Faker

Lee Sang-hyeok (이상혁; born May 7, 1996), better known as Faker, is a South Korean professional League of Legends player for T1.

Faker was born in Seoul on May 7, 1996.

His early years were spent under the care of his grandparents and his father, Lee Kyung-joon, in Gangseo District, Seoul.

Described as an introverted child by his father, Faker exhibited a natural inclination for self-education, often challenging himself with Rubik's cubes and independently learning foreign languages.

While he didn't indulge in computer games extensively during his youth, he did find enjoyment in games like Tekken and King of Fighters at a local arcade.

However, as time passed, he gradually ventured into the realm of PC gaming, exploring titles such as Maplestory and Warcraft III.

In 2011, when League of Legends made its debut in Korea, Faker was quick to embrace the game and became adept at it in a short span of time.

While attending Mapo High School, the same institution as Kim "Deft" Hyuk-kyu, Faker approached his father with a proposition: dropping out of school to pursue a career in esports.

His father granted his request a month later.

He gained prominence after joining SK Telecom T1 (now T1) in 2013, where he has since played as the team's mid-laner.

Throughout his career, he has secured a record of 10 League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) titles, two Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) titles, and a record four World Championship titles.

Faker is widely regarded as the greatest League of Legends player in history and has drawn comparison analogizing him to basketball player, Michael Jordan for his esports success.

Originally from Gangseo District, Seoul, Faker was signed by SKT in 2013, and quickly established himself as one of the league's top players.

In his debut year, he achieved both an LCK title and a World Championship victory with SKT.

Faker began his professional career in 2013 when he caught the attention of SK Telecom T1 2 (later known as SK Telecom T1 K), a team affiliated with the SK Telecom T1 organization.

Originally competing under the alias GoJeonPa, Faker joined the team as their mid laner, subsequently adopting the name Faker as his official gaming handle.

He made his professional debut on April 6, 2013, at a televised match held in Seoul, South Korea, where he secured solo kill against the South Korean All-Star mid laner Kang "Ambition" Chan-yong.

In his first professional tournament, OGN Champions Korea 2013 Spring tournament, Faker accounted for 31.6% of his team's kills and secured 133 kills over 20 games, positioning himself as the tournament's third highest performer in both categories.

The subsequent split, OGN Champions Korea 2013 Summer, SKT T1 2 advanced to the tournament finals, where they faced off against the KT Rolster Bullets.

In the match, Faker was suddenly engaged by Yoo "Ryu" Sang-wook from the Bullets, but he executed a perfectly timed sequence of moves to reverse the situation and kill Ryu.

The play is regarded as one of the most famous League of Legends plays of all time; it not only propelled SKT T1 2 to a reverse sweep victory over the Bullets but also marked Faker's inaugural major title win.

In Fall 2013, SKT T1 2 represented South Korea and the SK Telecom T1 organization at the Season 3 World Championship, commonly referred to as Worlds.

Throughout the tournament, they had a record of 15 wins and 3 losses.

SKT T1 2 faced off against China's Royal Club in the finals and won in what was one of the most lopsided finals in League of Legends history.

From 2014 to 2017, Faker added five more LCK titles to his name, along with two MSI titles in 2016 and 2017, and two additional World Championships in 2015 and 2016.

During this time, he also emerged victorious in the All-Star Paris 2014 and the IEM World Championship in 2016.

Faker won his second domestic title in 2014, as SKT followed their 2013 success by going the entire OGN Champions Winter 2013–2014 season without losing a single game.

After losing in the quarterfinals of Champions Spring 2014, the team won All-Star Paris 2014, the precursor to the Mid-Season Invitational (MSI).

Competing back again in Champions Summer 2014, while the team qualified for the playoffs, they were eliminated again in the quarterfinals.

At the 2014 League of Legends World Championship qualifiers, SKT faced Samsung Galaxy White in a deciding qualifier match.

His accomplishments has earned him recognition as the Best Esports Player at The Game Awards in 2017 and 2023, and he was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in Asia Entertainment & Sports in 2019.

Additionally, he was inducted into the Esports Hall of Fame in the same year.

Faker is one of the most marketed esports figures, appearing in numerous commercials and talk shows.

He also represented the South Korean national team at the 2018 Asian Games, earning a silver medal, and the 2022 Asian Games, earning a gold.

Faker's individual achievements include accolades such as a World Championship Most Valuable Player (MVP) award, an MSI MVP award, two LCK season MVP awards, an LCK finals MVP award, an LCK Player of the Year award, an LCK Mid Laner of the Year award, and two LCK First-All Pro Team designations.

He holds several records, including being the first player to reach 1,000, 2,000, and 3,000 kills, the first to have played 700 games, and the first to have won 600 games in the LCK.

Faker also holds the record for the most kills in World Championship matches and was the first player to surpass 100 World Championship wins.

Between 2019 and 2022, Faker secured four more LCK titles, becoming the first player to reach a total of 10.

In 2020, he became a part-owner and executive of T1 Entertainment & Sports.

His annual salary, as of 2020, was estimated by the Olympics to be nearly US$5million.