Faker announces break from LCK and professional play

Faker, the greatest player of all time in League of Legends, is taking a break from competitive to recover from an injury that has been impacting his gameplay.

Faker takes break to focus on rehabilitation for his arm injury

In the past week, the Korean mid laner revealed that he has been struggling with an arm injury, heavily impacting his ability to play the game. The issue is quite serious as he was taken to the hospital to get a diagnosis and canceled all his upcoming streams due to “wrist pain”.

In an official statement by T1, the Korean team confirmed Faker will sit out and take a temporary break starting from July 5’s match against DRX. The arm injury has been haunting him for quite a while and he recently mentioned he was forced to play through arm pain since T1’s match against BRION back on July 17.

The official message from T1

According to the South Korean organization, Faker showed symptoms of pain in his right arm and hand and was brought to a hospital for further examination. Even though there were no major abnormalities in the X-rays and MRI results, his condition didn’t improve.

“After discussions with the coaches, players, and team, the decision was made for him to take a break to focus on his treatment and recovery,” T1 said.

With fans getting worried about the GOAT’s physical condition, T1 reassured that he will be receiving the best physical therapy and support possible so that he can make a strong return before the end of the LCK 2023 Summer Split.

“We are asking all T1 fans to show continued support and energy so that ‘Faker’ makes his return in top condition”, the statement said.

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T1 Esports Academy mid laner will be replacing Faker

With Faker stepping down from the starting roster, T1 decided to promote their T1 Esports Academy mid laner Yoon “Poby” Sung-won to the starting roster, as he will be making his LCK debut against DRX.

The 17-year-old Korean player has been with T1 since August 2021 and will get the chance of his life to prove his worth on the LCK stage. That said, he will face an enormous amount of pressure, as he will have to fill big shoes, even bigger than the ones Peyz filled when Ruler left Gen.G at the end of 2022.

In a recent podcast with Montecristo, LCK color caster Wolf ‘Wolf’ Schröder expressed his doubt on Poby’s ability to compete in the league. “To put it nicely, he is pretty green,” Wolf said of Poby. “He is not great. He is a very weak player at the moment and gets crushed by almost everybody in lane. His team fighting is not good.”

T1 are currently third in the standings with a 6-2 score, two victories away from the undefeated Gen.G Esports. Even though T1 should easily make playoffs, Faker’s hiatus might impact the team’s overall level of play in the upcoming weeks.

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