When was the last time T1 played without Faker? A look at T1’s history with mid lane subs

For over 11 years, Faker has been the League of Legends player T1 has consistently relied on to be the pillar of its starting lineup. This week, though, Faker was moved out of the starting lineup as a consequence of an injury he suffered to his right arm.

Faker said on Sunday, July 2 that he has been experiencing pain in his arm since last month and has been receiving treatment for his condition. On July 5, T1 kicked off the second round robin of the 2023 LCK Summer Split, and Faker was not present for the match. The Faker-less match for T1 was the first of its kind in over two years, and without their star in the lineup, the team was promptly disposed of by eighth-place DRX. 

There have only been a few occasions in recorded human history where Faker has been subbed out of T1’s lineup for a game, and almost every time, the move has been done in the name of strategy, not necessity. But with Faker’s physical condition at the top of T1’s priority list, the star was forced to take a backseat, with Challenger-level substitute Poby taking up the mid lane mantle for the team. 

T1 will sit in limbo for at least the next two weeks, according to an update from head coach (and Faker’s former teammate) Bengi. Until then, let’s take a look back at T1’s history as it relates to the substitutes who have played in place of Faker in the mid lane. 

When was the last time Faker was subbed out of T1’s lineup?

The T1 mid lane position is absolutely unrivaled when it comes to job security, especially in recent years. 

Faker’s absence in the T1 lineup this week marked the first time the team played without the League GOAT in over two years. The last time Faker did not start a game for T1 was March 6, 2021, when the team started Clozer in the mid lane. In that two-game series vs. KT Rolster, Clozer played Zoe in both games, which was a common theme for the sub during his two-season tenure with T1. During his two years with T1, Clozer played Zoe in 13 games, winning 10 of those, according to League stats site Games of Legends.

Overall, Clozer posted a 24-12 record in individual games played with T1, although his skills were not used in any international tournaments. 

All subs to play mid lane for T1

Apart from Clozer (and most recently Poby), only three other players have ever played in the mid lane for SKT/T1 during the Faker era. Gori, who currently plays for Golden Guardians, played one game in 2019, while Pirean, who once played for Phoenix1 in the LCS, played 19 games for SKT during a down year for the franchise in 2018. 

Perhaps the most noteworthy sub to ever play mid for T1, though, was Easyhoon, who played a pivotal role in the team’s 2015 World Championship-winning season. That year, Easyhoon played 42 individual games for SKT, putting up a record of 34-8 in those games. 

Easyhoon was used most frequently as an alternative to Faker due to their differences in both champion pool and playstyle. While Faker was much more flashy, using champions like LeBlanc, Ezreal, and Ryze to put the team on his back, Easyhoon was more adept with control mages such as Cassiopeia, Xerath, and AP Lulu, all of which gave SKT more options to feed their resources into. When Easyhoon was in the lineup, you could usually bank on another SKT player shouldering the load, although it was still well within his skillset to carry SKT to victory. 

Following his time with SKT, Easyhoon finished out his brief, four-year career with Vici Gaming in China’s LPL, and the SKT/T1 franchise has not had as effective of a platoon at the mid lane position since. 

When will Faker return to the T1 lineup?

With Faker’s status up in the air right now, it’s possible that Poby could be receiving an increased workload moving forward. Faker’s timetable for a return currently sits at two weeks, meaning he’ll be most likely to come back in time for T1’s July 21 match against Hanwha Life Esports. 

Related: Why is Faker taking a break from professional LoL?

In those two weeks, though, Faker will likely miss at least three more matches, including a crucial one this Saturday, July 8, against the undefeated Gen.G.