After winning the LCK Summer 2022 championship with Gen.G, Chovy was seen as having fulfilled his wish after years of battling through various teams and ups and downs, finally earning a title for himself. But after that, Chovy surprised League of Legends (LoL) fans. In just the following year, he won 2 more LCK titles. Along with Faker and ShowMaker, Chovy is the third Mid Laner in LCK history to have 3 consecutive domestic championships.
Chovy has indeed shown that he is the most outstanding Mid Laner currently. However, when many Chovy fans began to overly praise him and claimed that he should start being called a legend and ready to dethrone Faker, a debate erupted. According to the majority opinion, Chovy still has to “run after” Faker in terms of competitive achievements, not to mention influence.
The audience’s argument is that, considering both domestic and international competitions, Chovy cannot compare to the immortal legend of the LoL scene. In terms of titles, Chovy only has 3 LCK championships, while Faker boasts 10. This means that in the domestic league alone, Chovy needs to win continuously for at least another 3.5 years (equivalent to 7 seasons) to equal Faker’s title count.
Moreover, Chovy is still empty-handed on the international stage. Specifically, if Chovy wins the World Championship this year, he will still only equal 1/3 of Faker’s record. To match the achievements of “Mr.F”, Chovy would need at least 3 consecutive World Championship titles. This is something almost unimaginable since even Faker has only won the World Championship twice in a row and is the only Mid Laner to achieve this, as of now.
In terms of influence, during his time at Griffin or current Gen.G, Chovy may be a key player but he has never been the most influential player (in terms of spirit and leadership). Griffin was once a collective of 5 individuals acting as one, taking turns to call shots and issue commands. At DRX or Hanwha Life Esports, Chovy has struggled to match the influence of Deft. In Gen.G, they previously had Lehends and Ruler. Currently, the most influential person at Gen.G, regarded as the brain of the team, is Peanut.
Looking at Faker, he is simply unparalleled. No current player can compare with Faker’s influence on T1 or the LoL scene in general and Esports in particular. The importance of Faker to T1 was clearly demonstrated during the second half of the LCK Summer split. Moreover, Faker is the only LCK player in history who has never played in the LPL but has an overwhelming fanbase compared to many legends there. Even the anti-fans acknowledge: T1 may be weak, Faker may be aging, but his legacy is immortal.
Chovy is currently the best Mid Laner in LCK, and this is undeniable. However, to truly be regarded as the “vice GOAT” after Faker or to become a new symbol of LCK and the LoL scene, Chovy needs to push himself even harder. Because in any category, he still falls significantly short of Faker. The upcoming ASIAD and World Championship will be opportunities for Chovy to continue to showcase himself. The ball is in his court, but whether Chovy has the strength to rise remains to be seen based on his own efforts.