So, on November 6, 2022, Lee Sang Hyuk and his SKT lost to Drx led by Mr. Dai, an alumnus of Mapo High School, and became the backdrop for a miracle.
Different from last year's five bloody games with DK in the semifinals, this year's SKT had to stand higher and almost had both hands on the Summoner's Trophy, but in the end they still missed it.
Is this the worst defeat that SKT, Faker, and Lee Sang Hyuk have experienced in their careers?
How many people still remember what he was like?
In 2012, 16-year-old Lee Sang Hyuk came into contact with a game called "League of Legends", and within a few months it reached the top of the Korean server.
During this period, he also tried to live broadcast, leaving a sentence of "need to change the camera", and then disappeared from the passerby game. When he appeared again, he had become SK's #2 second team mid laner.
In the spring split of 2013, he used Leopard Girl to single-kill Anzhang, the world's number one mid laner, in his debut game in the spring split. Due to the disbandment of the first team in the summer split, he officially wore the SKT T1 Faker uniform.
In the Summer Finals, when KT won the first two games, he used Shadow Stream Master in the third game and completed three line kills, scoring 9-0-8 in 20 minutes, and then used it again in the fifth game.
He played a legendary "double calamity battle", which made the popular Wang Yuelun in the summer game a background that has been circulated for years.
From this point on, it has been a triumphant journey. In the global finals, SKT defeated Prince 3-0. Because of his extremely gorgeous offensive performance, and also because of a domestic mid laner's "55 open" meme, it spread throughout the country.
So he was named the Great Demon King.
Reaching the peak right after his debut seems to be a God-given script.
In 2014, at the All-Star Game, he won the All Star MVP, the audience sang Happy Birthday, and his popularity reached its peak, but then he was eliminated from the bubble game and missed the World Championship.
This is the first fall of genius.
During the offseason, all his former champion teammates left, but he stayed in the empty training room. Because he succeeded in robbing a house, he clapped his hands excitedly to celebrate. Looking behind him, he found no one, and his smile gradually disappeared.
At the age of 18, he had a taste of something other than gaming.
In 2015, South Korea implemented a single-team system. After the reorganization, SKT rose again. The arrival of Easyhoon made him a substitute for a time.
But then came the first round of the spring playoffs. Facing CJ, with the team trailing 0 to 2, he once again performed the feat of letting two chase three. In the fifth game, he used the trick Enchantress and got 15
-1-10 super record.
The depression that had accumulated for more than a year finally broke out, so SKT advanced all the way to MSI, and then faced EDG in the last game. They chose their signature enchantress, but they lost again.
So it sank again, and then rose up in the second half of 2015.
The roll before the S5 finals was not only a confident expression of SKT's dominance at the time, but also represented the transformation of Faker as a player.
After tasting the taste of success and failure, he gradually gained more emotions from an ordinary person from a dull genius.
In 2016, Easyhoon's departure allowed him to officially secure his position as SKT's starting mid laner. After changing to new teammates, he was still the spring champion and MSI champion.
It seemed like a perfect year, but what followed was KT's revenge in the summer playoffs, which led to a 2-3 deficit and failed to complete the feat of a double championship in Spring Asia.
On the stage of the global finals, the team came first in the group stage and defeated RNG in the quarterfinals, followed by the legendary B05 with Roxtiger.
The Clockwork Demon's escape tutorial in the first game, and Old Man Time after eating all the bans in the fourth game, allowed SKT to overcome the tiger that blocked the way and face the finals.
The same five fierce battles, with Ryze in the second game and Viktor in the fifth, made him the triple crown champion and the FMVP of the global finals.
The most beautiful script is like this, a genius makes his debut, rises again after falling, and then becomes a god twice.
The tumbling before the 2015 finals, and the "Immortal" written by myself before the 2016 finals were confident and a natural choice.
If he retires like this, the world will only remember him at his peak.
But the story continues.
In 2017, the spring split champion, MSI champion, seemed to be the continuation of the dynasty, but at the MSI awards ceremony, the tired Bang silently ignored the trophy throughout the whole process, and the runner-up result of the summer split was easily defeated by KZ three to one, the clues have begun to emerge.
.
But he doesn't want to stop there just yet.
When he came to China in S7, in addition to the title of Faker, he was also nicknamed "Brother Li" by the LPL.
This is because he has been famous for a long time and is considered a senior among professional players. On the other hand, it is also due to his respect for the first person in the world.
Although the Big Devil is cool, in China, when we really admire someone, we have to call him Brother Sheng.
