Easyhoon Joins T1

T1 has hired former world champion Lee “Easyhoon” Ji-hoon as a coach for its League of Legends team starting in Round 2 of the 2026 League of Legends Champions Korea season. (invenglobal.com) T1 announced the move on April 23 at 12:00 p.m. Korea time, and esports outlet Sheep Esports reported that Easyhoon is returning after more than a year and a half with Bilibili Gaming in China. (invenglobal.com) (sheepesports.com) Easyhoon played mid lane for SKT T1 in 2015 alongside Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok, and that roster won the 2015 League of Legends World Championship. Inven and Sheep Esports both described the new role as a reunion with Faker and acting coach Lim “Tom” Jae-hyeon. (invenglobal.com) (sheepesports.com) The hire comes during a coaching transition. Sheep Esports reported that head coach Kim “kkOma” Jeong-gyun recently took a temporary leave of absence for personal reasons, leaving Tom in the interim role with Cho “Mata” Se-hyeong still on staff. (sheepesports.com) It also comes during a shaky start to T1’s domestic season. Sheep Esports reported that T1 finished fourth in the LCK Cup and sat sixth at 3-3 in the LCK through the first two rounds when Easyhoon was added. (sheepesports.com) Easyhoon’s recent coaching résumé is part of the appeal. Sheep Esports reported that he worked as an assistant for BLG, helping the team reach the 2024 Worlds final and win the League of Legends Pro League Summer 2025 title. (sheepesports.com) Inven reported that Easyhoon joined BLG in the middle of the 2024 season and was credited with helping stabilize star mid laner Zhuo “knight” Ding. The same report said BLG pushed T1 to five games in the 2024 Worlds final. (invenglobal.com) T1’s official team page now lists a head coach and a coach slot for its League of Legends division, but it does not name staff in the page text captured by search. Independent reports from Inven, Dot Esports, and Sheep Esports all identified Easyhoon as the new coach attached to the first team. (t1.gg) (dotesports.com) (sheepesports.com) The move immediately fed fan discussion about T1’s next phase, but the hard fact is simpler: a former SKT T1 champion is back in the building, this time behind the players rather than beside Faker in mid. (invenglobal.com) (sheepesports.com)