Three players and two coaches have left T1's Valorant team, with Meteor, Munchkin, and DH departing alongside KDG and CheongGak as the organization starts a rebuild.
Meteor and Munchkin's reunion ends
Kim "Meteor" Tae-oh joined T1 after his 2024 campaign with Gen.G and quickly helped deliver an international trophy. At Masters Bangkok 2025, T1 defeated G2 Esports in the grand final to claim the organization's first international VCT title. Meteor finished the tournament with MVP honors.
After Meteor's first season with T1, Byeon "Munchkin" Sang-beom arrived from Gen.G ahead of the 2026 campaign. Their reunion brought together two players from Gen.G's successful 2024 lineup, but lasted just one season at T1.
Munchkin began 2026 as T1's in-game leader while playing Controller. By the end of the campaign, his responsibilities had changed, with stax taking over the main calling duties and Munchkin becoming a secondary caller.
Academy cover gives way to a three-player core
Kang "DH" Dong-ho took a different route into the senior lineup. His development through T1 Academy and performances in Challengers earned him main-team opportunities in 2025, followed by another brief spell in 2026.
Those appearances also required a role change. DH played Duelist for the academy team, but primarily handled Controller during his senior-team stints. His second spell included some maps on Cypher, before stax replaced him after four group-stage matches.
T1's remaining players offer a foundation with an established caller rather than a completely blank roster:
- stax, Kim Gu-taek: In-game leader with experience playing Controller and Initiator.
- BuZz, Yu Byeong-cheol: The team's primary Duelist.
- iZu, Ham Woo-ju: A flexible player capable of covering different roles.
That combination gives T1 room to recruit across roles. The roster needs new players, but stax's return to leadership means Munchkin's departure does not leave the team without an existing in-game leader.
A coaching reset after T1's best Champions finish
Kim "KDG" Dong-gun had worked with T1 Academy and led Gwangju Shadow before his time with T1. His background in competitive shooter games also includes coaching Overwatch.
Under KDG, T1 finished third at VCT Pacific Stage 2 and reached the Champions playoffs for the first time. Its fifth-sixth finish at Champions Shanghai was the organization's best result at that tournament. The overhaul follows progress on the international stage, not a season without results.
Lee "CheongGak" Il-ho leaves after multiple spells with the organization. He worked with T1 in 2023 and briefly in 2024, then moved to Wolves Esports before returning as part of the team's shift to an all-Korean roster.
T1's next coaching appointment will be its third head coach in three years. Despite its international success, the organization is still chasing its first Pacific title, making the next appointment a significant part of this rebuild.
T1 has not announced replacements for the departing players or coaches. Away from the offseason roster moves, explore the Valorant strategy guides for more on the game itself.
