Jordan or LBJ, Messi or Ronaldo – there are plenty of sports where the G.O.A.T. debate is highly disputed. Same can not be said about League of Legends esports! Faker, the Unkillable Demon King, is the greatest player of all time. We're here to give you a rundown of all his accolades.
League of Legends has been around for almost fifteen years, and LoL esports is almost as old as the game itself. Compared to other established sports like football or basketball, it is still changing at a rapid pace. Teams come and go, superstar players rise and fall, but for the majority of its existence, there has been one constant in LoL esports: A man by the name of Lee Sang-hyeok, better known as Faker.
It's been over a decade since Faker has burst onto the scene, and he has gone on to build a legacy that will most likely remain unmatched, as long as League of Legends esports will be around. Even though he still seems far away from retirement, it's time to sum up Faker's career and shed a light on his biggest achievements!
Rise to Stardom: Faker's Early Achievements in League of Legends
Since his first days in LoL esports, Faker has played for one organization only: SK Telecom, now known as simply T1. In 2013, SKT management signed Faker to their organization, after he garnered a lot of attention in League of Legends solo queue. They saw him as a great prospect and therefore built a whole team around him to support him as good as possible.
Faker put up some impressive performances throughout 2013, but what really put him on the map for League of Legends fans around the globe was the 2013 World Championship. SKT T1, led by Faker, managed to take the crown as Korea's #3 seed, capping it off in dominating fashion against the LPL's Royal Club.
Many of you (including me) have not been there to witness Faker's first Worlds title, but I still want to give you some stats, that show what kind of performance Faker put on during the 2013 League of Legends World Championship:
- 15-3 record (T/1st)
- 4.82 KDA (13th among all players)
- 8.77 CS/M (2nd)
- 400 Gold/M (2nd)
To be fair, it wasn't just Faker, carrying his team of scrubs to a World Championship. The guys that played on this SKT roster held their own pretty well! Many of you will know bot laner Piglet, or of course Impact, who's still kicking it in the LCS to this day, currently playing for Team Liquid.
Dominating the World Stage: Faker's International Triumphs and Championships
As we all know, Faker's 2013 triumph at Worlds wouldn't be his last. In total, he has gone on to win four titles at the biggest international League of Legends tournament. Let us take a look at Faker's complete Worlds results from 2013 to 2023:
- Worlds 2013: Winner
- Worlds 2014: Not qualified
- Worlds 2015: Winner
- Worlds 2016: Winner
- Worlds 2017: Runner-up
- Worlds 2018: Not qualified
- Worlds 2019: Semi-final
- Worlds 2020: Not qualified
- Worlds 2021: Semi-final
- Worlds 2022: Runner-up
- Worlds 2023: Winner
I remember getting into League around the time of SKT winning Worlds back-to-back. At that time, it felt like the dominance of Faker and his team would never end. Over seven years later, we can say that it took quite a while for the team now called T1 to get back on top of the world.
After a tough sweep in the 2017 Worlds Finals at the hands of Samsung Galaxy, it appeared as SKT's fortunes seemed to waver. In 2018, they failed to qualify for both the Mid-Season Invitational and the World Championship. While these times were marked by many roster changes, Faker always remained as the organization's cornerstone to build a winning team around.
Faker's Results at the Mid-Season Invitational
Next to the League of Legends World Championship, the Mid-Season Invitational has for long been the second big international tournament in the season. To this day, Faker has managed to win the MSI twice, back-to-back in 2016 and 2017. Will he add another triumph in 2024?
- MSI 2015: Runner-up
- MSI 2016: Winner
- MSI 2017: Winner
- MSI 2018: Not qualified
- MSI 2019: Semi-final
- MSI 2020: Cancelled due to COVID-19
- MSI 2021: Not qualified
- MSI 2022: Runner-up
- MSI 2023: 3rd place
While his MSI record isn't as impressive as his Worlds performance, Faker's team is always seen as a title favorite. The 2024 MSI title is still up for grabs, and as reigning World Champions, Faker and T1 make a strong case once more!
Legacy of Legends: Faker's Unprecedented Records and Achievements
While many of us automatically think of Fakers three – excuse me – FOUR Worlds titles, he has also taken home more individual accolades than pretty much anyone else. I mean, Faker is pretty much the definition of the Most Valuable Player for a team!
We all saw what happened to T1 when Faker had to step down for about a month due to his wrist injury back in the 2023 LCK Summer Split. Over the years, he has shifted his play style to become pretty much a player-coach, holding his team together, while still dominating his individual matchup.
So you could argue that Faker in his current form is more valuable than he has ever been, still being mechanically outstanding, but also far more experienced than anyone else he and his team have to face. But how do these observations actually translate into awards? Let's take a look:
Faker's Individual Awards
- Worlds MVP (2016)
- MSI MVP (2016)
- LCK Finals MVP (Summer 2015)
- 2x LCK Season MVP (Summer 2013, Winter 2014)
- 7x All-Star (2014-2020)
- 2x LCK All-Pro 1st Team (Spring 2022, Spring 2023)
- 1x LCK All-Pro 2nd Team (Summer 2022)
- 1x LCK All-Pro 3rd Team (Spring 2020)
- LCK Player of the Year (2023)
- LCK Mid Laner of the Year (2023)
Aside from him earning pretty much every individual LCK award possible, Faker is also the player with the most LCK title wins in the league's history, racking up a total of 10 LCK titles! He might also be the player that reached the most milestones in the LCK in terms of kills, assists, wins and so on.
Faker's Most Important Milestones
- 1st player in LCK history to reach 1000, 1500, 2000, 2500 & 3000 kills
- 3000th kill on Feb. 3, 2024 in a game against OKSavingsBank BRION
- 1st player in LCK history & worldwide to reach 400, 500 & 600 wins in a single region
- 600th win on Feb. 1, 2024 in a game against DRX
- 1st player in LCK history & worldwide to reach 600, 700 & 800 games
- 800th game on Feb. 17, 2023 in a game against Liiv SANDBOX
- 2nd player to reach 4000 assists after GorillA
- 4000th assist on July 27th, 2022 in a game against KT Rolster
Faker's Most Played Champions
- Azir (157 games, 66.2% WR)
- Orianna (84 games, 67.9% WR)
- Ryze (77 games, 63.6% WR)
- LeBlanc (60 games, 83.3% WR)
- Ahri (56 games, 67.9% WR)
There you have it! A summary of Faker's career through all his individual and team accomplishments. As I already said in the beginning, there are a lot of sports, where the debate about the Greatest of All Time divides fans all across the world. Are you Team Messi or Team CR7? Are you a Bronsexual or is MJ your G.O.A.T.? These fights may never come to an end.
One thing is clear: There is no such debate in League of Legends esports. Whether you hate him (which most likely means you're an LPL fan) or love him, The Unkillable Demon King's reign will remain undisputed... maybe forever.