From across the street, if Sangheyok “Faker” Lee spots and recognizes you, his eyes light up in a brief moment of recognition. He bows as he walks by. It is a gesture as casual as shaking hands for Koreans, but on a New York street — gravel uplifted and sidewalks boarded off for construction — he stands out as particularly human. So warm and so welcoming.
SK Telecom T1’s star mid laner is the most accomplished player in League of Legends history. Much has been written about him and his accolades. If he manages to repeat as Champion at Worlds 2016 and claim the Summoner’s Cup this year, then it will be his third in four years. Here’s some perspective: only three other teams have ever won it all. He would punctuate half of League of Legends history.
And on the Rift, he embodies the relentless pursuit for perfection — this to the tune of a robot’s cadence. The mechanical precision is at times seemingly inhuman, only furthered by his expression behind the monitor. Even when he’s performing his best stunts, he remains stoic — not out of some tough-guy demeanor, but because it’s how he trains. The extraordinary, for him, is routine.
“I’m more focused on the process than the outcome of a play or a game,” he says, “So I’m only satisfied with a game with no mistakes — perfect execution. And if something really cool and awesome happens — [if it’s an accident] and not planned out, then I am not happy with it.”
There are a handful of players or teams who’ve reached the same pinnacle as Faker — the 2014 Samsung Galaxy White squad and this year, ROX’s top laner Kyungho “Smeb” Song come to mind — but none hold a candle to the SKT mid laner’s consistency. Even his long time running mate, jungler Seongung “Bengi” Bae has seen his productivity slip this year. Faker has reportedly turned down exuberant offers from the likes of China to remain loyal to his club and his country.
In spite of the success throughout his career, he has remained humble. He could flip his mouse and keyboard after every kill — the way Korean baseball players do with hits — and it’d still be hard to criticize him. The equipment would land on the ground and through some combination of dumb luck smash the right keys to net him a second kill. And a little part of us would still wonder if it was intentional. He could talk trash or pump his fists. He could signal the death threat, and it would be a right hard to deny him.
But he doesn’t. Faker merely sits on a pedestal higher than every other League of Legends player ever. There is some hope for those who wish to challenge him, though.
He says, “When I first started League of Legends, I actually wasn’t any good, and I struggled a lot. But I started to ponder how I could improve myself in games, and I started applying those thoughts into my play. Moment by moment. And I think my learning curve was kind of high — so, I believe that the attitude to learn, and the capability of learning — those are the keys [to being a champion].”
Faker’s opponent on the other side of the Rift is a nemesis that he has historically dominated. Where the ROX Tigers swiped, he dodged. And where they bit, they found not flesh, but something cold and metallic. If Faker and SKT are robotic and exemplify perfect, rational play, then the Tigers represent passion and aggressive risks.
And if SKT is royalty, then the Tigers are peasantry — their rise stems from an origin of failure and of being misfits. It wasn’t until this iteration came together that they achieved greatness. But even as the Tigers finally rose to claim the LCK Summer Split this year, people were quick to point out they’d done so without beating SKT, who fell to KT Rolster in the round before. They hadn’t actually vanquished their demons. They just stalked the top for long enough and waited until it was empty before they climbed on.
Though that’s not entirely fair to them, either — even if the teams had clashed, ROX was the favorite. But they were the favorite in the Spring Split, too. But this time, something about them feels different. ROX’s ADC, Jong In “PraY” Kim is praised as the most dominant utility ADC in the world. And while he might be slightly removed from the type of conversation that shrouds Faker and teammate, Smeb, he’s still a major player in the Tigers’ success. And off the Rift, he embodies their antics — the cat ears and the singing before a game — better than anyone.
“It is true that we haven’t beaten SKT in a while,” he says, almost indignant, “But we’ve been practicing against each other a lot, and I don’t consider them an unbeatable team for ROX. I am not particularly nervous — this history doesn’t carry much weight for me.”
And, at least for him, perhaps winning it all this year is his destiny. He’s one of the most experienced players at this tournament, and in consecutive years has been eliminated first in the Quarterfinals, then the Semifinals, and last year, the Finals.
He says, “There’s a part of me that strongly believes — because of all those results — that I really need to win the World Championship this year. I didn’t intend it, but the score seems like a growth pattern, and in that context, I have to win.”
