Faker could avoid mandatory military service in Korea

The 19th Asian Games Hangzhou is in full swing, and the League of Legends tournament is nearing its end; as expected, the South Korean team is just one BO3 away from being crowned event champions.

While this is to be expected, the most important part of this news is that if South Korea wins the Asian Games in LoL, if Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok wins the gold medal, his country’s government will exempt him from compulsory military service. Moreover, it is not only Faker but all the champion team members.

This is great news for the player, his team (T1), and the fans since, as we know, this compulsory military service policy makes players stay away from the game for two years. As a result, this may result in an imminent retirement from the competitive scene.

Faker is about to win a BO3 to avoid Korea’s military service

If you follow esports since its inception, this has been one of the main issues regarding Asian players, especially LCK (South Korea) superstars. The fact that it is a compulsory military service makes players spend two years concentrated in their country’s army, which leads to cut careers and, in some cases, retirement.

Likewise, speaking specifically of Faker, during the last few years, we have heard different rumors that indicate that the player is not obliged to fulfill it, for the simple fact that he did not finish his minimum studies when he joined SKT. However, others claim that he does have to fulfill this mandatory military service.

One way or another, the fact remains that all professional gamers (traditional sports and esports) can avoid compulsory military service if they honor their country in a major competition in the world. While it is true that the League of Legends scene does not have a World Cup of countries, the Asian Games does and is undoubtedly the perfect stage to achieve this.

Ruler is another player who can get out of the military service

There is no doubt that the format of the LoL Asian Games is controversial, as it is being played in a version with seven fewer patches than the one that will be played at Worlds 2023. In addition, the series are BO3, and, thanks to the format, China and Korea faced each other before the Grand Final.

On September 28, the semifinal between China and Korea was played, where the Koreans came out victorious with an excellent score of 2-0. As a result, Choi “Zeus” Woo-je, Seo “Kanavi” Jin-hyeok, Faker, Jeong “Chovy” Ji-hoon, Park “Ruler” Jae-hyuk, and Ryu “Keria” Min-seok are one step away from winning the tournament and, above all, extending their career in the LoL competitive scene as long as they want.

This Grand Final will be played between South Korea and Chinese Taipei in the next few hours, i.e., today, September 29, 2023 at 13:00 CEST.

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