T1 is a South Korean esports organization operated by T1 Entertainment & Sports, a joint venture between SK Telecom and Comcast Spectacor. The team that would become SKT T1 was originally founded in 2002 by StarCraft player Lim "BoxeR" Yo-hwan under the name Team Orion, which was later renamed to 4 Union in December 2003. In April 2004, South Korean wireless carrier SK Telecom began sponsoring the team, officially creating the team SK Telecom T1.
The League of Legends World Championship is the annual professional League of Legends world championship tournament hosted by Riot Games and is the culmination of each season. Teams compete for the champion title, the 44-pound (20-kilogram) Summoner's Cup, and a multi-million-dollar championship prize. In 2018, the final was watched by 99.6 million people, breaking 2017's final's viewer record. The tournament has been praised for its ceremonial performances, while receiving attention worldwide due to its dramatic and emotional nature.
Lee Sang-hyeok, better known as Faker, is a South Korean professional League of Legends player for T1. He gained prominence after joining SK Telecom T1 in 2013, where he has since played as the team's mid-laner. Throughout his career, he has secured a record of 10 League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) titles, two Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) titles, and a record four World Championship titles. Faker is widely regarded as the greatest League of Legends player in history and has drawn comparison analogizing him to basketball player, Michael Jordan for his esports success.
League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) is the primary competition for League of Legends esports in South Korea. Contested by ten teams, the league runs two seasons per year and serves as a direct route to qualification for the annual League of Legends World Championship. The LCK is administered in cooperation between Riot Games and KeSPA.
The Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) is an annual League of Legends international tournament hosted by Riot Games in the middle of years, since 2015. It is the second most important international League of Legends tournament aside from the World Championship.
Sentinels is an American esports organization based in Los Angeles, California. The organization was founded as the League of Legends team Phoenix1 and competed in the North American League of Legends Championship Series. In June 2018, Phoenix1 rebranded to Sentinels. The company currently fields teams in Valorant, Apex Legends, and Halo.
The 2018 League of Legends World Championship was an esports tournament for the multiplayer online battle arena video game League of Legends. It was the eighth iteration of the League of Legends World Championship, an annual international tournament organized by the game's developer, Riot Games. It was held from October 1 to November 3, 2018, in cities across South Korea. Twenty four teams qualified for the tournament based on their placement in regional circuits such as those in China, South Korea, Europe, and North America, with twelve of those teams having to reach the group stage via a play-in round. The tournament became known for its very surprising results, numerous upsets, and has often been considered the most unpredictable worlds in League of Legends' history. The tournament also became the most watched esports event in history, reaching a peak of over 200 million concurrent viewers during the finals. It surpassed the viewership of the 2017 League of Legends World Championship, as well as the peak viewership of numerous worldwide sporting events including the Super Bowl.
Gwak Bo-seong, better known as Bdd, is a South Korean professional League of Legends player for KT Rolster. He is a two-time LCK regular season MVP, receiving the title in the 2017 summer and 2018 spring splits.
Kim Hyuk-kyu, better known as Deft, is a South Korean professional League of Legends player for KT Rolster. He won the 2015 Mid-Season Invitational with Edward Gaming and the 2022 League of Legends World Championship with DRX.
Gen.G, previously known as KSV Esports, is a professional esports organization with headquarters in Santa Monica, Seoul, and Shanghai. According to Forbes, Gen.G is the eighth most valuable esports organization in the world as of May 2022, worth US$250 million.
FunPlus Phoenix (FPX) is a Chinese professional esports organization owned by video game developer FunPlus. It has teams competing in League of Legends, Valorant, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Fortnite Battle Royale and PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds.
Kim Chang-dong, better known as Canna, is a South Korean professional League of Legends player for Dplus KIA. He made his debut during KeSPA Cup 2019.
Dplus KIA (DK), formerly known as DWG KIA and DAMWON Gaming, is a South Korean professional esports organization. Its League of Legends team competes in the LCK, the top-level league for the game in South Korea.
The Valorant Champions Tour (VCT) is a global competitive esports tournament series for the video game Valorant organised by Riot Games, the game's developers. The series runs multiple events throughout each season, culminating in Valorant Champions, the top-level event of the tour. The VCT was announced in 2020, with its inaugural season taking place in 2021.
The 2022 League of Legends World Championship was an esports tournament for the multiplayer online battle arena video game League of Legends. It was the twelfth iteration of the League of Legends World Championship, an annual international tournament organized by the game's developer, Riot Games. The tournament was held from September 29 to November 5 in Mexico and the United States. Twenty-four teams from 11 regions qualified for the tournament based on their placement in regional circuits such as those in China, Europe, North America, South Korea, Taiwan/Hong Kong/Macau/Southeast Asia and Vietnam, with twelve of those teams having to reach the main event via a play-in stage.
Park Jae-hyuk, better known as Ruler, is a South Korean professional League of Legends player for JD Gaming. Throughout his career, he has won one League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) title, two League of Legends Pro League (LPL) titles, one Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) title, and one World Championship title.
Jung Ji-hoon, better known as Chovy, is a South Korean professional League of Legends player for Gen.G. Throughout his career, he has won four League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) titles and one KeSPA Cup title.
Han Wang-ho, better known as Peanut, is a South Korean professional League of Legends player for Hanwha Life Esports. Throughout his career, he has one Mid-Season Invitational title, six League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) titles and one KeSPA Cup title. He also represented the South Korean national team at the 2018 Asian Games, earning a silver medal.
Ryu Min-seok, better known as Keria, is a South Korean professional League of Legends player for T1. Throughout his career, he has won one League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) title and one League of Legends World Championship title. He also represented the South Korean national team at the 2022 Asian Games, earning a gold medal.
The 2022 League of Legends World Championship Final was a League of Legends (LoL) esports series between T1 and DRX on 5 November 2022 at the Chase Center in San Francisco, California, United States. It marked the twelfth final of a LoL World Championship. Both T1 and DRX were two of four representatives from the League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) at the tournament, the others being Gen.G and DWG KIA. It was T1's first appearance in the final since the 2017 edition and the first time a play-in team made a tournament run to the final, with DRX starting their tournament from the play-in stage as the LCK's fourth seed, barely qualifying through the regional qualifiers.
