T1 has added former Knights player Joseph “ban” Seungmin Oh to its Valorant roster, following the departure of Josh “pwny” VanGorder and substitute player, dynamic.
The North American team, headlined by legendary in-game leader Joshua “steel” Nissan, has had a rough season in 2022. They failed to make it through the open qualifiers in both Stage 1 and Stage 2, which meant they spent most of the year looking in from the sidelines.
Ban was a bright spot on the Knights roster as their main duelist and Chamber player, helping them find their footing as one of the strongest teams in the Tier 2 scene.
The team is fresh off a championship finish in the Nerd Street Gamers Summer Champs 2022, and also qualified for the VCT NA Stage 1 Challengers playoffs with wins over Rise and NRG Esports.
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Ban joins T1 Valorant from Knights
T1’s roster looks vastly different from what it did when steel first joined. Tyler “Skadoodle” Latham, Timothy “automatic” Ta, and Rahul “curry” Nemani have all since left the team, and the organization added two Korean players.
Curry was traded to Cloud9 for xeta in May, and Byeon “Munchkin” Sang-beom was signed later that same month.
T1 Valorant roster
- Joshua “steel” Nissan
- Zander “thwifo” Kim
- Son “xeta” Seon-ho
- Byeon “Munchkin” Sang-beom
- Joseph “ban” Seungmin Oh
However, despite the two Korean players, the organization has reiterated its intention to remain in North America and continue to advance its franchising application in the region.
Ban is American, which means that the team still has three North American players.
However, it remains far from certain that the team will clinch a spot in the league. The organization has been absent from top-tier competition for the entire year, and also did not earn enough points to play in the VCT NA Last Chance Qualifier.
The team played its last official match in May. Since then, they have been in rebuilding mode as they look ahead to the 2023 season and a hopeful spot in the partnered league.
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