He laughs and thinks about where that leads — what happens after he completes it — and says, “Well, I’ve never been eliminated in the Group Stage…”
Yes, the Tigers off the Rift are goofy and fun loving, but it is a familial vibe. Even during a media session, they waited around for everyone to finish before moving back as a team. They’ve come to embrace their personality — and it is something very different from what we are used to seeing from Korean players.
During the filming of Legends Rising, Smeb said it was important for the Tigers to retain their identity as a team that plays the game for fun. He said, “I’m the type to act frivolously within my team. I tell them, ‘I am the best.’ I go around saying things like that. But honestly, my teammates ignore me a lot.”
PraY smiles when asked how he fits in, and says, “I’d describe myself as being similar to Smeb. There used to be [jungler] Hojin, who during the KOO era, set the mood and really helped the atmosphere. Smeb and I are filling that gap.”
It’s not all jokes for them, though. On the Rift, these ROX Tigers have been dominant when at their best. They stumbled a bit throughout the Group Stage — dropping games to both Albus NoX Luna and Counter Logic Gaming — but have since recovered. Mid laner Seohaeng “Kuro” Lee suggested the losses had to do with their condition.
“First of all, yes the other teams did really well, but it’s more than that,” he says. “We didn’t perform our best either, because we were all sick. We also needed to adjust to the time zone, so it’s a combination of our opponents doing really well and us not performing our best.”
Few other teams have looked as decisive as the Tigers when they are clicking, though. Where SKT has demonstrated a remarkable ability to stall and prolong a game, they have not quite showed the same kind of ability to initiate fights. They wait for the other team to stumble or they slowly choke them out.
ROX on the other hand have repeatedly initiated fights even when behind — some to great success — and when they are ahead, they are ruthless. Rookie jungler Wangho “Peanut” Han is expected to feast on SKT’s one potential weak spot, as SKT junglers Blank and Bengi have shared time throughout the World Championship.
The ROX aggression has sometimes backfired, though. They sometimes force plays that aren’t sure to succeed, but it’s that brash level of arrogance that makes them so dynamic on the Rift. They are capable of playing a defensive game when they fall behind — even if it is different in nature from the SKT defense — but are even more adept as the aggressor. Their ability to adapt on the fly will push the defending champs to their limits.
That aggression, combined with their playful nature outside of the game, doesn’t mean they are the less serious of the two teams, though. They’re just different. “Singing a song doesn’t mean we’re not playing the game serious. That’s crap,” PraY says. “The stage is huge. There’s a lot of lighting. You have to loosen up to play effectively. So singing a song is one way to do that.”
“And in game? The ROX Tigers are players who crave the victory the most — more than any other team, so us not playing seriously is real ‘horse crap.’”
This Worlds Semifinal has a much grander feel to it that just a Semifinal, if that’s even possible — there are hordes of teams who would be thrilled to make it even this far. Losing here for either ROX or SKT, though, would be a major disappointment. The two haven’t clashed in an extended set since the LCK Spring Final, which SKT won handily, just as they did against the Tigers in the 2015 World Finals.
Fans were almost robbed of the matchup over the summer, but here we are. Live in the heart of one the most famous cities in the world. New York’s Madison Square Garden is one of the most historic venues in the country, where so many champions of other sports and competitions have been crowned in the past.
PraY approaches this matchup as if it were the Finals. He says, “We even jokingly say to each other that if we win the Semifinal, it’s like winning the World Championship. For sure. But since we haven’t ever beat SKT on a big stage, I think it’d be fair to describe ourselves as a challenger.”
For Faker, though, he doesn’t fear anything or feel nerves. “When I face a strong team,” he says, “there’s a little bit of excitement in me, but I wouldn’t exactly call that a fear. I don’t tremble.”
When asked if he gets excited over some of the feats and tricks he pulls off in-game such as a pentakill, he says, “I’m pretty calm in all circumstances. I only care about my condition and my general performance throughout the game. I don’t really get tickled by individual moments.”
PraY — and the Tigers — are the opposite. They rise to those passionate moments. He says, “Only Smeb got a pentakill on stage, and I remember him saying his hands were shaking — so if I were to have that moment, I’m sure my hands would tremble, and my heart would beat [faster]. I believe it would be a really savoring moment.”
When told of Faker’s response to the question, he simply said, “Wow. Faker really is a robot.”
Now the teams clash once again. On one side the pinnacle of perfection. And on the other, the embracing of all that is imperfect. Only one will advance.
