LoL - Worlds: T1, things come in threes (17/17)

The League of Legends 2025 World Championship kicks off in Beijing on the 14th of October. A total of 17 teams will compete to, again, succeed T1 at the top of the Riot Games MOBA world hierarchy. On this occasion, Sheep Esports brings you a daily feature on one of the teams taking part. On October 13th, the last episode of our series focuses on the double reigning champions.

T1 are once again qualified for the Worlds, but this time is the first in the organization’s history that they will go through the Play-In stage, which they will play on October 14 against Invictus Gaming. The competition of the best team in history could very well come to an abrupt end tomorrow. T1 and Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok will therefore take part in their tenth Worlds since 2013, having won five of them.

As has become the norm over the years, T1’s LCK season was anything but smooth sailing. At the start of the year, during the LCK Cup, the team even replaced their AD Carry Lee “Gumayusi” Min-hyeong with Shin “Smash” Geum-jae before backtracking ahead of the LCK Split. The roster gradually regained its consistency, peaking during the road to MSI and at the Mid-Season Invitational, where the team was phenomenal on the international stage, reaching the grand final before falling 3–2 to Gen.G.

Back in the LCK for Rounds 3–5, T1 carried that momentum, claiming major wins against Gen.G and securing three straight BO3 victories over Hanwha Life Esports. Unfortunately, during the playoffs, the team couldn’t find the answers to HLE’s masterful preparation. Dropped to the lower bracket, T1 were surprised to meet Gen.G there after their loss to KT Rolster — and after a fierce battle, Gen.G emerged victorious 3–2, sealing T1’s fate as Korea’s fourth seed and sending them through the Play-In stage.

Several players from this T1 roster have been playing together for years now. Faker is Faker, Mun "Oner" Hyeon-jun and Ryu "Keria" Min-seok have been part of the team since 2021, while Gumayusi joined during the 2020 Regional Finals. Only Choi "Doran" Hyeon-joon is new to the lineup, having joined earlier this year. He’s also the only one who hasn’t yet won Worlds, while the others are at least two-time, and for some, even five-time World Champions.

While every T1 player has had their ups and downs this year, some have shone brighter than others. Doran delivered a strong season despite the immense pressure on his shoulders, Faker proved once again at MSI and during the Summer that he remains one of the best midlaners in the world, and Gumayusi bounced back impressively, showing he’s still the AD Carry T1 needs.

But if one player truly stood out, it’s undoubtedly Oner. He was the light when T1 were in the shadows—the driving force behind several of their decisive series. Leading all junglers in average kills during the Summer Split, holding the second-best KDA in the league, and ranking highest among T1 players in Sheep Esports’ power rankings—second only to Lee "Tarzan" Seung-yong among junglers—Oner has been the team’s most impactful player this season.