In what was dubbed the “Super Classic” of League of Legends globally and particularly in South Korea, during the second round of the LCK Spring 2022 group stage, T1 secured a straightforward 2-0 victory over DWG KIA. On a day where ShowMaker had a lackluster performance, only Canyon managed to maintain some form, making it no surprise that Faker and his teammates achieved their 11th consecutive win.
However, the events surrounding the match have caught the attention of the League of Legends community. Specifically, right as Game 2 started, Faker encountered some issues with his headset. However, he did not receive timely support from the referees. It was only when Faker attempted to stop the game and accidentally pressed the Flash button that the LCK officials intervened. Furthermore, the situation where DK’s coach Daeny was accused by the audience of trying to pressure the officials to continue the match despite Faker’s unresolved issues also enraged T1 fans and particularly supporters of the “Demon King”.
Recently, the LCK officials released an official statement regarding the incident. Specifically, according to LCK, the headsets used by players all have noise-cancellation features. And these headsets usually only pick up sound at a certain volume level, and sometimes the audio can be intermittent. For this reason, the referees initially did not respond to Faker’s request for assistance. It was only after realizing that there was indeed an issue with the equipment that the referees decided to temporarily pause the match to address it and ultimately decided to reset Game 2.
The LCK officials also apologized to Faker, the T1 team, and the viewers watching the match. However, when asked to release the audio recording regarding the headset issue due to suspicions that DK was informed about Faker’s Flash being down without any verification, the LCK officials also evaded the question and stated, “it’s very difficult to provide such materials.” This has further enraged viewers, who feel the LCK officials have disrespected Faker, T1, and the audience.
Anyway, the match has ended, and perhaps this announcement from the LCK officials marks the conclusion of this incident. However, it can be said that the LCK officials, DK, and even coach Daeny have lost some points in the eyes of fans. The incident may not be serious, but it has overshadowed a great match with unnecessary drama.