A long-awaited black ink moment

SK Telecom CS T1 Co., Ltd. has finally done the thing most esports organizations spend a lot of time talking about and far less time actually doing: it made money. According to the company’s 2025 financial results, T1 recorded its first operating profit in organizational history, landing at $1.66 million USD (2.5 billion Korean Won).

That translated into a net profit of roughly $815,000, a notable swing from the roughly $5.85 million loss the organization reported in 2024. For an esports brand known more for trophies than balance sheets, that is a fairly tidy change of pace.

The profit was fueled by a sharp rise in revenue. T1 reported an 80.8% year-over-year increase, with revenue climbing from about $32.4 million to $58.6 million, or from ₩49 billion to ₩88.6 billion.

Several business lines did a lot of the heavy lifting:

  • Merchandising rose 119% year over year to $13.62 million in sales.
  • Advertising and sponsorship revenue increased 55% to about $9.6 million.

Growth inside and outside Korea

T1’s financial performance also reflected its expanding reach beyond Korea, helped along by the LCK’s growing international audience and Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok continuing to build whatever is left of the mountain. The organization said revenue grew 89.7% year over year to approximately $34.2 million in its regional breakdown.

The Americas delivered the biggest percentage jump, with revenue almost doubling from $8.06 million in 2024 to $15.6 million. Europe grew by 51.3%, while Asia rose 36.1%.

That kind of growth did not come free, naturally. Operating costs also rose during the period, increasing by 25.5%. Somehow, success remains expensive.

T1 is already planning its next big live events

T1’s strong commercial results are feeding into its live-event plans for 2026. The organization is preparing to expand its Road Show initiative with two Home Ground events next year.

Those events are scheduled for Inspire Arena in Incheon from April 24 to 26 and the KSPO Dome in Seoul from August 14 to 16.

T1’s 2025 Home Ground event appears to have helped make the case. It drew 15,000 fans to Inspire Arena over three days, with the League of Legends team appearing on two of those days and the Valorant roster featured on the middle day.

T1 COO Josh Woongki Ahn previously said to Korean publication Chosun Money that Home Ground brought in between $1.4 million and $2 million in ticketing revenue.

For an industry that often treats profitability like a folklore creature, T1’s first-ever profit is a real, documented event. That alone makes it worth noting.