Joe Marsh is the boss of T1, one of the most powerful and best esports teams in the world, especially in League of Legends. But the CEO has now gambled badly. In a public discord, he got carried away with comments about his LoL player “Oner”. He apparently finds the 19-year-old extremely attractive. He is now doing penance for this and forgoing part of his salary for 6 months. Angry Korean fans are calling for his resignation.
What did Joe Marsh do? Joe Marsh and some T1 employees have been active on a Discord server that is now causing trouble among T1 fans.
Among other things, Marsh had commented on the Discord server about the body of the Korean jungler Oner. In his own words (via twitter):
I’m proud of the hard work he puts into his workout and I made a joke about spraying oil on him for a photo and I used the phrase “Thirst Trap”. My behavior has created an unnecessary distraction for Oner, who is busy concentrating on the ongoing season. I apologized to him personally and honestly. And I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen again.
Joe Marsh
Marsh also apologizes for the fact that racist comments against Korean T1 fans were circulating on the Discord server that were not moderated. In addition, employees of T1 shared sensitive information.
Marsh waives part of his salary for 6 months
What is Joe Marsh doing now as a consequence? Marsh says he’s forgoing part of his salary for six months as punishment. Also, he will stop talking about personal details of the team on all channels.
It also states that T1 employees who saw the Discord server but took no action would also face disciplinary action.
It all sounds more like an action you’d put Tyler1 up to than T1’s CEO:
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What is it about exactly?? 19-year-old Mun “Oner” Hyeon-ju has been the jungler for T1, one of the strongest teams in the world, since July 2021.
Apparently, Oner has been on a tough fitness program for the past few months. Back in June 2022, a fitness guru posted a picture of Oner standing shirtless in the gym. With the epithets:
“That’s just the beginning. The Thirst Trap comes after the summer.”
It’s safe to assume that Joe Marsh was referring to this picture in his annotation and how fit Oner looks.
What is meant by “Thirst Trap”? Thirst Trap is a social media image aimed at getting people interested in it sexually. So a sexually suggestive photo.
Exactly what got Joe Marsh to comment on it, other than being so proud of Oner, isn’t clear.
The greatest LoL player of all time is now suing fans for malicious online comments
Korean fans are furiously demanding the CEO’s resignation
How is that received?? The Korean hardcore fans of T1 are more bitter about the incident, as can be seen from the comments. Marsh’s apology and self-punishment are not enough for them.
Under Joe Marsh’s post, Korean fans are calling for his resignation. The behavior showed that “he and his social media company” would have to leave the team. He clearly crossed boundaries that shouldn’t be crossed.
There seems to be a split at T1 between the Korean fans, who see the team as a “sports club”, and the US bosses of T1, who merged into T1 a few years ago and who focus more on the business aspect. This conflict erupts again and again:
In 2020 there was talk that a coach from the USA should train T1 – that didn’t work for the Korean fans at all:
LoL: Coach is supposed to train the most important team in the world – hate wave washes him away