Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok is known around the esports world as one of the most iconic players in history, and poses one of the biggest challenges to any team who face off against him in competitive League of Legends. In fact, one LCK organization hasn’t even managed to pick up a single win against him over the last two years.
Dplus KIA has been one of the best teams in Korea ever since they entered the LCK as DAMWON Gaming in 2019. Although they are relatively newer, they have some of the best players in the world on their roster, including stars like jungler Kim “Canyon” Geon-bu, mid laner Heo “ShowMaker” Su, and AD carry phenom Kim “Deft” Hyuk-kyu.
The organization hasn’t, however, been able to beat Faker and T1 since they met in the 2021 World Championship in Iceland, where DK took down T1 in four games during the tournament semifinals. Since then, T1 has beaten DK in every series they’ve faced each other in—but only when Faker has been on stage with them.
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When Faker was forced to step away from the starting lineup due to injury, DK was able to take down T1 during the fifth week of the regular season. Granted, Faker’s absence was the start of T1’s tragic losing streak that almost cost them a playoff spot, but now that the GOAT has returned to steer the ship, the rest of the roster is clicking again.
Faker even continued this streak against DK after their most-recent series in the 2023 LCK Summer Playoffs, as he helped guide his younger teammates to a 3-1 series victory against this veteran squad.
In a couple of those games, T1 struggled to get out of the gate with a weak early game, but managed to fight back with perfect map movement, macro play, and teamfighting that might not have been possible without Faker’s experience and shotcalling. In the meantime, DK must now wait for the LCK’s regional finals, where they’ll have one more chance to earn a spot at Worlds this year.
Published: Aug 9, 2023 11:46 am