Why Faker won the Esports Player of the Year award

In 2023, after seven long years of failed attempts, Faker finally won Worlds again with T1. This was a monumental achievement, even though it was facilitated by several spectacular upsets that made the Grand Final a very easy match for his team.

Faker is known for his prowess and is widely regarded as the best player in the history of the game. At 27 years old, he’s easily the most accomplished player in this esport.

Why Faker won the award

In games like Dota 2, someone who’s won The International twice is held in high respect and considered a rare talent. Faker won the League of Legends World Championship four times, which is unbelievably difficult. More than 120 million people play LoL and tens of thousands of them are very good at it.

For someone to win the world championship so many times, it takes unbelievable discipline. Especially when the 4^th success comes after seven years of failures. Many players quit if they have just a few bad seasons. Or they retire after one or two successful ones, not wanting to fully dedicate themselves to the game anymore.

[#Worlds2023 Finals vs. WBG]

Worlds에서의 4번째 우승컵을 들어올립니다!🏆
함께 울고 웃으며 뜨거운 응원을 보내주신 팬 여러분 감사합니다.

Our fourth WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP!🏆
Thank you for being part of our journey, your continued support led us here.#T1WIN #T1Fighting… pic.twitter.com/F3eC7UIhY2

— T1 LoL (@T1LoL) November 19, 2023

Faker started his career a decade ago and is still hungry to accomplish great things. In terms of his perseverance, he is without a doubt a role model to many. South Koreans in general have an outstanding work ethic. But he beats even his greatest peers.

Some say that Faker did not deserve to win the Player of the Year award. And while it is true that other nominees were just as deserving, the esports industry had to mark Faker’s success in the most public way possible. It’s not just in his interest. It’s also in esports’ interest to promote the best players and create amazing storylines that will be followed by fans for years to come.

One of the reasons why Faker won the award might have something to do with how much he contributes to his team’s success. The injury he suffered this year clearly proved that without him, T1 are absolutely nothing more than an average LCK competitor.

As soon as he returned, T1 went from struggling to even qualify for the playoffs of LCK Summer to finishing 2^nd in the split. This demonstrated that Faker’s impact is enormous. So when his team wins the world championship, it’s as though he had won the trophy almost on his own.

Header: Riot Games