Lee Sang-hyeok (; born May 7, 1996), better known as Faker, is a South Korean professional League of Legends player. Debuting in 2013, he has played as the mid-laner for T1 (formerly SK Telecom T1) for his entire career. He has won a record 10 League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) titles, two Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) titles, and a record six World Championship titles. Faker is widely regarded as the greatest League of Legends player in history, and has been compared to basketball player Michael Jordan for his esports success.
Originally from Gangseo District, Seoul, Faker established an early reputation as a dominant solo queue player before being signed by SKT in 2013 at the age of 17. In his debut year he won an LCK title and the World Championship. From 2014 to 2017, he won five further LCK titles, two MSI titles, and two additional World Championship titles. From 2018 to 2022, he won four more LCK titles but did not win another major international championship. He won the 2023, 2024 and 2025 World Championships, making him the first player to win three consecutive Worlds titles. He represented the South Korean national team at the 2018, 2022 and 2026 Asian Games, earning a silver and two gold medals respectively.
Faker's individual achievements include accolades such as two World Championship Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards, an MSI MVP award, and two LCK Player of the Year awards. He holds several LCK records, including being the first player to reach 1,000, 2,000, and 3,000 kills, the first to have earned 5,000 assists, and the first to have won 700 games. His accomplishments have earned him recognition as the Best Esports Athlete and PC Player of the Year at The Game Awards, and he was named PC Player of the Decade by the Esports Awards in 2025. He was listed among the Time 100 Most Influential People in Sports in 2026. He was inducted into the ESL Esports Hall of Fame in 2019, and in May 2024, Riot Games announced him as the inaugural inductee for the LoL Esports Hall of Legends.
Faker is a marketing and media figure for esports, appearing in commercials for major brands and on television and talk shows. In 2020, he became a part-owner and executive of T1 Entertainment & Sports. His annual salary, as of 2020, was estimated by the Olympics to be nearly .
Early life Faker was born in Seoul on May 7, 1996. His early years were spent under the care of his grandparents and his father, Lee Kyung-joon, in Gangseo District, Seoul. Described as an introverted child by his father, Faker often challenged himself with Rubik's Cubes and independently learning foreign languages. While he did not play computer games extensively during his youth, he did enjoy playing arcade games such as Tekken and King of Fighters. As time passed, he gradually ventured into the realm of PC gaming, exploring titles such as Maplestory and Warcraft III.
In 2011, when League of Legends made its debut in South Korea, Faker quickly embraced the game and began playing the game's ranked mode after his high matchmaking rating (MMR) significantly increased queue times for unranked matches. While attending Mapo High School (the same school his rival Kim "Deft" Hyuk-kyu attended), Faker asked his father if he could drop out of school to pursue a career in esports. His father granted his request a month later.
Faker is a 39th generation descendant of the Gyeongju Lee clan, and is a distant uncle of former T1 teammate, Lee "Gumayusi" Min-hyeong.
Professional career Rookie season success (2013)
Faker began his professional career in 2013 when he caught the attention of SK Telecom T1 2 (later known as SK Telecom T1 K), a team affiliated with the SK Telecom T1 organization. Originally competing under the alias GoJeonPa, Faker joined the team as their mid laner, subsequently adopting the name Faker as his gaming handle. He made his professional debut on April 6, 2013, at a televised match held in Seoul, South Korea, where he secured a solo kill against the South Korean All-Star mid laner Kang "Ambition" Chan-yong. In his first professional tournament, OGN Champions Korea 2013 Spring, Faker accounted for 31.6% of his team's kills and secured 133 kills over 20 games, positioning himself as the tournament's third highest performer in both categories. The subsequent split, OGN Champions Korea 2013 Summer, SKT T1 2 advanced to the tournament finals, where they faced off against the KT Rolster Bullets. In the match, Faker was suddenly engaged by Yoo "Ryu" Sang-wook from the Bullets, but Faker performed a "startling set of moves" to reverse the situation and kill Ryu. This play is regarded as one of the most famous League of Legends plays of all time; it not only propelled SKT T1 2 to a reverse sweep 3–2 victory over the Bullets but also marked Faker's first major title win. In Fall 2013, SKT T1 2 represented South Korea and the SK Telecom T1 organization at the Season 3 World Championship, commonly referred to as Worlds. Throughout the tournament, they had a record of 15 wins and 3 losses. SKT T1 2 faced off against China's Royal Club in the finals and won in one of the most lopsided finals in League of Legends history at the time.
