Smash’s promotion marks T1’s first use of a six-man roster since 2022.
The League of Legends esports scene is currently hosting pre-season regional tournaments to select representative teams for the 2025 First Stand, a brand-new international tournament set to take place in March in Seoul, South Korea. Each team is striving to qualify for this significant event, including the five-time Worlds champion, T1, who recently added Sin "Smash" Geum-jae as their sixth player.
Smash promoted to main roster, Guti moves to bot lane
According to the official roster list published by the League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) circuit on Jan. 7, T1 was initially set to utilize five-man roster of DOFGK for the main lineup, with Smash placed on the T1 Academy roster. Both rosters will participate in LCK pre-season tournaments, with the T1 main roster facing off in the 2025 LCK Cup starting on Jan. 17, while the T1 Academy roster competes in the 2025 LCK CL Kickoffs on Jan. 13.
However, changes have now been confirmed, with Smash being promoted to fill the main roster's bot laner alongside Lee "Gumayusi" Min-hyung as of Jan. 24. Meanwhile, Smash's previous position is now occupied by Moon "Guti" Jung-hwan, who originally served as T1 Academy's substitute mid laner.
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T1 employs a six-man roster for the first time since 2022
While promoting Academy players to the main roster is not uncommon for LCK teams, T1's decision is surprising for fans, given that they had maintained their roster over the years — until Choi "Zeus" Woo-je departed and was replaced by Choi "Doran" Hyeon-joon back in November 2024. Furthermore, fans believe the existing T1 roster is strong as it is, especially with Gumayusi not particularly underperforming, making this move unexpected.
This shift marks the first time T1 has utilized a six-man roster since they introduced Asper as a substitute before parting ways in November 2022. Unlike Asper, who never took the stage despite his role as a substitute support for Ryu "Keria" Min-seok, Smash is stepping into the spotlight for the first time amidst rising anticipation.
Interestingly, this scenario mirrors the situation in 2021 when Teddy was T1's main bot laner, but was replaced by Gumayusi during Worlds 2021. T1 finished fourth at that tournament, a commendable result considering the sudden roster change. Teddy subsequently departed T1 for the Afreeca Freecs, paving the way for Gumayusi's promotion as the primary bot laner, which eventually led to the birth of the ZOFGK roster — widely regarded as one of T1's best lineups in history.
Fans question the lack of official announcement
While Smash's promotion has been met with enthusiasm by many, some fans are upset about the lack of communication surrounding these roster changes. As of this article's writing, T1 has only officially announced Smash on their YouTube channel in the description, without a proper welcome poster on other social media platforms. Fans have expressed concerns, recalling a similar situation when T1 did not officially announce Gumayusi's replacement prior to the 2025 LCK Cup matches against KT on Jan. 24.
Despite the absence of social media announcement, T1 is still open to addressing this issue to reporters during the media interviews. Coach Kim "kkOma" Jeong-gyun spoke about Gumayusi's benching, while Faker answered a question regarding the return of Gumayusi. Nonetheless, fans hope this issue can be resolved soon to clarify the situation and ensure a comfortable environment for both Gumayusi and Smash moving forward.
Stay tuned on esports.gg for more T1 news.
