Five years ago, on March 22, the Unkillable Demon King, Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok, debuted on SK Telecom T1. Fans of Faker have been excited by this anniversary and sent him gifts as a congratulation.

이상혁 선수의 데뷔 5주년 축하합니다!

Congratulations on the 5th anniversary of #Faker's debut. pic.twitter.com/4okriCe2ka — SK telecom T1 (@sktelecom_t1) March 22, 2018

Faker first played in OGN Olympus Champions Spring 2013. However, Faker became notorious when he beat Ryu, who was considered one of the best mid laners at the time, in a one versus one on Zed. From there, Faker went to win Worlds 2013 and would forever be recognized as one of the best.





SK Telecom T1 is currently in 6th place with a record of 8-9. The team had a weak early season so now their chances for playoffs is shaky. In order to make playoffs, SKT must win their match against Kongdoo Monster and either KSV must lose or ROX must lose. It will be surprising to many fans if SKT does not make playoffs this year, but frankly, the team has been struggling.

my mutuals & i calculating skt’s chances going to playoffs pic.twitter.com/MmF9dCWGjR — junsik  (@beomchaeng) March 20, 2018

SKT started the season 1-5 as they rotated players around positions. The team had their support play jungle and have been running two players for top and two players for jungle to see who works best. And frankly, Faker was in a bit of a slump during some of these games.





However, when SKT rose to 5-5, it was due to Faker stepping up in his role as the team leader. Faker has been able to become a dominant force against enemy teams. Sometimes this results in him popping off and carrying. Sometimes this results in the enemy team focusing him so heavily that ADC Bae "Bang" Jun-sik can pop off. Either way, Faker has helped in-game.





To see this specifically look no further than SKT's match against BBQ in week 4. This win was what started their four game winstreak to climb back into better form. In game one Faker went 4/0/4 on Taliyah and expertly used his ultimate to catch the enemy out to help catipult himself and his teammates ahead. Then in game two Faker went 7/2/5 in a 72 minute game. Dispite this long game, Faker stood as a consistent strong point that his team could rely on and helped his teams get crucial picks. And these games only touch the surface of how Faker has helped so far.





Additionally, Faker has helped the coaching staff form their two junglers, Kang "Blank" Sun-gu and Park "Blossom" Beom-chan, into star players that are helping the team out more.





This is the same for the team's two top laners as well. For instance, against MVP, top laner Park "Thal" Kwon-hyuk got the team MVP award for the game.

SKT is finally on the rise again and Faker's teammates are stepping up to the plate to help him. The fact is, it is almost impossible to bet against Faker.





Since his debut five years ago, he claimed the titles of best mid laner in the world , best player in the world, MVP at Worlds Season 6, and three-time Worlds winner. There have been many players who have hoped to achieve what Faker has, such as Rasmus "Caps" Winther hoping to surpass him one day , but none have yet to succeed. Hopefully, SKT can utilize Faker and their other star players in order to secure the playoff spot.





Five years ago, SKT made their best decision ever with acquiring Faker and seeing him carry his team this year goes to show just how impactful he has been. Congratulations to Faker on the fifth anniversary of his debut!

Photos Courtesy of Riot Games