A legend: every LoL World Championship final Faker has played in

League of Legends’ greatest ever player, Lee ‘Faker’ Sang-hyeok, is about to play his eighth LoL World Championship (Worlds) final.

The T1 midlaner is synonymous with the esport after a record five World titles, having won the last two iterations.

All LoL esports fans watch Faker’s every move, it’s why T1 have been helping break LoL Worlds viewership records this year.

No other player has competed in more finals, so here is a look back at all seven LoL Worlds finals Faker has played in before the 2025 bout versus KT Rolster.

THE 8TH WORLDS FINAL FOR FAKER! #Worlds2025

“Here we to again” 😤 pic.twitter.com/XlGRxOHwhA

— Red Bull Gaming (@redbullgaming) November 2, 2025

LoL Worlds 2013 – the beginning of Faker’s legacy

Back in 2013, it was Faker’s rookie year.

The 17-year-old likely never would have guessed he would later head into his eighth Worlds final as a 29-year-old.

The 2013 Worlds was where SKT T1 and Faker’s legacy truly began as they destroyed Royal Club and Jian ‘Uzi’ Zi-Hao 3-0.

Faker had already built up a terrifying reputation and was targeted heavily in the final.

As a result, Faker didn’t particularly shine in this final. He instead withstood the pressure and let his teammates do the rest.

LoL Worlds 2015 – almost a flawless run

After a disappointing 2014 dominated by Samsung White and Blue, SKT bounced back with a vengeance the following year.

The team famously lost the first-ever Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) final in 2015 after EDward Gaming.

The Chinese team tricked Faker into picking his 12-game unbeaten LeBlanc in Game 5 and countered him heavily to win the event.

However, SKT were on a different level at Worlds. They didn’t drop a single game at the tournament until the final.

SKT defeated KOO Tigers 3-1 and became the first team to win Worlds twice.

LoL Worlds 2016 – peak Faker

This was where we potentially saw Faker at the peak of his powers.

Though some will rightfully argue LoL esports has only gotten harder, and the way he has adapted to the modern-day game is even more impressive.

Worlds 2016 was possibly one of Riot Games’ best ever tournaments.

It was at that event that SKT defeated the popular ROX Tigers during the semi-finals in potentially the best LoL series of all time.

Jungler Han ‘Peanut’ Wang-ho has officially retired after Worlds 2025, meaning none of that ROX roster ever won a World Championship.

The Worlds 2016 final was just as dramatic as SKT prevented Samsung Galaxy from reverse sweeping to win 3-2.

That final was nine years ago and even back then, Faker was already being talked about as the all-time great after a phenomenal tournament.

In 2016, Faker had already accomplished more than any LoL player could dream of. He was a three-time world champion and a back-to-back Worlds winner.

LoL Worlds 2017 – Faker’s most famous defeat

Worlds 2017 led to some of the most iconic moments in Faker’s career, both good and bad.

It led to one of the most famous pieces of LoL commentary ever in “Faker’s shockwave will find them all.”

Faker helped SKT come back from a 10k gold deficit against EDG in the Group Stages with an incredible Orianna ultimate.

However, the final was a very different story.

This iteration of SKT possibly relied on Faker more than any other team and he just couldn’t do enough.

Samsung Galaxy dominated and shockingly swept SKT 3-0 in the final.

This was the first time SKT ever lost a Worlds final and Faker was left devastated, leading to the iconic photo of him crying on stage.

Meanwhile, it was a first World Champions and an incredible full-circle moment for Kang ‘Ambition’ Chan-yong.

Ambition was previously known as the best midlaner in the world, until Faker completely outplayed him during his 2013 debut.

This eventually led to Ambition role-swapping to jungle and getting his revenge on Faker four years later.

LoL Worlds 2022 – Faker’s defeat creates another legendary story

Rebranded to T1, Faker would finally make it to another Worlds final five years later.

Only for it to end in a similar way, as Faker’s loss led to a career-defining moment for another legendary LoL player.

This time it was Kim ‘Deft’ Hyuk-kyu, who went to the same school as Faker and had waited a long time for a Worlds trophy.

That tournament and final are both considered some of the best in LoL history as T1 pushed DRX to an extremely close five-game series after multiple Baron and Dragon steals.

But this would not be the end of this T1 roster with Choi ‘Zeus’ Woo-je, Mun ‘Oner’ Hyeon-jun, Faker, Lee ‘Gumayusi’ Min-hyeong, and Ryu ‘Keria’ Min-seok.

LoL Worlds 2023 – Faker reborn

One year later, the same roster from that 2022 final would finally have their moment and lift the ‘T1 curse’ to win another title.

This was shockingly the first time T1 and Faker had ever won a Worlds title while competing in their home country of South Korea.

T1 went on a spectacular run through the Knockouts, defeating tournament favourites JD Gaming and stopping the LPL and MSI champions from completing the ‘golden road.’

T1 beat every LPL representative at the tournament, sweeping Weibo Gaming 3-0 in the final to allow Faker to lift his fourth Summoner’s Cup.

LoL Worlds 2024 – Faker silences any doubts

Later in his career, some questioned whether Faker was still as good as he used to be.

It hadn’t exactly been a good year for T1, as they barely qualified for Worlds as LCK’s bottom seeds.

But, Faker proved why he is the best in an unbelievable performance during the Worlds 2024 final against Top Esports (TES).

Faker stepped up when it mattered most, making some mind-boggling plays on Sylas and Galio to win the exciting final 3-2.

Faker had won back-to-back Worlds titles for a second time, adding yet another ridiculous accolade to his long list.

LoL Worlds 2025 – what’s next?

Now, Faker and T1 will take on KT Rolster in the Worlds 2025 final with another chance to make history.

Can Faker finally win a third consecutive Worlds or will it go like the 2017 final and make the legacy of yet another pro?

Just like Ambition and Deft, KT’s Gwak ‘Bdd’ Bo-seong has waited a long time for the opportunity to play in a Worlds final.