NoxicusJoin Date: 2011-06-13
Post Count: 215 |
Season 5 - Present
The 2015 season began with a major upheaval in the Korean League of Legends scene as governing body Kespa implemented a new league-based format and a large number of high-profile Korean stars were signed to Chinese teams. Despite rumours of lucrative offers in the order of 1 million USD, Faker chose to remain with SK Telecom T1, making him easily the most celebrated player left in the region. His new team consisted of players from his old sister team, SKT T1 S, as well as long time teammate Bengi. Controversially, Faker was forced to split his playtime on the team with the mid-laner from SKT T1 S, Easyhoon. Some believed that Faker should have started every game whilst others argued that having two mid-laners with contrasting playstyles increased the number of strategies that SKT could implement. In any case, Faker’s new team were one of the top contenders throughout 2015 LCK Spring and even went undefeated throughout the second round robin of the season, earning them second place overall and automatic placement into the semi-finals of the playoffs. Faker achieved 2nd in the MVP standings with eight best-on-the-rift performances despite playing only two thirds of SK Telecom’s games. SKT’s semi-final opponent CJ Entus jumped out to a 2-0 lead when the two teams met in the LCK playoffs before Faker and his teammates managed to turn the series around and force a fifth and final game. In accordance with Korean tradition, this game was played in blind pick, leaving CJ unable to ban Faker’s signature champion, Leblanc. Faker proceeded to carry the game on this pick, preserving his undefeated record on the champion and elevating the renown of his Leblanc to almost mythic proportions. Faker was not required to play in the final as Easyhoon and the other members of SKT scored an easy 3-0 victory against the GE tigers. This was a record third title for SK Telecom and installed Faker and Bengi as the only players to have ever won three domestic seasons in Korea.
The LCK victory also granted SKT a place at the Mid-Season Invitational, an event where the winners of each region competed in a dress rehearsal of the World Championship to come. The team were undefeated again in the group stage but suffered far more difficulty in their semi-final match up against European juggernaut Fnatic. After a narrow 3-2 win they proceeded to the finals where they faced the powerhouse from China, Edward Gaming. Having picked up Korean superstar Deft and Faker’s old rival PawN in the offseason, EDG were a formidable team, and showed it by taking a 2-1 lead against the Easyhoon edition of SK Telecom. Once Faker was subbed in however, the Korean team scored a victory and forced game 5. In this game Faker was baited into picking his legendary Leblanc into a team composition purpose-built to counter it, and so SKT struggled. Despite Faker’s best efforts, EDG were victorious and his perfect record on Leblanc was shattered.
Domestically however, SKT had not missed a beat and went undefeated in match wins through the first round robin of the 2015 LCK Summer Season. Faker took his supremacy in the mid lane to a new level, notching up ten MVP performances in just fifteen games played.
Trivia
Awarded Best Mid Laner at the 2013 Korean e-Sports Awards. [1]
Believes every Mid Laner should be able to play
Twisted Fate because he teaches you to look at the mini map, and
Ryze because you learn the importance of hitting the right keys, in the right time and order.
Dustin Beck, the vice president of Riot games, said Faker is the "Michael Jordan" of League of Legends [2] in a press conference at Staples Center.
Faker tends to play
Gragas,
LeBlanc,
Riven,
Zed,
Ahri and
Orianna.
He is considered the best League of Legends player in the world by many e-sports journalists and pro players such as Thorin, [3] Alex Ich, [4] and Maknoon who called him the "Lionel Messi of League of Legends".
Was highly regarded for his
LeBlanc play during an OGN Spring match against MVP Blue where he went 11-0-2. [5]
Is notable for not using any alternate skins for champions he plays. There are four known exceptions to this fact, the first was in Game 1 of the OGN Winter Grand Finals 2013 where he used Battle Bunny Riven. Faker went on to state that this was a mistake as the OGN staff check the players accounts before the games, and the tester of his account selected the skin - which Faker did not notice in Champion Select.[6] The second time was at the 2014 League of Legends All-Star event, the entire line up of SKT T1 K used their team's respective champion skins, with Faker using SKT T1 K Zed. The third occurence happened in Game 1 against HUYA in the 2015 Champions Preseason when he picked Pulsefire Ezreal. The fourth time he used a skin was when they faced Incredible Miracle in 2015 LCK Spring Round Robin, where he used Lunar Goddess Diana in Game 1.
