T1 LoL secured the prestigious title of Esports Team of the Year at the Esports Hall of Fame 2023 Induction Ceremony on Tuesday at the S-Plex Center Building in Seoul, South Korea.
Besides League of Legends, the Esports Hall of Fame 2023 event also honors outstanding players across diverse titles. Among the notable awardees were three-time Tekken EVO champion Bae "Knee" Jae-Min, FC Online player Kwak "KWAK" Jun-hyouk and Street Fighter pro Kim "M.Lizard" Gwan-woo.
The event was organized by the Korea e-Sports Association (KeSPA) and sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. It acknowledged exceptional teams and players who made substantial contributions to both domestic and international esports competitions in 2023.
KeSPA is a South Korea-based organization that is in charge of overseeing and regulating esports activities within the country. It plays a significant role in organizing tournaments, setting industry standards and ensuring fair competition across different esports titles.
Apart from the Team of the Year award, T1 players, notably Choi "Zeus" Woo-je, Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok and Ryu "Keria" Min-seok, achieved additional success, winning the 2023 Stars award. The Stars category winners were determined through a fan vote. This year, approximately 20,000 fans participated, a fourfold increase from the previous year. Several other players from the esports organization were also honored with individual awards.
T1's dominance throughout 2023
Thanks to the accomplishments of T1 LoL players in 2023, Zeus, Faker and Keria represented Korea at the Asian Games 2022 in Hangzhou, China, bringing home the gold medal.
The trio's success reached new heights at the 2023 League of Legends World Championship. T1 LoL dominated Weibo Gaming with a 3-0 victory at the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul.
The Esports Awards 2023 proved to be another milestone for T1 as they also claimed the prestigious Esports Team of the Year title. Faker, an iconic presence in the esports world, was honored as Esports PC Player of the Year. He further solidified his legacy by clinching the title of Best Esports Athlete at The Game Awards 2023.
The streak of success continued at the LCK Awards 2023, courtesy of League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK). Taking place in Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi-do, on December 13, T1 players earned distinctions across various position-specific categories.
Faker, in particular, was celebrated as the Player of the Year. He received a prize of $3,800 in recognition of his outstanding performances throughout LCK, Mid-Season Invitational and Worlds in season 13.
His achievements also extended to securing the titles of Mid of the Year and the unique OP.GG Search King award, presented to the player with the highest search volume according to the game data platform OP.GG.
Despite being unable to attend the ceremony due to a positive COVID-19 test, Keria also emerged as a standout player at the LCK Awards 2023. His outstanding contributions earned him four impressive individual accolades, the highest count for any player at this year's ceremony. These are All LCK 1st Team (Spring), Player of the Split (Spring), Regular Season MVP (Spring) and Support of the Year.