T1 “Paves the Way” for LCK but Reveals This Team’s Biggest Mistake
When T1 benched Gumayusi and brought in Smash during the LCK Cup 2025, many viewers considered it a tactical substitution. In fact, there were numerous opinions willing to “bash” the reigning champion ADC of two consecutive World Championships to defend Smash. However, over time, it became clear: this was a mistake by T1 as Smash showed he wasn’t ready to replace his predecessor. Recently, a series of LCK teams “learning” from T1 have further highlighted these mistakes.
Recently, Pyosik became the next name to drop down to the Challengers league, making him the third World Champion to be benched, following Gumayusi and Juhan. Pyosik adds to the list of LCK players who have been benched or demoted to Challengers in the 2025 season, which already includes many famous players like Teddy (DRX), Fisher (NS), BuLLDoG (DNF)… The total number of players who have been benched or demoted to Challengers has reached 10.
But there is an undeniable truth: the players who have been substituted are all from teams that have been mid-tier or bottom in the standings for many seasons. Only T1 and somewhat KT Rolster are exceptions. However, as many experts have pointed out: only those teams that are too unstable and not strong enough need to find ways to substitute in hopes of a breakthrough.
Meanwhile, the two most stable teams, HLE and Gen.G, did not make any changes, even during the LCK Cup when Zeus had yet to catch up. Partly because these teams probably do not have quality substitutes to replace any stars. But more importantly: stability is a crucial factor for a successful League of Legends team.
Constant substitutions have never been good for professional League of Legends, T1 is a prime example
T1 also shows: they only truly began to revive when the coaching staff found ways for the current lineup to synchronize and maximize their abilities, addressing weaknesses rather than looking for replacements. Unlike other sports, League of Legends requires absolute cohesion and the skill level, as well as the training time of main players and substitutes, are vastly different.
In the past, players who were rotated were all top superstars, and they were benched simply because the roster had only five spots. Players like EasyHoon or Blank were among the top superstars, and their benching was simply due to Faker and Bengi being an irreplaceable duo.