102 days of commercial commitments for players in 2025, 75% turnover within the partnerships team, and
T1's first-ever profitable year appear to hide an organization facing significant internal criticism. An investigation published by South Korean outlet
Sports Seoul on July 26 points to the central role of a U.S.-based agency with close ties to CEO Joe Marsh in the club's sponsorship contract structure.
For context, Sports Seoul was also behind the report detailing the tensions between the KeSPA and the Esports Foundation over the Esports Nations Cup, with the South Korean association considering withdrawing from the competition. Commercial deals under scrutiny
The investigation follows an
earlier Sports Seoul report published on July 23, which documented funeral wreaths and a
protest truck sent by fans to T1's headquarters in Gangnam after the team's early MSI exit and fourth-place finish at the EWC. That article had already revealed that T1 listed 16 major sponsors and that the organization declined to comment on the role played by an external agency in some of those deals, stating only that it could "not confirm" the information.
The central focus of journalist Kim Min-kyu's investigation is how these commercial agreements are structured through that agency. According to several internal sources cited by the newspaper, nearly all sponsorship contracts signed by South Korea's biggest esports organization are reportedly handled through a U.S.-based agency, referred to as "Company A" in the report, which is said to have ties to T1 CEO Joe Marsh. A standard intermediary commission of 10% to 15% of contract values is mentioned, although Sports Seoul was unable to confirm the actual commission rate charged by the agency.
The commercial workload on players
Employees interviewed as part of the investigation also reportedly claimed that sponsorship deals secured directly by T1's internal teams were nevertheless counted as achievements of the U.S. agency. The renewal of T1's agreement with the agency in January 2026 also reportedly coincided with the extension of Joe Marsh's tenure, which had originally been set to expire on October 7, 2025. Sheep Esports reported in May 2026, citing an INVEN article based on the April 3 board meeting minutes, that Joe Marsh's term had been extended until March 30, 2029.
July 27 update: According to a new article from
Sports Seoul, this 2029 deadline mentioned in an SK Telecom regulatory filing would not reflect the reality of the CEO appointment process. Full update available further down in the article.
A source familiar with the matter told
Sports Seoul that the club allegedly signed a sponsorship agreement with a major international company for less than half the value typically secured by comparable European organizations, a deal the source attributes to the agency. According to the source, these undervalued agreements force the club to sign more partners in order to meet its commercial targets, creating additional obligations that ultimately fall on the players, most notably T1's five
League of Legends stars. The journalists note that in 2025, T1 players spent 102 days of the year on external commercial commitments in addition to their competitive obligations.
The July 23 report also detailed what such a schedule looked like in practice. According to
Sports Seoul, shortly after winning the 2025 World Championship in China, T1 traveled to Germany for Red Bull League of Its Own on November 29 before heading directly to Saudi Arabia to film promotional content for Red Sea Global. The team then continued with a series of fan meetings, overseas promotional events, and award ceremonies, with little to no break, while still finding time to compete in and win the
2025 KeSPA Cup later in December.
A wave of internal departures
The situation reportedly caused significant internal dissatisfaction, culminating in the recent departure of 75% of the employees working within the club's partnerships team. The actual scale of the commissions paid to the U.S. agency, as well as the exact contents of its contract with T1, remain unconfirmed, according to the South Korean outlet.
The investigation comes after T1 announced its first profitable financial results in the organization's history earlier in 2026. According to its consolidated financial statements, revenue reached approximately KRW 90.57 billion, up 77.7% year over year, with operating profit of KRW 2.07 billion and net profit of KRW 838 million. Sheep Esports had already reported those figures in April 2026, based on Korean media reports citing T1's audit documents.
July 27, 2026 update
A new article from Sports Seoul, published on July 27, reveals that T1 has effectively been without a confirmed leadership situation since June 30, 2026. According to the Korean outlet, Joe Marsh's initial term, which was set to end on October 7, 2025, would have been extended multiple times.
This situation was reportedly caused by a lack of agreement between the club's two shareholders, SK Square and US-based company Comcast, over the appointment of a new CEO. The latest known deadline for this extension was set for June 30, 2026, according to the report, a date that has now passed without a successor or a formal extension of Joe Marsh's tenure being publicly announced or confirmed.
A regulatory filing from SK Telecom (CST1), published in May 2026, nevertheless listed Joe Marsh's term as running until March 30, 2029, the date mentioned above. On paper, this could have suggested that a long-term renewal had already been finalized. However, according to internal sources within the SK Group, the CEO appointment process had not actually been completed.
SK Square remains T1's majority shareholder, currently holding 53.13% of the shares, compared to 34.3% for Comcast. According to several sources cited by Sports Seoul, SK Square is reportedly aware of the ties between Joe Marsh and the US agency mentioned above, but the CEO appointment matter has still not been finalized, according to the outlet.
