Faker re-signs with T1 for another four years

Korean esports organisation and five-time world champions T1 have announced the re-signing of League of Legends GOAT and face of the LoL team Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok. The Korean legend will be staying with the team for another four years, until the end of 2029.

The Faker Legacy continues

After the previous contract signing that was expected to expire at the end of the year, some were questioning what T1 would do with Faker going forward. While a contract extension, given the importance of the Korean mid in the LoL esports scene and Faker being a part-owner of T1 Entertainment & Sports (the team’s company), was something set to happen, no one anticipated a four-year extension. With this new contract, Faker will be playing competitively with T1 until he is 33 years old, spending 16 years of his career on the same organization.

The previous contract was a three-year deal, starting at the end of 2022, where T1 lost the grand final series against DRX at the World Championship. Even though it was a shocking result that year, T1 has since then won back-to-back world championships, with Faker continuing to extend his legacy and establish himself as the greatest of all time.

Now that Faker has sealed his future with T1 once again, the focus will turn back to the competitions. Despite failing to take the crowns at the Mid-Season Invitational and Esports World Cup, the team was able to inflict Gen.G’s first loss in the LCK season during the T1 Home Ground event, breaking the rivals’ 26 series win streak. On the opening week of the LCK Rounds 3-5, T1 was also able to take a 2-0 victory against Nongshim RedForce, bringing the total score record to 13-7 (starting this competitive season, the LCK has score records carry over throughout the year).

What about the rest of the T1 lineup?

According to the Global Contract Database (GCD), the two players with the contract expiring this year are top laner Choi “Doran” Hyeon-joon and AD carry Lee “Gumayusi” Min-hyeong. The former joined T1 this season following the shocking departure of Choi “Zeus” Woo-je to rivals Hanhwa Life Esports, while Gumayusi was the only player from the 2023 and 2024 Worlds-winning lineup to receive a one-year contract extension. Jungler Mun “Oner” Hyeon-jun and support player Ryu “Keria” Min-seok, on the other hand, have contracts running until November 2026, meaning that they are expected to play with the organization for the upcoming year as well.