In a recent episode of You Quiz on the Block, Faker opened up about his injury and the difficulties he, along with his teammates, faced during this time.
Tragedy struck in the Summer of 2023. T1 just felt a crushing defeat against BLG at the 2023 Mid-Season Invitational and while they had won most of their early games during the 2023 Summer Split, the team did not look to be in form.
Then, in early July, Faker reveals that he's been playing with an injured arm and just a few days later he is not starting in matches anymore. T1 and their fans are distraught, but no one truly knew how the players felt, until now.
LoL: Faker And T1 Members Talk About Their Time During The Injury
Faker recently went on You Quiz on the Block, a South Korean television show, where he talked about the last year and also revealed some deeper insights into the difficulties of being a professional player.
In one of the sections of the show, Faker touches upon his injury during the 2023 LCK Summer Split. In a clip, he explains that when he was injured, his teammates had sent him messages, asking him if he was alright. He didn't want to worry the younger players, so he simply told them that he was okay, even though he really wasn't.
When Faker was hurt:#Faker: 'Hyung, are you okay?' a text like was sent to me.. I was not fine.. I wasn't really okay, but I just replied with, 'yeah'..#Zeus: When SangHyeok hyung took a break, our condition, focus, and our trust in each other fell apart... https://t.co/s9SGnINnfM
— Xxylerz (@Xxylerz) December 20, 2023
The other players also got to chime in and expand on the time without their in-game leader, with T1 top laner Zeus explaining that the team's focus, condition and trust seemed to have fallen apart due to the constant losses the team faced during this time.
T1 went 1-7 while Faker was gone, which had many fans worried for the team. With the return of Faker, T1 barely managed to make the LCK playoffs where they went on to reach second place.
T1 bot laner Gumayusi also dded on that while Faker was injured he came to the arena and helped cheer the team on, which was a big help during those times.
While the LCK 2023 Summer Split wasn't the best for T1, Faker does see it as a learning experience, explaining that he was able to see the problems the team was facing and evaluate those issues to find new ways to improve. "I think it was all for the better" he explained in the interview when asked about his time behind-the-scenes.