FAKER [EP. 1] : L'ascension d'un génie de League of Legends.

Our story begins in South Korea. We’re in 2011, and we're attending a tournament where professional StarCraft players compete. StarCraft is an RTS that is almost a religion in South Korea. It's the most popular game in a country that's way ahead of the rest of the world in esports. Even then, the Koreans were broadcasting some StarCraft games on television. Anyway, here is the name of the tournament so I don't have to say the whole thing. A tournament in which a player named LittleBoy participates. LittleBoy is obviously an excellent StarCraft player however he’s about to lose his

match. In fact, when you look at his Liquipedia profile, you quickly realize that LittleBoy hasn't earned much on StarCraft. $613. And you’re not allowed to judge him, especially because it's good for us. Because LittleBoy questions himself. StarCraft is immensely popular in South Korea. In 2011, there were already K-pop groups dancing before tournament finals. But StarCraft's popularity doesn't seem to be able to slow the growth of a rival in South Korea. StarCraft is an RTS, a real-time strategy game. It's the best of its kind, but of course there are other games that are similar. Warcraft III

is one of them, based on the same principle but you replace tanks with orcs. It's a very good game, which above all allows for the creation of mods, and in particular one called: Dota which confronts five players against five others, with each team basically having to destroy the opponent’s base. And in the United States, there are two Americans: Brandon Beck and Marc Merrill. These two guys play a lot of Dota, to the point where they even decide to organize a tournament at the University of South Carolina for students only. The thing is, their goal is

not only to see good players play. Their ambitions are slightly higher. The tournament serves as a pretext for recruiting associates for a small company created by our Americans, who attempt to develop their own version of Dota, in their own universe, with their own dedicated engine. A game whose complicated development would never have led us to believe that it would become one of the most popular games in the world: League of Legends, which I’ll often call simply LoL. As soon as the game servers opened in South Korea, it took the peninsula by storm in PC Bangs,

the ultra-popular cybercafés where young Koreans come to ease off the pressure of their studies. LoL is downloaded everywhere, played everywhere. Little by little, the game becomes a phenomenon, and LittleBoy doesn’t miss it. In fact, he quickly becomes a professional player. A second career for him which, like the first one, is actually rather short. Despite playing in Korea's best league, the Champions, he only stayed for six months, from late 2011 to mid-2012. Well, that's too bad for him, except that he senses an opportunity. He may not be the best as a player, but he feels he

has potential as a coach. And he's not the only one to think so. He's recruited by an organization that also started out on StarCraft, created by one of the best players in the history of the game, and that doesn't want to miss out on League of Legends’ success. This is the arrival of SK Telecom T1, which from now on we'll simply call T1. T1 have real ambitions for LoL, and they consider LittleBoy as a necessary part to achieve them. By the way, LittleBoy, as you can see here, changed his nickname to kkOma when he joined

LoL, which may sound familiar to some of you. And for those of you who don't know him, and because I've spent a little too much time telling you about his professional difficulties, I have to redress the balance. This guy in 2012 doesn't know it yet, but he's about to become the greatest coach in League of Legends history. No less. Okay so, at the end of 2012, T1 is going to play in South Korea. And the official Korean league, at that time, the Champions, allows organizations to have two rosters: sister teams. The task of building these

rosters falls to kkOma, who takes two whole months to recruit players and ends up with two teams with very different profiles. The first team is SKT T1 1 made up of players whose level is known and who are expected to compete immediately for the first place in Korea's first league. Its little sister, SKT T1 2, is built as an academic team. A team with a lot of potential, which kkOma wants to take the time to train, and from which we don't immediately expect good results, This second team is a bit of a catch-all. and from

which we don't immediately expect good results. There’s a lot of talent, but above all, a lot of different profiles. We have Impact, who has just changed his role on the rift. Bengi, a newcomer, who only played in Korea’s secondary league. PoohManDu, who just came back from his military service. Piglet, a headstrong player, who had to play secretly in PC Bangs because his parents wouldn't let him. In short, we have a bit of everything, and therefore, the team can be a bit worrying. But kkOma knows what he's doing. He tested these four players for two months

so he knows their potential. By the way, he hasn't just relied on the data from his tests, but also on his intuition. Bengi, for example, failed these tests. KkOma decided to choose him despite that because he senses something. He feels that this team can work, and for a very specific reason. KkOma knows he's found a gem. Because there's one player I haven't mentioned yet, the only member of the five whom kkOma didn't even bother to test, considering he was already in a category of his own. A player who isn't a professional, far from it, at

this stage, he's only a high school student. He's a guy about whom we know nearly nothing, and who at the time is still unaware of his growing fame in the industry, who never played in the professional scene, but who is nevertheless at the top of the Korean ladder. Number two at the end of 2012, number one at the beginning of 2013, a player who plays online under the username of GoJeonPa and who will later be known as: Back in time. Here he is, our Faker, very young at the time, simply called Lee Sang-hyeok. He was

born in 1996 in Seoul and spent his entire childhood in Gangseo, a district at the periphery of the South Korean capital, right here. His parents quickly divorced, and while little is known about the boy's childhood, we do know that his mother is absent from his life and that he is at the expense of his grandparents and his father, who is often absent. He works a lot, and to kill boredom, the young Korean plays. He got his first PC at just eight years old. A PlayStation too, on which he plays Dragon Ball Z: Budokai with friends.

