In the first part of this series, we introduced the opening list of the highest peak performances in the history of professional League of Legends. And now, let’s move on to the next names.
Interestingly, all the names on this list have played for SKT/T1 – the greatest team in the history of League of Legends. Even after being away from the top for nearly three seasons, no team has yet replicated the feat of SKT’s three World Championship titles and two MSI championships in the past.
With such an extensive collection of titles, it’s not hard to understand why SKT boasts so many players hailed as the G.O.A.T in League of Legends. And now, let’s dive into the next part of this series:
Faker – World Championship 2017
Surprisingly, the season considered the most painful failure for both Faker and SKT at the World Championship is viewed as his divine season. Compared to the two previous championship seasons in 2015 and 2016, Faker performed well, but his displays were somewhat overshadowed by an exceptionally talented SKT roster, featuring stars like Marin, Duke, Bengi, Bang, and Wolf…
For that reason, Faker in 2017 was the more extraordinary version of himself. The SKT of the 2017 World Championship was no longer as formidable as before; they bid farewell to the Jungle God Bengi, said goodbye to top laner Duke, and for those who remained, Blank faced significant questions about his form, while new players like Huni and Peanut had not yet met expectations, and Wolf was dealing with health issues, while Bang seemed to have lost his motivation to compete.
That year, Faker truly carried an unstable SKT on his shoulders, and the pinnacle of excellence was his extraordinary performance with Galio in the mid lane during the iconic Bo5 match against Royal Never Give Up.
Despite facing an Uzi in fiery form and a playstyle that was highly protective of the carries, Faker’s Galio shone exceptionally in all five games, once again sending Uzi home in endless regret. While SKT’s outcome in the finals against Samsung Galaxy was painfully disappointing, experts unanimously acknowledged that Faker truly “single-handedly carried the world” that season, though it was unfortunate that one small swallow does not make a spring, and his tears of defeat became the most haunting moment for fans.
Marin – World Championship 2015
Marin only maintained peak performance for one season in 2015, when he was 24 years old – an age considered quite old for a professional player. However, the player born in 1991 only needed that one year to define the concept of perfection for a top laner.
The impact Marin imposed following his performance at the 2015 World Championship continues to resonate even today. Five years after he helped SKT reclaim the throne, the upper lane has undergone numerous adjustments by Riot, introducing a series of new metas while trying to limit the versatility of the Teleport spell – Marin’s “second ultimate” – to the maximum.
The 2015 World Championship witnessed the meta of carry top laners, and Marin literally carried SKT. While jungle resources were often allocated to the mid lane, where Faker was not at his best, and in the bot lane, Bang and Wolf were never highly regarded for their lane-winning capabilities, Marin did it all. He was the team’s primary damage dealer using aggressive champions like Renekton, Fiora, and Rumble, and also called the team’s engages.
League of Legends has seen numerous top laners reach world-class levels like TheShy, Khan, and Smeb… but no one has dared to confidently assert they would outplay an “old man” like Marin in a professional tournament, let alone achieve greatness like the former SKT captain.
Mata – World Championship 2014
Mata’s situation is somewhat different from the aforementioned cases, as the glory he achieved was not while playing for SKT. Instead, Mata was a crucial component of the Samsung Galaxy White roster – one of the names that helped “oust” SKT from the slot for that year’s World Championship.
Entering the tournament, Samsung White was seen as the “back-up team” of Samsung Blue. The Samsung Galaxy esports organization even reshuffled the rosters of these two sister teams to gather the individuals they deemed outstanding into SSW, while SSB was considered the “leftover”.
However, the “number 2” team from Samsung ended up shocking the world. They defeated their sister team SSB with a clean 3-0 in the semifinals and became world champions with an astonishing record: losing only 2 games. (Only SKT in 2015 surpassed this record, winning the championship while losing just 1 game).
The 2014 World Championship also witnessed an unprecedented event in history: the MVP title went to a support player – SSW Mata. Among the stars of SSW, Mata stood out significantly by delivering incredible performances despite playing in the support position. His ability to control the map, influence vision, and use protective champions like Janna perfectly made him the king of support – a title that even Madlife could not reach.
Faker – World Championship 2013
Before Doinb broke the record for the most champions used in a World Championship, this milestone belonged to Faker, with 7 champions used at the 2013 World Championship, at just 17 years old. A rookie debuting at the World Championship, daring to bring out Riven – a champion whose strength entirely depends on the player – to “intimidate” other top stars.
But he didn’t just “intimidate”; he delivered. Faker obliterated every opponent in his first professional season, reaching the highest pinnacle of glory at just 17 years of age. Faker at the 2013 World Championship was a mid laner with skills and strategic vision that were “beyond the imagination and understanding” of experts.
And simply put, the 17-year-old Faker was unstoppable.
