Joining T1 as a replacement for legendary coach kkOma, coach Kim “Kim” Jeong-soo has achieved early success by leading this team to win the LCK Spring Championship 2020 with an incredibly dominant performance.
The former coach of Invictus Gaming and DAMWON Gaming later had several interviews with Korean media about his first season with T1, during which he revealed many behind-the-scenes stories that took place over the past six months.
One of the most noteworthy points is that Coach Kim confirmed that T1 did indeed pursue TheShy. The superstar top laner of IG was the number one priority for the coach upon taking the helm at T1.
“After failing to sign Khan, I reached out to bring TheShy to T1 but was unsuccessful. Some other big names were also contacted, but in the end, we have Canna and Roach.”
Looking back to the offseason transfer period of 2020, some foreign sources reported that T1 had inquired about purchasing TheShy for $10 million – a record transfer fee for an esports player.
While the $10 million figure may never be verified, the fact that TheShy was sought after at such a high price has been indirectly confirmed by his parent team IG. After a series of transfer rumors, the 2018 World Champion simply announced: “TheShy is still under contract with Invictus Gaming, and he is happy here.”
Kim also added that the choice of the duo Canna and Roach for the top lane position was not actually T1’s top priority.
It can be understood that when Khan left, the team was looking for a top laner of the same caliber to replace him, rather than considering the risk of putting faith in a rookie like Canna.
However, ultimately after the failure to secure TheShy, T1 did not bring in any additional superstars; instead, the fans of the team received an unexpected reward, as Canna truly became a reliable name in T1’s top lane. This young star has performed remarkably well and maturely, contributing significantly to T1’s achievement of winning the LCK for the third consecutive time.