In short, a modest background, and you'll see that Faker will keep all his life, at least until the release date of this video, his taste for simple things, but we'll talk about that again later. In short, the kid's growing up, and although he's shy and reserved, that doesn't stop him from enjoying the teenager activities of his age. He plays Tekken, Warcraft, and not surprisingly, he spends time in PC Bangs, where, in late 2011, the League of Legends phenomenon is spreading very fast. Some of his friends tell him about LoL, and, intrigued, he gives it a

try. So I’m telling you, it sounds like a cliché from a manga protagonist, I can't help it, but Faker is immediately very strong, it just comes naturally. At first, he only played normal games, unranked, under the username GoJeonPa. He wins so much that he soon can't find any games. His Elo is so high that he has to wait too long to play. So he decides to try ranked games, and as a good main character, he doesn’t stay in the same rank for long, except for the highest. It takes him just a few months to reach

the top of the Korean ladder. I told you about it earlier, second at the end of 2012 and first at the beginning of 2013, with a 70% winrate, 2500 Elo. He's too strong. And his progression is so meteoric that everyone starts asking the question: "Who is this guy?" He's so good that people imagine that GoJeonPa must be a pro player's smurf account. No one suspects at the time that he's just a high school student. And that's where kkOma steps in. He too, like everyone else, has heard about the mechanical genius that dominates the Korean rankings.

And he's obviously interested. Faker is a high school student, okay, but having a slightly different profile seems to be what T1 2 is all about anyway. Whatever the background of the player, kkOma wants talent. And the kid's obviously brimming with it. So he contacts this talent, and offers him the chance to leave high school and join as a professional one of the country's biggest organizations. That said, we're in South Korea, in a society of academic and professional excellence. And when everyone around you is planning stable, serious careers for their children in respectable companies, and someone

approaches you to tell you that they're going to take your son out of high school to throw him into the world of competition and video games, obviously that's at least a bit hard to accept. Still... First: If Faker got a PC at the age of eight, it's because his father was already open to the world of video games. Second: Esport is already accepted in Korea, despite the fact that it doesn't yet have the image of one of the country's most popular sports. I was talking about televised esport matches, that’s saying something. Third and last: Faker

is literally the best player on the Korean ladder on a game that is skyrocketing in a country that has been professionalizing esports for years. So the father thinks it over. He takes a whole month because it's obviously not a simple decision, but he understands and doesn't want to hold his son back. So he accepts, and simply tells his son: "Don't lose, and work hard." Okay, that's where it starts. Let’s summarize: T1 has two teams, T1 1, whose current level is expected to be very high, and T1 2, whose potential could be very high. That said,

fans are not only counting on T1 2's potential. In fact, people are asking a lot of questions. Faker is a talent like we've perhaps never seen in Korea, but he's also very young, inexperienced and surrounded by players with profiles that are, to say the least, uncommon. So nobody really knows what's going to happen with this second team, all we can do is watch these guys play. In Korea, at the beginning of 2013, the first league is called Champions. And since T1 didn't play in the first league last year, their two teams have to qualify through

a tournament that hosts over 120 other teams, of which only three can advance to the first league. Honestly, there is a bit of everything in that competition, few teams have sponsors, and for T1 1 and T1 2, the two rosters of an organization for which the Champions seem to be an evidence, it's almost a formality. The real first step, just after, is their first match in the Champions, the league of the best players. That's when things start for real. Spring split 2013 is here, and our two teams will be playing in the group stage. By

the way, before we look at our first matches, I'd like to briefly explain the concept of LoL to those of you who don't know it at all. The others can go to this timecode. Okay, first of all, LoL looks like this. All the tracking shots are from me having fun with the editor. I'm addicted to that in every game I present. That's why all these champions seem to have no notion of movements, I'm not supposed to film them from this angle. Well, LoL is a complex game and a 10-hour video wouldn't be enough to explain

it all, so this is just to give you the basics to understand this video. The game confronts two teams of five players against each other who move around with the mouse and can cast attacks that are specific to their champion. We play on this map. The goal for the blue team is to destroy the red Nexus, and for the red team to destroy the blue Nexus. To get to the Nexus, there are three main roads called lanes: the toplane, the midlane and the botlane, on which you'll find inhibitors and turrets. On at least one lane,

the inhibitor and opposing turrets must be destroyed for our team to gain access to the opposing Nexus. Except, of course, that the opposing team is also defending and attacking. As I told you, there are five players, and each of them has a role that we'll split between the lanes. First, one player per lane makes three, a toplaner, a midlaner and a botlaner, also called ADC. The fourth player, known as the support, assists the botlaner, forming a duo. The fifth player, the jungler, will play between the lanes, in what's known as the jungle, where he has

to fulfill various objectives, basically killing monsters and helping teammates. Well, we're not going too deep, but LoL's complexity is such that we haven't yet explored all the possibilities. Especially as the developers continue to add items and champions to the hundreds that already exist. The game is constantly evolving and I'm just becoming aware of the beauty of its complexity. Welcome everybody to OGN Champions Spring, I am DoA, with me as always is MonteCristo. We’ve had so many great games already, and today is gonna be no exception guys because in match number one we have SK Telecom

