T1 VALORANT reportedly transitioning away from full Korean roster with pickup

After a disappointing showing at VCT Champions 2023, T1 might be making some sweeping changes to its VALORANT roster ahead of the new year.

The team is reportedly signing Australian in-game leader Nick “tixx” Quinn as their newest member for 2024, according to esports reporter Naim “EnKay” Rosinski. The popular Korean organization has also been linked with Ham “iZu” Woo-joo, an 18-year-old prospect currently playing in Japan who would reportedly take on a flex role with the team.

Tixx, on the other hand, has been playing in the South Asian Challengers scene for Gods Reign over this past year but has yet to play for a top-tier team during his time as a VALORANT pro. It would be a massive step up for his career to play for such a storied organization, but he’ll also have to deal with a ton of pressure as he helps the team transition from such a lackluster competitive season.

Since the start of the year, T1 has struggled to maintain consistency on both the domestic and international stage. They suffered early exits at the 2023 LOCK//IN tournament in São Paulo, at VCT Masters Tokyo, and most recently, at Champions 2023 in Los Angeles. At Champions, they didn’t even make it past the group stage of the event, failing to win a single map against FUT Esports in back-to-back series.

Looking ahead, however, T1 should be happy to open a new chapter with a new set of players. If Tixx is picked up, for example, language barriers shouldn’t be an issue since a good majority of T1’s roster speaks excellent English and should be able to communicate with the new player without any problems.

This does raise a few questions about which players will be dropped from the roster to make room for the new acquisitions. Joseph “ban” Seungmin Oh is currently T1’s controller player, but with Tixx playing a similar role, the 23-year-old’s place on the lineup might be up in the air.