Ahead of facing DRX in the League of Legends LCK on July 5th, T1 surprised fans by declaring that their mid-lane phenom, Lee “Faker”Sang-hyeok, needed time off to heal from an arm ailment. Evidence quickly emerged that Faker’s injury was detrimentally affecting his performance. As a result, his live streams were abruptly halted. To fill his sizable shoes, T1 opted to deploy their academy mid-laner, Yoon “Poby”Seong-won, as a replacement.
As the League of Legends LCK’s fifth week of action is underway in the 2023 Summer Split, T1 head coach Bengi shared Faker’s earliest possible return date after his break.
Will Faker play against Gen.G in the League of Legends LCK 2023 Summer Split?
In the 2023 League of Legends LCK Summer Split, specifically on July 7, DRX managed to sweep T1 2-0, causing a devastating loss. This defeat hit even harder since Faker couldn’t participate due to the right arm injury. After the match, the media had the opportunity to interview head coach Bae “Bengi” Seong-woong and support Ryu “Keria” Min-seok.
In the post-match press conference, he said they discussed his condition following the Nongshim game. It appears that his wrist is in a state that requires some rest. When asked about when Faker would return again for League of Legends competitive play, he said,
“Faker will not be playing for at least two weeks, and we’ll see how it goes from there.”
Faker’s absence will result in him missing T1’s upcoming matches against Gen.G Esports on July 8, Nongshim RedForce on July 14, and Dplus KIA on July 16. His return date for the series against Hanwha Life Esports on July 21 will depend on his recovery progress.
On a positive note, T1 released an official statement regarding the situation. They said the scans Faker underwent at a hospital on his arm showed “no major abnormalities.”
While Faker is absent, Bengi did not mention if Poby will continue playing for T1. He stated that the lack of time hindered the team’s preparation for the DRX match, which featured the 17-year-old midlaner.
After the DRX game, it became obvious that Faker is the most important part of this T1 squad, as the rest looked clueless throughout the series. Hence, when asked about how many victories Bengi thinks they can accumulate before Faker returns, he stated:
“Considering the matchups, I want to get at least two wins. We lost today, and it’ll be difficult against the others, but the team’s goal is to win as many games as possible.”
With a 6-3 score, T1 currently sits in third place in the League of Legends LCK 2023 Summer Split standings. However, the major concern is that Faker’s absence could affect the team’s performance during the season’s remaining weeks. Despite this, it is still highly likely that T1 will secure a spot in the playoffs.
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