Faker is the undisputed best player of all time; we can all agree on that, but when you see the GOAT of League of Legends, watching his team crumble from the sidelines, it gets hard to watch. So, why is this happening? What kind of experiments is T1 running? Or is there more to it?
You might think the Faker getting benched story is just mismanagement from T1’s end, but our favorite player has been hiding some concerning scars. Let’s dissect this in the article below!
Faker’s Hand – The Consequences of Overuse
The hand of the greatest of all time is also bound to be the best. So, when you take this hand, use it daily for god knows how many hours, you’re just calling trouble.
Our hand has muscles, and when overused, muscles give up, and Faker has been an unfortunate victim of this. This announcement came earlier this year when Faker announced he might be taking an unfortunate break heading into LCK due to discomfort in his wrist.
Nothing terrible so far, but this was just the beginning. At the time, T1 had not provided any additional information or context.
How Did T1 Fare?
Now that the king was taking a break, his retainers should still be able to hold the fort down, right? Unfortunately, this was not another Cinderella story. Since Faker’s benching, T1 has struggled to maintain its competitive edge.
T1’s Oner (Jungler) was the first one to call this out to KORIZON esports after a devastating loss to DRX in LCK on July 27, 2023. According to him, with their main shot-caller gone, the players could not maintain their calm, and made several game-throwing errors in the mid to late game.
Eventually, to qualify for a spot in Worlds, Faker had to return from his brief break and tool on the reigns once again to stop that final nail from entering the coffin of T1.
Faker’s Hand Injury Update at Asian Games
With Worlds 2023 getting feistier with each passing second, we’re bound to question whether we’ll be able to see Faker being Faker. Remember, that was a temporary measure, and Faker might not have recovered yet. These injuries are known to end careers.
In a recent interview with CGTN, Faker shared another update regarding his condition. According to him, he has improved to the point where he no longer needs treatment, and his condition won’t affect his gameplay any further.
This signaled a sigh of relief for the fans, who could not bring themselves to go for another round of T1’s performance back in Summer.
How are Things Going for T1?
With Faker back in form, the momentum has been rising for T1 to make their Worlds run possible. Plus, with Gods ft. NewJeans being such a banger, this Worlds might be shaping up to be the best one we’ve seen so far.
With T1 setting an impressive record at the Asian Games, the chances have been looking better than ever, and with the chances of Faker being benched reaching closer than ever to zero, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that Faker is back, and T1 is hungry for blood!
Conclusion
In essence, adversity often brings out the best in champions, and this narrative has only added to Faker’s already illustrious legacy. T1’s recent accomplishments signal not just a return to form but a hunger and ambition to claim their rightful spot atop the League of Legends world. And with Faker at the helm, the horizon looks promising. As the Worlds 2023 unfolds, all eyes will be on Faker and T1, awaiting the magic that only they can bring to the rift.
