T1 Gumayusi’s rise and legacy: From trainee to the World’s best ADC

T1 has parted ways with a key figure just days after securing a historic third consecutive League of Legends World Championship and Finals MVP. In the years since joining T1, Lee “Gumayusi” Min-hyeong became central to the team’s evolution across domestic and international competition. His rise to one of the most decorated ADCs of LoL Esports’ history was not immediate, but his consistency and presence were crucial in elevating T1’s competitive identity. 

Throughout the years, T1 has faced immense pressure to succeed. Gumayusi contributed through consistent performance, forming a core with his longtime support Ryu “Keria” Min-seok, jungler Mun “Oner” Hyeon-jun, and mid-laner Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok. 

Gumayusi’s trajectory indicated a player capable of reshaping metas and maintaining an extended presence at the highest level of play — even more so when paired with Keria. And over the years, the bot lane duo influenced how teams defined the bot lane environment, in the LCK and in global competitions. Their chemistry became a signature element of T1’s reemergence as a Championship-calibre roster.

Gumayusi’s departure from T1 undoubtedly marks the end of one of the most successful eras for both player and organisation.

In his documentary, Gumayusi revealed that his older brother inspired him to start playing League of Legends, and it was during his first year of middle school that he realised he wanted to go pro. In 2017, he reached Challenger rank in solo queue, and one year later, he joined T1 — then still operating under the name SK Telecom T1 — as a trainee, after the organisation saw him as a young talent with long-term potential.

Once inside T1’s system, he wasn’t immediately thrust into the spotlight as he joined the main roster as a substitute. But Gumayusi’s long-awaited debut came in September 2020, not in a low-stakes match, but in a must-win LCK Regional Finals series. He replaced veteran bot-laner Park “Teddy” Jin-seong and helped T1 take a commanding 3–1 victory over Afreeca Freecs.

His debut win demonstrated his ability to perform in high-pressure situations, and over time, consistent laning, positioning, and objective control made him a key component of T1’s strategies by 2022.

The 2022 season brought his first World Championship appearance, as well as T1’s first Worlds Finals since the organisation’s rebranding. Though T1 lost the championship that year to DRX’s Cinderella story, the event was a benchmark for Gumayusi. But that loss did not halt T1’s progress; it instead marked the start of a new era, the team’s domination of the Worlds’ stage.

After a strong start to the season, T1 and Gumayusi consistently ranked near the top of the LCK in 2023, placing in the top three at MSI, but they continually fell short of a title. Still, the results were enough to earn the team enough Championship Points to qualify for Worlds, setting the stage for their eventual run to the 2023 Championship.

The 2023 Worlds win in Seoul was a turning point for Gumayusi. It was not just his first World title, but also his confirmation as a world-class carry. Over subsequent seasons, he and Keria developed into one of the most feared bot-lane duos in the league — their chemistry, decision-making, and scaling becoming foundational to T1’s strategies.

T1 entered 2024 with renewed expectations after its 2023 World Championship run, and the team maintained strong domestic form throughout the year. They remained near the top of the LCK standings, returned to the Spring Final, and reached the top four at MSI — a solid international result that still fell short of a title. The team’s consistency across both splits secured another direct qualification to Worlds.

At the 2024 World Championship, T1 looked to defend its title, and the team delivered another deep run that reaffirmed its standing as one of the strongest rosters in the world — the ‘ZOFGK’ era.

However, that era was coming to an end as the 2025 season began with a major change for T1, following the team’s top laner, Choi “Zeus” Woo-je, who left during the offseason. The team spent the first months searching for stability in the top lane, and the adjustments affected coordination across the map. T1 slipped out of the upper end of the LCK standings for the first time in several years, and the results across Spring and Summer Splits did not provide a clear path to yet another Worlds trophy.

The year also brought a difficult moment for Gumayusi. Earlier in the season, he was benched in favour of Sin “Smash” Geum-jae, a decision that led to backlash, which prompted T1’s CEO, Joe Marsh, to return Gumayusi to the starting lineup. The change settled the bot lane, but it did not resolve the wider issues the team faced in-game.

Furthermore, the size and intensity of T1’s fanbase has at times turned against Gumayusi — and other T1 members — resulting in harassment, online attacks, and coordinated protests during 2025. The pressure from constant scrutiny and public backlash added a significant mental and emotional burden on the players, forcing them to perform under heightened stress both on and off the stage.

As Worlds approached, T1 found themselves entering the Play-Ins stage and preparing to face Invictus Gaming, a situation far removed from its previous years. Match after match at Worlds 2025, Gumayusi maintained consistent damage output, controlled team fights, and provided critical late-game carries. And when most LoL Esports’ fans had counted T1 out, the team reached a new peak with a third consecutive World Championship win. 

In the final, T1 edged out KT Rolster 3–2 in a tense comeback to claim a historic three-peat. For his performance, Gumayusi was awarded the Finals MVP, becoming the first ADC to win the award since Park “Ruler” Jae-hyuk in 2017. 

“It still feels like a dream. I didn’t expect to win MVP, so I’m grateful,” he said. “This year was a tough one for me. Every year I’ve been someone who has to prove himself, but this time I think it was a year where I had to prove myself to myself. Now I’ve done that proving, and I believe I’m the best AD carry in the world.”

T1 announced Gumayusi’s departure a little over a week after the 2025 World Championship win. The organisation acknowledged the trophies, the years of contribution, and the impact he had on the team’s era of sustained international success. The separation concluded a run that included multiple LCK titles, three World Championships, and one Finals MVP for Gumayusi.

T1 now faces the challenge of integrating a new structure without a player who participated in nearly every major moment of the team’s last half-decade.

For Gumayusi, the departure opens a new stage. He leaves T1 at his peak, with the momentum of an MVP-winning season behind him. As he shifts to a new organisation, his path mirrors that of Choi “Zeus” Woo-je the previous year. Zeus moved to another team and became one of the primary threats to T1’s dominance. Gumayusi has the competitive profile to produce a similar effect on the global stage.

His next destination will reshape the field around the 2026 competitive season. If he joins a strong lineup, he could directly challenge T1’s pursuit of another title run. The structure he helped build may become the barrier he now tries to surpass. The end of one era becomes the origin point for the next, and his career continues toward another landmark season.