T1 Team 2, they’re going up against CJ Entus Blaze. The most untested teams are the two newest teams which are SK Telecom T1 T2 “Judgement Day” and ahq Korea. Now some of these players on these teams we’ve seen in Champions before but not in this form. These guys are just totally new. Yeah, we have no idea what to expect from these guys… T1 2's very first match isn't against some random team. We're still in the group stage before the final tournament bracket, and they will have to face CJ Entus Blaze. It may not ring a

bell, but this is a team that, in 2013, probably has the best Korean midlaner: Ambition. A midlaner, the same role as Faker. You can imagine the hype and pressure our young player is feeling. He's just left school and he's on stage in front of a crowd to play a broadcasted match against one of the country's best teams, having to face South Korea's best midlaner. How's Faker supposed to keep his cool? Except that the match starts Faker doesn't just keep his cool, he destroys the opposing team. Wow, wow Ambition! What? Faker just executes Ambition in that

midlane! A double kill for Faker! What a statement by the soloQ hero. Oh, Faker! It’s another beautiful spear. Well, I think the message has got through and everyone can face the evidence: Faker is too strong, not only in ranked, but also at professional level. Second confirmation: Faker is a mechanical genius, really, without the slightest doubt. Mechanically, he's above the competition. Third, and more surprising confirmation: Faker isn't just mechanically superior, he's ahead of the game too, and his very first kill on Ambition is proof of that. Back to six minutes in the game. Faker and Ambition

face each other in the midlane, the former kills the latter and the casters don't understand what's going on. Faker just executes Ambition in that midlane! I think there was actually probably a problem with the computer right there… I wonder man… I have never seen Ambition die like that in lane ever- There is no pause I mean... No pause... So you’d have to assume that it’s not a technical issue... He just didn’t react for whatever reason… If the casters think there was a bug, it's because Faker used a window that in 2013 no one had ever

thought to use. Ambition, who plays Kha'Zix, goes from level five to level six, which triggers his character's evolution, which has the effect of immobilizing him for a split second. Except that Faker was waiting for this moment and threw his attack in the split second during which he saw his opponent level up. Today, it's common to take advantage of that window, but it's only common because Faker did it first. To tell you just how shaken Ambition was, he announced some time later that he switched roles from midlane to jungle, explaining that he no longer felt able

to compete against the new midlane talents. He's probably not just talking about Faker. Still, we suspect that the 1v1 hurt him. This tells you everything you need to know about Faker. He's ahead everywhere, he plays faster, he thinks faster, he optimizes everything that can be optimized. In short, this first match marks the start of a new era, a League of Legends thought up by Faker. That said. I can't just talk about Faker. His stats are phenomenal for a rookie, but Bengi, the jungler, right next to Faker, complements him perfectly. He understands him like no one

else understands the prodigy. And in the team, it's not Faker who has the best KDA, and therefore the best kills, deaths and assists stats, but Piglet. I just want you to understand that Faker isn't alone. He's surrounded by atypical profiles, okay, but carefully tested and selected by kkOma, who seem to have put together a roster capable of taking the rest of the world by storm. For this Spring split, T1 2 finish third. This is important for two reasons. The first is that this is a new team, T1 2's potential is phenomenal, and the fact that

they didn't win doesn't change a thing. That's just the beginning. The second is that T1 1, T1's main team, finish 5-8th, behind the rookie team. And I can only imagine T1 1's frustration, it must be hard, but above all, I can imagine kkOma's jubilation as he takes full measure of the success of his gamble. His prodigy is much stronger than expected, his team is much stronger than expected, and things are just getting started. Second big step of the year: Summer split 2013. T1 2 plays the group stage and go through without losing a single game.

In the playoffs, in the quarter-finals, they win against JIN AIR Falcons 3-0, a team in which, almost cruelly, there are three former T1 1 players. In the semi-finals, they defeat MVP Ozone 3-1, the team who had eliminated them in the Spring split and who had taken first place. Nice revenge. So these atypical players from the SK Telecom academic team are already in the finals. It's completely crazy. They haven't slowed down since they arrived, and they're still sustaining their momentum. In the grand finals of the Summer split, in front of this audience, our rookie team plays

against KT B, one of the sister teams of another big Korean structure. And out of three games to win this Korean Summer 2013 finals, KT B already take two games. That's good. Except it's not enough, because on the other side it's T1 and these six guys don't seem to have the slightest desire to slow down and not the slightest feeling at this moment that they're about to lose. That's Faker. And that's T1. So they win. And Faker takes down Ryu! Faker gets that kill. Double kill for Faker already! Faker! WHAT WAS THAT? Faker with the

huge play! I can’t believe I just saw that! I can’t believe that happened! That was one of the most... ...amazing plays I have ever seen in League of Legends. What do you do? That’s what the KT Rolster… That’s what Mafa is asking himself right there… Faker is invincible… He knows it’s over. Champions Summer is over! SK Telecom... coming back after being two down! There goes the Nexus! There’s kkOma the coach in the booth! SK Telecom ecstatic! Champions of Korea... Aren't our rookies handsome? Faker was already cute. And when you look at him at the time,

you remember that he's really just a teenager who's been pulled out of high school and who can’t hold back his smile at what's happening to him. That said, I don't think anyone is as affected at that moment as kkOma, who for long seconds is unable to speak, drowning in tears. As he would later say, this moment is the highlight of his career, and those who know his career understand the importance of these words. The young people he has alongside him, while I have no doubt he expected great things from them, have exceeded his wildest hopes.

