Both midlaner Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok and T1 (formerly SK Telecom T1) have become synonymous with League of Legends Esports, being the biggest and most successful player and organisation respectively. Faker is the undisputed best player of all time and since his debut in 2013, he has taken part in 15 of the 20 premier international tournaments, winning five World Championship titles and two Mid Season Invitationals.

So without further ado, let’s take a trip back through the Korean legend’s career and see how he managed to win a record-breaking five World Championship trophies.

Worlds 2013 - A rookie emerges

The 2013 World Championship was where it all started. Faker entered this tournament as a rookie alongside Jeong “Impact” Eon-young, Chae “Piglet” Gwang-jin, Lee “PoohManDu” Jeong-hyeon and Bae “Bengi” Seong-woong and they took the League of Legends world by storm. SK Telecom T1 made quick work of the competition to eventually lift the trophy after a 3-0 grand final victory over Royal Club inside the Staples Center in Los Angeles. No MVP was awarded for this event but we are sure Faker would have won it, standing out in an era where individual play mattered more.

2013 was the start of Korea’s dominance over League of Legends, as the region went on to win the next four Worlds tournaments.

Worlds 2015 - Almost perfection

In those five consecutive victories for Korea, Faker and his side won three of them. His second victory came in 2015, an almost perfect triumph. Alongside Jang “MaRin” Gyeong-Hwan, Bae “Bengi” Seong-ung, Bae “Bang” Jun-sik and Lee “Wolf” Jae-wan, SKT were perfect heading into the final, going 6-0 in the group stage, as well as taking 3-0 victories in all playoff matches. However, they dropped one map in the final, winning 3-1 against fellow Koreans KOO Tigers inside the Mercedes Benz Arena in Berlin. This tournament started a run of four consecutive international tournament victories for SKT and the trio of Faker, Bang and Wolf.

Worlds 2016 - Back-to-back

This trio, with Bae “Bengi” Seong-woong still on the roster and newcomer Lee “Duke” Ho-seong won again in 2016, becoming the first team to win back-to-back Worlds titles. 2016 Worlds Faker was peak Faker, once again inside the Staples Center in Los Angeles, the site of his first world championship, he powered his team to the title, winning the MVP award in the process. The 2016 World Championship final was one to remember too, being a long-fought 3-2 victory over Samsung Galaxy, a match that would go the other way the following year at Worlds 2017 in Beijing.

Worlds 2023 - Breaking records

A three-time Worlds champion, Faker had twice come close to winning his fourth, both in 2017 and in 2022, losing to Samsung Galaxy and DRX respectively. Playing now with Lee “Gumayusi” Min-hyeong, Mun “Oner” Hyeon-jun, Ryu “Keria” Min-seok and Choi “Zeus” Woo-je, Faker and T1 managed to play their first World Championship on home soil, missing out on both previous times the event was held in South Korea in 2014 and 2018. T1 were excellent in the playoffs and beat three consecutive Chinese teams to lift the title including JD Gaming, the best League of Legends team in the world heading into the tournament as well as Weibo Gaming in the final. This was a record-breaking achievement, as Faker became the first and only player to win four Worlds titles, eclipsing teammate Bengi, who won alongside him in 2013, 2015 and 2016, becoming the undisputed G.O.A.T of League of Legends.

Worlds 2024 - ZOFGK makes history

As in 2023, Faker and T1 nearly missed qualifying for Worlds that year. Yet, just like in 2023, Faker and T1 reminded everyone that Worlds is a competition like no other for them. The midlaner may not have been the key player throughout ZOFGK’s second winning campaign—the first roster in history to secure back-to-back Worlds titles—but when it came to the final, in a close five-game series against Bilibili Gaming, the GOAT delivered. He was the main force behind the equalizer to make it 2-2, with a brilliant play on Sylas using Rakan’s stolen ultimate, and was once again decisive in Game 5 with his Galio, earning a well-deserved MVP title for the final.