T1 part ways with their Korean team

After several players pre-emptively announced their search for new opportunities after First Strike ended, T1 have officially disbanded T1 Korea. It is the second such announcement to come to the Korean scene this week after Cloud9 Korea’s shutdown was revealed on December 10th, 2020.

While T1 Korea initially struggled to get their feet off the ground, they had much more success after the additions of Kim "Harry" Han-gyu and Ye "Anaks" Sang-jun. They finished second in the A.W EXTREME MASTERS ASIA INVITATIONAL, nearly taking down KIWOOM DRX in the finals, as well as second in the APE VALORANT Battle, and headed into First Strike as favourites to reach the finals. This didn’t happen, though, as the team was eliminated in the quarterfinals.

Like Cloud9 before them, rumours swirl that this announcement is due to a potential new rule meaning organizations cannot run more than a single competitive VALORANT team. It is a giant hit for the Korean scene, though, as Vision Strikers, TNL Esports, and GOnGO Prince are essentially the last notable organizations remaining.

All of T1 Korea - Choi "10X" Jin-woo, Jeong "Esperanza" Jin-cheol, Kim "ROK3T" Ju-yeong, Harry, Anaks, and coach Yoo “Locomotive’ Jung-sun - are now free agents.