He has found gems, built them into a real team and took the peninsula by storm after only a few months. And Faker is very strong. So much stronger than you'd expect from a rookie, even a prodigy. In fact, against KT B, he pulls off one of the most beautiful moves of his career. This kill on Ryu that goes around the world. Ryu's face becomes a meme and Faker begins to be famous. But again, Faker's not alone. For this season, the league usually awards an MVP title to each best player per position among all the players

in the league. Of the five positions, T1 take four. At this stage, I think we can talk about domination. This is already the best Korean team in League of Legends. Now it remains to be seen what they can do against the rest of the world. When I first arrived, it was a bit uncomfortable. But time has passed, and because I don't return home often, this place has become a home. We got close very quickly. Living with people I didn't know, and getting to know them is nice. After living here for a while it feels like

home, just with lots of people. As I'm the Support, I'm a bit like the mother of the team. Not at all. What? No way. He's the kind of leader who can contain us. He takes good care of us, but he swears a lot, I don't know why. I never swear! That's a lie. He swears. I bought a plant to calm my stress. Actually, I bought two. And it helped me. This is the first time I'm leaving the country for vacation. Vacation? It's still vacation! Vacation? Pull yourself together! Even if we're going to play Worlds, it's

the first time I'm taking the plane. So I really want to go there and see Los Angeles with my own eyes. We are now in September 2013 in the United States. We're attending the beginning of the 2013 Worlds, the League of Legends World Championships. And our boys are there. Just imagine for them, welcomed as stars 10,000 kilometers from home to compete in a multi-million dollar tournament in the United States. Look at them and imagine. One year earlier, Piglet had just sneaked into the local PC Bang, hoping not to get caught by his parents. One year

earlier, PoohManDu was in uniform in a barracks, a young Korean soldier counting the days until the end of his military service. One year earlier, Faker was in a classroom, surrounded by other kids who had no idea that their desk-mate would become what he would become. These guys shouldn't be where they are, not this fast anyway. And yet, in late 2013, in the United States, at the biggest tournament of the year of a game that's taking the rest of the world by storm, here they are, our guys. And here's our Faker. Already considered as the best

player in the world, surrounded by players who seem to complement him perfectly and who form a team with him that's about to do exactly what you imagine it's about to do. Because if you've been paying even the slightest attention to what I've been telling you for the last five minutes, you know exactly what's going to happen. And it's not the pressure of expectations, not the pressure of money, not the pressure of the audience, not the pressure of competing against the best talents from the best teams of every continent in the world that's going to change

anything. Rookies or not, atypical or not, the prophecy is underway. And the viewers, like the players, have only one thing to do: watch T1 take their first crown. Double kill for Faker! They’re onto the Nexus turrets. SK Telecom T1… will advance to face Najin Black Sword, in the semifinals! They are trying to get out! This is the final for SK Telecom T1! They will be representing Korea! SK Telecom are just rolling through! The Nexus turrets are potentially gonna go down! This could be a 20-minute game for SK Telecom! They will be the season 3 World

Champions here, in the Staples Center! And it was the most impressive victory at the end. Coming to this game saying, you know… "The Champions Cup would be lonely at home if we didn’t bring back another one." So they find the Summoners Cup and it will be placed in the SKT house, right next to their win from Korea. Ladies and gentleman the hype train is real. SK Telecom have won two trophies in the space of being together for six months. Yeah, this is almost a new team cannot even say "almost". Sometimes when you have talent come

together, everything just clicks. That's it, they've just arrived, and they're already world champions. I know we went pretty fast for these Worlds, despite their importance, but that's intentional. In 2013, that's really how things feel. Guys who've only just arrived, who you've barely got to know, and they're already at the top of the game. It's dazzling, crazy, absurd, incredible. Use whatever adjectives you like. What's certain is that 2013 is the start of something very special. Faker is the best player in the world, T1 is the best team in the world and this seems to be just

the beginning. That's T1 in 2013, and everyone knows it when they look at these little ones, and you know it too, the future will be even brighter. A team of extremely talented rookies, given even more time to build their game, obviously they're going to continue dominating. So T1 returns to South Korea. They are welcomed like stars. The pride of a country that pays even more attention to a game that's already huge at home and that admires T1, the team that brought to Korea its first Worlds trophy, with stars in its eyes and only one thing

to look forward to: the next Worlds in 2014. T1 didn't qualify. They didn't qualify for the 2014 Worlds. They didn't make it, they were eliminated before. What happened? Yet the year was starting well. In early 2014, SKT T1 kept its two teams but changed their names. T1 1 became T1 S and T1 2 became T1 K. SK Telecom T1's coaches and leaders obviously had no desire to change the roster that had just brought them and the entire country the coveted Worlds trophy. So they kept the same recipe. The only thing that changed was PoohManDu's state

of health, which seemed to be deteriorating, and for some time, he handed over to another support: Casper. The thing was, Casper wasn't good enough for the organization, so PoohManDu came back in tough conditions. But it was all right at first. In the Winter split, T1 K became Korean champion once again. In the Spring split, things started to look a bit different, as they finished 5-8th. A bit disappointing of course, but it wasn't that bad as every team has its ups and downs. Especially since at the 2014 All-Star, an international competition held in Paris right after,

