Lee Sang-hyeok better known as “Faker” is the most successful Korean player in eSports .
The boy is now recognized all over the world as the best League of Legends player and is the one who boasts the most titles won in his career.
Faker began his career in 2013 when still seventeen he was signed by the Korean team SKT for the competitive season.
The organization at that time was divided into two teams the SKT 1 and SKT 2 and Faker’s team, despite this being in the first competitive year, closed in third place.
The excellent performance led the staff to decide to invest in a single team of which Faker would have been the “playmaker” thus giving life to the historic SKT formation that in the last 5 years has dominated the world scene of League of Legends.
Over the years, Faker has won 3 world titles and 4 national titles, obtaining more than 1 million dollars in competition prizes alone .
According to some estimates between sponsors and contractual prizes, Faker is the highest paid player in the eSports landscape with an annual salary of over 3 million dollars.
Nicknamed “The Unkillable Demon King” Faker earned this name with his performances by beating all his rivals in mid lane making him the player with the lowest average deaths per game each season.
The “dumb” boy
In the first episode of ” Legends Rising”, the LolEsports column dedicated to pro players, the Korean boy’s aunt talked about him and introduced the world to the human side of League’s “god”.
Faker is an extremely introverted person to the point that as a kid his classmates thought he was dumb .
He never spoke except when necessary and rather than devote himself to social relations he preferred to think, train his mind.
He loved playing puzzles and brain teasers by closing himself off in his world until he started playing on the PC.
When the Korean League of Legends servers were released for the first time, Faker immediately decided to try the game and in less than a year he reached the top spot in the rankings.
In a short time it took more than one account to the top, was unstoppable and that’s why it was quickly noticed by esports organizations first on all SKTs.
The first time the SKT manager visited him at the Faker house he couldn’t look him in the eye , he was a particular kid unable to express himself except with a mouse and keyboard and raised doubts about his ability to support that competitive world and communicate. with his companions.
The birth of the legend
In March 2013 Faker made his debut in the Korean championship against CJ Entus, the favorite team to win.
Incredibly he demonstrated absolute superiority, appeared to be an “extraterrestrial” and the SKTs snatched an unexpected victory.
In a short time with his performances at the limits of the imaginable Faker achieved global success and fans from all over the world multiplied.
The most famous episode that led to the birth of his nickname “The Unkillable Demon King” was in the match valid for the world qualification against KT Bullets.
Arriving at the fifth game, the decisive one, the KTs seemed about to close by besieging the SKT base and their mid laner “Ryu” recognized as Faker’s rival in the fight for the best seemed already looking forward to victory.
Both players had the same character or Zed , but while Ryu had the maximum life bar, Faker was at a third of life and the outcome of the fight seemed clear by now.
In a combination defined by the experts as “the greatest League of Legends play ever” Faker destroyed his opponent 1 vs 1 despite the disadvantage by overturning the game and allowing the SKT to win.
The 1 vs 1, which immediately became very famous, went around the world in a short time, marking the birth of the legend .
Faker today
Those who know him know well that Faker is extremely shy, sometimes melancholy and the only moments in which he has been seen smiling were during the world victories.
Today he is a 22-year-old boy and is the true symbol of video game culture in his country and in the world.
Despite everything Faker has remained humble and has never defined himself the strongest ever, for many young people he is the example to follow and they dream of retracing his footsteps.
His human vulnerability combined with his strength as a player make him a character loved by everyone almost unable to be hated.
For many he is the Michael Jordan of eSports and has been able to prove his worth even in defeats.
On the occasion of SKT ‘s failure to qualify for the 2016 World Cup and the past dark period, Faker stood up like any hero who falls in battle, winning the following year and silencing all those who spoke of “it was over for SKT” proving that he is still the best.
Last year Faker was awarded by the ESL and was inducted into the “eSports Hall of Fame”.
Now once again he is the opponent to beat and we’ll see if anyone can stop “The Unkillable Demon King”.
“I don’t think about a play, I just act. It’s more like an animal instinct, I do what I need to do ”. Lee Sang-hyeok.
