After T1’s loss to Gen.G, Faker broke down and repeatedly slammed his head into a wall, requiring his teammates to restrain him and keep him from hurting himself.
Though T1 dominated the Esports World Cup and won Worlds 2023, they’ve always had difficulty beating Gen.G. They’re at the top of the LCK, and no one has taken a set off of them domestically in Summer 2024.
However, T1’s set against them on August 3, 2024, initially looked promising. They had a massive lead before Faker got caught out multiple times, resulting in a loss. The second match was close as well before Gen.G got a few picks, taking advantage of T1’s mistakes and quickly ending the game.
A clip from after the match shows Faker breaking down, repeatedly slamming his head into a wall before being restrained by Gumayusi.
faker clip pic.twitter.com/OruuXlSh1m
— rcn (@rcn444222) August 3, 2024
The hashtag #We_Stand_For_Faker was trending almost immediately after the clip began circulating, with fans voicing their support for him.
However, a number of LCK fans used this as an opportunity to mock Faker, something that many creators and analysts within the LoL community frowned upon.
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“Faker actually excelled in game 1 and was playing extremely well with high DMG output,” explained League streamer Feviknight. “Saying he played bad over the Corki W mid doesn’t do justice to the rest of his performance. I’m really sad to see him so frustrated, but also people need to stop mocking him and have some respect.”
“Waking up to see the Faker video is really frightening & it’s despicable to see some folks cheering it. The amount of pressure on pros to stay at the top of their field is immense, and even more so to do it for a decade straight,” said LCS caster Azael. “I hope he’s okay and is getting help.”
Faker has been having a rough time over the past year despite the international success he and the rest of T1 have had. In an interview with Dexerto, he claimed his wrist was still hurting despite taking time away to recover. That was at MSI 2024, several months after news of the injury first came out.
Though the League of Legends GOAT is still playing like one of the best in the world all these years later, the stress has clearly taken its toll on him both mentally and physically.