T1 have had a rocky start to the season. After the LCK Cup was almost entirely played by Sin "
Smash" Geum-jae, Joe Marsh stepped in at the start of the LCK Round 1-2 to reinstate Lee "
Gumayusi" Min-hyeong in the starting lineup. He played against
DRX and then against
Gen.G—a series they lost—after which the two-time world champion AD Carry
was subbed out again in favor of Smash.
On Friday against
BNK FEARX, Smash started, and T1 secured the first game. But FEARX managed to find the opening to equalize the series, and as the players returned to the stage, Gumayusi eventually stepped in to replace Smash for the decider. This is therefore the first time T1 swap their AD Carries during a series.
Gumayusi had a strong start to the year with a convincing win against DRX to kick off the split. However, a difficult series against Gen.G led to him being benched for the Telecom War—a Bo3 that T1 comfortably won against
KT Rolster. The reigning world champions then suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of Hanwha Life Esports before bouncing back with a win over
Nongshim RedForce.
The substitution didn’t go as planned, as T1 ended up losing the Bo3, with Gumayusi dying twice early on. A strong performance from Jeon "
Raptor" Eo-jin and Nam "
Diable" Dae-geun led FEARX to victory—Gumayusi couldn’t do much to turn things around for his team. T1 now sit tied with FEARX in the standings at 3-3, sharing fifth place. For Smash, the start of the LCK Round 1-2 has been somewhat rocky—he currently holds a 5-4 record in games. As for Gumayusi, he's sitting at an even 3-3 so far.
