Original:
🔗 https://www.theplayerstribune.com/articles/faker-league-of-legends-worlds-unkillable
Chinese translation source:
🔗 https://m.hupu.com/bbs/52326748.html
Traditional Chinese translation on PTT: https://www.ptt.cc/bbs/LoL/M.1477678371.A.D89.html
For my own study. Takedown on request.
Faker, in his own words: Unkillable
My name is Lee Sang-hyeok. American fans call me God. Korean fans call me the Unkillable Demon King. Honestly I prefer God — it sounds cooler. In the game, I am Faker. Twenty this year. The best League of Legends player in the world.
When I was eight, my parents bought me my first computer. But like a lot of kids, I was already in the game world before that. I played PS and some other controller consoles. I would blow into cartridges trying to make them work again. One of my earliest memories is playing Dragon Ball Z: Budokai with friends, going all-out beating each other up in the game.
When I was even younger, I had no interest in being a pro. Playing in a packed arena, thousands of people in front of you, millions watching online — that idea never entered my head. It wasn't until 2011, in middle school, that I found League of Legends. You could say I picked it up fast. As a kid I watched StarCraft pro matches, but I never had a player I especially worshipped. When the LOL pro scene was just getting started, I studied former EDG mid laner HooN's play. I read his Ryze guide — I still pick that champion now and then — and what I learned put me on the pro path. I got better and better until I hit max level — I'd get matched with Korea's very best. I was still just an amateur then. But win after win put me at the top of the server.
In 2013, before I signed with SKT, I didn't talk it over with my parents. In fact I never talked with them about becoming a pro. Instead I just hinted: as long as I take it seriously enough, everything will be OK. My parents didn't cheer me on from start to finish, but they gave me the freedom to chase the dream. The esports scene is very unstable, so I get their worry. So far, though, I think everything's been fine.
I have to admit. Last Friday, when ROX stomped game three and made it 2-1... there was a moment I thought we were going to lose.
In competition I try not to show emotion. I ask my teammates to do the same. We stay calm and tough, and do everything we can not to get carried away. I try to remember we've been in spots like this. 2013 OGN finals, we were down 0-2 to KT Bullets, then we fought back, 2-3, and took it. In League of Legends, a few good plays can wipe out all the anxiety. When ROX beat us so easily in game three, I did have some doubt — but I also knew that if we locked in, we could reverse it.
There are a lot of other matches across the year — but Worlds is everyone's end goal. We chase that gold Summoner's Cup, and millions of dollars. My team has already won Worlds twice: 2013, 2015. If we win again this year, in four years as a pro I will go home a world champion for the third time.
The more wins the better, because you never know when a career ends. I've seen too many gifted players hit the peak and then burn out fast. Everyone wants your seat.
When we were down to ROX, I noticed the crowd starting to cheer for Smeb and Peanut. They're good players. They deserve that recognition... but if I told you I wasn't annoyed, I'd be lying. Maybe this sounds arrogant, but I am very confident in how good I am. If I lose to players who are not on the same level, I get angry: those last two games of the Bo5, you saw how I play when I'm angry.
Game four, we showed control and bounced back fast. After we coordinated with Bengi coming from behind to kill Kuro, I knew the win was right there. I've been fighting next to Bengi since I joined SKT, and that was probably one of the best games of his career. After we took Baron and aced them top, the game was over. Before game five, the mood backstage was a lot lighter. We walked through the plan. I ate a chocolate bar. An hour later we were already celebrating making the finals for the third time.
Just a few months after signing with SKT, I was already at Staples Center fighting for my first world title. Looking back, it was a funny stretch. Holding the Summoner's Cup up in front of all the fans will always be one of the highlights of my career. That was the first time I realized people outside Korea knew who I was. When I sat down at the computer, the heat from international fans moved me — the shouts and cheers they started on their own. One of the experiences I enjoyed most was at the 2014 All-Star, the whole arena singing Happy Birthday to me. When I first started playing League, the loud live crowd would crush me. Now I enjoy all of it. That's also the beauty of esports. If you want to go pro, you have to get used to the noise. I'm not who I was a few years ago. Now, under the lights, that's home.
When my career was just taking off, I always fantasized about being famous. Now, with this much experience and the crowds in public, I can't say I particularly live for fame. But every time I take a photo or sign for a fan, I make myself remember how important it is to stay kind. That will be a rule I carry for life, whether or not it's about esports.
Does that mean I want to be tied to League of Legends my whole life? I don't know. I want to do a lot of things. I always think, once my career is over, I'll go back to school and major in science. Physics and chemistry have always been interesting to me — though now I'm more and more into neuroscience.
I'm sure that in 20 years, esports will have grown to a scale we can barely imagine. More players, more viewers, bigger arenas scattered around the world. Who knows? Maybe by then a North American team will finally have won? I don't know where I'll be then — maybe still tied to League, maybe doing something completely different. My teammates and I are ordinary people. I like Taylor Swift. When we rest we play Warcraft 3 (by the way: I'm the best Warcraft player on the team, and the best in the world!). Honestly the only thing I care about is that people can remember my performances with joy. If in the future a kid wants to grow up to be the next Faker — I will do my best to be an example.
This weekend we go back to Staples Center to face Samsung on the finals stage. Same as always, we expect a win.
I've had such a beautiful run at SKT. Every day I feel grateful. Earlier this year I felt myself getting weaker, like my mechanics were slipping, and the whole world was catching up. I always wonder why I'm so good at League of Legends... and the best way I can put it is: I build my playstyle out of calculation and instinct. I'm always learning new things. I can see events coming, get to the right place, make the right play — a step faster than everyone.
For a while I felt my instinct wasn't working anymore, and I didn't know if I could get it back. But now I feel I can play forever. At the start of this year I was a bit afraid: afraid I was falling from a height; afraid that talk that 'some players are on their way to overtake you' was true.
Now, I'm not afraid.