Why is it so difficult with the coach at T1?

• T1 had a permanent coach for years: the now 36-year-old kkoma. He was at T1 from 2012 to 2019, won 3 world championships and was considered an absolute fan favorite. Even today, the T1 boss, Joe Marsh, speaks of him as “the greatest coach in League of Legends of all time”.
• In 2019, however, things didn’t go so well for T1. At the Worlds, they lost to a team from Europe: apparently a shame for the proud South Korean. kkoma still said that individually his players were much better than those of G2. kkoma left T1 after the Worlds 2019. Today he is at DWG KIA.
• Since kkoma left, T1 kept trying out extremely successful LoL coaches, but then quickly became dissatisfied with them and dismissed them.

Most recently, they had apparently found their way back to old strength under the actual manager Polt as coach, but they’re kicking him out now, too. And that just before the 2022 Worlds.

T1 has no luck with world champion coaches

How did Polt become a coach? After T1 missed out on participating in the Worlds in 2020, the team had again signed two “world champion coaches”.

But Polt, in his role as general manager, fired the actual “super coaches” for failure in the summer of 2021:

The new interim coaches were able to halfway salvage the – Season : Finished 2nd in South Korea and made it to the semifinals of the Worlds.

Before 2022, T1 needed a new coach and chose Polt on December 3, 2021 (via inven).

Polt plays 18-0 in spring, yet fans want him out

Here’s how it went for Polt: Polt led T1 to a clear championship in Korea in the spring of 2022, with a spectacular “undefeated” – Season :

• T1 went 18-0 in the regular – Season
• Marched through the playoffs, dropping only one game
• Then finished second in the tournament MSI
• In the summer of 2022 T1 became at least vice-champion, behind Gen G.

So actually there was hardly any reason to complain about Polt: There was a championship and a second place in the league and at the MSI.

Fans hire truck to demand dismissal of coaches

Why was there criticism after all? The big successes were missing, the title at MSI and in the league.

Because T1 has an unbelievably good team, it couldn’t be the players, but the criticism spread to Polt.

Although things were going so well for Polt on paper, fans were constantly unhappy with the coaching staff: they even rented a truck in August to protest the coaches with illuminated messages (via inven).

It was said that the coaching staff was “incompetent” and “too inexperienced” to lead the current team. Time and again, the selection of coaches in drafts has been criticized.

The head of T1 countered this: In the past, “experienced, successful coaches were hired,” but they failed.

The 34-year-old Polt was accused of being more of a manager than a coach and didn’t have much experience as a LoL pro or coach before T1. Fans were already against him when there was talk of promoting him to coach in November 2020. They preferred to get two world champion coaches, but they failed at T1.

3-time world champion as a player should now fix it

This is now the decision: Polt is promoted back to “General Manager” and is now to manage all teams of T1.

Bengi is appointed as head coach of the professionals.

Who is Bengi? Now 28 years old, Bengi is a club legend for T1. He played there from 2013 to 2016 and together with Faker won the team’s 3 World Championships:

• In 2017 he ended his career as a professional and had to start his military service.
• In 2020 he returned to the team and started as a coach of the second team.
• Now he’s expected to coach the pros at Worlds.

From T1, they say Bengi learned under the “greatest LoL coach” of all time. And has the full support of T1.

The decisive factor for the change is apparently the lost LCK final against Gen G.:

LoL: Gen G. beats T1 and becomes champion – With 3 players from a hyper-talented team that broke in scandal in 2019.