On the night of January 4th to the early morning of January 5th (Vietnam time), Riot announced significant changes for the new season in the professional League of Legends scene. As mentioned, it is the format change of MSI that aims to elevate the tournament’s importance for both teams and audiences. The reason is that despite being launched for over 8 years, MSI has always been viewed as a “second-tier” international tournament. The quick format and rapid pace of the tournament have made MSI less appealing, especially when teams from LCK and LPL have continuously dominated, with only G2 Esports in 2019 being an exception.
Besides the changes in the format of international tournaments, Riot also made an important announcement: the Hall of Fame for League of Legends will officially be launched. This is seen as the Hall of Fame for professional League of Legends, honoring individuals and teams who have made significant contributions to the global League of Legends scene. This Hall of Fame will be established by reputable names with high expertise to evaluate and vote. Of course, the criteria will still be based on the impact, achievements… that the team or player has accomplished.
According to many opinions, the first name that must be in Riot’s Hall of Fame for League of Legends is Faker. The player from T1 is not only a legend of T1 or LCK but of League of Legends and Esports as a whole. In 2023, he was the only Esports player to be ranked by The Times alongside global superstars like Lionel Messi and Shohei Ohtani in the list of the most influential figures worldwide.
Additionally, Faker is currently the oldest player in LCK and holds the most titles in League of Legends history. Therefore, it is completely understandable that Faker is mentioned when the Hall of Fame is announced.
Moreover, Riot also “benefits” from Faker as every match of T1 draws tremendous viewership. For instance, T1’s three dominating matches against Weibo Gaming garnered a total of 6,402,760 views at peak time (not counting platforms in China).
Of course, there is no doubt that Faker will definitely have a spot in Riot’s Hall of Fame. But many fans are also looking forward to seeing which other names alongside Faker are deserving enough to step into the “Hall of Fame” of League of Legends, as many players have devoted their best to professional League of Legends and have been etched in the minds of fans as well as the history of League of Legends.