"I thought about my former (T1) teammates" Gumayusi After Winning MSI with Hanwha Life Esports

Lee “Gumayusi” Min-hyung revealed that the former teammates he played alongside at previous editions of the Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) with T1 were among the first people he thought of after finally winning the tournament in 2026.

In an interview with South Korean newspaper Kookmin Ilbo, published on Naver News on Tuesday, September 22, the bot laner for Hanwha Life Esports (HLE) was asked about his first thoughts and the first people who came to mind when the MSI title was secured.

“I thought about the former teammates who had been with me at MSI over the years. We had fallen short and missed out on the title before, so I think there was still that sense of regret, like, ‘It would have been nice if I could have won it with my former teammates too...’.”

Gumayusi Came Close to Winning MSI Four Times With T1

Before joining HLE for the 2026 season, Gumayusi had competed at four consecutive editions of MSI with T1 without lifting the trophy. The team finished runner-up in 2022 and 2025, while placing third in 2023 and 2024.

The wait ended on July 12 this year. In his first season with HLE, Gumayusi won MSI 2026 after a 3-2 victory over Bilibili Gaming in the grand final.

Gumayusi with the trophy from his first MSI title (Image: Riot Games)

Speaking about his decision to leave the team where he had spent so much of his career, Gumayusi said he wanted to take on a new challenge and create new value for himself.

“I left a team I’m incredibly grateful to, one that gave me the precious opportunity to start, because I wanted to find and create new value for myself. I went into the new environment determined and confident that I could accomplish anything there as well.”

His comments to Kookmin Ilbo show that even after winning the title with a new team, Gumayusi still connected the moment with his previous attempts alongside his former T1 teammates.

The interview was published on the eve of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, where Gumayusi will once again team up with some of those former teammates. South Korea's roster also includes Choi “Zeus” Woo-je, Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok, and Ryu “Keria” Min-seok.

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Featured image credit: Riot Games

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