T1 announced on Wednesday that they are terminating the contracts of Lee “Zefa” Jae-Min and Yang “Daeny” Dae-in, according to an announcement made on Twitter. Son “Stardust” Seok-hee and Kim “Moment” Ji-Hwan are their replacements.
A Message from T1 pic.twitter.com/J8ClbXp5am
— T1 LoL (@T1LoL) July 15, 2021
“T1 has terminated the contracts of ‘Daeny’ and ‘Zefa’ after careful consideration and internal evaluation over the past few months. We are making this change at this point in an effort to reinvigorate our team’s chances of success with 8 games remaining,” the statement said. “We thank both of ‘Daeny’ and ‘Zefa’ for their contribution and wish them the best in the future. We still have high hopes to finish strong in the LCK and earn a spot in Worlds. Please continue to support our team.”
T1 release Daeny and Zefa on match day
The termination comes as a surprise due its sudden nature. The League of Legends Champions Korea season is still ongoing, and T1 still have eight games remaining to their season. The reason for termination is still unknown to the public. However, T1 will have an online press conference this afternoon in order to release more in-depth details according to a report by Inven Global.
Daeny and Zefa came onboard in November of last year, after the League of Legends World Championship had concluded. They were the head coaches that led Damwon Gaming to victory over Suning. After this victory, they transferred to T1. T1 recruited Daeny and Zefa with the hope that they would bring the team another World Championship. Something that has eluded T1 for the past three years, despite their storied history as the only team to ever win three World Championships in a row.
As of right now, T1 are in the middle of the pack in the LCK. They have a 5-5 record going into the sixth week of play. Currently, they’re tied with Liiv Sandbox. They can still potentially make the playoffs. However, the ultimate goal for T1 is to make it back to the World Championship.
T1 will now face have to face longtime rival KT Rolster with replacement Head Coaches Stardust and Moment at 1:00 AM PST on the official LCK stream.
