One win closer to the title wasn't enough for Oner, who says T1 are already looking towards the next challenge.

T1's clean-sweep victory over Team Liquid Alienware may have secured them a place in the Bracket Stage of the League of Legends (LoL) Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) 2026, but Moon “Oner” Hyeon-joon is already focused on what comes next.

T1 has a reason to celebrate but Oner thinks they need to climb higher.

For the T1 jungler, qualifying is simply the next checkpoint.  Speaking to GosuGamers after the series, Oner reflected on T1's comeback in Game 2, the confidence the team carry into their upcoming clash with Bilibili Gaming, and why he believes there's still plenty of room to improve despite booking a place in the Bracket Stage.

Oner says T1 still have another level to reach at MSI 2026

Making it to the Bracket Stage may have been the immediate objective, but Oner made it clear the team are far from satisfied. While he admitted everyone was in good spirits after the win, his thoughts quickly turned towards what lies ahead. "What's on my mind right now is that we have to climb even further. In order to do that, we have to do better and play well," Oner said. 

Rather than treating qualification as the finish line, Oner described it as another step towards T1's bigger ambitions at MSI.

Oner on the mindset behind T1's Game 2 comeback

If there was one moment that tested T1 in the series, it was Game 2. Early mistakes left the team on the back foot, and Oner admitted they briefly struggled to regain their footing. "The more mistakes we made in the early game, the more confused we got," Oner said.

Despite that, T1 never lost faith in one aspect of their game. "I think we already knew that there's a lot of opportunities to make it up by winning teamfights or just playing out teamfights well," he said.

Although T1 made mistakes in Game 2, Oner says they found opportunities for a comeback.

Instead of forcing risky plays to erase the deficit, the team focused on stabilising the game and executing fights together. "Our main discussion was, I think we just have to win through teamfights," Oner explained. By avoiding further mistakes and building momentum through each successful fight, T1 eventually managed to swing the game back in their favour.

"It feels amazing that we were able to win game two," he added.

Oner says there's no secret to smiting: "I just have to work even harder"

Oner has built a reputation for securing crucial neutral objectives through his perfectly timed smites. But when we asked about how he was able to do that, he was quick to dismiss the idea that there is a secret behind consistently landing the decisive last hit.

Instead, he gave a surprisingly humble answer. "I feel like whenever I do win on certain days, it's really purely luck," Oner said. Rather than crediting mechanics or instinct alone, Oner said watching the world's best junglers only motivates him to continue improving. "When it comes to great junglers, they normally do win teamfights first, so I think I just have to work even harder and practise to really reach that point where I don't have to rely on luck."

Oner looks forward to another match against BLG

Although Oner said there wasn't one particular player or team he had hoped to face at MSI, he is looking forward to facing Bilibili Gaming once again. "Whenever we faced and played against them, we had a really fun match every time," Oner said. "There were a lot of takeaways from all those matches, so I'm really looking forward to that."

Even so, Oner stressed that T1's confidence is not tied to one opponent. "We have the confidence that we can win against any team," he said. He explained that confidence has been built through the team's previous experiences together. "Our confidence really is sourced from all the results in the past. There's a lot of moments that we can look back to, we can reflect to."

What are Oner's goals for the rest of MSI 2026?

Winning MSI remains the ultimate goal, but Oner hopes T1 achieve more than just lifting the trophy. For him, finishing the tournament healthy is equally important, while continuing to grow from every series they play.

More work to be done for T1.

"If we look at it outside of winning the MSI, I think it's important for us to finish the MSI without getting getting sick, but stay healthy, and wrap it up on a good note," Oner said. He added that even if the team do not end up winning the tournament, taking away valuable lessons and continuing to improve would still make the campaign meaningful.

Before wrapping up the interview, Oner also had a message for the fans who have supported T1 throughout MSI. "We will continue to work hard to show you the best of us. Please continue to support us."

T1 will face LPL's Bilibili Gaming in the First Round of the Upper Bracket on Saturday (4 July) at 5.00 PM KST / 4.00 PM SGT.