esports
Top gaming tips from T1 LoL legend Faker
Still getting to grips with the ‘work-from-home’ life? Take some tips from an esports player who’s been at it for seven years...
Like many of us, Lee Sang-hyeok, aka Faker, has spent much of the past year living and working in the same space as his housemates. He’s also played a lot of video games. The difference is, that’s his job.
The 24-year-old South Korean is considered to be the greatest-ever League of Legends player, and his housemates are pro esports team SK Telecom T1.League of Legends (LoL) is a multiplayer online battle arena game (MOBA) – a mix of combat, magic, skill and strategy where two teams of five move their ‘champions’ around a battlefield to destroy the opposition’s base (‘Nexus’) and defend their own.
It’s also one of the world’s biggest esports. More than 100 million fans saw the 2019 World Championships – more than that year’s Super Bowl. Tickets to the Paris final resold for up to £400, and, at its peak, 44 million viewers watched the livestream to see who’d win the $1.1m (£800,000) prize.
Faker has been a pro since 2013, earning around almost £1m in prize money on top of an estimated £1.8m annual salary with SKT T1. He can also boast 3.1 million Twitch subscribers, and is one of only two players to have won the World Championship three times (2013, 2015 and 2016). But this kind of success takes hard graft, and Faker lives and trains daily at the team’s Seoul ‘gaming house’. What can his extreme work-from-home lifestyle teach the rest of us?
T1 has been home to some of the greatest LoL players of all time
© Getty Images
Manage your time
Between competitions, Faker’s day includes two three-hour gaming sessions (1pm to 4pm and 7pm to 10pm). “I train according to the schedule of the team,” he says. “Through self-management, I try to stay healthy both physically and mentally, including getting enough sleep.” He also keeps work and living spaces distinct: “The practice room is close but separate to the player house. We focus best when we work in there.”
Come together
In LoL, the battlefield between the rival bases consists of three lanes (top, middle and bottom) surrounded by jungle. Faker’s role is ‘mid-laner’ – a central tactical position. He’s also often the ‘shotcaller’ – the team member who decides which targets to attack. This team ethic is something he also brings to the household.
Being competitive can be helpful for motivation
“One of my strengths is understanding not only my own play but the situation of the overall team,” Faker says, stressing the importance of keeping competitiveness out of their offline lives. “Like they say, there’s no ‘i’ in team.”
Faker has been a pro since 2013, earning around almost £1m in prize money
© Getty Images
Learn to chill
LoL contests are intense and, at Faker’s level, the stakes and stresses get high. “I’m used to playing under pressure, and I’ve developed ways to keep calm,” he says. “I meditate before a game to clear my mind of anything going on around me. I also prepare with stretching.”
However, his ultimate wellbeing weapon is the humble house plant. “I put them in visible places to remind me to water them,” he explains. “They ease my eyes and keep my mind calm. And the colour green has a calming effect."
I used to go through a slump when I lost, but now I take failure as a learning process
Enjoy yourself
Keeping your spirits up can be tough in a high-stress job; even more so when you spend every hour with workmates.
“Being competitive can be helpful for motivation,” says Faker, “but it’s more valuable to focus on ways I can be satisfied. I used to go through a slump when I lost, but now I take failure as a learning process and concentrate on moving forward. Whether it’s a League game or just with friends, I find fun when I play.”
Follow Faker on his Twitch channel: twitch.tv/faker. League of Legends is available for Windows, and LoL: Wild Rifts is on Android and iOS
