'I’ll be spending my entire career in T1': Lee 'Faker' Sang-hyeok
Lee Sang-hyeok, known globally by his gaming moniker Faker and widely regarded as one of the greatest esports players of all time, says he plans to conclude his professional career with T1, the organization he has represented since his debut in 2013.
In July, he surprised fans by announcing a four-year contract extension with T1, becoming one of the rare players in League of Legends history to sign a deal of that length with a single organization.
Asked why he chose to stay, Lee spoke candidly about the decision.
“The biggest factor was that T1 offered strong terms. As a professional, I wanted to continue for another four years and give even better inspiration. I also believe that as I continue my career as a pro gamer, there are still areas where I can learn and grow,” he said during a press event held Thursday in Seoul.
Looking back on his more than decadelong relationship with the team, Lee emphasized that the appeal went beyond financial considerations.
“T1 didn’t just offer good financial terms, they also took care of things that were personally important to me beyond that,” he said, adding, “I can’t say what it would be like on another team since I’ve never been elsewhere, but T1 has consistently shown the kind of treatment and reputation befitting a top-tier team, from the past to the present.”
Under the new contract, Lee, now 29, is guaranteed to remain active well into his mid-30s — an age often considered past the competitive peak in esports.
“I think I’ll essentially be spending my entire professional career here," stated Lee.
Lee also reflected on T1’s 2025 LoL World Championship run, describing a tournament defined more by endurance than dominance.
Entering Worlds as the LCK’s fourth seed, T1 navigated a demanding schedule during this year's Worlds, finishing with a 17-7 record in individual games — the second-highest total ever recorded by a Worlds champion. The run culminated in a dramatic five-game final against KT Rolster in November, in which T1 clinched its sixth Worlds title.
“Looking back on this Worlds as a whole, there wasn’t a single moment when things felt smooth. As we played, I was never fully confident that we would win,” Lee said. “We kept advancing, but our performance was never in a perfect state. I felt that the outcome depended a lot on our condition on the day.”
According to Lee, experience proved decisive when it mattered most.
“We achieved good results in best-of matches because we had a lot of experience,” he explained. “(Also), we had the mindset of giving our best even if we did lose. That allowed us to show our true level of play. On top of that, luck was on our side as well.”
Looking ahead, Lee is preparing for an unconventional challenge: a match pitting T1 against Grok-5, a next-generation AI model developed by Elon Musk’s xAI. In November, Musk wrote on X that he wanted to test whether Grok-5 could defeat T1 in 2026, adding that the AI would compete under human-like constraints, including limited vision, capped reaction time and click speed, with access limited to the in-game monitor feed.
T1 responded on social media with an image of Lee and a simple message: “We’re ready.”
Lee also welcomes the growing interest in the esports field from the tech sector.
“It does seem that recently, AI and fintech companies have been showing a great deal of interest in the gaming industry, and I view that trend very positively,” he said. “Chess was conquered by AI a long time ago, and I believe LoL will also eventually face AI head-on. Still, I’m hopeful that next year, we’ll probably come out on top.”
Lee confirmed his interest in representing Korea at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, following his gold medal win at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou. Korea claimed the inaugural LoL title at the event, with Lee joining Seo Jin-hyeok, Park Jae-hyeok, Jung Ji-hun, Ryu Min-seok and Choi Woo-je in a 2-0 victory over Taipei.
The win marked Korea’s second esports gold medal, following Kim Gwan-woo’s triumph in Street Fighter V.
If Lee competes again in 2026 and repeats the feat, he would become a two-time Asian Games gold medalist in LoL.
“If I get to compete, it would be very meaningful. I’ve always wanted to take part,” Lee said. “Back in 2023, the other team members worked incredibly hard and won the gold, and I was honored to share in that glory.”
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