The League of Legends world championship is currently taking place. For days, players have been fascinated by a clip showing the world champion of LoL, Faker on Sylas, battling one of the best players in the world, Chovy.
This was the situation in the clip: It was the semi-final of the LoL Worlds 2024 between the South Korean top teams T1 and Gen G., with 5 million people watching at peak:
Veteran Faker (28) played the champ Sylas. At the beginning of the clip, he has very little health left. Normally, his only option would be to teleport back to base. Faker is considered the best and most famous LoL player ever, but it has been said for years that he is past his prime.
Faker’s team had a tough year in 2024. The champ himself seemed affected after a wrist injury and even lost control after a defeat. T1 started the main round of the World Championship clumsily and lost their first game.
His opponent Chovy is playing the champ Ahri and has about 80% health. Chovy is currently considered the best player in the world and a legitimate successor to Faker. His team, Gen G., was favored to win prior to the Worlds and played the main round flawlessly.
Faker outplays the 5 years younger star player Chovy
What does the clip show? Even though Faker has so little health that any mistake he makes could be fatal and Chovy just needs to hit him once with Ahri, Faker plays the situation perfectly.
He dodges Ahri’s attacks while striking back precisely with a hit-and-run tactic and is safe again when Chovy goes on the attack.
In the end, Chovy must retreat to the safety of his own tower, as Ahri loses the duel significantly.
Faker’s clip is not shown in the big broadcast, yet goes viral
This is how it is commented on: The 20 seconds in the clip were not shown in the official broadcast, but the scene was so significant that it was discovered and spread first in South Korea and then worldwide. On Reddit, the scene was the most popular clip of the past week.
Here, it is also analyzed why Faker seeks the fight even though he has so little health. The strategic situation on the map requires that Faker binds Chovy in the mid lane so that he cannot support his team on other lanes.
On Reddit, people believe that Faker played a “mind game” throughout the series with the younger Chovy and implied through his playstyle that Faker is still the alpha of LoL and plays in a league of his own. He even chased Chovy in another scene down to the groups. This has reportedly unsettled Chovy and thrown him off his game, according to discussions on Reddit.
Players are also impressed by the scene because Faker has shown weaknesses throughout the year but seemingly reaches his top form when it matters.
On Twitter, some chuckle at the scene that shows Faker’s perspective of the fight. That can’t possibly be real. Everyone knows that when Faker is playing LoL, he also has 3 other games open and is doing his taxes. This refers to a quirk of the South Korean player, who can rapidly change perspectives in LoL to keep everything in view: Normal people see Faker’s screen during a World Championship game – Can’t handle it
