SKT T1 LoL, now known as T1, is a grand League of Legends team, the most titled team in South Korea and the world. SK T1 has won the Worlds Tournament three times in its history: in 2013, 2015 and 2016.
The LoL team has brought more than $8 million to the club over the course of its existence, with legendary performer and three-time World Champion Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok making the biggest contribution. Lee earned $1,434,000 for the club.
History of origin of SKT T1 LoL
The origin of SK T1 Club in League of Legends dates back to 2012, when SK Telecom T1 decided to create its own team to compete in the South Korean StarCraft ProLeague.
In 2013, SK Telecom T1 began their expansion into LoL when they acquired the Judgement Day team. The team was renamed SK Telecom T1 K.
The debut roster consisted of players such as Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok and Bae "Bengi" Seong-woong, who became key figures for the club over the years. In their first year on the professional stage, SK Telecom T1 K won their first title on the world stage, defeating the Royal Club team in the 2013 Worlds final.
In 2019, SK Telecom T1 merged with T1 Entertainment & Sports to create a new club called T1. The rebranding did not change the state of affairs on the professional stage: T1 remained the leading team in the region and a major contender for international titles.
SKT T1's first year in the League of Legends
There are not many examples of epochal debuts in the eSports scene, but in the case of SKT T1 it was so. Fans will remember SKT T1's first year in the League of Legends as winning the most prestigious tournament of the year in the discipline - Worlds 2013 - but before that there were successes at outside events as well.
The first championship for SK T1 LoL's main division, namely SKT T1 K, was the Stars Arena #3 tournament. In essence, it was a showmatch event where SKT T1 played against Positive Energy.
In a hard-fought contest, SKT T1 defeated Positive Energy by a score of 3-2. The team's performance at Stars Arena #3 was a good fit to play in the prestigious LCK Regional League.
In the LCK Spring 2023 Split, SKT T1 finished in the top 3. The squad then advanced to the championship play-offs, where Ledge or MVP Ozone went 1-3 in the second round after beating NaJin Shield in the first round.
Already in the 2013 LCK Summer Split, SKT T1 outlined the contours of future victories. At LCK Summer 2013, SKT T1 won their group 3-0, before losing only 3 games in the play-offs.
They beat Jin Air Falcons 3-0 in the first round of the main stage, and in the second round SKT T1 took revenge on their LCK Spring 2013 opponents, MVP Ozone, by beating them 3-1.
In the LCK Summer 2013 grand final, they played against KT Rolster Bullets. The match ended in accordance with all canons of such events: a full-fledged boss 5 with lots of highlights, in which the STK T1 team won their first, but not their last, LCK Grand Final title.
Given the format of the South Korean regional league, winning the summer split was not enough to get them into Worlds 2013. To qualify for the most prestigious tournament of the season, SKT T1 had to win the LCK Regional Finals.
SKT T1 wins Worlds 2013
SKT T1 started their Worlds campaign in Group A. Their opponents were Oh My God, Lemondogs, TSM and GamingGear.eu.
Qualifying for the group stage was easy for SKT T1. The Korean team finished the first round of the World Championship with a score of 7-1, which allowed them to qualify for the play-offs of the tournament.
Their first-round opponent was Gamania Bears, residents of the Taiwan Regional League, who were unable to counter anything against the emerging giants of the world stage. SKT T1 outscored their opponents 2-0.
Next up was a match against NaJin Black Sword, South Korea's top ranked team. The match ended in a strong win for SKT T1, with Faker on Orianna playing a key role.
In the Worlds 2013 grand final, SKT T1 faced off against the neighbouring region of China. The LPL residents were powerless against the onslaught of STK T1, where Faker on Gragas set the pace.
The match ended 3-0 in favour of SKT T1. The first world title went to Impact, bengi, Faker, Piglet, PoohManDu.
Second and third world championships for SKT T1
In the following years, SKT T1 continued to gain strength at the regional level and strengthen its position on the international stage. SKT T1's dominance peaked in 2015 and 2016.
T1 win at Worlds 2015
Before the 2015 Long Song season, club management abandoned the idea of maintaining two rosters at the same time. SKT T1 K, led by Faker, became the main League of Legends squad.
As the season began, SKT T1 gained steady momentum, winning LCK Spring 2015, beating GE Tigers 3-0 in the grand final of the tournament and then consolidating things with a win at LCK Summer 2015, where they again beat the Tigers 3-1 in the final. In between regional splits, 2nd place at MSI 2015.
The highlight of the year was a performance at Worlds 2015. With MaRin, Bengim Faker, Bang and Wolf, SKT T1 won the second cup in club history, losing only 1 card in the championship against KOO Tigers (GE Tigers) in the grand final.
SKT T1 win at Worlds 2016
The team started the new season in a similar vein. SKT T1 won at LCK Spring 2016, again beating KOO Tigers.
On the international stage, they started the year by winning the IEM Season X - World Championship and then the Mid-Season Invitational 2016.
However, the main achievement of 2016 was winning the Worlds 2016. This time, the path to the championship was more difficult than the previous season.
SKT T1 played 5-1 in the group stage, and the problems started in the play-offs. SKT T1 beat RNG in the first match and then alternated between compatriots ROX Tigers and Samsung Galaxy in the grand final. Both matches ended in a full-fledged bo5 with the score 3-2 in favour of SKT T1.
Subsequent years of SKT T1 and the rebranding to T1
SKT T1 slowed down a bit in the following years, but were consistently in the top tier. The team won the LCK Spring 2017 and then won the 2017 Mid-Season Invitational.
SKT T1 finished top-2 at LCK Summer 2017 and were close to their third straight championship and fourth World Cup title, but were beaten 3-0 by Samsung Galaxy in the final.
The most disappointing year in terms of performance was 2018, when SKT T1 failed to win a single title. In 2019, the team rebranded itself: SK Telecom T1 merged with T1 Entertainment & Sports to create a new club called T1.
That same year, the already revamped T1s reached the top 4 of Worlds 2019 and repeated the achievement in 2021.
The closest T1s came to a top 4 championship in 2022, with everything in hand and a historic chance, but DRX intervened. The League of Legends' most decorated team lost the Worlds 2022 grand final by a 2-3 score.
T1 prize money in team history
Since entering the League of Legends in 2013, T1 have become the most "moneyed" team and discipline. According to esportsearnings, as of March 2023, the League of Legends division has earned the club ~$8,000,000.
The most prolific T1 player at all times was Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok. The team's legendary mid laner earned the club $1,434,271 in all-time appearances.
