Foreword: The S16 season has officially begun, and I believe the vast majority of players are paying close attention to the recent bouts. The matches across the major regions are highly intense, and from the current standings, the LCK region still hasn't seen a consistent team. In recent games, T1 has become a hot topic among netizens—unexpectedly, they made a last-minute roster change, benching their core champion jungler Oner and promoting a rookie from the second team to the starting lineup. As a result, they were ruthlessly overturned by HLE, who came back from a 1-0 deficit to win 2-1. After the match, the coaching staff indicated that the rookie might continue to start, prompting many fans to joke that HLE should seize the opportunity and acquire him at the end of the year.

Oner reportedly laughed loudly in the waiting room after being benched

Most players are certainly familiar with T1. As a top-tier team in the LCK, they have achieved outstanding overall results over the past few years, winning multiple World Championship titles and establishing themselves as the undisputed strongest team. However, this season T1's overall form has been highly unstable, and they haven't found their rhythm after the roster adjustments. Especially since the start of the third split, jungler Oner has become a target of criticism. His fitness routine and romantic relationship have caused his mechanics to deteriorate, to the point where he even misses Lee Sin's Q-R combo.

Before the match against HLE, T1 suddenly announced a last-minute roster change, promoting rookie jungler Painter from the second team to the starting lineup. This news quickly sparked widespread discussion among netizens, with many considering it an incredibly surprising decision. In the end, HLE successfully came from behind to defeat T1 2-1, ending their three-game losing streak. The rookie's performance was not as impressive as many had expected; he played decently in the first game, but lost control in the following two games. Many Korean netizens mocked the decision, saying that changing the lineup during a winning streak was foolish, and that T1's tradition of roster swaps is disgusting.

During the post-match interview, T1's head coach publicly stated that the final decision would depend on actual performance, and that they would continue to observe through training matches before making further decisions, leaving the possibility of continuing to use Painter. This implies that Painter is likely to remain in the starting lineup. From the sidelines, viewers could see how happy Oner was in the waiting room, laughing loudly. It seems he has already planned his future—if this continues, he could easily join HLE during the year-end transfer period and reunite with his two former teammates. HLE: We don't produce champion players; we just transport them.

After the match, HLE also released an internal video.

Gumayusi: Why the sudden change? The atmosphere was pretty good, wasn't it?

Delight (high-fiving): Because HLE is in bad form, so testing them against HLE is fine!

Kanavi: (Painter) Born in 2007?

Gumayusi: Big trouble, he's 7 years younger than you! Hahaha!

Delight: I asked him (Oner) where he went. He asked me back: "When will you be benched?"

Kanavi: Hahahahahahaha!

In my opinion,

This is probably T1's most familiar pattern—staging a palace revolt during a winning streak. It disrupts the rhythm of the entire team. Oner didn't seem to care at all behind the scenes, because even if his mechanics and game sense have declined, they are still not something a substitute can suppress. Now I'm a bit excited about the LCK winter transfer period. Will Oner really give up his T1 contract and join HLE for a higher price? If that becomes reality, will Keria leave next year?

What do you, the audience, think about this matter?