Their journey to victory wasn’t without challenges. After defeating teams like BLG, Team Liquid, and Top Esports, it was Team Liquid that seemed to pose the most significant threat to T1’s dominance.

Despite being a relatively new mid laner, APA managed to stand his ground against the legendary Faker in all three matches. This performance gave Western fans a glimmer of hope, even though Team Liquid eventually got eliminated from the tournament.

Domestically, T1 is currently tied for fourth place in the LCK standings, while Gen.G leads the region with an impressive 12-0 record. However, the dynamics were drastically different at the Esports World Cup. Gen.G was knocked out in the first round with a 0-2 loss to Top Esports.

This early exit sparked a debate within the community about whether this defeat should impact Gen.G’s pursuit of the Golden Road, a prestigious achievement in League of Legends.

Even if Gen.G continues to dominate the LCK for the rest of the Summer and wins Worlds 2024, their misstep at the Esports World Cup will be hard to forget.

T1, on the other hand, walked away with $400,000 and the honor of being the first EWC titleholders. Although this is another significant international victory for T1, an organization known for its excellence in LoL, many fans chose not to watch the tournament.

Concerns were raised about the Esports World Cup’s association with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, casting doubt on whether Riot Games would permit LoL to be part of the event initially. Back in 2020, the LEC had to cancel their partnership with NEOM due to overwhelming backlash from fans, a situation not mirrored in 2024 with the Esports World Cup.

Ultimately, T1 secured their final victory against Top Esports, with Faker picking Yasuo for the first time since 2022. This unexpected choice allowed him to dominate TES, reassuring fans that Faker still possesses his exceptional skills despite ongoing wrist issues.

Faker’s Concerns towards the LoL Esports

On June 25, T1, Faker’s team, released a video where various players discussed important topics. In this video, Faker emphasized the persistent issues of online DDoS attacks and personal harassment, which he feels Riot Games must address promptly.

In the video, he explained how online DDoS attacks and personal harassment continue to plague the esports scene. A DDoS attack is a malicious attempt to disrupt the normal traffic of a targeted server, service, or network by overwhelming the target with a flood of internet traffic.

In the context of esports, these attacks are intended to disconnect players from their ongoing games, causing significant disruptions. Faker stated, “Online streams and personal attacks still remain, and it’s crucial for these concerns to be addressed. If left unresolved, it could gradually undermine the value of esports.”

He did not go into extensive detail, but his comments suggest a broader implication: if these issues persist, professional players will find it increasingly difficult to test and refine their skills outside of official practice sessions.

Faker’s experiences with these issues are not unique. DDoS attacks have been a recurring problem since the early days of League of Legends’ esports scene, which began in earnest in 2011. These cyberattacks are often launched by individuals seeking entertainment or harboring grudges against professional players.

The T1 video quickly made its way to Reddit, where fans expressed their dismay over the ongoing issues. Many fans acknowledged the difficulty of completely eliminating online attacks with current technology, highlighting the need for more robust solutions.

Those who are choosing to ignore the new League of Legends Hall of Fame skins are fighting a losing battle. The game’s “whales” – big spenders – have shown just how much demand there is for Faker’s expensive Ahri skin, with over $600,000 worth of bundles sold in just an hour.

On June 23, Faker, along with Bin and Elk, appeared on a Douyin stream to promote various physical and in-game League of Legends products. According to a report by Sohu, more than 100,000 concurrent League viewers tuned in to watch the stream and try to get their hands on these exclusive items. Some of these items were sold at a discount but were available only in limited quantities.

During the stream, Faker spent time showcasing the Hall of Fame Ahri skin and its custom effects. He mentioned that he was considering using the skin, but so far, he hasn’t used his Ahri skin in an official match, staying true to his stance on skins.

After an hour of answering questions and promoting the items, every version of the bundle available on the Douyin stream had sold out.

In total, including the bundle’s base and signature versions, Sohu reported sales figures as high as 4.81 million yuan, which is approximately $660,000 USD. Considering the sale of these products only started an hour before the stream began, this is an impressive number.

It shows that despite the significant online backlash the bundle has received, Faker and the Ahri Hall of Fame bundle remain hugely popular, especially among Chinese fans.

Many players have publicly committed to critize the purchase of the bundle, calling its high price tag an “insult” to the League of Legends community and its esports fanbase. However, if the figures from the Douyin stream are correct, it is clear that there is still a massive market for even the most expensive versions of the skins.

This does not look promising for those hoping the backlash would be enough to force Riot Games into lowering the price of future Hall of Fame bundles. In the meantime, we will keep an eye out to see if Faker will stick by his word and use his Ahri skin in a match.

T1 Faker chose Ahri in a professional League of Legends match for the first time since his Hall of Legends skin was released, but he didn’t use the skin. He explained why during a post-game interview.

Although Faker was an ideal choice for the first Hall of Legends inductee, as explained by League of Legends game director Pu Liu, there is a notable issue: He rarely uses skins. In both professional matches and solo queue, he almost never uses skins, except in a few instances, such as when he used his SKT Ryze skin in the 2016 Worlds Grand Finals.

