Without a doubt, one of the best LoL players in history, Faker LoL play is a sight to behold. A terrific mechanical ability and spectacular command of any champion he comes across, Lee Sang-hyeok is not the average LoL player.
Small Beginnings
Faker did not initially play PC games in his childhood. However, he used to visit an arcade near his home. Later on, he began PC gaming too and used to play games like Warcraft 3 and Maplestory.
When playing Warcraft 3, he used to spend a lot of time on the map “Chaos.” This was an early multiplayer online battle arena game, which was very similar to League of legends.
Enter: LoL
Faker started playing LoL in December of 2011 as “GoJeonPa.” He stumbled upon it while browsing the web. It did not take long for him to become sought after by several Korean teams.
In 2012, SK Telecom T1 got in touch with Faker to recruit him. However, having just entered high school, the decision to turn pro was a tough one. Fortunately, he made the right call. His father supported his decision.
New Team with New Faces
Eventually, Faker ended up dropping out and joining SK Telecom’s T1 secondary squad. A team that was built explicitly around his prodigious talents SKT T1 #2 (now SKT T1 K) featured both upcoming, new talent along with seasoned veterans.
The team immediately performed topping their group during the OGN and Olympus Champions Spring in 2013 and finishing third in the playoffs 3-0. Considering that the majority of their roster consisted of unknown players, people did not expect SKT to perform this well in their debut.
During this, Faker quickly made a name for himself. His solo kills against Ambition, and a dominant game on Leblanc against MVP Blue gained him significant attention.
With a strong lane presence and competitive early, the team was destined for greatness.
Faker LoL: 2013 Summer Finals
It wasn’t until the 2013 Summer Finals when Faker truly shocked the world. SK Telecom T1 K won their first OGN title that day, earning them a spot in the 2013 World Championship. This gave Faker a chance to prove his medal internationally.
Season 3 World Champions
Staples Center, LA: SK Telecom T1 K stepped ahead with every game in the event. Finally, they defeated China’s Royal Club 3-0 in the grand finals to claim their first League of Legends World Championship title.
Featuring the legendary Attack Damage Carry Uzi in the rival team, a lot of people expected the competition to be fierce. However, SKT completely rolled over their opponent. Piglet prevented Uzi from tearing the team apart. And Faker negated Royal’s strong laning throughout the tournament, shown by the mid laner Wh1t3zZ.
Faker’s confident and dominant performance and play on the global stage further added to the buzz and hype around him. People started considering him to be the best LoL player in the world.
Faker and his team returned home on top of the League of Legends World and continued his nearly unhindered success.
Faker: A League of Legends World Champion
Finally, Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok became a champion of the biggest League of Legends tournament in the world. He dominantly took down every single person in his way to get this title.
The seventeen-year-old boy who had only begun playing League of Legends less than two years ago proved himself to be the best LoL player there is. And this is why many are already calling him Faker LoL.
