T1 Continues to Take Controversial Actions Amidst the Drama with Gumayusi Heating Up
Could it be that not only Gumayusi but also the current situation could be seen as a “dark moment” for fans of T1 and those of the 2002 rookie? No one could have imagined a team that just won two consecutive World Championships facing such a scenario. However, T1 seems to be on the verge of making matters even more complicated with two new developments in just one day: While one of T1’s coaches appears to be liking negative comments about Gumayusi, the media of the organization has cut out images of the rookie from the clip discussing their championship title at EWC 2024.
According to reports, the coach who liked the negative comments about Gumayusi is GBM – the coach of T1 Challengers and former mentor of Smash.
If the actions of the coaching staff can be explained for various reasons, whether intentional or not, the fact that they cut images of Gumayusi from the EWC 2024 clip has created confusion and frustration within the League of Legends community. After all, Gumayusi is the standout player of T1 in the current tournament and he has also been used in the most matches: 10 appearances across 10 different games.
Moreover, even during the match against Bilibili Gaming at EWC 2024, if it weren’t for some critical mistakes and Gumayusi’s “dance” with Jhin alongside Keria’s Bard, T1 could have lost to the LPL representatives and had to pay extra for water just after a single match.
And surely, the media clips will be widely circulated before being released on various platforms. Therefore, it cannot be said that the T1 organization was unaware of the fact that images of Gumayusi were cut out like this.
The League of Legends Community Struggles to Understand the Friction
Clearly, it’s not just Esports, but even in mainstream sports, when a team wants to engage in “backdoor” actions like this, it is often due to “internal politics” where there need to be actions lacking professionalism, sometimes even reflecting the public image of the organization. However, with Gumayusi, these issues seem to be non-existent.
The 2002 rookie continues to demonstrate professional demeanor and shows the best effort possible. He also does not express dissatisfaction or complain to fans on his streaming channels. Moreover, he always maintains his demeanor to support the team at all times. Therefore, even T1 anti-fans or neutral spectators cannot comprehend the perplexing actions of T1 at this point.
At the present time, it’s evident that T1’s rise to fame is accompanied by the spotlight on Smash and not highlighting Gumayusi as unique or clarifying anything else, which has led fans to become cautious about their trust. And when the situation reaches a level like this, there seems to be an “escape” for Gumayusi that the League of Legends community is currently anticipating.
