Former Starcraft II pro player Choi “Polt” Seong Hun will join T1 as head coach next year, leaked Discord chats indicate. In the same chat, Nick “LS” De Cesare is said to become a coach as well for the team.
The Discord chat accidentally leaked on T1 support player Lee “Effort” Sang-ho's livestream. While watching League of Legends (LoL) videos on Youtube, Effort accidentally brought up his Discord window, showing chats between members of T1.
The chat indicates that Polt already arrived in South Korea from the United States, where he played for Team Liquid in Teamfight Tactics. The team appears to have signed the two coaches for the 2021 season.
T1, a three-time Worlds champion, failed to qualify for the Worlds Championship this year. This disappointing end to their season led to them parting ways with their head coach Kim “Kim” Jeong-soo, leaving the position open.
This development surprised fans and analysts. While Polt is a veteran in esports, he has zero experience in LoL. Meanwhile, LS's perspective and style in-game may not fit well with T1's current style of play. Former LoL pro player and coach Choi “Locodoco” Yoon-seon reacts:
The LS + Polt to SKT is gonna be a pretty big story in both west and east
I don't think its a good fit for LS or SKT so I'm pretty surprised it went through
Both sides have little to gain and a lot to lose in this relationship
— Yoon (@Locodoco) November 2, 2020
It's likely that LS will be the one responsible for drafting and coaching. Meanwhile, Polt may be more valuable with his veteran insight and experience rather than with his in-game expertise.
In spite of this unusual development, fans still look forward to how this will affect the team's chances. These signings, after all, will have a direct impact on T1's next season. The two coaches' primary goal right now is to make sure that T1 reach Worlds next year.
While the leak more or less confirms the signings, neither the team or the coaches have officially denied or confirmed this news.
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