At the recent MSI 2022, T1 faced a disappointing defeat in the finals against Royal Never Give Up. Nevertheless, the representative team from Korea still deserves praise. Except for Faker, none of the T1 players had prior experience competing at MSI – a tournament with a format and duration that is quite short compared to the World Championship. Moreover, it featured champions from various regions. Therefore, the competitiveness and intensity were not any less than that of the World Championship, despite having fewer teams participating.
However, for Faker, the defeat at MSI 2022 is quite hard to accept. Since winning the championship with SKT T1 at MSI 2017, international titles have eluded Faker. In fact, at MSI 2019, he was defeated by G2 Esports in both MSI and the World Championship in the same year. Furthermore, appearing in the MSI 2022 finals was the first time since 2017 that Faker came close to such a title.
Additionally, from Spring 2022 until the conclusion of MSI 2022, Faker faced quite a few troubles. After speaking out about the issues of game disruption in Korean ranks, targeting LPL players, Faker caused a significant uproar in the Chinese League of Legends community. Subsequently, some players had their accounts banned by Riot on the Korean server, escalating tensions further.
After the MSI 2022 finals, Faker admitted he was “not impressed with any players from Royal Never Give Up,” reigniting fierce debates among LPL fans. Many believe that Faker’s remarks showed a lack of respect for his opponents, and several “Demon King” fans had to debate extensively to “clear his name.”
Recently, Faker has encountered more trouble. Specifically, on a well-known forum in Korea, an antifan of Faker created an entire section solely to discuss him. Notably, since MSI 2022, this section has seen numerous posts attacking Faker with harsh language. The situation has escalated to the point where T1 had to mobilize their legal team to address it immediately. T1’s lawyer stated that they forced the perpetrator to delete all posts attacking Faker and may even file a lawsuit.
It is clear that Faker is still facing challenges as the LCK Summer 2022 approaches. However, with his experience, the “Demon King” knows how to maintain focus and best prepare for the upcoming Summer Split. Not only is it about qualifying for the World Championship 2022, but for Faker, he certainly desires nothing more than the championship title.