Since Faker rose to fame in the League of Legends scene, the influence and reputation of the mid-laner from T1 have spread worldwide. It’s no longer confined to just one Esports title but encompasses the entire esports community, and even in other fields, Faker’s name is heard. Many of his fans are from outside the gaming world. Even in rival regions like LPL, the community here also acknowledges Faker as one of the most influential names.
However, Faker’s influence becomes even more evident when he is… absent. As previously mentioned, according to statistics from Esports Chart, the total viewership of matches in the LCK has severely declined. The match with the highest viewership when Faker was resting was T1 against DRX, which garnered over 392k viewers. The fact that it hasn’t crossed the 400k mark is genuinely alarming, especially for a prestigious tournament like the LCK.
According to Gen.G’s CEO Arnold Hur, who spoke during a talk show at that time, he emphasized Faker’s importance when discussing Gen.G’s situation. The CEO stated that Faker’s absence from competitions has posed financial difficulties for Gen.G. Many viewers predicted at the time that this could be related to the significant drop in viewership due to matches being played without Faker and T1 consistently underperforming. Furthermore, fans pointed out that when Faker and T1 win, streamers also benefit. For instance, Wolf’s channel (former Support of SKT T1) saw viewership increase from 10-15k during regular times to 30-50k when T1 played and won. At peak times, it could even exceed 100k viewers.
Of course, when Gen.G’s CEO has confirmed that the team has been affected due to Faker’s absence, it is likely that the other teams in the LCK are also struggling with similar issues. Moving on to the LPL, not long ago, the ASIAD organizers themselves expressed a desire for Faker to recover quickly from his injury and participate in ASIAD. The reason is none other than the allure and reputation of Faker will be a crucial factor directly influencing the attraction of this year’s ASIAD.
It’s hard to imagine what the LCK will be like when Faker officially retires. And on a broader scale, the entire League of Legends community may also be in turmoil when their legend officially steps away from the professional scene. This reality has become even more apparent recently, especially after people have had the most comprehensive view of the LCK specifically, before and after Faker dealt with his injury.