T1 Faker nears rank 1 in Korean solo queue as he aspires for Worlds 2023 win

T1 Faker hasn’t been known for being a hardcore solo queue grinder for the past few years, yet he’s rapidly approaching the top of the South Korean ladder as he practices ahead of Worlds 2023.

Lee ‘Faker’ Sang-Hyeok didn’t play much League of Legends over the course of his involuntary break from pro play. Due to his hand injury, he wasn’t able to play for a long while.

It’s true that Faker was spotted playing some Arena matches while the game mode was running and ran a few ARAMs as he was recovering, but the all-time great spent a few weeks away from ranked games and practicing at a high level.

Now, he’s grinding solo queue harder than ever. Faker’s rapidly approaching rank 1 in Korea and is hard at work practicing ahead of Worlds 2023.

T1 Faker is rapidly approaching rank 1 in Korean solo queue

Though Faker gained recognition in his early days as a pro player when he was under the “Barcode Killer” guise as an absolute solo queue menace, he hasn’t been nearly as much of a grinder as the years have gone on.

This is largely due to Faker getting constantly griefed in his solo queue matches due to people betting on the outcome of his games. For a long time, it was difficult for Faker to get proper practice in due to his matches constantly getting manipulated.

But, thanks to substantial changes to who has access to Korean solo queue and him being able to play League again after weeks of inactivity, Faker’s back with a vengeance and grinding for rank 1.

At the time of writing, Faker’s at rank 33 on the ladder with over 1200 LP. He’s still got a long climb to the top if he wants to hit rank 1 this season, but it’s certainly feasible.

He’s mainly been playing Tristana and LeBlanc through his climb, consistently overtaking mid lane and becoming a sidelane menace as the game goes on. It’s hard to say how reflective his champ picks in ranked are of what he’ll be playing at Worlds, but he’s on a tear at the moment.

Additionally, Faker’s been making headlines recently as one of the most popular athletes at the Asian Games. With Team Korea taking down Team China in the Semifinals, it’s extremely likely that Faker will get exemption from military service. If the Grand Finals go the way most expect them to, that is.

With Faker still having many years ahead of him as long as he remains in good health, he’ll have to keep his skills sharp if he wants to keep playing into his 30s and take home a long-awaited fourth title at Worlds 2023.