T1 announce kkOma hiatus, Tom to lead as interim head coach

announced on Monday, March 23, that head coach Kim “kkOma” Jeong-gyun requested a temporary leave of absence for personal reasons, which the organization has accepted. As a result, kkOma will not be on the bench for T1 at the start of the 2026 LCK regular season.

The Head Coach interim role will be handled by coach Im “Tom” Jae-hyeon, still supported by Cho “Mata” Se-hyeong. T1 remain one of the few organizations where the head coach is not on stage with the players, as drafts are led by Tom and Mata, with kkOma taking on a more backstage, guiding role due to his 14+ years of experience.

Since joining T1 at the start of 2023, Tom initially came in as part of Bae “Bengi” Seong-woong’s coaching staff. Following a disappointing LCK Summer Split, during which was sidelined with an arm injury and replaced by , Bengi stepped down after a series of losses.

Tom, alongside Kim “Roach” Kang-hee, then took over the reins and, after the return of the GOAT, led the team to the LCK finals and, most notably, to their first World Championship title in five years, the 2023 Worlds won in the grand final against Weibo Gaming, after defeating the powerhouse JDG in the semifinals.

At the start of 2024, kkOma made his return to T1, moving Tom back into an assistant coach role. Under their leadership, the team went on to win back-to-back-to-back Worlds titles, along with an Esports World Cup and a KeSPA Cup, although the LCK title continued to elude them.