This preference of him has led many players to believe that the best way to emulate him is by using Ahri’s base skin, which they call the “real Faker Ahri skin.” Considering that the Hall of Legends Ahri skin requires purchasing a $430 RP bundle, using the base skin is a much cheaper alternative.

However, Faker explained that there wasn’t any specific reason for not using the skin. He simply didn’t think about using it during the match. Given how rarely he uses skins in public matches, this response isn’t surprising.

“Uhh I was focusing on the game & I’ve never used a skin before, so I’m not used to it. That’s why I didn’t think of [using] it. I hope the fans will use it a lot.”

In his first pro game with Ahri after the skin’s release, Faker stuck with the base skin. This decision caused a stir in the community, especially since some players were boycotting the skin by either banning Ahri before the game starts or intentionally losing if their teammate used the skin.

While Faker encouraged fans to use the Ahri skin, it remains uncertain if he will ever do it himself.

Recently, a reporter from the Korean TV channel JTBC disclosed that Faker had to return the two BMW supercars because the sponsorship agreement between the luxury car manufacturer and T1 had officially ended. As a result, he was required to give back the cars.

At first glance, this might seem strange or unfair, but such actions are common in the world of sports, particularly with high-profile sponsors. In promotional image contracts, it is standard practice for sponsors to lend products for the duration of the contract and then reclaim them once the agreement concludes.

This practice is particularly prevalent among companies that sponsor traditional sports such as football and basketball. It is routine for car manufacturers to lend vehicles to players during the contract period and retrieve them once the collaboration ends.

However, what has sparked debate among Faker’s fans is the fact that BMW once presented a car to him as a birthday gift. Specifically, the car in question is a 2021 BMW 550i, valued at around $60k. This vehicle was gifted to Faker on his 25th birthday and was described at the time as a significant and special present from the sponsor.

During the car’s handover, T1’s CEO Joe Marsh personally presented the gift to him, generating admiration and excitement among fans. It was touted as the most extravagant gift Faker had ever received from a sponsor. Although Faker has received numerous gifts from renowned brands in the past, these have typically been gaming gear or apparel from brands like Nike and Adidas.

The situation has stirred emotions among Faker’s fans, as many believed the car to be a permanent gift rather than a loan tied to the sponsorship contract. This misunderstanding has fueled the ongoing discussion within the fan community about the nature of sponsorship agreements and the obligations they entail.

The controversial Hall of Legends Battle Pass

The most controversial event in League of Legends has to be the recent Hall of Legends. This event was created to celebrate Faker’s induction into the prestigious Hall of Fame, honoring his impressive career achievements that date back to 2013.

Despite the intentions, the event quickly faced backlash from players. The main reason for the dissatisfaction was the high price of the Immortalized Legend Ahri skin. This expensive skin overshadowed much of the event and became the primary point of criticism.

Nevertheless, the Hall of Legends battle pass stands out as one of the best we’ve ever received from the developers, both in terms of value and storytelling. The pass costs 1950 RP, offering great value for the price. It’s much cheaper than the Ahri skin bundles and provides a variety of rewards, along with a compelling narrative aspect.

The battle pass guides players through Faker’s journey as a professional player, sharing interesting facts about his first game, his first pentakill, and more.

Additionally, the pass rewards players with several SKT skins, all chosen by Faker during his victories at Worlds. These skins include SKT T1 Zed, Ryze, and Syndra, which alone are worth 3300 RP.

Moreover, players receive a substantial amount of Mythic Essence through the pass. Mythic Essence is used to buy rare cosmetics in the rotating shop. Normally, fully completing an entire event gives 100 Mythic Essence, but this pass alone provides 125, adding to its incredible value.

Furthermore, the pass includes many other bonuses such as emotes, banners, summoner icons, and orange essence, making it an even better deal.

What makes this battle pass even more appealing is that it is not as grindy as other seasonal events. The experience required to progress does not increase with each level, allowing players to quickly earn rewards through missions provided by the developers.

Unlike other seasonal events, this battle pass does not have a currency system. Although the currency system in events might seem beneficial, it actually limits the rewards players can obtain. This makes the Hall of Legends battle pass far superior.

Despite the controversy surrounding the Immortalized Legend Ahri skin, it is clear that the developers have done an excellent job with the battle pass for this event.

League of Legends recently introduced the most expensive skin ever seen in the game. The Immortalized Legend Ahri skin is priced at approximately $450 USD and was created to celebrate the achievements of Faker.

The player base reacted negatively to the high cost of the skin, demanding that Riot reduce the price. They threatened to continuously ban Ahri in matches to prevent anyone from using the new skin if the price wasn’t lowered.

However, Riot stood by their decision, with developers justifying the pricing. Now that the skin has been officially released, the player protests have begun in earnest, causing Ahri’s ban rate to soar.

LoL streamers pointed out this trend, and according to the League of Legends statistics website Lolalytics, Ahri’s ban rate has sharply increased. After the release of her Immortalized skin, her ban rate jumped from around 8% to approximately 16%.

Similar statistics websites also reported a similar trend. Her ban rate in Patch 14.11 was about 8.3%, but it suddenly doubled to 15.97% following the skin’s release. At the time of writing, the ban rate has reached to an insane 23.94% at its peak!

