Are We Going to See A Faker Retirement Announcement Soon?

Faker has the longest career playing in a single organization which began the moment he made his debut back in 2013. Back then, nobody knew who this player was but as the years went by, he slowly became the Best League of Legends Player to have ever touched the game but we know every player has their limit. As the years go back, the conversation stating that Faker retires sometime soon is becoming more and more realistic. The question is, how long do we have until Faker retires and what circumstances will push him to do so?

Faker’s Career in Esports

If you haven’t already read our article on Faker’s Career Biography, let’s talk about what makes this Faker’s retirement something that will be difficult to accept. Faker is widely considered the best League of Legends player of all-time. He’s only one of three people to win the League of Legends World Championships twice, the other two being his coach Kkoma and retired Jungler, Bengi who was his teammate for a few years. He has made a name for himself and is now sought after by sponsors and big-name brands.

Faker has already won the World Championships 3-times. His career is nothing short of impressive and it’s doubtful that he will be forgotten even long after Faker retires. Nowadays, there is a good percentage of Faker’s fans that have already made peace with the fact that he’s already nearing the end of his career. It won’t be long until we have to say goodbye with another great player that shaped League of Legends into what it is today.

Evidences on the Faker Retirement plan?

Faker’s retirement isn’t just some random assumption just because he’s growing old. There are a few suspicious moves happening around in the past few months that make these assumptions take a bit of solid footing in the argument. Faker, like all pro-players, is subject to the weaknesses of being a pro-player. Unlike traditional athletes, League of Legends players’ careers is more vulnerable to being cut short because of certain things.

1. Mandatory Military Service

FAKER IS NOT EXEMPT FROM MILITARY SERVICE. People keep saying that Faker is exempt from military service because of their achievements. Unfortunately, Faker and every other esports player in Korea are not eligible of being exempted from mandatory military service because of a bill revising the exemption rules concerning this issue. The best he can do is extend the postponement until he’s ready to retire willingly.

There is a rule that allows athletes who win a Gold Medal in the Asian Games or Olympics but sadly none of these events will feature League of Legends up until 2022. Faker’s deadline for getting an exemption is until 2024 which is when he’d reach 28 years old. That means that he needs to show an exceptional performance every year to be chosen for these events (fighting for his spot against the other talented LCK mids) in addition to winning the entire event.

2. Clozer’s Increasing Activity

Up until the later half of the LCK’s Summer 2020 season, Faker has been the starting mid laner for T1. Unfortunately, due to an issue between Faker’s fans and the organization, a bit of drama forced Faker to get benched for a few games. This was the time that Clozer had to step in and play in the mid lane. Surprisingly, Clozer took this opportunity and really shined in the tournament even beating some big-name mid laners in the LCK.

Just as Faker decided that he is ready to step back on the stage, the organization decided to keep Clozer as a substitute mid laner. The fans were further surprised when the coaching staff decided to start Clozer instead of Faker in a few of the following matches, even during the all-important qualifier match for worlds. Faker managed to play one game in the tournament but he would get benched again right away.

3. Faker’s Contract Details

Back in February, Faker signed an extension contract that would allow him to play with T1 for an additional 3 more years apart from the fact that he also became a part-owner of the organization. The curious thing about this contract is that it states that Faker will be taking on a leadership role in the organization once he decides that he will be retiring during the timeframe of this contract. This allows Faker to have a fallback, aside from streaming, when he does decide to let go of esports.

Faker’s Future After Retiring

The most immediate result of the Faker retirement event would be his military service. After two years of military service, Faker will be free to do whatever he wants. Unfortunately, 2 years without any practice or experience for a pro gamer can be absolutely devastating to his career. This means that once he is shipped, he won’t easily be able to rejoin the tournament scene again unless he can pull off one of those Faker miracles.

The good news is that T1, the organization, has basically stated that they want Faker to be a permanent part of their organization. Faker will be taking on a leadership role in the organization and as an experienced pro-player, he will be able to share his wisdom to the team regardless of whether he has played recently or not. This is likely the case since Bengi was recently reinstated as a coach for the T1 Academy team recently.