T1 hires Easyhoon
- T1 announced the hiring of 2015 Worlds champion Easyhoon as a midlane coach to support Faker. - The social announcement drew hundreds of reactions and discussion among fans. - The hire pairs a former world champion with T1's core as the team seeks competitive continuity. (x.com)
T1 has brought Lee “Easyhoon” Ji-hoon back to the organization as a coach for Round 2 of the 2026 League of Legends Champions Korea season. (sheepesports.com) T1’s announcement was posted at 8:00 p.m. on April 22, 2026, on the team’s League of Legends account, and the post showed more than 210 replies when Sheep Esports captured it. T1 said Easyhoon would join as a coach starting in the second round of the 2026 LCK season. (sheepesports.com) Easyhoon shared the mid lane with Faker on SKT T1’s 2015 roster and won the 2015 World Championship with the team. More than a decade later, he returns to work with Faker from the coaching staff instead of the player lineup. (sheepesports.com) The move comes one month after T1 said head coach Kim “kkOma” Jeong-gyun would take a temporary leave of absence for personal reasons before the 2026 LCK regular season. T1 said on March 23 that Im “Tom” Jae-hyeon would serve as interim head coach, with Cho “Mata” Se-hyeong remaining on staff. (sheepesports.com) T1 entered this week in the middle of the domestic standings rather than at the top. Sheep Esports reported the team at 3-3 and sixth place through the opening stretch, and BO3.GG listed T1’s next matches as April 25 against Hanjin BRION and April 26 against BNK FEARX. (sheepesports.com) (bo3.gg) Easyhoon also arrives with recent coaching experience outside Korea. Sheep Esports reported that he spent more than a year and a half in China with Bilibili Gaming after earlier coaching stops with Suning and Weibo Gaming. (sheepesports.com) That background gives T1 a coach who has worked across both the League of Legends Pro League in China and the LCK in Korea. Sheep Esports said he helped Bilibili Gaming reach the 2024 Worlds final and win the 2025 LPL Summer title as an assistant coach. (sheepesports.com) T1’s own team page still lists a head coach, a coach, and the five starting positions without naming staff in the visible text, so the social announcement remains the clearest public confirmation of the change. The hire restores a familiar T1 name to the bench as the team heads into the next phase of the season. (t1.gg) (sheepesports.com)
