One Taunt to Rule them All: Faker defends his Crown against All Odds

Faker has gone and done it again. The O2 Arena witnessed another miracle,  as against all odds the "Unkillable Demon King" claimed his fifth Worlds trophy after defeating BLG in the Grand Finals of Worlds 2024, expanding on his incredible 11-year-long career.

So, how does a man who is already legend find a way to ascend once more? After more than 500 Worlds kills and 100 Worlds wins, it's not just the fact that Faker keeps on winning that continues to impress. It's how he does it.

With a single press of the key, Faker landed the one ability that could complete T1's journey from standing one game away from missing out on Worlds 2024 to winning the entire thing for a second consecutive year.

Faker, Faker, Playmaker

During the 2024 LCK Summer Season, Faker's top three most played champions were Tristana, Azir and Corki, in that order. The team looked largely lifeless then, to the point that T1 were almost denied a chance of defending their crown in what could have been a considerable blow for both Riot Games and Linkin Park. During Worlds 2024, Faker did not pick a single one of those champions even once.

Instead, he stuck to just six champions for the entire tournament. These were Sylas, Ahri, Yone, Galio, Akali and Neeko. What do all these champions have in common? Their ability to create something out of nothing. Or, as we like to call it, 'Playmaking'.

At Worlds 2024, Faker won the tournament without leading all mid laners in a single meaningful statistic; not KDA (6th), not kills per game (9th), not CS per minute (14th), not damage per minute (15th), not kill participation (10th).

His team did not need Faker to deal loads of damage, or grab lots of kills, or make sure he stayed alive; they needed him to continue to do what he does better than any other League of Legends player on the planet: create openings. And there simply is no stat for that.

During the Grand Final of Worlds 2024 against BLG, Faker's magical playmaking capabilities were on full display time and time again. There was no play more impactful in the grand scheme of things, however, than Faker's flash-taunt on Galio in the last game of the series.

One taunt to rule them all

The game hangs on a knife's edge. The two teams, T1 and BLG, are even in kills 29 minutes into the game that will decide who gets to lift the Worlds 2024 trophy in the end. An entire year of professional League of Legends has come down to this moment.

T1 posture aggressively around the bot side river despite Faker pushing out a wave in the top lane. With Bin's Jax flanking from the bot lane, BLG are 5-man strong, and will not let their numbers advantage go to waste. It's XUN's Jarvan IV who presses forward, forcing Gumayusi's Xayah to flash into the waiting arms of Jax. A double stun and two quick kills from BLG onto the T1 bot lane. Oner's Xin Zhao flashes forward to execute ON's Rell before immediately turning tail and making for the hills. Faker has teleported in by now, but it's too little too late. The fight is already lost...

...and yet he sees an opening. In a 3v4 against some of the most mechanically gifted players in the world, Faker decides it's 'go' time. Perhaps feeling knight's Ahri is too aggressively postured, Faker flashes in and immediately lands a two-man taunt onto the mid and jungle duo of BLG. The Chinese side, like the rest of the world watching, is stunned.

With the help of Oner and Zeus, Faker executes knight, creating magic out of thin air once more. XUN follows immediately afterwards before Faker finds two knockups onto Elk's Kai'Sa to seal the ace for T1 against all odds.

Apotheosis

With one taunt, T1 wins a lost team fight. With the team fight, T1 takes the Baron. With Baron, T1 wins Worlds 2024. With a fifth Worlds title under his belt, the greatest League of Legends player of all time elevates himself when no one thought he could ever reach higher.

There is possibly only one player in the world who would have seen the angle for that play. After Worlds 2024, T1 will be hoping they never have to see the hand that landed that taunt wave the team goodbye.

For his game-changing heroics against BLG, Faker was named the Worlds 2024 Finals MVP. (Credit: Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games)

The man behind the machine

With their win over BLG, the 5-man unit of Zeus, Oner, Faker, Gumayusi and Keria, commonly referred to as ZOFGK, became the first roster to win back-to-back World Championships.

Between Zeus' rock-solid laning, Oner's objective control, Gumayusi's crisp mechanics, and Keria's fearless aggression, ZOFGK and T1 have built a machine made for high-stakes League of Legends.

None of it could be possible, however, without the unrivaled leadership of the magic man at the helm, the Unkillable Demon King, bane of the LPL, five-time World Champion and the face of League of Legends, Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok.

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Image source: Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games

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