In League of Legends, the mid laners Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok (23) and Luka “Perkz” Perković (21) are among the best players in the world. Independently, both confirm in 2020: You can play and train too much LoL, and that is no longer positive.
This is what Faker says: The mid laner from T1 has always been known as an esports ascetic, recovering from LoL gaming by playing even more LoL.
Faker was a role model for a generation of young players who have LoL on their minds. Players who emulated him said: “As long as Faker doesn’t have a girlfriend, I don’t have one either.”
But Faker is now stepping away from that a bit. He now advises moderation when gaming. Suddenly, free days are okay. In an interview, he says:
“I think as a professional player, it’s not a good idea to train and compete every day. That’s a bad idea. So I try to participate in a variety of activities.”
Faker
This expands his horizon. As long as these activities don’t distract him from his carefully selected training times, Faker believes the distraction benefits him.
An example of what he did in his free time can well be this tweet.
LoL pro visits psychologist against burnout
This is what Perkz says: The counterpart to Faker in Europe is Perkz. The Croatian from G2 Esports is considered a perfectionist and intense. He prioritizes victory above all else: In 2019, he teamed up with his biggest rival and even switched positions to form an even stronger LoL team.
But the star mid laner now has doubts about a lifestyle that revolves solely around LoL. For those who play LoL successfully, the season lasts very long, as they participate in all tournaments, making for an extremely long year. This has taken its toll on Perkz lately.
He even believes he suffered from burnout, having trained too much and not taking enough care of himself.
Perkz says in an interview with Inven that he felt burnt out for the last year and a half. He was under constant stress. Every week he felt he had to play and give his best.
“I was searching for myself in competition rather than within myself as a person. It was very hard for me to step out of this bubble.”
Perkz
Perkz stated that he had practically always played LoL over the last few years. And even during the seasonal breaks, he continued to play because new members joined the team, and training was necessary. Before 2020, G2 Esports stayed together and he could take a two-month break.
This time felt like the “best time of his life”; he feels free and great now.
Perkz says he visited a psychologist during the off-season. She helped him articulate some things out loud. This was very useful. LoL pros are also human.
His LoL game has improved, Perkz believes. Last year, he watched Caps in the mid lane, saw a lot there, and improved that way. Now he is playing mid lane again and has more influence and responsibility in the game.
Perkz has the feeling he is getting better and smarter year by year. In 2020, he is a much more complete player than in previous years.
This is how the approach works for both: Currently, both players are proving successful:
- Perkz is now playing mid lane again and has been named MVP three times in six games
- Faker has also played six games in the LCK and has claimed the MVP title three times as well
How good Perkz currently is could be seen in the match against Fnatic:
