T1 enters Riftbound, signing LS as its pro player

Craig Robinson, Senior Editor

Last Updated: 19/06/2026

The growth of Riftbound has been massive since its first set, Origins. And now, it seems like esports organisations are starting to pay more attention. T1, the Republic of Korea’s biggest esports organisation, has signed Nick “LS” De Cesare as its Riftbound player.

LS becomes T1’s Riftbound Player, teasing something is coming soon

There are a few interesting tidbits here. The first is the fundamental fact that T1 is interested in Riftbound. T1’s fanbase from other esports is predominantly Korean, and they target a Korean audience that so far is not a core region of the game. Second, it shows that big LoL esports brands are looking to get into the game’s physical adaptation. T1, being the biggest LoL brand in the esports scene, will undoubtedly propel Riftbound even higher, with its fanbase likely to start cross-pollinating into the TCG.

It comes as possibly the second esports organisation to actually enter Riftbound. Last month, an EDG player won the Sydney event piloting Irelia, which is the first big esports brand I’m aware of in the space. Riftbound is already massive in China, and actually launched there before English cards released, which again suggests just how big T1 thinks the Riftbound scene can be.

LS is also a known card player, originally coming from Magic: The Gathering. He has since built up Riftbound on social media and is slowly building the Korean scene himself by running his own events to get LoL fans interested in the card game.

LS also has a trophy under his name, earning the Best of Teemo award back at Las Vegas RQ earlier in the year, while representing Fly Quest and T1 at the event due to his LoL content creator and analyst connections.

In terms of ambitions, LS has stated that all the grinding he has done in Korea, mostly solo, will pay off into something in the coming weeks.

Chances are we might start seeing LS appear at future RQs sponsored by the most successful LoL esports organisation.

It will certainly be interesting to see what happens to Riftbound. At the moment, Riftbound is dominated by card teams, with CTCG players often some of the biggest and best in the world. There’s also the new Spanish team Team Mico, who sent three players to the top 8 of Utrecht last weekend, along with TSS, Team Poland and other such teams.  If traditional esports orgs can come in and start disrupting, it’ll be a very interesting space to watch. 

Craig Robinson, Senior Editor

Craig began his career with Esports News UK back in 2015/2016, looking to write about a passion while studying at Manchester Metropolitan University. He stayed there for several years before moving on to other websites to begin his career after graduating. Now he's back, covering esports adjacent topics and UK stories.

All Posts By Craig Robinson