T1‘s support player, Ryu “Keria” Min-seok, is one of many players to watch during the 2024 Mid-Season Invitational.
He is well known not only for his wide champion pool, but his ability to play them all with incredible competence. His contributions were crucial to T1’s victory at the 2023 World Championship where they swept Weibo Gaming.
Domestically however, this squad still hasn’t overcome their greatest LCK rival yet — Gen.G, whom they lost to again for the fourth time in a row at the LCK Spring 2024 finals.
Keria used to manage his personal challenges in solitude, a common scenario among professional esports athletes. However, his perspective is shifting towards the value of openness, he tells us in this MSI 2024 interview.
Keria goes from struggling in solitude to becoming the most expressive teammate in T1
“I believe that most people these days endure hard times by themselves. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that other people are going through hard times as well,” Keria told ONE Esports. “And you have this sense of not wanting to burden other people by talking about our problems when they have problems on their own.”
He had previously shared in an interview with ONE Esports how he struggled silently alone for almost half a year after a heartbreaking 2-3 loss against DRX at the 2022 Worlds, confiding only in a few close family and friends, including his former teammate, Kim “Deft” Hyuk-kyu.
“I think it’s been a habit since I was young. It’s also a personality difference. I was just never one to go out and tell others about myself,” he said.
However, Keria’s views on seeking help during challenging times are gradually changing, influenced by the support he’s received from his network.
“Esports has developed for quite some time now, and there’s a lot of veterans with a lot of experience,” he said, recognizing the benefits of seeking help from experienced players and staff.
He encourages young players to engage with seasoned professionals. “If they are facing troubles or having hard time, talking to veterans and experienced players and coaches is usually beneficial — they often have good advice,” said Keria.
He also believes in open dialogue within the team to address internal challenges, particularly when performance falters.
“Feedback is crucial, but there’s often not enough time to discuss personal struggles, because we only talk about the game, and it is sometimes difficult to understand each other,” Keria said. “I think having time to talk about struggles from time to time will help teams a lot.”
While many of LCK teams and players have not adopted this style of openness, Keria’s transformation is inspiring. “I think I am the most emotionally expressive and Faker is the least expressive person,” he said.
This marks a significant shift within himself — a shift that perhaps other players could adopt for better mental well-being and improved team bonding, which hopefully leads to better results.
Keep up with MSI 2024’s schedule, scores, and results here.
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