In response to criticism from Joe Marsh, Zeus’ player agency responded and gave their side of the story on how off-season negotiations went down. As it turns out, minutes may have been the difference between Zeus staying with T1 and leaving the team.
The entire situation has been difficult to follow from the moment Zeus’ departure from T1 was finalized, with both the org and the star top laner’s agency having a very public dispute over the details.
Both parties have told their side of the story, with T1’s CEO alleging that The Play, Zeus’ agency, wasn’t honest about the terms of their contract. Marsh expressed that he would have done anything to keep Zeus, going as far as promising the highest salary he could legally offer in the LCK.
And, if there’s one thing their accounts of the situation agree on, it’s that Zeus was very, very close to staying with T1.
Zeus signing with HLE instead of T1 came down to the wire
The Play claimed that Hanwha Life Esports set a stipulation, one that required Zeus to sign with the team by 3PM on November 19 or be entirely locked out of joining HLE.
This stipulation is a detail Marsh disputed, claiming that he reached out to Hanwha himself and confirmed that they didn’t put any such time limit on his contract.
Regardless, The Play chose to wait until 3:30PM to sign, delaying the time limit they claim was put in place by 30 minutes to give T1 time to provide a counteroffer. However, they didn’t receive one during that time and went forward with the HLE signing.
During that time, however, T1 representatives were on their way to talk with Zeus in person. They didn’t arrive until 4PM.
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“The somewhat tight deadline of 3 PM was set because Hanwha Life Esports made the request first, as the direction of the team’s FA market plans could change depending on Zeus’ future. Since Zeus’ will to remain with T1 was strong, we requested that the deadline be extended slightly in order to have additional negotiations with T1, and the deadline was ultimately extended to 3:30 PM, and we continued to negotiate online with T1 until then,” the agency claimed in a post translated by LCK Subs.
“We had no idea that COO Ahn Woong-ki would come in person, and if T1 had accepted the terms of the contract via phone before 3:30 PM, Zeus would have likely chosen to remain with T1, but T1 did not accept the offer regarding the contract term even while on the way to meet Zeus.”
In other words, this small miscommunication between both parties could have been the difference between him staying with the Worlds-winning team. The Play explained it like this:
“The LCK FA market characteristic tends to be where many players’ futures are decided in a short period of time.
“No matter how competitive a player is, there is a limit to the length of time he can go through negotiations to increase his contract terms. It is not true that he made a quick decision because he had originally intended to leave T1, but rather that he made a quick decision because of the market situation.”
And, with that, the roster move was in motion. If T1 were just a bit faster in getting there or if Zeus’ agency had waited just a bit longer, there’s a good chance the player would have remained with his team. At least, going by The Play’s account.
But, considering how vocal T1 have been about their desire to keep the player, it’s clear they would have preferred to keep Zeus even if Doran was an easy second choice. It’s likely this small barrier was the thing that kept Zeus from staying with T1, though it remains to be seen if that barrier was simply a miscommunication or purposeful deception like Joe Marsh alleged.