T1 deliver update on Faker’s recovery as team nosedives without him
Riot GamesT1 head coach Tom has provided an update on Faker’s recovery from an arm injury. According to him, it may be a while before fans see the mid laner in action again.
T1 fans were hopeful that Lee ‘Faker’ Sang-hyeok would feature in July 21’s match against Hanwha Life Esports, only to see the team announce that Yoon ‘Poby’ Seong-won would continue to man the mid lane.
The match was another reminder of how much the team miss Faker as T1 produced yet again a sluggish display and were beaten 0-2. This was T1’s fourth defeat in five matches since the star mid laner announced that he would be taking a break from competition because of an arm injury.
Earlier this week, Faker started playing League of Legends as part of his recovery plan. With former head coach Bae ‘Bengi’ Seong-woong stating at the beginning of the month that Faker would miss at least two weeks of action, many fans hoped that the mid laner would return to the stage at some point this week.
Riot GamesHowever, T1 head coach Im ‘Tom’ Jae-hyeo revealed at the end of the match against HLE that Faker is still recovering and may not be playing for a while still.
“He’s still undergoing treatment,” he is quoted by Naver as saying. “The team is checking whether he can play. If he can, the team will make a separate announcement.
“His condition is important, but we are aiming to have him back in time for the playoffs.”
T1 struggling in LCK Summer without Faker
Tom’s comments indicate that Faker will likely sit out the remainder of the regular season. T1 are currently fifth in the LCK Summer standings with a 7-6 record, with five matches left to play.
Even if T1 lose their remaining matches, they will likely still advance to the playoffs as the top six teams of the regular season make it through and four of the five sides below them in the table have a 3-10 record.
But with the teams ranked third through sixth having to play an elimination match in the first round of the playoffs (only the top two teams get a first-round bye), T1 won’t have any margin for error if they make it to the bracket stage, which will begin on August 8.
LCK Summer standings:
Green = Already qualified for playoffs
| Placement | Team | Record |
| 1 | Gen.G | 13-0 |
| 2 | KT Rolster | 12-1 |
| 3 | Hanwha Life Esports | 9-5 |
| 3 | Dplus | 9-5 |
| 5 | T1 | 7-6 |
| 6 | Kwangdong Freecs | 4-9 |
| 7 | SANDBOX | 3-10 |
| 7 | Nongshim RedForce | 3-10 |
| 7 | BRION | 3-10 |
| 7 | DRX | 3-10 |
T1’s LCK Summer regular season schedule:
- July 23 – T1 vs BRION
- July 27 – T1 vs DRX
- July 29 – T1 vs KT Rolster
- August 2 – T1 vs Freecs
- August 4 – T1 vs SANDBOX