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South Korean esports giants T1's COO John Kim dies

This picture taken on February 25, 2021 shows John Kim, chief operating officer of eSports organisation T1, posing with a figure of League of Legends giant Faker, during an interview with AFP at the T1 building in Seoul. - A Nike-sponsored gym, support staff including nutritionists, and English language classes are all part of the set-up at T1 where around 70 gamers are looking to emulate its highest-profile member, League of Legends giant Faker. - TO GO WITH AFP STORY SKOREA-ESPORTS-TECHNOLOGY-GAME-BUSINESS,FOCUS BY SUNGHEE HWANG (Photo by Jung Yeon-je / AFP) / TO GO WITH AFP STORY SKOREA-ESPORTS-TECHNOLOGY-GAME-BUSINESS,FOCUS BY SUNGHEE HWANG (Photo by JUNG YEON-JE/AFP via Getty Images)
John Kim, chief operating officer of esports organisation T1, posing with a figure of League of Legends giant Faker. (Photo: JUNG YEON-JE/AFP via Getty Images)

South Korea-based global esports organisation T1 announced on that their Chief Operations Officer (COO), John Kim, has died due to undisclosed "health issues".

In a post on the official Twitter account for its League of Legends team, T1 revealed that Kim was hospitalised on 7 July due to his health issues and died on Friday (16 July).

"John has been instrumental in building T1, worked tirelessly for our players and staff, and he will be missed dearly. 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," said T1.

Kim was appointed as COO back in November 2019, overseeing the organisation's day-to-day operations and helping it expand beyond its home country of South Korea and grow into the global esports icon that it is today.

T1 is known most for its flagship League of Legends team, which has won the game's world championship tournament three times in 2013, 2015, and 2016.

T1 also competes in Dota 2, VALORANT, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG), Apex Legends, Fortnite: Battle Royale, Super Smash Bros., and Hearthstone.

For more esports news updates, visit https://yhoo.it/YahooEsportsSEA and check out Yahoo Esports Southeast Asia’s Facebook page and Twitter.

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