T1 Adds Easyhoon Coach
- Former BLG mid laner Easyhoon has joined T1 as a coach, according to esports reports. (x.com) - The hire follows broader LCK/LPL meta discussions where HLE's Kanavi called a team 'the sword.' (x.com) - That move signals continued cross-regional coach hiring to import strategic experience. (x.com)
T1 said on April 23 that former mid laner Lee “Easyhoon” Ji-hoon is joining its League of Legends staff as a coach for Round 2 of the 2026 League of Legends Champions Korea season. (rft.gg) The move brings Easyhoon back to the organization where he first played in 2013, when SK Telecom T1 still fielded sister teams, and where he later shared the mid lane role with Faker during the 2015 title run. (rft.gg) (lol.fandom.com) Easyhoon is not arriving as a first-time staffer. Leaguepedia and Liquipedia list him as a former Bilibili Gaming coach, and Bilibili Gaming’s 2026 roster history shows him leaving that post in January. (lol.fandom.com 1) (lol.fandom.com 2) (liquipedia.net) T1 made the change in the middle of the spring schedule, with Round 2 still ahead. Riot’s official LCK schedule shows T1 opening 2026 with losses to KT Rolster, Gen.G, and Dplus KIA, alongside wins over Hanwha Life, DN Freecs, and Kiwoom DRX. (lolesports.com) That timing matters in League of Legends because coaches do more than draft champions on stage. They shape practice, review opponents, and help teams adjust to balance patches that can change which strategies are strongest from one stage of the season to the next. (lolesports.com) The 2026 season started on January 14 in both the League of Legends Champions Korea and China’s League of Legends Pro League, and Riot added another early international event, First Stand, in São Paulo from March 16 to March 22. That calendar has pushed top teams to prepare for domestic and cross-regional opponents almost immediately. (lolesports.com) Easyhoon’s résumé fits that cross-regional demand. RFT reported that he worked with Bilibili Gaming and mid laner knight from July 2024 to January 2026, giving T1 a coach with recent League of Legends Pro League experience as Korean and Chinese teams continue to trade ideas, players, and staff. (rft.gg) His return also reconnects T1’s current roster with one of the organization’s earlier championship eras. Riot’s season preview says T1 entered 2026 after winning a third straight World Championship in 2025, so the club is adding a former world champion to a team already carrying title expectations. (lolesports.com) (rft.gg) T1’s next tests are already on the schedule, with matches against BNK FEARX on April 26 and Nongshim RedForce on April 29. By then, Easyhoon’s first job will be plain: help a decorated team look steadier in the second half than it did in the first. (lolesports.com)
