Will Faker be leaving T1 in 2023?

Lee “Faker” Sang-Hyeok is the greatest League of Legends player of all time in most fans’ estimation, but is Faker leaving T1?

Faker has spent the entirety of his professional career signed to the same League of Legends team, SKT T1. Now, rumors are circulating that he could be looking elsewhere. Where could Faker be headed in the new year and what would that mean for him and the larger League of Legends scene?

Is Faker leaving T1 for North America?

Faker’s tenure on T1 has been the longest that any player has remained on the active roster of a League of Legends team, spanning seven entire years of play. During that time, there have been a few periods when Faker’s contract with T1 was up for renewel and the possibility of seeing the Unkillable Demon King in colors that aren’t the red, black, and white came up.

This year, it’s been reported that two North American teams, Team Liquid and FlyQuest, have made offers to Faker for places in their LCS teams. These offers were reported by Alejandro Gomis at Blix.GG, who said that Faker was looking at opportunities in other regions outside of Korea after his contract had expired with T1.

As with any time the possibility of Faker leaving T1 is floated, Faker and T1 have become synonymous with one another and each provides the other a continued legacy and brand that’s beneficial for both. At the same time, Faker has the most leverage of any player in the game when it comes to negotiating with organizations.

If he did decide to leave T1, it’s possible he’d opt to travel to a new league entirely to try and continue to forge his legacy there.

However, until the day that fans actually see Faker leaving T1, it has to be seen as an outside possibility. Faker is the prime factor in giving T1 the reputation it has today as one of the premier organizations, and neither one has much to gain by not renewing the contract.