26-year-old Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok is the most famous and arguably most successful League of Legends player of all time. If everything had gone according to plan, after winning titles in 2013, 2015 and 2016, he would have become world champion in LoL for the 4th time in 2017. But since then the worm has been in there. But 2022 should be his year again.
This is what makes Faker special:
The rumor persists to this day: Samsung Galaxy only won because their midlaner Ambition got married at the time and thus enjoyed the “wife buff”, while Faker has always been single.
In doing so, Faker became a role model for a generation of gamers who said, “If Faker doesn’t have a girlfriend, then neither do I.” (via inven)
Worlds in LoL made dragons and a god weep
4 South Korean midlaners will be world champions in 2018-2021 but Faker won’t
How did it go afterwards? It was bewitched for four years after 2017. T1 and Faker could no longer tie in with the glory days.
His own teammates retired, and suddenly there were powerful new South Korean mid laners, modeled after Faker:
But since 2016, since T1 and Faker, no team has been dominant for several years at the top.
In all those years, Faker with T1 either didn’t play a role at all or was somehow stupidly eliminated in the semifinals, even against Europeans – actually lese majeste.
Even Faker, the “unkillable demon king”, suddenly looked very, very mortal when he lost to G2 Esports in 2019.
The Life of Faker – That’s why he’s a living legend
What’s different this year? In 2022 it could be enough for a Worlds title again. Because Faker has now gathered an extremely strong team around him at T1.
Above all, the botlane with the ingenious supporter Keria is a real showpiece, Keria is considered one of the best LoL players of all time, even though he’s only 20. His partner in the botlane, Gumaysui, is also only 20 and a beast.
As Gumaysui confidently says, few botlanes in the world can match him and his partner when it comes to how deep the champion pool is and what combos to play.
With Zeus (19) and Oner (18), the team has two other strong players who are constantly getting better and who work as a unit.
At 26, Faker himself is something of an “elder statesman” in the team and has to lead the young professionals.
What makes Faker different? In an interview, Faker is asked what he will do differently in 2022 than before:
“It used to be that I felt so much pressure on myself at times, but now I can overcome that and just be happier. When I play, I play from very happy, optimistic emotions.”
Faker says: Now everyone looks up to him in T1, also because he is the captain of the team. So he thinks he’s trying even harder than before to be the best possible version of himself and to stay available to anyone who needs him.
He also has every reason to be optimistic: Keria and Gumaysui are the only players at Worlds who still have a double-digit KDA: Keria is at 12.7 – Gumaysui even at 18.5.
What’s next? Faker plays in the Worlds semifinals on Saturday, October 29 in Atlanta Georgia. It’s against JD Gaming. If he wins that, he will play another South Korean team in the final, either DRX or Gen G.
Gen G. would be the dream finale – because that’s the Samsung Galaxy that screwed him up the tour in 2017. Even the ADC from back then, Ruler, is still around today. He’s also 5 years older than he was then and hot for the title.
If you’re wondering why Faker is still playing LoL at 26 and isn’t in the military:
Politician wants to change law so Faker can keep playing LoL