Sin "Smash" Geum-jae will replace Lee "Gumayusi" Min-hyeong in the BO3 matchup between T1 and KT Rolster this Friday. The Telecom War — during which Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok will play his 1000th LCK game — will proceed without the World Champion ADC, whose absence has not been publicly explained before the game. Head coach Kim "kkOma" Jeong-gyun said in a post-match interview this mainly happened because they wanted to try out some new things during the LCK Cup, and get some data out of it. The last time T1 had to substitute a player in their roster was due to Faker's wrist injury during the Summer 2023 split. You can read below Gumayusi's public comment on the situation translated in English by a fan.

Smash is also a homegrown talent from the organization. He began his journey with T1 Rookies in July 2021 before being promoted to the Challengers team for the 2023 season. He played alongside Martin "Rekkles" Larsson last year on the botlane, and on November 28, 2024, he renewed his contract with T1's LCK CL team for an additional year. Now he is set to debut in Korea's premier league. He will play alongside three World Champions, including Faker, who will shoulder the crucial task of guiding him in their effort to take down KT Rolster this Friday.