Since rising to glory at the 2020 World Championship and continuing to dominate the League of Legends scene until the final match against Edward Gaming, the duo Canyon – ShowMaker has become one of the most powerful partnerships in the history of League of Legends. In fact, many fans have even compared this duo to the old Faker – Bengi pair. Not to mention, both players have maintained an incredibly high level of performance in the top matches of the LCK. At that time, it seems neither ShowMaker nor Canyon, nor the fans of this duo ever thought that this partnership would come to an end.
However, during the off-season transfer window of 2023, after many years of battling together, the ShowMaker – Canyon duo has finally ended their partnership. In the new season, ShowMaker will continue to compete under the Dplus KIA banner, while Canyon will join Gen.G, the reigning LCK champions. In the new year, Canyon’s Mid Lane partner will no longer be ShowMaker, but Chovy, a player currently regarded as the best Mid Laner in the LCK region.
For his part, in a recent statement, ShowMaker admitted he decided to part ways with Canyon to… learn from Faker. Specifically, ShowMaker shared: “Even when we win, I know that there will come a time when Canyon and I will end our partnership. The reality is that when we continue to perform well, our salaries will be very high. Therefore, when we are still playing together, the team will have to buy a Top Laner and a weaker Bot Lane to manage the salary cap, and that is not effective.”
“So, after the 2023 World Championship ended, when the team announced, I was also sad, but I knew it would happen. He left, and I also hope he performs well. Moreover, when I look at Faker, I want to be like him. Regardless of whether T1 is weak or strong, the Mid Lane remains unchanged. That is wonderful, and I also want to be like that.”
Clearly, besides the salary cap issues of DK, an equally important factor is the loyalty that Faker has inspired ShowMaker. Furthermore, parting ways with Canyon is not an easy decision. However, if ShowMaker can adapt and maintain a high level of performance, it is entirely possible for him to become a second model of loyalty after Faker.