Yahoo News League of Legends: Faker reveals arm injury affecting his performance
Faker's performance was brought into question after T1 surprisingly lost a game to Nongshim RedForce, one of the LCK's lowest-ranked teams.
League of Legends G.O.A.T. Lee “Faker” Sang Hyeok of T1 recently revealed in a press conference that he is dealing with an arm injury affecting his performance.
On Sunday (2 July), after T1’s 2-1 win against Nongshim RedForce at the 2023 LoL Champions Korea (LCK) Summer Split, head coach Bae "Bengi" Seong-woong and Faker addressed T1’s performance and Faker’s condition during the post-match press conference.
In a report by Inven Global, Faker mentioned that “there are external issues that affected [his] performance” when someone from the media asked what was working and what wasn’t for T1 this season.
“My arm condition isn’t that good. My performance wasn’t really good since our match against OK BRION due to the arm issue,” said Faker.
T1's midlaner also assured the public that he is doing his best to get well and that he’s “currently in therapy” but that he couldn't share more details about it yet.
The question about Faker's performance arose after T1 lost a game to Nongshim RedForce, one of the LCK's lowest-ranked teams.
In the said match, opposing mid laner An "FIESTA" Hyeon-seo stepped up with Azir, putting himself and his team well ahead of Faker in teamfights.
Faker confirmed that he was undergoing treatment for his arm injury, and was due for a more comprehensive diagnosis at the hospital soon, according to a T1 official.
Many fans are also concerned that Faker would potentially be benched. Faker spent a significant amount of time on the bench in 2021, dissatisfied with his performance, while Lee "Clozer" Ju-hyeon stepped in.
With his health now a concern, this might be on the table once again.
When asked if T1 would want to “give some time off to Faker for treatment”, Bengi said that they were already discussing this with Faker and the rest of the team, but would need to talk more before they could share any further details.
The team is currently at third place with a 6-2 standing in the LCK at the time of writing. In comparison, T1 only lost four matches in the last two splits.
Due to their slow start, they have been overtaken by an undefeated Gen.G and one-loss KT Rolster.
Faker, who has been playing for a bit more than a decade, is the most decorated pro player in LoL history, with ten LCK titles, two Mid-Season Invitational championships and three World Championship titles.
This split, Faker has a 3.7 KDA, which puts him in the middle of the league in that category. If he keeps that KDA, it will be his lowest since the 2021 LCK Summer split.
Faker is far from the first League player to have problems with his arms and wrists.
In 2021, DAMWON mid laner Heo “Showmaker” Su was treated for a wrist injury.
Back in 2019, a shoulder injury contributed to the retirement of then-RNG AD carry Jian "Uzi" Zi-Hao, who is back in the LPL this season with EDward Gaming.
Anna is a freelance writer and photographer. She is a gamer who loves RPGs and platformers, and is a League of Legends geek. She's also a food enthusiast who loves a good cup of black coffee.
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