T1’s 18-year-old jungler Oner remains undefeated in LCK

T1 is bringing out another upcoming LCK star by debuting Moon “Oner” Hyeon-joon. The young jungler is currently undefeated after four games.  

After waiting for weeks, the last piece of T1’s 10-man LCK roster got his debut against Liiv SANDBOX just a few days ago. Oner is the last of the five young players T1 has added to the team in 2021 to debut and, so far, he has been doing great.

His debut also marks the point where T1 has now used all 10 members of its roster this season, allowing them to further experiment with the right starting lineup. Oner is one of three junglers on T1 and is currently looking like the best option after taking down NS RedForce 2-0 and extending the winning streak. 

T1 debut another young rookie in 2021 LCK Spring Split

Oner’s LCK debut happened on February 21 when T1 clashed with Liiv SANDBOX. The match ended up going in T1’s favor in a 2-0 fashion, with Oner showing off his individual skill on Graves and Nidalee. Oner’s debut was well-received by fans, who are already praising the young jungler for his impact on the map. 

The great debut meant that T1 also decided to start with Oner in the most recent match against NS RedForce. On paper, this match was harder for T1 and especially for Oner who had to go up against former T1 jungler Han “Peanut” Wang-ho. Despite the tough competition, Oner entered Summoner’s Rift with confidence and ended up outperforming yet another experienced LCK jungler. For this match he dominated with Lillia in both games, adding a new champion to the list.

The win against NS RedForce extends Oner’s win streak to four games out of four possible in his LCK career. Up next is the defending world champions DWG KIA. But it’s still unknown if Oner will be the starting jungler in what looks to be the biggest challenge for T1 so far in 2021.   

Faker and Keria remains critical of T1’s 10-man roster

Despite the recent winning streak for T1 and the success of its young rookies, it’s still questionable if a 10-man roster is the way to go. Earlier this month, mid laner Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok expressed his concerns about the approach T1 is taking this season. Faker mentioned that players could potentially suffer in a 10-man environment because of the internal competition on the team. He also said that he personally has to adjust to the new approach to the game. 

Before the match against NS RedForce, support Ryu “Keria” Min-seok also gave his take on the situation in an interview with FOMOS. In the interview, Keria praises the five-man roster model. He explained that the team synergy in a 10-man environment can be hurt because of the constant rotating of players from game to game. 

Shortly after T1’s game against NS RedForce, head coach Yang “Daeny” Dae-in spoke on the matter and admitted that the 10-man roster strategy hasn’t been perfect. For Daeny, the plan has been to swap between players depending on strengths and the matchups. On paper, this is still looking like a solid plan but the lack of other 10-man rosters has slowed down the process. According to Daeny, it has been hard for every player to get practice time, mainly because other teams aren’t fielding a 10-man roster. 

“Fielding a 10-man roster comes with clear difficulties,” Daeny said. “Even if I try to keep them motivated and teach them about the game, it’s not easy. I learned that the hard way.” 

Head coach Daeny still believe in the 10-man roster and thinks that it will grant T1 an advantage in the long run, especially at international events.