In recent seasons, after ShowMaker’s performance declined with Dplus KIA, there has been more talk about the rivalry between Faker and Chovy. While Chovy is also a talented Mid Laner, glory has always eluded him. It wasn’t until the 2022 LCK Summer that he broke this curse to win the LCK championship with Gen.G. This was also Chovy’s first title in his career. However, since then, Chovy and Gen.G have dominated the domestic league.
However, for Faker, he seems to have stepped back and become a true playmaker for T1. Previously, many League of Legends fans speculated that Faker was aging and his impact in matches was no longer as significant as before. But all doubts were shattered when Faker got injured during the recent LCK Summer 2023. As soon as the captain was absent, T1 faced one of the worst losing streaks in their history. Everything only stabilized when Faker returned, leading his teammates straight to the LCK Summer 2023 finals.
However, for LCK fans in particular and League of Legends viewers in general, it is clear that at this moment, Faker struggles to compare with Chovy in terms of skill and champion pool. According to an argument presented during the LCK Summer 2023 finals, Gen.G hardly banned any Mid Lane champions throughout all four games. Only in game 3 (K’Sante) and game 4 (Corki) did Gen.G make bans targeting Faker’s position. Meanwhile, on the flip side, regardless of whether T1 was on the blue or red side, they always had at least one ban aimed at Chovy.
According to some comments, it is clear that Faker’s champion pool is no longer wide enough to make opponents overly cautious. Of course, many renowned players still assert that understanding and countering Faker’s champion pool remains extremely challenging. However, when the “Demon King” plays as a playmaker, focus tends to shift more toward Faker’s teammates. Because as long as Faker’s teammates are unable to support him in the early game, countering Faker later becomes quite straightforward. Especially when the champions Faker has recently used, like Jayce or Azir, if the skill combos are not executed well or he lacks sufficient items, they become nearly ineffective.
Many viewers have to feel sorrowful when the champion pool and skill, which were once two crucial factors defining Faker’s playstyle, have now become core issues causing him to fall short compared to his younger counterparts. But it must also be acknowledged that Faker remains a reliable leader. And surely, at the upcoming 2023 World Championship, T1’s opponents must be genuinely cautious about what Faker can achieve for his team.