The 10,000-yuan economic comeback against EDG in the group stage made many star players feel despair across the screen. Most LPL viewers who watched this game should think that SKT at that time was invincible.
So with this state entering the quarterfinals, facing the black technology of the Rabbit Team MSF, SKT fell behind 1 to 2.
The Tigers' nightmare two years ago seemed to have struck again. At the 27th minute of the fourth game, NK's Prince advanced to the high ground, and SKT was only one step away from the abyss.
However, Ryze's series of wonderful operations on the high ground, including purification and instant control, flash and follow-up damage and control, and winding jumps to teleport around, helped the team win this wave of four-on-five highland defensive battles.
So Colonel Guan, who was nicknamed "Pu Zeyuan" at the time, typed out those five words on Weibo with emotion.
Lee Sang Hyuk in desperate situation.
In the fifth game, the moment SKT exploded the crystal, I remember shouting on the commentary desk that SKT's dynasty has not ended yet, and there were clearly audible cheers in the background.
After all, as long as he is not fighting against LPL teams, Faker's popularity will always be one-sided.
In the semi-finals, the Incense Burner version ran into RNG, and with the unstable state of his teammates visible to the naked eye, Galio changed his fate in five games.
That is to say, after beating this B05, audiences around the world finally realized that Faker had evolved to another level, from the once mysterious assassin to the simple shield of SKT today.
This B05 is probably more impressive to LPL viewers than the previous two consecutive championships.
Almost most people believe that SKT will win the Bird's Nest and win their fourth trophy.
But the ending that ushered in was a 3-0 sweep.
The moment the crystal shattered, he covered his face and cried, and the look back as he wiped away the tears made the entire bird's nest shout Faker's name once again.
Perhaps because of this championship, he has become more of a tragic hero in the eyes of the audience. Many viewers who were once opposed to his unruly style still sympathize with him to some extent.
It turns out that gods bleed and devils shed tears, and he really wants to win.
In 2018, SKT missed the World Championship, the Korean team failed in the Asian Games, the LCK overall declined, and the LPL won its first championship.
As a result, he failed to climb out of the trough and even fell to an even deeper bottom. His condition was so bad that he had to receive psychological counseling.
"There are many games that I don't want to remember anymore." When he faced the doctor's inquiry, his expression was so ugly that he could cry at any time.
Although I don’t want to remember all this.
But he hasn't retired yet.
In S9, the team underwent another major change, and he was once reduced to a substitute. He was criticized both inside and outside the team, and was even called someone who "affects team harmony" by Coach Jin.
A 23-year-old veteran who was named the first legendary player in history three years ago. Faced with such a situation, there are really very few people who can endure it.
But he still persevered, seized the opportunity to start the game, and even begged his teammates to trust his command in his voice, leading the team to victory gradually, and thus won another spring championship.
For Lee Sang Hyuk, of course he should be used to it.
But when faced with the host's question, he looked towards the ceiling, held back tears, and kept his emotions from breaking down.
"The ones I feel most sorry for are my teammates from last year. It would be great if I could bring them to this stage with me," he said while choking.
The Roaring Emperor was speechless for a long time. Later, he mentioned this scene in the documentary and felt very touched.
It turns out that there are so many unknown emotions hidden in the heart of this man called "God", which makes him look more and more like an ordinary person.
Probably because the road he has traveled in the past two years has actually been far more bumpy than the average person.
The rise of the Spring Split was followed by the loss of MSI, the championship of the Intercontinental Split and the championship of the Summer Split.
With the spring and summer double championship, SKT seems to be on the rise again. Even the host of the competition area is shouting "God is back".
But he once again fell in the hands of G2 in the semifinals. The moment he died, his hands were shaking and the scene was captured by the camera.
So people were once again surprised and moved. It turned out that Faker could be so gaffey. Maybe he was really old.
But he hasn't retired yet.
In 2020, although he won the spring championship again, he failed to enter the world championship.
Instead, the rise of DWG and Showmaker's glorious speech before the finals not only made people lament the rise of the new generation of LCK players, but also subconsciously felt that Faker's era had passed.
After all, you haven't won a championship for several years, and even your descendants will inherit your glory.
But he hasn't retired yet.
In 2021, he returned to the World Championship with new teammates and reached the semi-finals again, just in time to meet last year's champion DK, who claimed to inherit his glory.
So people once again joked about this matchup, jokingly saying that Faker's glory does not need to be inherited.
