Faker reveals why he thinks non-stop practice in esports is a “bad idea”
Riot Games KoreaLeague of Legends superstar Lee ‘Faker’ Sang-hyeok is well known for his pure dedication to esports, but the three-time world champion has revealed he thinks it’s a “bad idea” to fully immerse yourself in a game, even if you love it.
Faker is known as the greatest League player to have ever touched the game, lifting the prestigious Summoner’s Cup a record three times with SK Telecom T1, and commanding multi-million dollar offers to leave T1 and Korea.
Even he, however, knows the value of moderation when it comes to gaming and esports, as he revealed as the LCK got back underway for its 2020 season. He may be the best in the world, but even he has to stop every so often.
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According to the superstar mid laner, taking time away from practice, and immersing yourself in “many extra activities” away from video games can actually be the key to improving yourself as a player and a star.
Because you take time away to “reset,” and then approach the challenges and trials that the game has for you in a new light, you can often break through barriers that were you struggling with before, the Korean champion said.
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“I think as a pro player, practicing and competing in games every single day is not that great of an idea,” he said in an interview with Fomos, as translated by Forsythia. “It’s a bad idea. That’s why I try to participate in lots of activities.”
“I try to think those activities would help me broaden my horizons — as long as they don’t distract me from my dedicated practice time — and I think that ultimately will help me focus on the games [in the LCK],” he added.
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Faker’s more balanced approach to League in 2020, as he looks to return to the international throne after watching Samsung Galaxy, Invictus Gaming, and FunPlus Phoenix win the past three years, seems to be paying off, at least a bit.
T1 has started 1–1 in Champions Korea, after defeating Damwon Gaming 2–1 in the season opener, and falling in a tight three-game series to Hanwha Life Esports.
While the team’s fortunes have been mixed so far, Faker himself has been back to his dominant best, being named most valuable player in three of the team’s four game-wins during their first two series in Spring 2020.
(Early) Happy new year pic.twitter.com/83KI8fdUa7
— T1 Faker (@faker) December 18, 2019
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He also admitted that he was expecting the team as a whole to take time to settle, especially after “a lot of team changes” dictated T1’s offseason.
“I expect this year will be totally different from last year, especially because there were a lot of team member changes, and swaps in the meta too,” he said.
“Although we defeated DWG this time, we still have so many games left. We have to compete against a lot of other strong teams in the season before the end too. For me, and T1, I cannot expect what is going to happen in the future.”
For mobile readers, the related segment beings at 2:37 in the video below.
Faker’s next challenge comes against KT Rolster in the Telecom Wars on Thursday. While the sheen has gone out of the grudge match in recent seasons, the LoL GOAT will face stiff resistance from Lee ‘Kuro’ Seo-haeng in the mid lane.
T1 are also set to face Gen.G in the closing match of the second round. Gen.G have claimed victory in both their opening series against KT Rolster and Griffin. Faker will come face-to-face with a resurgent Gwak ‘Bdd’ Bo-seong in the mid lane.