T1 won again, so everything was still going well. And then Summer split, 5-8th again. A bit weird. Okay, but it's still not that bad. In 2014, T1 were already Korean champions, and although two more titles would have been great, it wasn't a big deal compared to the Worlds which is by far the most important tournament of the year. If a team like T1 exists, it's not to win at home, but to take the trophy and the title of best team in the world. They had a terrifying roster with a League of Legends prodigy like we

had never seen before. Victory was in their blood, and winning Worlds was more important than anything else. So those two 5-8th places at the Champions, everyone forgot about them and moved on to the Worlds, which they didn't qualify for. First tie-breaker match, they got destroyed. Last chance match, they got destroyed. That's how 2014 ended. Okay, now put yourself in the shoes of SK Telecom T1 leaders. The 2014 season has just ended and you have two teams: T1 K who in South Korea finished first then 5-8th then 5-8th. T1 S who, in the same country, finished

9-15th, then 9-16th then 4th. The trend is in T1 S’ favor, T1's secondary team, which is an organization sponsored by a huge Korean telephone company that brought Korea its first Worlds trophy and from which nothing but excellence is now expected, and which finds itself with two rather average teams, full, that said, of individual potentials. And then it is announced that the rules for 2015 are changing. In Korea, organizations are now only allowed to have one roster, so one team. I guess you can already understand more or less what's going to happen. T1's leaders are going

to choose players from their two rosters to form a team that lives up to the challenge. What this means is that it's the end of our rookie roster. I know, it’s sad, but we have to say goodbye to a lot of people. So we're going to list our new roster by picking from both rosters by role. In the toplane, it's MaRin, former T1 S player. In the jungle, it's Bengi, former T1 K player, so we have at least one. In the botlane, it's Bang, former T1 S player and in support it's Wolf, former T1 S

player. You can already see the trend. In the midlane, it's a bit special because T1 have two excellent profiles in its rosters. The first is, of course Faker. At this stage he’s still perhaps the best player in the world, ultra-mechanical, always one step ahead, so choosing Faker seems obvious. The second is Easyhoon, former T1 S player. And SKT will play with both players, one game for Faker and one game for Easyhoon. Which means that despite being on the same team, they're rivals since they both obviously want to be the starting midlaner. This is not uncommon

in LoL, but it doesn't make the situation any less special, especially with players as good as these two. The choice may seem obvious to you, who probably only know Faker, but Easyhoon is a genius. He's intellectual, analytical, highly efficient and has an incredibly high winrate, even higher than Faker's. By the way, we can use the words of Amazing, a European player who faced both Koreans at the 2015 Worlds and who explains that when T1 want to play a controlled, methodical style, they're better with Easyhoon and that for all other playstyles, they're better with Faker. And

here we have a real rivalry that is not only very interesting to watch, but also very beneficial for T1. In esport as elsewhere, competition is a driving force that brings T1 back to where they belong: the first place. 2015 marks the return of success. And SK Telecom, are going to be able to take this game as they take down the second Nexus turret. And Bang is going to win Champions Summer for his team SK Telecom! 3-0 in the Spring season, 3-0 in the Summer season, this is the year of SKT! KOO Tigers are falling, SKT

will be your first ever two-time World Champions! T1 are once again the machines they were in 2013, and at the end of the year, they look even more dominant than before. At the end of 2015, just two years after their first trophy and just one year after the debacle of 2014, T1 are World Champions once again. Several things: First, the 2015 Worlds is an opportunity to see the only touch of extravagance in Faker's career, so watch out and enjoy. Second, it's confirmed, at this stage, we're already talking about the best team of all time. And

I know we're going fast, five minutes ago we saw him as a kid in front of his father's PC and he's already the GOAT, but I've got lots more interesting things to tell you later. So for now, just take my word for it. T1, at that time, are already the best team ever. And to understand the success of this new roster, we can look at the team dynamics with three particular relationships. The first one is Faker and Bengi’s, former T1 K teammates. You understand that LoL is a team game that relies on much more than

the individual talent of each player. To make it work, there has to be chemistry within the group. There has to be something that goes beyond statistics between the five members of the team first, but also between some of them even more strongly. Usually, the closer players are on the rift, the more they have to get along. Faker, who plays in the midlane, and Bengi, the jungler, are right next to each other. And the young Korean genius is assisted by a man who understands him better than anyone. The duo is terrifying. The second relationship in the

same vein is that of Bang and Wolf, who play bot and support. And for them, on paper, the chemistry is even more important as they play roles designed to support each other. The support is there, quite literally, to support the botlaner. This is one of the reasons why teams don't hesitate to recruit these two roles together, and why Bang and Wolf were both chosen from T1 S to join this 2015 roster. They're excellent together and you can see it in the results. Finally, the third relationship is that of Faker and Easyhoon, whose rivalry seems to

