Fan Suggests Faker to “Burial” This Champion
Perhaps even the most optimistic fans in the APAC region could not have imagined that CFO could push T1 – the reigning World Championship team that defeated HLE 3-0 to reach MSI – to a Game 5. But CFO did just that. Alongside the outstanding performance of players from Chinese Taipei, it cannot be denied that the members of T1 also played out of sync in Games 2, 3, and the mid-stage of Game 4. Notably, one champion of Faker is being heavily criticized by fans, which is Ryze.
According to comments surrounding T1’s recent match, numerous fans suggested that Faker should “bury” Ryze even though this is his signature champion. One comment noted: “Sometimes Faker should realize that Ryze is no longer suitable for him. Faker is still very skilled, but let the memories with Ryze remain in the past.” Another fan was more straightforward: “Perhaps Faker should completely abandon this champion. Even in the current meta, Ryze may not function well, while in team fights, Ryze’s ultimate is of no use except for wrapping heads or creating encirclements. If the team is losing, it’s useless anyway.”
For those who haven’t followed the match, Faker’s Ryze was thoroughly defeated from the laning phase. HongQ’s Aurora did not die even once, while Ryze’s KDA in Faker’s hands was 1/7/1.
Faker did not have a great match but shone at the right moment
In reality, the match against CFO cannot be considered a good performance for Faker personally. Even in Game 4 using Sylas, despite having many advantages, there was at least one situation where Faker put the entire team in trouble by attempting to solo kill HongQ. Although Faker later performed well to help T1 secure a victory, perhaps some haste and a bit of overconfidence caused the “Demon King” to struggle.
T1’s journey at MSI 2025 has just begun, but signs of difficulty have already emerged. Nevertheless, perhaps the match against BLG will truly be heavy enough to assess the determination of Faker and his teammates in this year’s tournament.