The Resurrection of The Unkillable Demon King — The Rise Again of Faker

Arguably the greatest esports competitor that the world has ever seen, Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok helped build and define esports as we know it today. But even gods aren’t immune to the march of time.

After making history with his third League of Legends World Championship victory in 2016, the Unkillable Demon King has been slowly declining, failing to produce results on both international and domestic stages.

But in 2021, Faker transitioned from being the star player to a mentor of a team of rookie talent; a team he managed to lead straight to worlds.

This is the Rise Again of Faker.

On Twitter: @faker

Special thank you to our interview guests:

Erik "DoA" Lonnquist on Twitter: @ggDoA

Tyler Erzberger on Twitter: @FionnOnFire

Thumbnail image via Riot Games

[Upcomer]

Hit the Subscribe button like Faker hit Ryu 😉

[jedbhy]

i like how they call 2017 "the fall" when faker won both splits and msi and finished 2nd in worlds i mean we can at least acknowledge that "the fall" of faker is the dream year for every other player without exception

[Dazai_]

Faker dominated in the time when korean players only played for Korean teams so that they can get out of Korea, the conditions of esports as a full time profession was quite bad in korea back then. He is responsible for the rise of average salaries of all korean players. His domination lasted 5 years, and he is still competent enough to play amongst the tops, while other players from the same era are nowhere to be seen except a very few, who themselves are performing not quite as good on world stage.

It's very easy to just focus on Faker's achievements in the game itself, but no one focuses on what he has done for the Korean esports scene.

[AquariuS]

Love that you emphasized the importance of Bengi. He was truly the Right hand of the Demon King. When they changed him Faker had to change his gameplay from being aggressive to semi-setter since Bengi was not there to set for him

[STND]

People don't realize how terrifying 2021 T1 was. 4 of the players were rookies who made the favorites bleed, imagine what they could do next year.

ALRIGHT LADS AND LASSIES
GET READY FOR T1'S POTENTIAL WORLDS

CALL ME A PROPHET IF THEY GET THE WIN

[reili]

I never understood why people make a big deal out of something like this. Faker has won 3 championships, a tons of lck championships, and had cemented himself as the GOAT in the LoL scene. I highly doubt that there is anybody else in the scene that has such a stacked list of achievements under their belt while remaining at the top for so long.

[Ikarus]

2021 is a roller coaster year for T1, from many internal team problems to get semifinal in world. I'm as T1 fans sad because T1 lose to DWG, but at the same time I'm very glad to see T1 can give them a fight until 5 games and also happy to see Faker playing League with so much fun.

[Graey]

This video made me feel weirdly emotional

[BOREDOM]

I like how Faker's "fall" is basically the pinnacle of other players. He set the bar high up for himself that even 2nd place in the worlds, MSI champion, and 2 splits champion, is his "fall".

[Ackovs]

Watching this after they completed a split, where they went 20-0 undefeated in all Bo3 and Bo5 series is a great satisfaction. They will probably dominate MSI, and if nothing huge happens, they will dominate the whole season. This T1 roster looks like it has the potential to be the best roster ever. They have young talent, who are at the age of 18-20 are already elite, or even the best in their position, they have amazing synergy, clean macro, and not only they went undefeated, they look unstopable in their games. And once again, these are young, hungry players, who are probably not at their peak yet. Imagine how good Gumayusi and Keria will be at their peak. Imagine how much Oner and Zeus can improve still. And then there is Faker. He is innovating picks like the Kaisa, he is dominating on Ahri and LeBlanc, he plays whatever the team needs, whatever wins them the game. He is the player coach of T1, he is a leader, a mentor, and still one of the best players in Korea. We all wished in the years of struggle that Faker would get a good team around him. Now he has individually the most stacked team in the history of League of Legends, and it's not just another superteam, it's working, they are cohesive, they work together as a team, while shining individually as star players. It's a match made in heaven, and Faker really deserved this roster, and another chance to get back to the top where he belongs.

#T1Fighting

[rennacy]

The story of faker rise again feels like straight comes out from anime some shit "The person that once was a unkillable demon lord has take a step back and become the back bone of his ancestor success". But jokes aside, i could definitely see that faker playstyle this year is more on supporting side rather than a superstar who stole audience eyes, i mean its nice tho watching t1 not solely for the purpose of watching faker but instead watching how their teams work

[ssbm_sin]

3 guarantees in life

1. Death
2. Taxes
3. Collin making ryu relive that clip at every possible opportunity LUL

[zanchi]

Watching this after t1 and their 20-0 record breaking split this season, all that potential seen in the 2021 team has been realised and they are still growing stronger. Well done Faker and t1

[salinas]

From being a shy guy and almost doesn't talk to being a leader. What a lad.

[skrattaoppar]

He's literally the iteration of The King's Avatar

[jcsarmiento]

"If you're telling me T1 does not have Faker. in this tournament, how far do they go? They don't even make it. It's not even close. You replace Showmaker for this. Honestly, you put Showmaker on T1 they ain't even qualified for Worlds." -Tyler1

[Nominokoni]

11 months later, they’re back on the finals and delivered one of the most emotional World Championship ever.

[DRC]

I think this sort of play style is actually something that T1 will benefit even more from in the future. Faker being the one to support his team from midlane might be just better style for him to play now. Even tho he still is the unkillable demon king this is no longer a game that he can win alone.

[hahnmaucisa]

damn this video got me so emotional, I hope T1 wins everything next year. T1 Fighting!

[anut]

Man, the presentation of this video is as good as thescore esports, keep up the good work man