In South Korea, the “League of Legends” pro Faker is a national treasure. He is considered the best player in LoL of all time. In 2022, the 25-year-old is in top form. His team T1 has just won 15 games in a row, but a Chinese pro player dared to disrespect Faker in solo queue. Immediately, hell broke loose over him.
Who is Faker?
- Faker is regarded as the best and most famous LoL player in the history of the MOBA. The midlaner has won 3 world championships with T1 and has collected numerous personal awards. He is known for his vast champion pool and mechanical skills: the “Unkillable Demon King” is a cold killer in the midlane, and there are countless highlight videos of the South Korean.
- For the past 5 to 6 years, things haven’t been great; his team T1 narrowly lost a World Championship Final, has often been eliminated in embarrassing ways, or failed to qualify for the Worlds at all. Constantly, teammates and coaches came and went, and apart from him, there was no consistency at T1. But in 2022, Faker finally has top teammates beside him, like the support player Keria, and T1 is shining. With 15-0, T1 dominates the LCK. No team has managed that before T1 in the LCK.
- Faker is such a big deal in South Korea that he is considered the “Ambassador of the Country” and enjoys a status similar to Olympians. A politician demanded to introduce a special regulation for him so that he must fulfill his mandatory military service only after his professional career.
Faker Streams Game Live on Twitch – Pro Fails with 0-16
How did someone anger Faker? The substitute top laner of the Chinese pro team Top Esports, Qingtian, drew Faker’s ire. He played Aatrox but did not put much effort into a game that Faker streamed live on Twitch.
Faker said the player would intentionally sabotage the game, having 16 deaths and no kills in a 32-minute game that Faker’s team clearly lost. Faker referred to it as “throwing,” which is what it is called in LoL when a player is so frustrated and feels hopeless that they give up trying, only messing up, dying en masse, and achieving nothing.
Professionals are expected to give their best even in such situations and to finish the game with dignity.
Faker expressed his anger at Chinese players who behave poorly in the Korean solo queue. It was said that he dislikes them the most. This problem has existed for many years now. He wondered why Riot Games even gave them super accounts.
With these “Super Accounts,” professionals can play in any league. Since the Korean solo queue is considered the best in the world, many foreigners also come there. Faker seems to be annoyed that someone from China enters the solo queue and then causes trouble and sabotages games.
Pro Faces Salary Penalty, Gets Publicly Shamed
What happened next?
- The team of the publicly shamed pro, Top Esports, issued an official statement on Weibo, the Chinese Facebook, rebuking Qingtian for his behavior and stated that they would deduct a month’s salary from him. Additionally, they would intensify his training and place him under supervision.
- The player himself apologized and admitted that as a professional player, he must make more efforts to contribute to a good environment for the game. He will take every game seriously in the future.
- Even Riot Games Korea has reacted, stating they have heard Faker’s complaints. However, that is something that needs to be resolved at the highest level (via dotesports).
What’s behind this: What the poor pro did happens probably thousands of times worldwide every day in LoL. But to do it in a game that Faker streams on Twitch is just unfortunate.
In 2021, Faker was considered a co-favorite to win the Worlds with T1:
LoL star loses to his old coach – He creates the most touching moment at the Worlds