Is well known for his hyper aggressive play style.
Known for his amazing solo queue performance with
Riven on the North American server during the Season 3 World Championship, earning him a 92 % win rate in 24 games.
Owns two flower pots to relieve stress.
Popularized
Riven being played in the mid lane.
Previously played a MOBA called 'Chaos'; he credits it as a factor in his easy transition into League.
Quoted as the "Unkillable Demon King" by Cool. [7]
Views his team mates as his second family and thinks the family atmosphere strengthens the team.
Was both the Season MVP and the Mid Lane KDA leader in the HOT6iX Champions Summer 2013 and PANDORA.TV Champions Winter 2013-2014.
Widely renowned for his deep champion pool, mastery of mechanical play, and understanding of the meta-game.
Popularized
Zilean,
Xerath mid.
In SoloQ he always bans
Garen,
Galio and
Gangplank, because they are the first 3 champions in the Korean champion roster. [8]
Recently awarded for getting the first Pentakill in LCK Spring 2015 in their game against NaJin e-mFire with his LeBlanc.[9]
When Faker makes an impressive play during the English casting of professional matches, they're commonly referred to as, 'Things Faker does' due to his reputation for consistent outstanding performances.
He had an undefeated record with
LeBlanc in competitive play (12-0) before losing against EDG in the 2015 Mid-Season Invitational.
Reportedly had a can of tuna in his pocket before going onstage for MSI 2015 vs TSM.[10]
His favorite artist is Taylor Swift.[11]
Played
Master Yi in Week 4 Day 3 of 2015 LCK Summer Split against CJ Entus, a pick that is considered inferior for a long time.
Achievements
TeamIndividual
201520142013
Team Achievements
Date Event Results
2015-05-10 MSI2015bw.png 2015 Mid-Season Invitational Silver.png
3 : 2
2015-05-02 Ogn logo.png 2015 LCK Spring Gold.png
3 : 0
Interviews
201520142013
May 9th - Faker Mid-Season Interview: "AHQ and EDG tend to group more, but we spread out and take more CS" with 1337mag
May 10th - Faker on MSI, Piglet and Impact in LCS, Easyhoon, and an English Message for Fans (video) with Gamespot
August 7th - LCK ASAP 15.8.6 SAMSUNG vs SKtelecom T1 - Faker Interview - (OGN PLUS)(video)(KR)(EN) with OGN Plus
Other Contents
ArticlesVideos
2015
June 12th - Faker pulls out Master Yi in big match - and wins by Samuel Lingle (dailydot.com)
January 21st - GOD IS NOT DEAD: FAKER by Alex Manisier (lolesports.com)
May 10th - A God and a General: an in-depth look at the rivalry between SKT's Faker and EDG's Pawn by Tyler "Fionn" Erzberger (thescoreesports.com)
June 10th - The Unkillable Demon King by Mina Kimes (espn.go.com)
Gallery
SKT T1 Faker
SKT T1 2 Faker
Discussions
blog comments powered by Disqus
References
Jump up ↑ Result of 2013 Korean e-Sports Awardsinven.com.kr
Jump up ↑ http://www.inven.co.kr/webzine/news/?news=64531
Jump up ↑ http://na.lolesports.com/articles/experts-weigh-worlds-predictions-1
Jump up ↑ http://cloth5.com/an-interview-with-gambit-gamings-alex_ich/
Jump up ↑ Faker of Legend_LOL Champs Spring 7화_Match2youtube.com
Jump up ↑ http://sports.news.naver.com/sports/index.nhn?category=e_sports&ctg=news&mod=read&office_id=236&article_id=0000096820
Jump up ↑ http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=fPyJES5-vAo#t=32965
Jump up ↑ http://azubu.tv/faker
Jump up ↑ LCK Spring 2015 Broadcast twitch.tv
Jump up ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ia5LGLi8bsI Bjergsen stream vod
Jump up ↑ http://espn.go.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/13035450/league-legends-prodigy-faker-carries-country-shoulders?ex_cid=espnFB
Categories: 1996South KoreaPlayerAsian Players
|