Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok is often considered the greatest League of Legends player of all time, but even he has his limits with the world champion speaking on his rigorous schedule and burnout.
On a recent stream, Faker spoke on feeling overwhelmed by his demanding schedule and how it’s affecting his ability to play this game at the level he’s known for. This led his massive fanbase to lash out against T1 for the organization’s grueling schedule.
T1 decided to respond to the ongoing drama as Faker fans continued to question the scheduling.
Faker speaks out about burnout
While streaming to fans on April 17, Faker spoke to his viewers about the demanding schedule he was committed to and how it stressed him out, leading to him playing worse.
Some fans will always scoff at the concept of playing video games professionally being a stressful job, but Faker’s schedule is more akin to a traditional sports star than most western organizations. Faker cited fan meets, advertisement filming, and live streaming as all overlapping with significant preparation for both the Asian Games as well as the Mid-Season Invitational.
Fans took Faker’s exhaustion as a sign that T1 was pushing its players too hard and demanding too much from them in such a busy period. The organization responded by canceling Faker’s streams for the day and giving him some time off before MSI.
Many professional players have spoken out on burnout and the danger of over-indexing on activities, including solo queue practice, leading to increased disinterest and stress. T1 seems to be ready to respond to such worries, canceling streams within a very short window of the concerns being raised.
T1 is currently the MSI favorite following a historic
undefeated regular split
in LCK summer. With this immense pressure, keeping its star player in the mental space to prepare for two major events is of paramount importance.
Nicholas James
About Nicholas James
Nicholas James is a gaming writer with a passion for all things geekdom, as well as live theater. Nicholas is best known for covering League of Legends and other top MOBA titles, but his expertise covers numerous games across multiple genres. When not watching the LCS or playing the latest new release, Nicholas can be found doing some tabletop gaming and painting his favorite miniatures. Nicholas has also published with Hotspawn, TheGamer, Dexerto, Esports.gg and other industry outlets.
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