Faker admits he was sick for majority of Worlds 2024

T1 won its fifth League of Legends World Championship after a victory at Worlds 2024, continuing to cement MVP Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok as the best player of all time. To make his Worlds run even more impressive, the Unkillable Demon King recently admitted he was sick for many of the biggest matches.

Faker hasn’t been feeling too well this year. First, he missed the Worlds 23 Champions Showcase after testing positive for COVD-19. Fans were disappointed that Faker wasn’t going to be playing in the exhibition event with the rest of the LCK, but others just wanted to see the top pro get some rest. While that was T1’s priority at the time to “make sure that Faker can focus on his recovery so that he can play in good condition for the upcoming matches,” he still ended up falling ill once more.

Faker revealed during a stream following Worlds that he wasn’t feeling well during that event either.

Faker admits he was sick during the majority of Worlds 2024

Faker recently opened up about his experience at Worlds, giving fans interesting insight into almost getting kissed by a fan on stage, funny moments during the opening ceremony, and important plays during key matches. However, Faker also admitted that he was sick for a majority of Worlds 2024.

“I caught a cold during Worlds, was it the semifinals? I played while feeling sick and it lasted for quite a while, about two weeks. I kept coughing and had a runny nose,” Faker said, according to fan translation.

This earned him the nickname “Runny Nose Hyuk.” While it definitely created some funny memories, it also could have been quite nerve-wracking for Faker and his team. During the semifinals, T1 was competing against Gen.G and BLG, two big opponents.

Still, despite Faker being sick, T1 dominated. First, the team went 3-1 against GEN.G in the semifinals, another LCK favorite. Then, the finals saw T1 take down BLG 3-2. It was a closer match but T1 generally spent its time at Worlds dominating the competition.

Said one fan, “He is the GOAT for a reason.”

Faker has now won five World Championships, more than any other League of Legends pro in history. He’s also won two Mid-Season Invitationals in 2016 and 2017, and has 10 combined LCK and Champions Korea titles. Faker was also the first-ever Hall of Legends inductee.