boost the level of T1. T1 always have two exceptional players ready to play, which not only allows them to vary their playstyle, but also makes it statistically more likely that they'll have a player in good form on the D-day. Why is our team the only one that can use a sub and win? I think there are a lot of reasons, but... well, mhm… maybe just because I'm good? So that’s it, everything seems perfect. The thing is, the situation doesn't necessarily please the two concerned. For Faker, because he wants to play every game: he's a competitor,

a winner, the prodigy of the country. And it's hard to watch someone else play alongside players he considers to be his teammates. For Easyhoon, it's even worse. He wants to play every match as well and he wants to win as well. The thing is, Faker is loved by the fans. He plays unique characters, he’s flashy, he's ultra mechanical. He is the most outstanding rookie in history. He brought T1 and South Korea their first World Championship title. Of course people love him. And when Easyhoon plays in the midlane in 2015 with this new roster, the only

thing people remember is that Faker isn't playing. Easyhoon, despite his talent and his unmatched efficiency, is in the way. And it hurts. And he's not the only one to suffer from Faker's status. MaRin, T1's toplaner, also plays a very important role in the team's success in 2015. In fact, to tell you the truth, during these Worlds, he was probably even the best player of the team. The thing is, it's been an exhausting year, but more importantly, nobody sees MaRin for what he really is. To give you some context, MaRin is surely the second-best Korean toplaner

of 2015, second only to Smeb. But Smeb is the star of his team. Where MaRin in T1 is just a teammate of Faker. How can you stay calm when you're the team's best player in the most important tournament of the year, in one of the world's most popular games, and when the spotlight is always on Faker? Everyone’s always talking about Faker, who's becoming a real star in his country, and we'll talk about that later. What's certain is that, while the whole world seems to want to play alongside Faker, nobody takes the time to consider the

fact that succeeding in playing with him also means taking a back seat. So MaRin and Easyhoon, at the end of 2015, leave the team of their own free will, leaving everyone, even me, with a little bitter taste in the mouth. But you can't hate Faker for that. He didn't ask for it, and you'll see later that his status in South Korea, and in the rest of the world, doesn't go to his head at all. He's not happy about his teammates' invisibilization. And the truth is, for T1, it doesn't change things that much: They still have

Bang and Wolf on the botlane, Faker on the midlane, and then of course, their coach kkOma, the personification of the expression "an iron fist in a velvet glove". I said it earlier, but this is an important game. We can't lose. It's a game we have to win at all costs. Accept the pressure and win. I didn't say it earlier, but our goal isn't the quarterfinals. It's to win everything. It's a game we absolutely can't lose. It's just a game we have to win. It doesn't matter if you lose the momentum in early. You're okay with

that, aren't you? - I've played against Rumble a lot, so... - You just have to not die. - Okay. - Do you understand? I don't want to see any tp. - I'm gonna kill him. - What? - I'm gonna kill him. - Okay. You've been working hard. Hey, how did you lose momentum when the enemy had tp and equal CS? In early. That's... What? - What? What? You have to do better, right? - Okay. Hey, I can hear you from here. You did everything you could. Your call back... your tp was good and you made

calls. You did your best. You did well. You need to do better. If I keep saying you're doing well, it'll be over. No velvet glove, actually. I don't know if I should love him or fear him, a bit of both I guess. Anyway, it seems to work for T1 because they keep the core of their team and Korea is full of talent. So the Korean giant recruits. And with their new roster, they keep up their momentum. As if the departure of MaRin and Easyhoon didn’t have the slightest impact. In fact, I think the scariest thing

is that T1 are looking even stronger. SK Telecom have overcome every challenge. They are the undisputed best team in the world! The SKT reign continues! They win their third World Championship! They're the first team in LoL history to win back-to-back World Championships. In fact, on the day this video comes out, they're the only team to have ever done so. I know that watching T1 win Worlds over and over again almost makes it look easy, but it doesn't work like that. It's rather the huge difficulty of winning the Worlds finals that makes us realize the level

of this Korean team. On LoL, we're talking about big organizations that invest tens of millions of dollars every year in salaries, programs, infrastructures, teams of coaches and assistants. The game is becoming very popular, and organizations are following its growth. They imitate sports organizations by spending astronomical amounts. All this, in the hope of winning even one final on their own continent. Just imagine how much is required for a tournament that involves the whole world. That's Worlds. And T1 have just won two in a row, three in total, in just four years. I can't repeat it enough,

but what's happening before our eyes in 2016 doesn't make sense. T1 is the best team in the world and the best team ever. Faker is the best player in the world and the best player of all time. By the way, I've been talking about Faker for a while now without really telling you about Faker, and I promise you that we'll be addressing the question of who this guy is on and off the rift very soon. But before I do, I have to tell you about 2017. It's a very important year in Faker’s history and therefore

in T1’s. And I have to tell you about it before we take a few minutes away from the competition. 2017 begins as 2016 started, with T1 at the top. In the team, they keep more or less the same players: Faker in the midlane, Bang and Wolf in the botlane and kkOma at the helm. They replace the toplaner with Huni, a Korean back from the USA and in the jungle, finally, they have to say goodbye to Bengi. In 2016, we really witnessed a loss of momentum for the jungler. The evolution of the game and the constant

