South Korea-based esports organisation T1 has announced that its Chief Operating Officer (COO) John Kim has passed away.
The organisation’s League of Legends Twitter account posted a message confirming that Kim had passed away today (July 16), having been hospitalised on July 7 due to undisclosed “health issues.”
“John has been instrumental in building T1, worked tirelessly for our players and staff, and he will be missed dearly,” the message read.
“While we mourn the loss of our dear friend and colleague, we will also continue to celebrate his life and the time we had with him. Please keep John’s family in your thoughts and prayers as they go through this difficult time.”
— T1 LoL (@T1LoL) July 16, 2021
Kim began his career by founding his own company, TSB, when he was still an undergraduate student of Psychology and Sociology in 2006 Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada. From there, he moved into the world of Esports as a founder and advisor of an Overwatch team.
Kim was appointed to COO at T1 in October 2019, focusing on building the organisation business operation side in step with the legacy of its title-winning players, helping expand beyond its home country of South Korea to grow into a global esports brand.
T1 is best known for its flagship League of Legends team, which has won the game’s world championship tournament three times in 2013, 2015, and 2016.
It also has rosters worldwide for other competitive games, including Apex Legends, Fortnite, Hearthstone, PUBG, Overwatch, Valorant, and Dota 2.
In other news, Bethesda has announced QuakeCon 2021 is taking place in August as an all-digital event once again.
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