Five more international titles (2014–2017) Faker won his second domestic title in 2014, as SKT followed their 2013 success by going the entire OGN Champions Winter 2013–2014 season without losing a single game. After losing in the quarterfinals of Champions Spring 2014, the team won All-Star Paris 2014, the precursor to the Mid-Season Invitational (MSI). Competing back again in Champions Summer 2014, while the team qualified for the playoffs, they were eliminated again in the quarterfinals. At the 2014 League of Legends World Championship qualifiers, SKT faced Samsung Galaxy White in a deciding qualifier match. In the match, Faker was the first player to die (known as "giving away First Blood") in three consecutive games, as SKT lost the match and did not qualify for the World Championship. In the following offseason, Riot Games introduced new regulations stating that each organization could only have one team participating in each league, leading to the merger of SK Telecom's two teams, SKT T1 K and SKT T1 S, which became simply known as SK Telecom T1.
During the 2015 offseason, Faker re-signed with SK Telecom, despite receiving offers of nearly from various Chinese companies. Throughout the 2015 LCK season, Faker shared the mid lane position with teammate Lee "Easyhoon" Ji-hoon. Although Faker started the Spring Split season opening match against NaJin e-mFire, he was benched in the second game after losing the first, with Easyhoon taking his place. However, Faker returned for the third game and led his team to victory by securing a pentakill. In the 2015 LCK Spring Split finals, Easyhoon started all three games, resulting in SKT's victory. Despite SKT winning the split, Faker expressed dissatisfaction with the outcome and stated his determination to deliver a better performance than Easyhoon in the future. During the break between splits, SKT participated in the 2015 Mid-Season Invitational, reaching the finals where they faced Edward Gaming in a best-of-five match. Throughout the tournament, Easyhoon played as the team's starting mid laner, but Faker was subbed in for game four after SKT fell behind 1–2. They won game four, and in game five Faker selected the champion LeBlanc, a character with which he had never lost in competitive play. However, EDG appeared to have prepared for this exact situation, picking an unconventional midlane champion in Morgana as a counter to LeBlanc. SKT lost the final game, resulting in a second-place finish. During the 2015 LCK Summer Split, SKT advanced to the finals against KT Rolster. While Easyhoon had been the primary mid laner for most of the split's matches, Faker played all three games of the finals and won, winning his fourth LCK title. By this point in his career, Faker had garnered several nicknames, including the "Unkillable Demon King" and "God".
SKT successfully secured a spot in the 2015 League of Legends World Championship, with Faker solidifying his position as the starting mid laner. Easyhoon only participated in four matches during the tournament, allegedly serving the purpose of "keeping Faker's ego in check", as stated by SKT coaches. Over the course of the tournament, SKT only lost game three of the Finals against KOO Tigers, as the team went on to win their second Worlds title by a score of 3–1. With the win, Faker became one of two players to have ever won the title twice. Following the victory, Faker garnered attention for his unconventional celebration, as he consumed a raw stalk of broccoli on stage.
Faker started the 2016 year by winning the IEM Season X World Championship. This accomplishment was followed by a win in the 2016 LCK Spring Split finals. Due to their performance in the Spring Split, SKT earned a spot in the 2016 Mid-Season Invitational. Despite a moderately balanced group stage performance, with a 6–4 record, SKT ultimately claimed the championship title by sweeping Counter Logic Gaming 3–0 in the finals. Faker's gameplay throughout the tournament, including the second-most kills of any player in the tournament, earned him the MVP title, marking the first time he had been named MVP at either MSI or Worlds. On July 11, 2016, during the 2016 LCK Summer Split Faker became the first player in the history of the LCK to secure 1,000 kills. While SKT fell short of winning their fourth consecutive LCK title after a loss to KT Rolster in the playoffs, their overall performance during the season still earned them a qualification for the 2016 World Championship. In the World Championship, SKT reached the finals against Samsung Galaxy, with SKT winning a close 3–2 series. Faker claimed his third world championship title and was named the MVP of the tournament. By the end of 2016, Faker had gained widespread recognition and had been referred to as "the Michael Jordan of esports".
In the lead-up to the 2017 season, Faker extended his contract with SKT. The contract, as stated by an SKT press release, was hailed as the "best contract in esports history". During the 2017 LCK Spring Split, Faker secured another LCK title, after the team swept KT Rolster with a 3–0 victory in the finals. At the 2017 Mid-Season Invitational, SKT finished atop their group with an 8–2 record. In the finals, they defeated G2 Esports, becoming the first team ever to win two consecutive Mid-Season Invitationals. However, in the subsequent LCK Summer Split, the team often found themselves falling behind early in matches and struggled to maintain their previous form. Despite this, SKT managed to reach the LCK Summer Finals, where they lost to Longzhu Gaming. The team qualified for the 2017 League of Legends World Championship and reached the finals, with Faker being the sole member of SKT to participate in four World Championship finals. Prior to the finals against Samsung Galaxy, Faker ranked second among all mid laners in the tournament for kills and assists. He also held the distinction of having played the highest number of unique champions in the event. SKT lost in the World Championship finals against Samsung Galaxy, with a score of 0–3. This loss marked Faker's first World Championship finals defeat and left him visibly upset, requiring consolation from his teammates to gather himself and shake hands with the Samsung Galaxy players post-game.
International shortcomings (2018–2022)