Quick Facts of
- First NameFaker
- Net Worth$ 4 million
- CareerGamer
Lee Sang-hyeok, professionally known as Faker, is a South Korean professional League of Legends player and the mid laner for a South Korean esports team SKT T1. The gamer is estimated at around $4 million as of early 2020.
He is one of the only two players to have won the League of Legends World Championship three times in 2013, 2015, and 2016 respectively. Faker is considered as one of the best League of Legends player of all time. Thanks to his outstanding gameplay, he owns three different League of Legends skins, including SKT T1 Zed, SKT T1 Ryze, and SKT T1 Syndra.
How Much Does Faker Earn From His Gaming Career?
According to various sources, Faker is estimated to own net worth at around $4 million as of early 2020. He reportedly made around $4.6 million per year from his winnings and basic salary. Faker also earns a hefty sum of money from his sponsorship deals with big brands like Nike.
To be precise, his annual salary sits at $78313.08, as per the reports.
As per various online sources, Faker has won a total of $1,254,240 in prize money and is ranked #64 in prize money won across the eSports. He also earns a decent sum of money from Twitch and YouTube, where he has 778k subscribers as of February 2020.
According to Social Blade, Faker makes $1.9k to $30.5k per month to $22.9k to $336.1k annually from his official YouTube channel entitled T1 Faker.
Did You Know? Faker declined the offer of over $1 million in salaries by a Chinese team to stay in Korea on SKT. He also declined several Chinese companies’ offers, including the ₩500 million ($425,403 USD) for streaming.
When Did He Start His Gaming Career?
Lee discovered League of Legends in late 2011 and quickly became fond of the game. He later dropped out of school to join SKT T1 and pursue a career in esports.
He was picked by SK Telecom T1 K in 2013 as their mid laner. The team dominated the Korean scene, and in October, Faker led his team to win their first League of Legends World Championship.
During the HOT6Ix Champions Summer 2013, he attached his status as a brilliant player due to his perfect outplays against KT Rolster Bullets mid-laner Yoo Sang-Wook, aka Ryu.
The SK Telecom failed to qualify for the 2014 World Championship in 2014. During the 2015 World Championship, he and his team won only dropping one game in the finals for a record of 15-1 throughout the series.
SKT began its season 6 winning the LCK Spring Split and securing a spot in the 2016 Mid-Season Invitational. They placed 3rd in the 2016 LCK Summer Split, however, they still qualified for the 2016 World Championship through circuit points.
During the finals, they defeated Samsung Galaxy in a close 3-2 series, winning their third world championship title. Lee was voted as the Most Valuable Player of the tournament.
During season 7, Faker renewed his contract with SKT, which was reported to be over $2.5 million USD. On 6th February 2017, he set a record for the most views for a single streamer for his first live stream on Twitch.
During the 2017 World Championship, SKT was defeated by Samsung Galaxy when they clean swept SKT 3-0.
Faker and his team finished fourth in the 2018 Korea Regional Finals failing to qualify for the 2018 World Championship.
On 20th November 2018, Faker re-signed with SKT and extended his contract for another three years. He was also listed on Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia 2019 under the category of Entertainment & Sports.
On 21st August 2019, he played his 500th match in the LCK during the LCK Summer Playoffs. He achieved his 100th international win defeating Splyce at the 2019 World Championship on 27th October 2019.
During the 2019 World Championship, SKT was defeated by G2 Esports in the semifinals series with 1-3 loss.
Here is a list of few individual awards won by Faker:
- 2013 Korea e-Sports Association League of Legends Most Valuable Player Award
- 2015 Korea e-Sports Association League of Legends Best Player Award
- 2015 Korea e-Sports Association League of Legends Popularity Award
- 2016 World Championship Most Valuable Player
- 2016 Korea e-Sports Association League of Legends Best Player Award
- 2016 Korea e-Sports Association League of Legends eSports Award of the Year
- 2018 David Yan award for the most beloved gamer
- 2019 Korea Esports Hall of Fame (Esports Stars)
Where Was Faker Born In?
Born Lee Sang-hyoek on 7th May 1996 in Seoul, South Korea, to father Lee Kyung-Joon. He is South Korean as per his nationality and has Asian ethnic descent.
His grandparents raised him alongside his brother Lee Sang-hoon in Gangseo District, Seoul. He went to Mapo High School; however, he later dropped out to pursue a gaming career.
The 24-year-old South Korean gamer is reportedly single. Lee seems too focused on his gaming career; hence, he is not involved in any sort of relationship.
Social Media Profile
As of February 2020, Faker has over 267.3k followers on Twitter. Although he does not have a personal Instagram account, there as lots of fan-made account under his name.
Charity Works
Apart from gaming, Faker is also involved in several kinds of charity works. In 2013, he announced that he would donate his entire October stream revenue to the UN Foundation.
Similarly, he wore UNICEF-branded clothes on his stream multiple times to raise awareness and offer publicity for the charity.