Similarly, many people are surprised that in 2021, he can actually return to the World Championship and still perform in such a good state.
Leading DK in the semi-finals, SKT's new generation of players were in high spirits, as if they had regained some of their former devilish demeanor.
The result was still a defeat.
But when faced with the outcome of being eliminated, he calmed down a lot. He didn't hide his face and cry, nor did his hands shake. He just stared at the screen silently for a moment and stuck out his tongue as if making a face.
People are paying attention to the faces Showmaker made for the camera after the game, and many people even criticized him for being too arrogant and disrespecting the veterans.
But Faker's move really touched me.
He stood up again and fell down, but this time he was much calmer, perhaps because he had experienced more and could accept more things.
But he hasn't retired yet.
In 2022, he renewed his contract with SKT at the buzzer and announced that he would play for another year.
Another spring split champion, MSI runner-up, and summer third runner-up. The script is almost the same as in previous years. I guess he doesn’t value it all very much.
But in the LPL, his reputation took a sharp turn.
His responsibilities to LPL players during qualifying have made him the poster child for LCK's arrogant attitude.
But few people know that in the subsequent games, he was ranked behind Qingtian, and he took the initiative to help Qingtian at the beginning, and later praised Qingtian's performance.
MSI, 35pin, RNG rematch, Banana, arrogant, all the fingers are pointed at him, although the truth may not be entirely like this, but those who fall with the wind always account for the majority.
So, this year, he was no longer the big devil, no longer a god, no longer Brother Li, no longer a mid laner, but became Teacher Da Fei.
It seems that the reputation has hit rock bottom, but back in the World Championship, with the improvement of SKT's performance, the direction of public opinion is changing again.
Just like what Judy said in "The Ming Dynasty": "In this world, there are few bad people and many people who fall with the wind."
It doesn't matter if you are tough-talking or arrogant, as long as you are strong, there will always be people who support you.
From the group stage to the finals, they defeated three LPL teams along the way, and the team's outstanding state was visible to the naked eye.
Both opponents and friends are clamoring for him to win the fourth crown.
The dormancy and persistence of the veterans, the growth of the newcomers, and the relief after being sprayed for a whole year are slapped in the face, as if the script has been written long ago.
When we were shooting a promotional video in San Francisco, I believe he thought so too.
However, he still fell in the end. Compared to last year, the team made a step forward, but he was one year older.
2022 is the tenth year of Lee Sang Hyuk's career. When he won the trophy ten years ago, the team's top laner Zeus was only nine years old.
Before he knew it, he had come such a long way.
Even the six years he has been without a championship have exceeded the entire career length of many players.
In fact, it is enough, what else is there to prove?
But he is still so stubborn, proud, and insists on going upstream towards his former self.
What kind of person is Lee Sang Hyuk who has lost his luster?
He is a child who grew up in a single-parent family. He describes himself as having a robot-like personality. He likes reading and is interested in neuroscience. Even when he was playing in the finals, he was reading strange books like FBI Behavioral Psychology.
He was able to play in SKT for ten years in the hellish training environment Bang described, and he still didn't feel bored at all. It probably wasn't just because of fame and fortune, but because he really had some kind of fun or some obsession.
Perhaps because of this, his off-field life is very simple, with Coke, a jacket, and Eun Jung's memes. Simple and cute.
But after a ten-year journey, people will always grow.
At one time, he just wanted to prove that he was the best player. Later, he realized the value of his teammates and said that he understood the importance of interacting with others.
On the eve of the S9 group stage, he and Uzi had a short program. Despite the language barrier, he and Uzi had a lot of fun, describing Galio's image with clumsy movements.
He must really love this game, so he would choose to open customization on his birthday night, use the scarecrow skin to set up fireworks, and celebrate by smiling and clapping his hands.
He once wrote "The Immortal" and said that he wanted to become a role model for the times.
Later, after going through many twists and turns, he calmly said to the camera that he hoped to achieve his own inner standards more than external evaluations.
He used to be just a robot boy who could play games. Later, in the variety show "Friends of Time", after learning that one hour of his life was auctioned to a father suffering from cancer, he burst into tears with red eyes, leaving such a touching message.
side.
What brought him these changes was not his three championships, but the hardships he experienced over the years.
Perhaps success is only temporary, and failure is the main theme of life.
But isn’t Romain Rolland’s heroism that after seeing the truth clearly, he still insists on loving it and moving on?
Since we didn’t have enough fun this year, what’s the harm in having another year?
Right, Lee Sang Hyuk? This chapter has been completed!