- The organization puts Munchkin, ban, and iNTRO on the transfer list
- The three are replaced by xccurate, k1Ng, and iZu as of September 12
- It’s a bold move, considering the three have very different experiences in VALORANT
Following their disappointing run during VCT 2023, T1 has decided to replace the majority of their players, bringing aboard Kevin “xccurate” Susanto, Lee “k1Ng” Seung-won, and Ham “iZu” Woo-ju.
T1 Replaces Three Players
VALORANT Champions Tour 2023 ended a couple of weeks ago and as the winners are celebrating, many others are thinking how and what to improve for the next competitive season. T1 is definitely of the latter kind and the organization has already made a series of tough decisions resulting in it parting ways with the majority of its VALORANT roster.
Byeon “Munchkin” Sang-beom, Joseph “ban” Seungmin Oh, and Kang “iNTRO” Seung-gyun have all been put up for transfer, the reason being T1’s disastrous run throughout the VTC. The Korean organization had an early exit from Group B of the series, finishing it without winning a single match. The team also had similar results in VCT 2023: Masters Tokyo, and also failed to get out of the Round of 16 in LOCK//IN São Paulo 2023 earlier this year.
Removing the majority of their players all at once is a bald move from T1, but it looks like the organization has prepared for this, as it announced it has already signed three new pros mere hours after the first news. Kevin “xccurate” Susanto, Lee “k1Ng” Seung-won, and Ham “iZu” Woo-ju have joined T1 to replace the previous trio. It’s also interesting to note this isn’t the first time this year that the organization has made such big changes. Back in July, T1 made big roster changes, leaving only its Korean core which consisted of the players that are currently being removed from the starting lineup.
Who Are the New Players?
It seems T1 has gone for a somewhat mixed bag of players to replace its main lineup. K1Ng has been a part of multiple big-name teams in the South Korean region over the past two years, most notably playing for Gen.G and DRX. He is arguably the most experienced player of the three new ones that T1 is signing.
Meanwhile, Xccurate brings with him a history of high-level CS:GO. The player dabbled in both CS and VALORANT over the past couple of years but has not fully concentrated on one of the two games. He has been a part of some of the biggest Asian CS:GO teams, most notably TYLOO and Team NKT, he officially retired from the sport after joining T1’s VALORANT roster.
The trio of newcomers to the organization is completed by iZu, who finally found a team after being without one for the past three months. The duelist main previously played for Jadeite, with notable placings at Challengers League Japan: Split 2 in June this year, narrowly missing out on VCT Pacific: Ascension in the process.
Only time will tell if T1 has made the right decision in making such a drastic refurbishment of their roster so soon after the end of the VCT 2023.
