In the world of League of Legends, one of the most effective and high-quality ranking environments is the Korean rank. Not only does it gather the best players, but as is known, it also serves as a reliable metric for teams to recruit. Although there was a time when the Korean rank became a nuisance for many local players, leading Riot to tighten the records here, it cannot be denied that for many players and League of Legends enthusiasts worldwide, “trying hard” here remains a dream.
However, not every player can regularly dedicate time to climbing ranks, especially during the season. Therefore, it’s not surprising that many players even fail to reach high ranks like Grandmaster or Challenger, despite their excellent performance in competitions. A prime example is the star lineup of T1, where at the beginning of the new season, all players only reached the rank of Master, with Support Keria only at Diamond 1 at that time.
But according to recent updates, as the first stage of the LCK Spring 2024 group stage is about to conclude, all four young members of T1 have reached the rank of Grandmaster. Only Oner, on the night of February 2 (Vietnam time), has reached Challenger. However, one name still remains at Master with a win rate of about 60%. That name is Faker, whose current rank is Master 1. In the past few days, Faker has been winning consistently, and many speculate he will reach Grandmaster soon. But some fans jokingly say that Faker is becoming a “burden” in the T1 lineup.
For those who regularly follow Faker, it is known that he no longer places much importance on climbing ranks, especially since he has frequently encountered toxic behavior and game sabotage. His outspokenness has led Riot to impose “martial law” in the Korean rank. Recently, an account suspected to belong to a Vietnamese player in a ranked game with Faker was permanently banned. The reason is believed to be due to Faker reporting it to Riot.
Additionally, after the match against OKSavingsBank BRION, T1 will officially take a break for the Lunar New Year. This will be a time for Faker to rest and focus more on climbing ranks, both to keep his skills sharp and to “catch up” with his younger teammates.