2020 has been a rough year for hardcore fans as many big names in League of Legends have either moved on from the game or transferred out of the teams that people thought would be their forever home. As the oldest players begin to leave their teams, let’s have a look at the 5 players with the longest career in LoL and how long they’ve spent in their respective teams. With all the big names in League of Legends moving on, there is only one name remaining that retains both his team and active status.
League of Legends Pro Careers
Players who are expected to stay with one team for a long duration and have contributed to most of the team’s success are regarded as Franchise Players. These players are often seen as the face of the entire brand since fans will almost always see that player as the entire image of the team and vice versa. Franchise players often have the longest career in LoL since the organizations are willing to pay a hefty amount of money to make them stay.
Franchise players have the longest career in LoL not only because of branding but because they help the team achieve the highest levels of success. Because of this, teams are willing to spend money to build the team around these players and ensure that they have the resources to success both domestically and internationally. As such, these players with the longest career in LoL have been with the team for longer than most players have been playing the game themselves.
Players With the Longest Career in LoL
Time to introduce the longest tenured players in League of Legends. Because of their time with the team and their numerous achievements, it’s likely that you’ll know the names of these players. Of course, players who are relatively new to the League of Legends scene who are regarded as Franchise Players may not appear on the list since a lot of other players have managed to stay longer with their respective organizations.
5. C9 Sneaky
Sneaky is one of the 3 most prominent players in the North American region. Unlike other players in this team, his sudden retirement was not planned out. In an attempt to rebuild the entire Cloud9 roster, the organization recruited various talents in NA including former EU superstar AD Carry, Zven. With Zven’s addition to the team, the organization offered Sneaky a chance to fight for the starting position but he declined stating that he should not fight for his spot if the teammates wanted him to be there.
- Position: AD Carry
- Career Length: 6 years and 7 months
- Region: LCS
- Status: Inactive
- Next Team: Cloud9, Streamer
Sneaky may have been forced into retiring from the professional scene but he managed to go down as an LCS legend. He managed to secure countless LCS trophies with Cloud9 even when his original teammates slowly left the organization one by one. Today, Sneaky still manages to make a living from streaming and is still working under the banner of Cloud9. It is uncertain whether he will return to Cloud9’s starting roster or professional play itself.
4. FNC Rekkles
Rekkles was long to be considered the King of Europe and has been the face of Europe’s most successful team (until G2 Esports came along, that is). Following another quarterfinals exit in Worlds 2020, the former Fnatic AD Carry did not lose hope in trying to win Worlds one day but decided to take a rather controversial approach into making this dream come true. Rekkles finally left Fnatic and decided to join Europe’s best to reunite him once again with EU’s most dominant mid laner in Caps.
- Position: AD Carry
- Career Length: 6 years and 7 months
- Region: LEC
- Status: Active
- Next Team: G2 Esports
Despite reports stating that Fnatic tried to offer Rekkles a huge amount of money to make him stay with the organization, it seems the King of Europe decided that fulfilling his dream is worth more than any amount they could offer him. This move has sparked controversy among the FNC fandom with split opinions about his move. Regardless of the opinion of the fans, it seems Rekkles is out to prove everybody wrong by making sure EU takes home the trophy once and for all.
3. TSM Bjergsen
Bjergsen is also one of the 3 most prominent North American pros (the last one being Doublelift who has not attained tenure status with any team). His retirement speech came after Worlds 2020 where TSM had a fairly disappointing run. He stated that he’s been thinking about the decision for a long time and has finally thought that it was a good time to go out. His achievements with TSM domestically are unparalleled and is considered to be the face of North America.
- Position: Mid Lane
- Career Length: 6 years and 11 months
- Region: LCS
- Status: Inactive
- Next Team: TSM, Head Coach
Bjergsen’s retirement was a shock to even his closest friends in the LCS. His retirement marks the end of an era for NA. Regardless, Bjergsen has already secured his position as a part-owner of TSM and will still be contributing to the LCS team as their head coach for the upcoming 2021 season. His years of experience in Pro Play makes him a knowledgeable coach who knows exactly what a team needs. TSM might be rebuilding but the architect has already drawn out the plans.
2. KT Score
KT Score is probably the least prominent person on this list but is a legend nonetheless. Score has been Faker’s main competitor in the KT wars and was considered to be the one that will finally topple down the king. Despite not being able to achieve anything on the international scene, he is still beloved by a lot of pro players in the LCK community. Considered as the Demon King’s Rival, his legacy in League of Legends has inspired many Korean fans.
- Position: Jungle
- Career Length: 7 years and 1 month
- Region: LCK
- Status: Inactive
- Next Team: None
1. T1 Faker
The Unkillable Demon King, Faker is at the top once more as the player with the longest career in LoL. Unlike all the other players on this list, Faker is still active on his original team (or at least he still is at the time of writing this). While T1 has been testing out the waters by putting in their substitute mid laner – Clozer for a few games, the team is still likely to play Faker as their starter in the upcoming 2021 season since he’s still able to play against the best.
- Position: Mid Lane
- Career Length: 7 years and 9 months
- Region: LCK
- Status: Active
There are rumors that Faker is likely to retire in the upcoming years to take on an administrative role in the T1 organization but they are yet to make an announcement if that will happen before the season starts. Perhaps the Unkillable Demon King wants to win one more World Championship Trophy to secure his spot as the only person to win 4 World Championships in a single organization. There is still hope for T1 fans and we will surely be watching him even closer for the months to come.
Which players have the longest career in LoL?
The players with the longest careers in LoL within one team are Sneaky on C9, Rekkles on FNC, Bjergsen on TSM, Score on KT, and Faker on SKT/T1.