arrival of new talents leave less room for Faker's right-hand man. He is replaced by Peanut, a younger, more aggressive player, who completes a team that already looked barely beatable in 2016 and now gets even better with an aggressive jungler and a toplaner who seems to be able to carry while showing creativity. Well, T1 is still T1, they were strong in 2016, now they're even stronger in 2017. And the year begins, and everything happens the way it is supposed to: T1 win. In the LCK Spring split, they only lose two games and win the split with

impressive individual stats. This means that when you rank the best Korean players by role according to KDA, and at the top of each role you find all T1 players, the five at the top of the five roles, this means that things are going well. By the way, the tournament opening is Faker on a throne, no need to say more. Korea likes to make a fuss about their pro players. Still, the throne speaks for itself. Okay, T1 winning LCK Spring immediately qualifies them for the 2017 MSI, the first big international competition of the year, which our

team, obviously and unsurprisingly, wins hands down. It's just too easy. Except something's not quite right. After T1 just defeated G2 in the MSI grand finals, here's what Faker had to say: "Even though I’m glad that we’re winning the series, I think the series went much more difficult than we anticipated. The game actually didn’t go as we prepared, so, there is still a lot of regrets about this series." It's strange because they've just won here. Knowing South Korea, you might imagine that this is just the modesty of the peninsula's inhabitants. Still, it's strange, and it turns

out that Faker's feelings and intuition were probably justified. Because in the LCK Summer, T1 finish second, which isn't so worrying you might say, but it's obvious at this stage, and no longer just for Faker, that the team is struggling. First Peanut in the jungle, despite keeping up his aggressiveness, has difficulty fitting in and participating in the team's synergy. And where everyone else seems to be improving, the jungler seems to struggle and stagnate. In a team that expects its players to constantly improve, it's important to be very strong, but the goal is also to be consistent.

And Peanut is struggling. The same goes for Huni who plays toplane. A Korean player who, before his arrival at T1, played in Europe and North America, and who seems to have difficulty shining in Asia like he did on other continents, which are far from being on the same level as Huni's native country. Being strong in Europe is good, but it's absolutely not enough preparation for the rigor and discipline required for the controlled playstyle of South Korean teams. Added to this the fact that T1's staff is maybe a little too overzealous. Meaning that their usual method

of rotating players by position which worked so well in 2015 with Faker and Easyhoon is hanging on by a thread in 2017. When a team is struggling collectively, and the staff keeps on rotating the players, you can imagine that it's even harder for them to understand what they're supposed to be doing to fuel the group's synergy. Understand that at this moment, in 2017, T1 probably has one of the most skilled rosters of its history. Faker is still considered the best player in the world and every position is filled by a phenomenal collection of talent. But

LoL is more than that, more than the simple addition of the players' talent. This game is a combination of personalities, an interweaving of ideas and synergies that creates the growth of talents we were talking about earlier, and for which we aim to multiply talents rather than adding them. Yet, in 2017, they only stacked talents together, and despite that, they believed in it. First, because kkOma is here and holding the reins more tightly than ever. I'm cheating a little, I’m getting a head start, but I'll show you a clip from the 2017 Worlds. "If Shen had

his ult, Blank shouldn't have engaged bottom either. Yet it happened. Because of you. We ban Shen, okay? But it's your level that matters, not the picks. If it happens again, we ban him. It's a shame, but we ban Shen. Everything stopped because of this. I won't mention it again." So Huni leaves, he plays and he comes back. "During that fight on the midlane, you didn't need to use your ult, Huni. No matter what happens on the other lanes, I think you're underperforming. Huni, there's a big difference between not being nervous and not being focused. It's

something you have to overcome. Even if the other lanes fall behind, don't try to make a play. Take a step back. Don't try to make a play. I'm begging you. Faker: If you’re not sure, don't try anything. You don't have to prove anything today. If you have to, save it for the finals. You’re dragging Blank down with you if you don't play well. Keep that in mind. We have good fights on the toplane no matter what, focus on your laning. Don't think about anything else." Well, you can see that they're not objecting. But no matter

what kkOma says, the team continues to believe in victory despite the difficulties, because Faker is there, his teammates know who he is, they're probably more fans of him than you'll ever be, aware that they're playing with the best player in the world, the best player in the history of the game, the first to ever bring a Worlds trophy to Korea. He's a legend and everyone knows it. He's so good that even if things don't seem perfect, for Faker’s teammates, things don't seem desperate enough not to have the midlaner solve all the problems. He's always winning

and there's no reason it shouldn't continue. So T1 arrive at Worlds without changing their methods. Everything goes well in the group stage. T1 come out as the leader of their group in 5-1. In the quarter-finals, the team starts struggling, as they defeat Misfits Gaming 3-2, a European team. When you know the level gap between the two continents, it's already worrying. And when you take a closer look at the match, it's even more worrying. Misfits was ahead. In fact, they were up 2-1, just one game away from eliminating the reigning world champions, who made one mistake

