T1 lays out plan to find next Faker in Valorant

T1’s CEO Joe Marsh explained in an interview that the organization is approaching its future in Valorant the same way it did in League of Legends with its youth development program, which is how it found Faker in the first place.

T1 scouted Faker and signed him to develop on its B-team in the early 2010s until he became the player he is today. The organization has expanded its youth academy in the years since, building up young stars like Zeus and Gumayusi to play around the GOAT.

In an interview with RTP Arena, Marsh explained how T1 plans to bring the same process to Valorant after years of its teams failing to live up to expectations. The CEO said the team will have 11 members and feature an all-Korean lineup.

“We have our esports academy that has like 250 students now we have half of those students in Valorant… the best Valorant player is going to be someone that’s not a CS or Overwatch castoff and only played Valorant, so we are making that investment at the youth level,” he said.

T1 was one of the first organizations to jump into Valorant and actually signed a North American team full of CS castoffs in 2020. Its North American rosters didn’t do much in the professional circuit, and T1’s prospects have looked much better since joining VCT Pacific with Asian and international rosters.

Ironically, T1 continued to sign veteran talent from other esports in the VCT league era, bringing in former Overwatch stars Carpe, Munchkin, and Sayaplayer along with Counter-Strike veteran xccurate.

T1 has appeared at three major VCT events since moving away from North America but hasn’t managed to win any hardware or earn high placements outside of a third-place finish in the 2023 VCT Pacific League.

Marsh said T1 will reveal its Valorant lineup for the 2025 season in October, meaning fans will get the chance to see the organization’s new vision before it starts its VCT campaign.

Pulling unknown talents from Valorant solo queue and developing them has been a recipe for success for some teams across 2023 and 2024. Evil Geniuses pulled Demon1 up from obscurity before winning a Champions trophy, and Gen.G scouted Karon for its 2024 roster that took home a Masters title.

Whether T1 will find and develop the same level of talent remains to be seen, but, based on their League of Legends track record, they have a shot at finding the Faker of Valorant.