# T1 League

The T1 League (Chinese: T1聯盟) was a professional basketball league in Taiwan. It was the third Taiwanese professional basketball league after the now-defunct Chinese Basketball Alliance (CBA; 1994–1999) and P. League+ (PLG; founded in 2020).

## History
### 2021

On May 10, 2021, Kuan Kuang-Chung, the former National Basketball Association (NBA) Taiwan region general manager, was named as the sponsor of the new professional basketball league. There were four corporations willing to join the league. On May 24, the name of the new league was announced as T1 League. Teams from Kaohsiung City, New Taipei City, Taichung City, and Taipei City applied to join the league. On May 26, the Kaohsiung Aquas announced to join the T1 League. On June 19, the Taichung Suns was established formally. On July 30, the New Taipei CTBC DEA was established formally to be the new team of the T1 League. On August 6, the T1 League announced that Chien Wei-Chuan was the commissioner of the league. Besides, the Taoyuan Leopards and the Tainan team would join the league. On August 9, the T1 League held the first draft. There were 58 players participated in the draft, and 17 players were chosen in 5 rounds. On September 2, the Taiwan Beer basketball team announced to join the league as the TaiwanBeer HeroBears. On September 6, the T1 League announced that Chang Yun-Chih was the secretary general of the league. On September 30, the name of Tainan team was announced as the Tainan TSG GhostHawks. On November 25, the Taichung Suns changed the name to the Taichung Wagor Suns. On November 27, the 2021–22 season opening game, matched by the Kaohsiung Aquas and the TaiwanBeer HeroBears, was played at University of Taipei Tianmu Campus Gymnasium.

### 2022

On June 4, 2022, the Kaohsiung Aquas defeated the Taichung Wagor Suns, 3–0, winning the 2021–22 season championship. On July 12, the T1 League held the second draft. There were 44 players participated in the draft, and 14 players were chosen in 3 rounds. On September 5, the T1 League announced that Liu Yi-Cheng served as the vice commissioner of the league. Hsieh Chih-Cheng was the new chief operating officer, and Chang Shu-Jen, the general manager of the New Taipei CTBC DEA, was the new secretary general of the league. The former secretary general and chief operating officer, Chang Yun-Chih and Chia Fan, would transfer to senior consultant and tournament consultant, respectively. On September 29, the T1 League announced that Tsai Shang-Hua served as the strategic marketing director of the league. On October 29, the 2022–23 season opening game, matched by the Kaohsiung Aquas and the New Taipei CTBC DEA, was played at Xinzhuang Gymnasium.

### 2023

On February 28, 2023, the T1 League held the first All-Star Game at Taipei Heping Basketball Gymnasium. On May 21, the New Taipei CTBC DEA defeated the Tainan TSG GhostHawks, 4–0, winning the 2022–23 season championship. On June 26, the T1 League announced that the Taishin Sports Entertainment Co., Ltd. took over the participation rights of the TaiwanBeer HeroBears. On July 4, the Taoyuan Leopards announced to cooperate with the Taiwan Beer basketball association, and the Taoyuan Leopards changed the name to the TaiwanBeer Leopards. On July 14, the T1 League held the third draft. There were 41 players participated in the draft, and 7 players were chosen in 2 rounds. On August 18, the T1 League announced that Chang Shu-Jen, the secretary general of the league, left the league. On August 21, the T1 League announced that Wang Chih-Chun was the new secretary general of the league. On August 24, the name of Taipei Taishin basketball team was announced as the Taipei Taishin Mars. On September 15, the T1 League announced that the 2023–24 season participation rights of the Taichung Suns was cancelled due to financial qualification. On October 12, Tsai Shang-Hua, the strategic marketing director of the league, announced to leave the league. On October 16, the Taichung Suns announced to fold officially. On October 28, the 2023–24 season opening game, matched by the Tainan TSG GhostHawks and the New Taipei CTBC DEA, was played at Xinzhuang Gymnasium.

### 2024

On June 1, 2024, the Taiwan Beer Leopards defeated the Taipei Mars, 4–0, winning the 2023–24 season championship. On June 26, T1 League announced that the five teams of the T1 League would organize the new league for 2024–25 season. On July 9, the Tainan TSG GhostHawks announced to quit the new league preparation for the new season of the P. League+. And the Kaohsiung Aquas, New Taipei CTBC DEA, Taipei Taishin Mars, and the Taoyuan Taiwan Beer Leopards announced to join the Taiwan Professional Basketball League (TPBL).

