T1's Faker to take break due to arm injury, academy player to replace him

The League of Legends (LoL) G.O.A.T. is going to miss some action in the LoL Champions Korea (LCK) Summer Split.

T1 confirmed on Wednesday (5 June) that mid laner Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok will be taking a break from and competitive play, an hour before T1’s match against DRX.

This comes a few days after Faker opened up about his arm injury in a post-match media conference on Sunday (2 July). T1 also announced the day after (3 July) that Faker will take a break from streaming in July.

According to the announcement, Faker will be missing the Wednesday match of T1 against DRX. The statement also mentioned that Faker “showed symptoms of pain in his right arm and hand” and went to the hospital to get a better picture of his condition when his condition didn’t improve.

While there were thankfully no major abnormalities in the X-rays and MRI results, it had been decided that the LoL legend needed to take a break so he can focus on treatment and recovery.

How long Faker will be out of action is anyone's guess, but T1 has said the player is committed to getting well "to make his return to the regular season of the 2023 LCK Summer Split."

In addition, T1 assured everyone that Faker would be provided with the finest physical therapy treatments and be invited to participate in rehabilitation programs.

T1 addressed the fans' concerns, saying, "though we were aware of the many concerns for Faker, we hope that you understand that the announcement was done at this time as it had to align with the reveal of the roster entry for today's match and it was also part of the team's strategy."

Faker is also set to compete at the Asian Games in September, where he is part of the starting roster of South Korea’s LoL national team, so fans are hoping for his return before then.

Faker will be replaced by T1 academy player Yoon “Poby” Sung-won. The 17-year old mid-laner has an average of a 1.6 KDA in LCK Challengers 2023 this summer, with T1 Challengers currently being second-to-the-last place at this point with a 2-6 win-loss record.

One of LCK’s casters, Wolf “Wolf” Schröder, recently expressed doubt about Poby’s ability to compete in the League.

On the ‘Monte & Wolf Show,’ Wolf said of Poby, "To put it nicely, he is pretty green."

“He is not great. He is a very weak player at the moment and gets crushed by almost everybody in lane. His team fighting is not good,” the LCK caster added.

T1 currently is in third place in the LCK Summer standings, with a 6-3 record. Aside from losing to DRX 0-2 on 5 July, they’re about to face a bigger opponent in Gen.G, this season’s giant, who remain undefeated throughout the split so far.

Anna is a freelance writer and photographer. She is a gamer who loves RPGs and platformers, and is a League of Legends geek. She's also a food enthusiast who loves a good cup of black coffee.

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