League of Legends Worlds: Can Faker build his Michael Jordan-like eSports legacy?

On By Littum

In sports, feats are sometimes so athletic that they are difficult to calculate. Michael Jordan defies gravity with his jumping ability, for example.

In esports, there’s the Michael Jordan of esports: Lee Sang-hyeok, the 28-year-old South Korean superstar best known by his in-game handle, “Faker.”

What does it look like when Faker pulls off an incredible esports feat? And how does that transition while competing in one of the world’s largest competitive gaming tournaments?

Newcomers to the realm of League of Legends (LoL) may want to call tech support for a faulty computer screen. But that’s just how the four-time LoL World Champion moves. Every move is calculated and every “mistake” is planned.

The 2024 League of Legends World Championships (LoL Worlds) has been an ongoing competition across Europe since September 25, with events held in Berlin, Paris and London. The event concludes on Saturday at London’s The O2 Arena with defending champion T1 competing against Chinese team Bilibili Gaming. Faker has been a household name with T1 – and esports in general – for more than a decade.

Saturday’s finale is top priority, but the Hall of Famer isn’t afraid to discuss plans for more success in the future.

“Even if I’m going to win the Worlds this year,” he said, “(Saturday) is not my last shot.”

Competitive LoL pits two teams of five in a multiplayer online competition. Players level up by defeating computer-generated enemies and defeating their human enemies’ avatars with the ultimate goal of taking down their opposing team’s base.

Massive maps and game mechanics provide a large amount of unpredictability, requiring Faker and the rest of the players to constantly switch between multiple interfaces to get a better overview. A constantly flickering screen happens to be the byproduct of maximizing efficiency.

Pure mechanics alone did not earn Faker a name like “The Unkillable Demon King”. Since debuting as a 17-year-old professional, Faker has won 10 domestic titles in the League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK), and on the biggest stage, LoL Worlds, he could have a ring for all five fingers on one hand if he can lead his South Korean team to a repeat championship on Saturday.


How popular is Faker? This 2021 photo shows a bus stop billboard in Seoul. (Jung Yeon-Je/AFP via Getty Images)

For some contenders awaiting Saturday’s grand finals, one stat stands out: T1 is 8-0 all-time against Chinese teams at LoL Worlds.

Teams from the League of Legends Pro League (LPL) in China have etched their names into esports history at LoL Worlds in recent years, hoisting the championship trophy in 2018 (Invictus Gaming), 2019 (FunPlus Phoenix) and 2021 (Edward Gaming). However, in the next three tournaments, Faker led T1 to back-to-back-to-back championship appearances.

Bilibili is the defending LPL champion. With the hopes of a nation on their shoulders, the upstarts recognize that Saturday is bigger than a few rounds of play.

“T1 is actually undefeated against LPL teams at Worlds, but that doesn’t mean much to me,” said 22-year-old Bilibili star Chen “Bin” Zebin. “Our team has actually never lost to T1 in a best-of-five series, so I think the game will be an easy 3-0 win for us.”

Bin’s teammate, Zhuo “Knight” Ding, has the tall order of clashing with Faker right in the middle of the card. One of the game’s rare southpaws, Knight was eliminated by Faker and T1 in the semifinals last year as a member of Weibo Gaming. After teaming up with Bin at Bilibili, Knight sees an opportunity to raise a banner and create a new legacy.

On the other hand, Faker is hoping to score a victory, knowing that he and Knight have traded wins and losses in previous meetings.

“This time, all I can do is my best in terms of preparation,” Faker said. “The result will follow.”

Faker will have added motivation to perform well on Saturday. He said his family will fly from South Korea to London and a win in front of his grandmother, Kwon Oyun, would be one of the biggest achievements for someone who already has several championships on his resume.

“I’m very grateful that they decided to fly for more than 12 hours to support me and give a lot of energy and support,” Faker said. “I didn’t get to spend time with family members, but they supported me in and out.”

(Top photo of Faker: Carsten Koall / Picture Alliance via Getty Images)