T1 to host official LCK match at Goyang Sono Arena

Korean esports organisation T1 is set to host an official LCK match at the 6,200 capacity Goyang Sono Arena in Goyang, South Korea.

The match will be held as part of the team’s own fan festival, T1 Home Ground, and will be the first LCK tie held outside of developer Riot Games’ LCK Arena since the league switched to a franchise model in 2021.

Held on Saturday 29th June, the event will see T1 go up against its historic rival KT Rolster in what will be back-to-back Telecom War derbies. Both the LCK and academy lineups of each team will be competing on the day, the latter playing an official tier-two LCK CL match.

According to a report by Thisisgame.com, the LCK will look to expand other teams’ opportunities to host such events based on the success of the T1 Home Ground. As per the publication, T1 and LCK CL tournament organiser WDG will be responsible for the event’s production while the LCK will take charge to ensure that competitive integrity is upheld by — for example — providing official referees.

As regular season LCK matchdays typically include two best-of-three series, the day’s other matchup between Hanwha Life Esports and Nongshim Red Force will be held in Seoul’s LCK Arena as usual.

The homestand will also feature a ‘fan event’ according to a teaser video released by T1, though specific details were not disclosed.

The event could provide a significant revenue opportunity for the storied organisation. This comes at a time when they’re also set to earn a windfall through it’s portion of star mid laner Lee ‘Faker’ Sang-hyeok’s Hall of Legends signature skin, of which the player and team are to share 30% of its revenue.