It’s clear that this method of protest has struck a chord with some of the player base, as the significant increase in Ahri’s ban rate is quite noticeable. It’s likely that the developers are aware of this protest and are seeing its effects.

Since the protests are still in the early stages, it’s difficult to predict if they will impact the sales of the skin. It’s also unlikely that Riot will change the pricing now that the skin has already been released.

Riot is introducing a new RP bundle and skin tier specifically for the Immortalized Legend Ahri skin, but it seems the player protests are not going to stop anytime soon.

T1’s League of Legends team has been suffering from DDoS attacks for several months, forcing them to completely alter their practice routines and cancel their streams. The team has now openly called out Riot Games, demanding immediate action.

This announcement follows the news that T1 must cancel all its League of Legends streams. When Faker attempted to stream for the first time since returning from MSI, he experienced immediate disconnects and connection issues due to DDoS attacks.

“It is with deep frustration that we must announce the indefinite suspension of our players’ streams due to the ongoing DDoS attacks”

“For nearly six months, these attacks have persisted, and we hoped that Riot Korea and Riot Games would devise a long-term solution to allow our players and other affected teams to resume normal training schedules. Regrettably, this has not yet occurred.”

T1 acknowledged Riot’s efforts to implement countermeasures at their HQ while the team was abroad competing at MSI 2024, but noted that these measures only protected players playing from their HQ.

After T1’s loss against HLE, which relegated them to the lower bracket of the LCK playoffs, Faker spoke about the continuous DDoS attacks during the post-match conference. He highlighted how these attacks significantly impact their overall performance.

In response to the DDoS attacks, the league had to introduce pre-recorded matches, playing them at an offline LoL arena server that foreign networks cannot affect.

T1 urged Riot Korea and Riot Games to “fulfill their responsibilities and stop these attacks” to return to normalcy and ensure a fair and competitive environment for Korean esports players for the rest of the year. At the time of writing, Riot has not provided a statement on social media.

Controversial “Transcendent” Faker Ahri skin

The latest skin in League of Legends has caused a stir among players once again. The Immortalised and Risen Legend Ahri skin was created to honor Faker for his contributions to the game. However, the high price of the skins has led many players to call it a “scam.” Some players are even threatening to mass ban Ahri so that those who bought the skin can’t use it.

Despite the significant backlash, Riot Games has not announced any changes to the pricing at this time.

Riot Games has now introduced a new skin tier called “Transcendent,” suggesting that even more expensive skins could be coming in the future. This new tier is above the Ultimate tier, which was previously the most expensive and high-quality tier in the game. Ultimate skins, such as Elementalist Lux and Pulsefire Ezreal, are highly valued for their in-game transformations and other unique features.

The Transcendent Ahri skin will cost players around $450 USD, making it the most expensive cosmetic item ever sold in League of Legends by Riot Games.

Riot’s introduction of this new skin tier indicates that we can expect more high-end cosmetics in the future, which is likely to upset many League of Legends players. It is probable that other skins released as part of the Hall of Legends will also be included in this tier, although Riot has not confirmed this yet.

Riot has not yet disclosed what they have planned for this new skin tier, but it could potentially lead to further controversy among the League of Legends community.

Faker Hall of Legends skins are way too expensive

The basic Hall of Legends pass is available for 1950 RP, which is about $15, and allows players to unlock various skins through the event. However, the most expensive bundles are the priciest cosmetics ever in League of Legends.

This premium pass includes the entire Battle Pass, fully leveled to 100, as well as Chromas for Faker’s previous T1 Worlds skins (Ryze, Syndra, Zed), enhancements for the Ahri skin, a special title, Faker’s signature on the splash arts, a unique “structure finisher” animation, and many other rewards.

Despite the variety of cosmetics for fans of Faker, the cost is steep: 59260 RP, or around $450. There is a cheaper tier that still includes the Immortalized Legend Ahri skin, but even that costs 32430 RP, meaning you would need to spend at least $250 to obtain it. This version of the skin does not include Faker’s signature on the splash art, making it feel incomplete.

Additionally, these cosmetics will only be available during this event, with no plans to add them to the game’s loot pool or bring them back in the future, according to the developers.

Players are strongly against the high prices, calling them a “scam” and saying they are overpriced. Jankos, another professional League of Legends player, also commented that the skins seem “a bit pricey.”

The skins are so expensive that Riot Games plans to introduce limited-time RP bundles that will let players purchase each bundle option fully. These bundles might make it cheaper to buy all the skins at once compared to current prices in the live client.

This situation has led many of fans to question why Riot would place so many cosmetics behind a paywall to represent Faker’s legacy. However, Riot explained the pricing in their FAQ.

“For the more casual fan, we have some of our most generous bundles to date. The Hall of Legends Pass includes multiple skins (including Risen Legend LeBlanc), emotes, and more, while the Risen Legend Collection adds the new Risen Legend Ahri skin for collectors to enjoy,”

Regarding the most expensive bundles, Riot claims the price is justified because the cosmetics are “highly commemorative, with never-before-implemented features.”