League of Legends superstar Lee ‘Faker’ Sang-hyeok has committed his future to T1, the South Korean organization has announced.
In an image posted on Twitter, T1 revealed that Faker had re-signed with the organization until 2025, when he will be 29.
The news brings an end to speculation about Faker’s future after reports emerged that he was considering his options in other regions, including the LCS. Team Liquid and FlyQuest were reportedly two of the organizations that had expressed an interest in signing the Korean mid-laner.
Faker has been with T1 since 2013, when the team was still known as SK Telecom T1. That year, he won his first Worlds title and began to carve out his name as one of the game’s greatest players, often referred to as “The Unkillable Demon King”.
— T1 LoL (@T1LoL) November 28, 2022
He would follow that up with two more Worlds titles, in 2015 and 2016, and MSI trophies in 2016 and 2017. International success has proved elusive in recent years (though T1 continued to reach international finals, including at the 2017 and 2022 Worlds events), but Faker continues to exceed expectations and stand the test of time in the mid-lane.
He is also the leader of a new generation of talent, six years older than his next-oldest teammates, Lee ‘Gumayusi’ Min-hyeong and Ryu ‘Keria’ Min-seok.
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After losing the Worlds final to DRX in a nail-biting five-game affair, Faker and T1 will look to make another run at the world title in 2023. Domestically, they should expect stiff competition from teams like DAMWON Gaming, who signed Kim ‘Deft’ Hyuk-kyu from DRX, and Hanwha Life Esports, who formed what has been dubbed an ‘LCK superteam’ by signing two of DRX’s Worlds-winning players, Hwang ‘Kingen’ Seong-hoon and Kim ‘Zeka’ Geon-woo, in addition to jungler Kim ‘Clid’ Tae-min, AD Carry Park ‘Viper’ Do-hyeon (a world champion in 2021 with EDG), and support Kim ‘Life’ Jeong-min.
Meanwhile, T1 have announced that the coaching trio of Kim ‘Sky’ Ha-neul, Kim ‘Roach’ Kang-hui, and Im ‘Tom’ Jae-hyeon will be part of the team for the 2023 season. They will work alongside head coach Bae ‘Bengi’ Seong-woong, who was promoted to the main team at the end of 2021.
T1’s 2023 roster:
- Choi ‘Zeus’ Woo-je
- Moon ‘Oner’ Hyeon-joon
- Lee ‘Faker’ Sang-hyeok
- Lee ‘Gumayusi’ Min-hyeong
- Ryu ‘Keria’ Min-seok
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