T1 hasn’t looked the same without Faker in the mid lane. To make matters worse, longtime head coach and World Champion player Bengi has resigned from his position as head coach.
T1 has been in a bit of a rut since Lee ‘Faker’ Sang-hyeok stepped away from his starting position on the team due to a wrist injury. Following Faker’s break from pro play, T1 lost to DRX, one of the lowest rated teams in the LCK currently.
Whether that was a one-off failure for the team remains to be seen, but their poor performance has left the prominent organization in question.
And now, a short time after Faker announced his break, Bae ‘Bengi’ Seong-woong has resigned from his position as head coach. With crucial parts of T1 falling apart, the team’s path to Worlds 2023 is in question.
T1’s Worlds qualification in question as head coach Bengi resigns
Despite being a record-breakingly good team in some ways, T1’s latest superstar roster has had a series of tragic losses. They’ve managed multiple podium finishes at international events, but they always miss the mark when it matters most.
This has surely left its mark on the team, knowing that they’re one of the best teams in the world but haven’t quite been the best on any one occasion. Fans have been speculating whether or not T1 would make changes eventually.
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While that change has come about, it hasn’t been quite in the way that people wanted or expected. The organization hasn’t looked the same with Faker on the bench, and head coach Bengi stepping down hasn’t given fans a lot of confidence in the team.
— T1 LoL (@T1LoL) July 8, 2023
As for the reason behind Bengi’s departure, neither him or T1 have given us anything definitive at the time of writing. However, with Im ‘Tom’ Jae-hyeon being moved up to interim head coach for the team has led to speculation that Bengi’s resignation was given on short notice.
More confusing still is that Bengi recently commented on Faker’s condition, saying that it’d be at least two weeks before Faker would be able to play. The fact that he commented on it so recently as an active member of the team followed promptly by his resignation has left people scratching their heads.
Whether or not T1 seek out a new head coach or stick with Tom for a while remains to be seen. What’s more, organizations like KT Rolster, Gen.G, Hanwha Life Esports, and DPlus KIA are good enough to threaten a weakened T1 and take every Worlds spot.
If they aren’t able to turn things around, T1 has a chance of missing Worlds entirely for the first time since 2020.