## Teams

Overview of T1 League teams :
| Franchise | Names | Years | Fate |
| Kaohsiung Aquas | Kaohsiung Aquas | 2021–2024 | Joined the TPBL, 2024, as Kaohsiung Aquas |
| New Taipei CTBC DEA | New Taipei CTBC DEA | 2021–2024 | Joined the TPBL, 2024, as New Taipei CTBC DEA |
| Taichung Wagor Suns Taichung Suns | Taichung Wagor Suns | 2021–2022 | Folded, 2023 (cancelled participation rights) |
| Taichung Wagor Suns Taichung Suns | Taichung Suns | 2022–2023 | Folded, 2023 (cancelled participation rights) |
| Tainan TSG GhostHawks | Tainan TSG GhostHawks | 2021–2024 | Joined the PLG, 2024, with name changes to TSG GhostHawks |
| Taipei Mars | Taipei Mars | 2023–2024 | Joined the TPBL, 2024, with name changes to Taipei Taishin Mars |
| TaiwanBeer HeroBears | TaiwanBeer HeroBears | 2021–2023 | Folded, 2023 (transferred participation rights) |
| Taoyuan Leopards Taiwan Beer Leopards | Taoyuan Leopards | 2021–2023 | Joined the TPBL, 2024, with name changes to Taoyuan Taiwan Beer Leopards |
| Taoyuan Leopards Taiwan Beer Leopards | Taiwan Beer Leopards | 2023–2024 | Joined the TPBL, 2024, with name changes to Taoyuan Taiwan Beer Leopards |

## Rules and regulations
### Games

Each quarter plays 12 minutes. Each game totally plays 48 minutes.

### Players

* Each team can select 8 to 13 players to active roster in each match.
* Each team is able to register 9 to 14 local players and 3 or 4 general import players.
* Each team is able to select 2 or 3 import players into active roster in each match.
* 8-Imports-In-4-Quarters Rule : each quarter can have 2 import players on the court.

## Regular season

Each team plays against another six times, three at home and three on the road, respectively. Each team plays 30 matches total in the regular season. Each team played against another seven times, and 28 matches total in the 2023–24 regular season.

### Ranking

| Seasons | First place | Second place | Third place | Fourth place | Fifth place | Sixth place | MVP |
| 2021–22 | Kaohsiung Aquas 23–7 | Taichung Wagor Suns 20–10 | New Taipei CTBC DEA 17–13 | TaiwanBeer HeroBears 16–14 | Taoyuan Leopards 8–22 | Tainan TSG GhostHawks 6–24 | Chiang Yu-An (HeroBears) |
| 2022–23 | New Taipei CTBC DEA 25–5 | Tainan TSG GhostHawks 19–11 | Kaohsiung Aquas 16–14 | TaiwanBeer HeroBears 16–14 | Taichung Suns 8–22 | Taoyuan Leopards 6–24 | Mohammad Al Bachir Gadiaga (DEA) |
| 2023–24 | New Taipei CTBC DEA 19–9 | Taiwan Beer Leopards 18–10 | Kaohsiung Aquas 15–13 | Taipei Mars 11–17 | Tainan TSG GhostHawks 7–21 | — | Mohammad Al Bachir Gadiaga (DEA) |

## Playoffs
### Play-in

The fourth and fifth seeds play the best-of-three play-in series. The fourth seed is awarded a one-win advantage. The winner can qualify the semifinals series. The 2024 play-in series was cancelled.
| Years | Qualifiers | Result | Eliminated |
| 2022 | TaiwanBeer HeroBears | 2–0 | Taoyuan Leopards |
| 2023 | Taichung Suns | 2–1 | TaiwanBeer HeroBears |
| 2024 | — | — | — |

### Semifinals

The winner of play-in series and the top three seeds play the best-of-five semifinals series. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Taiwan, the 2022 semifinals series changed to best-of-three series.
| Years | Qualifiers | Result | Eliminated |
| 2022 | Kaohsiung Aquas | 2–0 | TaiwanBeer HeroBears |
| 2022 | Taichung Wagor Suns | 2–1 | New Taipei CTBC DEA |
| 2023 | New Taipei CTBC DEA | 3–0 | Taichung Suns |
| 2023 | Tainan TSG GhostHawks | 3–2 | Kaohsiung Aquas |
| 2024 | Taipei Mars | 3–2 | New Taipei CTBC DEA |
| 2024 | Taiwan Beer Leopards | 3–0 | Kaohsiung Aquas |

### Finals

The winners of the semifinals series play the best-of-seven finals series. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Taiwan, the 2022 finals series changed to best-of-five series.
| Years | Champions | Result | Runners-up | FMVP |
| 2022 | Kaohsiung Aquas (1) | 3–0 | Taichung Wagor Suns | Hu Long-Mao (Aquas) |
| 2023 | New Taipei CTBC DEA (1) | 4–0 | Tainan TSG GhostHawks | Lin Wei-Han (DEA) |
| 2024 | Taiwan Beer Leopards (1) | 4–0 | Taipei Mars | DeMarcus Cousins (Leopards) |

## All-Star Game

| Year | Win | Result | Loss | AMVP | Three-Point Contest Champion | Slam Dunk Contest Champion | Ref. |
| 2023 | Team Infinity | 179–124 | Team Beyond | Dwight Howard (Team Infinity) | Lu Kuan-Hsuan (Suns) | Liu Chun-Ting (GhostHawks) | |

## Broadcast partners

| Seasons | Television | Online |
| 2021–22 | Eleven Sports, ELTA TV | 17LIVE, Twitch (2022), Facebook (since January 28, 2022), Line Today (since Play-in) |
| 2022–23 | Eleven Sports, VL Sports, ELTA TV | YouTube, Camerabay (since December 16, 2022) |
| 2023–24 | VL Sports, ELTA TV | YouTube, Twitch |

## Mottos

| Seasons | Mottos |
| 2021–22 | More Than One |
| 2022–23 | Welcome To T1 Universe |
| 2023–24 | Guess What! |