Recently, especially since the beginning of the 2022 season, Faker has frequently appeared in the media, particularly within the Chinese League of Legends community. Earlier this year, he faced issues related to the player Qingtian disrupting the game. Later, at MSI 2022, he was also suspected of looking down on the players from Royal Never Give Up. Just recently, Faker made a rather sensitive comment regarding the IQ of gamers, causing an uproar within the Chinese LoL community.
For the LPL community, Faker’s statements may not necessarily carry negative implications as many overly passionate fans or Faker’s detractors might interpret, but these remarks have indeed caused the “Demon King” to lose quite a bit of favor. In the past, not only in the LCK, Faker was also a highly beloved name in the Chinese LoL community. He was even “canonized” alongside TheShy, SofM, Uzi, and MadLife, all of whom have contributed significantly to LoL in general and LPL in particular.
But now, Faker could very well become a topic that fans here debate fiercely. In this context, another LCK player, regarded as a rival and once expected to be the new icon of LCK after Faker – ShowMaker “accidentally gains advantage”.
Accordingly, in a recent statement, ShowMaker highly praised the young player Dream – the rookie of Victory Five, who has been temporarily used to replace Rookie, who had to return to Korea due to family matters and has not been able to come back. Dream has had excellent performances, helping V5 achieve a perfect record from the start of Summer 2022 until now.
Furthermore, ShowMaker’s DWG KIA in the 2021 season lost in 2 finals against 2 representatives from LPL: RNG (MSI 2021) and EDward Gaming (World Championship 2021). However, ShowMaker made no controversial statements at all. He simply praised both opponents and acknowledged that both teams had won deservedly. According to the LPL community, ShowMaker has a strong personality, always showing confidence, but he is more restrained in his statements after losses.
Of course, the “icon” that Faker has built throughout his career will not easily collapse. But it can be seen that, at present, ShowMaker is having success in building his image in the eyes of foreign fans, specifically the LPL. As for Faker, he might also want to avoid as much controversy as possible, to focus on the titles he has always sought.