after another, Huni in particular. Peanut too, who made enough mistakes to be replaced during the match. If T1 wins, it's just because of talent, there's no cohesion and they've struggled against a young, inexperienced and European team. Semi-final, same scenario. Victory 3 games to 2 against RNG, that’s when we saw kkOma reprimand Huni. RNG were also leading 2-1. Once again, a lot of mistakes, and collectively the game was not going very well. That said, Huni and Peanut played incredibly well in the last game. They're making up for it and they're happy about it. Finally comes the

grand finals. Despite the fact that I'm telling you the team is struggling, T1 reach the grand finals of the Worlds. This is where everything is decided, and where the turning point in our story takes place. T1 already know their opponents: Samsung Galaxy very well. First, because it's another Korean team they've played a bunch of times and, more importantly, because their most important confrontation took place just one year earlier in the Worlds finals, in 2016. And even though T1 won the trophy with a different roster, Samsung Galaxy kept the exact same roster as in 2016. The

same five players who have already experienced defeat at the most important moment of their careers. And I can tell you it had a serious impact on the team. After the Worlds, I was mentally exhausted. I felt completely empty. I wasn't sleeping, I was barely eating, my health deteriorated. The current SKT team has everything I dreamt of as a child. This is SKT. This Korean team also includes Ambition, about whom I've already spoken. You may remember him because when Faker made his debut, he was the best midlaner at the time, and he announced a role swap

shortly after facing the prodigy. Well, he's still here, more determined than ever to win his first international title. Especially as this is probably his last chance. In 2017 he's 26, even on LoL that's old. He's a newly married man with a long career who we know may already retire with his head high. I don't know if it's fate or destiny, but I've got a second chance. Last year we did our best, but this time I want to seize the opportunity... and take my revenge. In Samsung, there's also a player who's going to play a very

important role in the finals, and even in Faker's history, believe me we'll be seeing him again. Here's what Ruler says about the 2017 finals, years after, during a trailer we'll talk about again: At the time, SKT was playing at a completely different level. Faker was the wall to overcome to reach the top. You can feel that T1 and Faker have troubled many people. You can feel the weight of this final. And when the match finally begins... Samsung Galaxy only gave up one turret this entire game! And absolutely dominate SK Telecom! A complete domination! The turrets

fall! And the Nexus in front of their eyes as well! And Samsung Galaxy are one game away from greatness! Things are going very bad for T1. The first game is even terrible, very close to being a perfect game. In other words, T1 have zero kill, zero dragon and only one turret taken. As you can imagine, this kind of performance tends to destroy a team's mindset, and you don’t need to imagine it, because the second game confirms it. T1 are lost, and Samsung Galaxy are far stronger as a team. Their playstyle is controlled, simple to execute

and highly effective. What this means is that T1 have only one chance left: The third game, which they must win at all costs to pick themselves up. And that's where the show begins. They’re going for Crown! And another kill in the midlane! There’s nothing Crown can possibly do right there. But the barrier! He baits Bang with it and gets a free ticket out! SK Telecom are starting to scramble. You can feel the pressure, you can feel the tension, in the elimination game here. Samsung are holding strong. They’ve actually knocked down Huni! This was a one

for one. Here it’s closer, T1's roster is finally awake, they have a chance. The thing is, they still make mistakes. At 12:30, Blank gets caught for no reason and his team starts losing its composure, Faker mispositions himself and dies immediately after. At 13:12, Bang misuses his ulti, saving Ruler's life. Despite T1 having a lead, Samsung Galaxy come back immediately and gain the mental lead. The two teams are tied on the rift, but there’s a psychological advantage for Samsung. The game goes on. It's hard to predict a winner, but the five Samsung Galaxy players prepare something.

A short aside for those unfamiliar with LoL. One of the game's most important abilities is called the flash, a kind of instant teleportation a few meters away. You can use it to attack, to move away, to cross a wall. In short, it's an essential ability available no matter the champion you're playing. So attacking a player who has his flash is always complicated. The thing is, the ability has a five-minute cooldown, which is a long time. And that's where it gets interesting: when the player you're attacking no longer has his flash and the attacker's flash is

almost certain to hit its target. This is what Samsung Galaxy are aiming for to defeat T1 once and for all. And at 34 minutes into the game, during a big Samsung Galaxy push on T1's base, look at the bottom of the screen, Faker does this, he uses his flash. And while this may not seem like a big deal to you, for Samsung Galaxy, believe me, they've noticed it and they want to take advantage of it, because they know that now, they have five minutes to do something, five minutes to take advantage of Faker's disadvantage. SKT

will hold on. This game is insane! SKT just managed to defend! You can barely get closer than this. SK Telecom defend inside their base and are back out onto the map… The smallest of margins. You just heard the announcer say the middle inhibitor is respawning so SKT will not have a nexus be backdoored, but still, being turretless, means if you flinch for five seconds the inhibitor is gone and the Nexus will follow. Ruler's flash is ready. It’s the same here for Crown. SKT will not have an easy time turning around and forcing a fight, but

man they need to win this next teamfight or the game is over. SKT mount the comeback in the series, or does Samsung Galaxy get the comeback in the game to close it out 3-0. They’ve caught Faker! The midlaner is down! Ruler on the Nexus! The upset is complete, as the kills come through! The SKT dynasty is over! All hail the new kings! Samsung Galaxy! Your 2017 World Champions!