The 2013 World Championship was the first time the Chinese and Korean regions faced off in the biggest international tournament in the League of Legends scene. In that match, SKT T1 decisively defeated Royal HZ (the predecessor of Royal Never Give Up) with a staggering score of 3-0, claiming the championship convincingly. Since then, SKT T1 has established its dominant empire in major tournaments both domestically and internationally. As for Faker, his name needs no introduction; after that championship, everything else became history.
However, during his flourishing years, Faker’s career also had its lows. One of those moments was perhaps when he and his teammates from the Korean national team participated in the 2018 Asian Games. Although League of Legends was only featured as a demonstration sport at that time, the final match was a grand showdown between China and Korea, attracting a lot of attention. Back then, the Korean team was an All-Star roster, while China had a mini RNG with only Xiye from Team WE as the “foreign player”.
The lineup of the Korean team at the 2018 Asian Games.
Despite this, Faker was defeated by Xiye in the final match. However, this did not lead to an upward trajectory in Xiye’s career. On the contrary, after a period of outstanding performance, Xiye lost his form and struggled to maintain his position as a starter.
This year, veteran mid laner Xiye decided to return to his old team WE. Perhaps the player born in 1997 wants to contribute a little of his strength to the old squad, but WE in the Spring Split 2022 did not meet expectations. They were eliminated right after the group stage, winning only 4 matches. Notably, Xiye was not even the first choice, as Shanks became the preferred option.
As for T1, they had the most perfect Spring Split in the team’s history, as well as in LCK history and the League of Legends scene. Moreover, the entire T1 roster made it to the shortlist of KeSPA for the Korean team representing the upcoming Asian Games 2022.
Since the 2018 Asian Games, a long time has passed with many changes, and both players have experienced ups and downs in their careers. But perhaps now, “defeating Faker at the 2018 Asian Games” will just be a fond memory for Xiye.