In the professional League of Legends scene today, there are numerous players whose names are intertwined with the history of the game and serve as a testament to the allure of the tournament. One notable example is Faker. He is not only the technical and spiritual leader for T1 but also the number one “view-attracting” name in LCK and other tournaments that T1 participates in. Especially, despite being at an older age, Faker still demonstrates his importance in T1’s victories. The period from the middle of the LCK Summer 2023 up to the fourth World Championship title in the career of the “Demon King” is the clearest evidence for the saying “the older the ginger, the spicier it gets.”
However, according to Doinb – the 2019 World Champion who spoke recently, he believes that some players, despite having impressive fame and achievements, have not been able to meet performance expectations, even lagging behind younger players. Additionally, the former Mid Laner of FunPlus Phoenix mentioned that many players from LPL and LCK will retire next year. Regions like LCK and LPL will cut costs and force teams to prioritize training young talents over retaining veteran players who command high salaries but contribute less.
Doinb’s assessment is somewhat reasonable, as many professional League of Legends players worldwide are still competing despite being older, while younger players have not had opportunities to showcase their skills or do not meet the requirements to develop further. In fact, some regions like LCS or PCS are seen as places for “retirement” where teams pay high salaries, but many players here fall into the “veteran” category, such as Jensen, Jankos, or Impact.
On the other hand, very few young players today can meet the demands of top teams. Cases like the 2k2 stars of T1 or Peyz from Gen.G are very rare. Even within T1, Poby showed how he struggled when he replaced Faker last Summer.
Changes are extremely necessary for League of Legends today, especially as the golden age of veteran players has long passed. However, on the other hand, teams also need to meet the expertise factor, and in reality, not every young player is suitable to compete in high-level environments.