T1 also suffers heavy losses in Esports
In the world of League of Legends, T1 is the team that receives the most sponsorship. The COO of Gen.G has previously revealed that T1 is the only team in the LCK that does not have to actively seek sponsorship. However, while T1 may succeed in League of Legends, the opposite is true for all the Esports teams that this organization invests in, and T1 is also incurring significant losses in its Esports investments.
According to the “2024 Esports Status Survey” report released earlier this month by the Korea Content Promotion Agency, T1 achieved revenue of 32.8 billion won in 2023, an increase of 44.4% compared to the same period in 2022. However, the operational costs for all teams under the organization have risen by 24.1% to 44.8 billion won. As a result, T1 has incurred losses of over 12 billion won by the end of 2023.
The report also indicated that teams like T1 and Gen.G are somewhat “compensated” by revenue from EWC 2024, with a total prize pool of 60 million USD (approximately 86.4 billion won). This is a significant revenue source, especially as many large and small Esports organizations worldwide are facing heavy losses due to the post-COVID-19 economic downturn.
Not only T1 but the Esports industry in Korea is also facing many difficulties
According to experts, the difficulties faced by Esports organizations in Korea are also a common challenge for the global Esports landscape. Statistics show that all investment factors into Esports by organizations in the LCK have significantly decreased, from personnel to operational costs. The fact that T1 is also incurring losses could signal a bleak future for Esports in Korea in general and the LCK in particular.
Moreover, T1 has not always achieved glory as it did in the past two years. Therefore, the likelihood of this loss increasing in the coming years is high, especially if T1 fails to maintain its dominant position at the World Championship or at EWC.