League of Legends: T1, here’s an explanation of the change in manager

T1 CEO, Joe Marsh sheds light on the change of coach. This is the official statement:

“As we begin preparations for the World Championship, I want to take this moment to give you important information about the T1 League of Legends roster. After much deliberation and consultation with the players and staff, I have made the difficult decision to release Choi “Polt” Sung Hoon as head coach. He will continue to work with T1 as General Manager of the entire League of Legends program supporting our LCKs, LCK Challengers, T1 Rookies and T1 Esports Academy.

I am grateful to Polt for everything he has done as he was able to light up the dark period of the summer of 2021 and the team would not be where they are now without his efforts. The decision to make this change has nothing to do with anything he did or didn’t do, but it was more of an instinctive decision after extensive discussions within the organization. It was not an easy decision, but it was the right one for the team. And I will always make the choice that will give our team the best chance of winning the World Cup, not my personal feelings for a person, be it a manager, a player or an employee. It’s also important to note that the results of Sunday’s LCK final did not influence my decision as I was determined to make changes regardless of the outcome. I know Polt will continue to be a valuable asset to T1 as our general manager and I am confident that he will continue to help build our programs at all levels.

From today, Bae “Bengi” Sung Woon, a three-time world champion and longtime member of the T1 family, will be named interim head coach. He has played on the biggest stages in the world and knows what it takes to win, which is why I am making this change now – to increase our chances of achieving our ultimate goal of winning our fourth World Championship. In recent years I have seen Bengi grow as a manager and his knowledge will be invaluable to the team. Most importantly, his experience, lessons and approaches gained while playing under the greatest League of Legends coach of all time during his tenure at SKT T1 will prove useful as he begins his journey as an interim head coach. All of us at T1 will support Bengi® over the next few weeks as he prepares to put the team in the best possible conditions to win the World Championship.

A new addition to our League of Legends team is Kim “Sky” Ha Neul, who will take on the role of the first team manager for the World Championship. He will be an important asset to ‘Bengi’ along with Kim ‘The Moment’ Ji Hwan who will remain in his role. Sky has proven to be an exceptional coach thanks to all his efforts at T1 Esports Academy. Most importantly, he has been a big brother and mentor to many players and has been key in keeping the mindset of the players focused this year. In the future, he will ensure that the players have the right mindset before any competition and that the dressing room is a stress-free area.

Again, it was a tough choice and I spoke to the players before making my final decision. We ask all T1 fans to continue their support and energy as our team comes together to win the world championship. We will do our best to regain the world title.”