A report from Naver news claims that T1 is doing its best to retain Zeus and has offered several different contracts under different conditions in an attempt to keep this roster around for the long term. However, the star top laner did not accept their conditions.

Zeus, like every other player on T1’s roster, was a hot proposition during the offseason. It’s pretty normal for each member of this team to receive offers worth millions as they weigh their options.

But, Naver reporter Ko Yong-jun He told the story as told to him by both Zeus’ manager and a representative at T1, and provides a much deeper look at what actually happened.

It turned out that Zeus’ departure from the team was a last minute decision and negotiations were complicated.

Why did Zeus leave T1?

Zeus reportedly left T1 because he could not reach an agreement with the organization on how much he should be paid and there were some disagreements over the length of his contract.

Negotiations with the team were turbulent and Faker was the only player whose contract was extended until 2025. It was seen that Keria held out first, followed by Oner and Gumayusi. The last piece that needed to fall into place to complete this list was Zeus.

Originally, T1 wanted to offer Zeus a 3+1 contract, a 4-year contract with some extra steps. He was unhappy with the inconsistency and the length of his contract, given that three other players had been re-signed for 2 years.

Zeus T1 with mug

Zeus was one of the hottest players of the 2024 season. This trophy might have something to do with it.

Despite T1 offering a number of other contracts for both reduced duration and pay, he ultimately declined to rejoin the organization and is now seeking other, higher-paying options. This looks like this: 2024 offseason went after him but decided to stay in T1 at that time.

However, there are some differences between the narratives of Zeus’ agent and T1. Zeus’s agent said in his report:

“We told T1 that the deadline to accept the offer was 15:00, and in the end we waited for T1’s opinion until 15:40. The amount was somewhat similar, but there was a serious difference of opinion regarding the contract duration.”

In other words, Zeus’ manager conveyed that they have their way or the highway when it comes to negotiations and that he does not want to compromise on shortening the length of the contract and increasing the amount paid to the top laner.

Here’s what a representative of T1 told Naver:

“Although we were unilaterally informed of the 3pm deadline, we rushed to Incheon to continue negotiations and requested further negotiations by phone, but received a rejection from the representative.” After this, Zeus was locked in with another team. This signature really worked.

It has not yet been confirmed which team Zeus ultimately decided to go with. Considering how few spots are open in the LCK, Likely to be Hanwha Life Esports.

There’s a possibility that Zeus may decide to join an LPL team, though that league get into some financial turmoilThat’s why there are very few teams willing to foot the bill and bring him into the game.