LoL fans discuss why every pro player must face criticism—even Faker

Over the last decade, Faker has built his legacy as League of Legends‘ greatest player ever. He has won multiple championships during his career, but over the last few years, he has faced the most criticism in his career after multiple failed campaigns.

There are some Faker supporters who are condemning the hefty toxicity and criticism, stating the 28-year-old is dealing with a ton of mental struggles that can actually be seen on-stage. After a recent loss against Gen.G, for example, the superstar mid laner could be seen headbutting the wall inside the player booth until he had to be physically restrained by his teammates.

Faker has been known as the best player in the world and the GOAT of League for quite some time, and as a result, expectations have been built for him and for his forever organization, T1. These expectations can, however, bring plenty of toxicity when things don’t go their way, with fans even going out of their way to send advertisement trucks to the team’s headquarters in Seoul.

Even still, there are a large portion of League fans who believe some Faker supporters are too soft because they have not been exposed to the true nature of sports fandoms. To them, criticism is valid for any player in the scene, even the greatest in the world.

“Almost all legends have bad days where they got ridiculed,” one user on the League subreddit said. “Dirk [Nowitzki] was called washed before he won a chip, Kobe Bryant ‘couldn’t win without Shaq,’ [and] the list goes on. I do think Faker needs to rest or find a good sports psychologist to reset his mental, but being the GOAT does not exempt him from his bad performances, hence the memes and criticisms.”

The toxicity is unfortunate, but it’s also something most players must build a thick skin for, especially when compared to traditional sports athletes who are berated on social media and real life on a constant basis.

Like it or not, criticism and dealing with hate is a part of being so great. For however many people will wish for your success, an equal amount are cheering for your downfall.