If you follow esports at all, there’s a good chance you’ve heard of the professional League of Legends player Lee Sang-hyeok, better known as Faker. Known for his incredibly skillful mid-lane play, Faker has risen to prominence as unarguably one of the best players to ever take up the game.
Today, Faker cemented his reputation with a new statistic. He has officially become the first player to record 2,000 kills in the League of Legends Champions Korea division, or LCK.
Technically, he recorded his 2,001st, since he got his 2,000th during a team fight that saw him take a double. Matched against Afreeca Freecs, Faker and the rest of T1 took the fight to AF to contest dragon. T1 took both of Faker’s kills before backing to defend, having failed to secure dragon with a sizeable army of minions pushing down their Nexus.
When you have the @Nike swoosh on your uniform, that means you've made it.
Travel along with @Faker as he tours World HQ to celebrate the T1 x Nike partnership.
Watch: https://t.co/enGGjIl7dY pic.twitter.com/bNSGs4FwRb
— T1 (@T1) January 29, 2020
Faker has hit plenty of statistics, but this is a new tier. He managed to be the first to hit the 1,000 kills milestone back in 2016, taking down MVP’s Beyond to claim the statistic. He’s also recorded 100 international wins as of Worlds 2019 with T1’s victory against Splyce in the quarterfinals, as well as 500 games overall in the LCK back in August of 2019.
Faker’s story can’t just be told in statistics, though. You don’t even have to follow professional League of Legends to have heard of him and his incredible ability. Often touted as arguably the best player in the game right now, Faker has set a new bar in esports. He’s become one of the names that transcends the game they’re in, like StarCraft’s Scarlet or CS:GO’s Coldzera.
Debuting for then-SK Telecom T1 2 back in 2013 as a founding member of the team, along with head coach L.i.E.S and coach kkOma. Then only sixteen years old, Faker played with the likes of Impact, Bengi, Piglet, PoohManDu, and Casper before the team was eventually disbanded and merged with SK Telecom T1 K. A year after that, the T1 K was formed into a single team with the rest of SKT, becoming SK Telecom T1 properly.
There, Faker would continue his reign with Impact, Bengi, Bang, Easyhoon, Piccaboo, and more. Now a part-owner of the T1 brand and the most recognizable figure of the team – arguably of the sport, Faker has secured himself as a legend in the esports scene.
The most amazing part is that this is just his latest statistic. Odds are we’ll be right back here soon talking about the next record that Faker has set on his road to dominance.
