Currently at T1, after Faker, the one chosen to become a true spiritual leader is perhaps Gumayusi. He is the only player from T1 who maintained consistent performance during the time Faker had to take a break due to injury. Moreover, during that period, even though Gumayusi himself was struggling, he often motivated his fans. After the loss to Gen.G and facing criticism, even being “sent a truck” of insults, Gumayusi kept the necessary calm to help T1 continue their journey at Worlds 2023.
Recently, T1 released a documentary about Gumayusi, revealing many thrilling behind-the-scenes stories about the “Super Marksman”. Some information that hardcore T1 fans may already know is that Gumayusi is a distant cousin of Faker and that his siblings are all talented individuals who have been mentioned several times. It’s likely that very few people are unaware that Gumayusi’s older brother is Lee “INnoVation” Shin-hyung – a legendary superstar in the Korean StarCraft scene, or that his sister, Hayoung, is a guitar artist in the symphony orchestra.
But perhaps, few people know that it was Gumayusi’s father who was the key figure in helping his children, especially INnoVation and Gumayusi, develop their professional gamer careers. Specifically, from the time the Gumayusi siblings were young, their father took them to internet cafes to play StarCraft. Additionally, he set an extremely tough requirement for Gumayusi to prove himself worthy of pursuing a professional player path.
Specifically, Gumayusi’s father stated: “I made a deal with the boy that he had to reach Challenger before finishing middle school to go pro. When Min-hyung (Gumayusi) met the requirement, I called the principal to request that he be exempt from afternoon classes as well as any extra lessons because he would become a professional player.” The requirement set by Gumayusi’s father was genuinely difficult, even for adults or experienced professional players. But it is precisely because of this that Gumayusi’s genius qualities were showcased from a young age.
It can be said that Gumayusi is also very fortunate to have a family that helps him develop his career. But in the end, it is still T1’s Marksman who is truly talented, and he has shown his genius skills from a young age to deserve to wear the prestigious T1 jersey.