interest.