For those who have closely followed Faker since his debut and later saw him become the G.O.A.T of the League of Legends scene, it is no surprise that a stat once synonymous with the SKT T1/T1 legend is now showing signs of decline. Specifically, Faker was famously known as the “champion nerf saint” and previously often made some very “unusual” picks even after he had “cemented” his Mid Lane role from the early days of his career. Notably, Faker used to bring Master Yi, Lee Sin, or even Nidalee to the Mid Lane. For those who may not know, Faker’s Nidalee was the champion that helped him secure his first kill, with the “victim” being Ambition.
However, following a career crisis marked by consecutive failures at international tournaments, most notably the World Championship, Faker has ceased to showcase such “champion tests”. With his growing age and experience, Faker is now aware that he needs to play for his teammates before the entire team plays for him. In the past, he was surrounded by top superstars like Impact, Bengi, PoohManDu, and MaRin, but today, he is alongside younger teammates. Currently, anyone on T1 can test champions, but Faker tends to stick with many familiar champions like Azir, Orianna, or slightly more unconventional picks like Neeko and Hwei.
In the LCK Spring 2024, while the younger players are experimenting with new champions, especially Keria, Faker is currently the T1 player with the narrowest champion pool. He has only used 7 champions, with Orianna being the most frequently played (10 times). Excluding the duo of Gumayusi – Keria, Oner is the second player with the fewest champion picks after Faker, yet still has 8 names under his belt. And only Rell is the sole champion that Oner has used more than 5 times.
However, for the LCK audience, this stat is still acceptable. 7 champions will force opponents to study Faker closely, as there are only 5 bans to consider, and sometimes, it is Keria, Zeus, Gumayusi, or even Oner who becomes the main “trigger” for T1. Moreover, Faker’s current role is largely to facilitate gameplay for T1. Therefore, as long as 1 or 2 champions are not banned, it is enough for Faker to create impactful plays.
T1 is preparing to enter the final matches of the LCK Spring 2024 group stage. This will be a phase where players are allowed to experiment more, and it is very likely that Faker will have some unconventional picks ready to prepare mentally and skill-wise for the more important phase ahead.