Lee “Closer” Ju-hyeon, the 16-year-old mid lane trainee for legendary League of Legends team T1, channeled his inner Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok yesterday when he pulled off an exquisite Irelia outplay in an almost impossible situation.
After a miserable laning phase with just one kill and seven deaths to his name, Closer found himself head-to-head with an outrageously fed Qiyana. Within seconds, he dropped down to double-digit health and was almost wiped from the face of the map. He could have easily succumbed to death, but in season three Faker-esque fashion, he bounced back.
He dodged and swerved away from Qiyana, stunning her in her place. She quickly chased after him, slivering his health down even further. But Closer flashed, narrowly avoiding death, before whittling her down to an even playing field. He continued his onslaught, while lifestealing from the minions, and took her out for the kill.
It ended in seconds, but against all the odds, Closer came out on top.
To add insult to injury, he then sidestepped an incoming enemy Senna ultimate and strutted off seemingly unscathed from the brawl of epic proportions that he just endured.
Closer is now destined to sit on T1’s bench for the 2020 LCK season. But despite being overshadowed by Faker, he looks like a promising prospect for the future of the South Korean league.
Who knows? In two years, it could be Closer’s turn to compete on the world stage.
