T1 has been without its legendary mid laner Faker for the entire month of July as the 11-year veteran went down with an arm injury on July 2 and has since missed the League of Legends team’s last five matches, including today’s 2-0 loss to Hanwha Life Esports.
Originally, Faker was supposed to make his comeback today as the team had targeted a two-week window for his return to the stage, with the match against Hanwha Life being the earliest possible series that Faker could have been back in the mix. Today, however, Faker was nowhere to be seen as mid lane substitute Poby played his fifth consecutive match with the team while Faker continued to be sidelined.
Moving forward, Faker’s comeback date has been pushed back, and it’s unlikely that he’ll be able to play for T1 again during the 2023 regular season. In today’s post-match press conference, T1 interim head coach Tom said the organization’s goal for Faker is to see him make his return in time for the LCK playoffs, which are set to begin on Aug. 8.
“Faker’s still focusing on his treatment,” coach Tom said today according to a translation by esports coverage site Inven Global. “We’ll be checking whether or not he can play, and if he can, we’ll announce it separately. His condition is the most important, but we’re trying to have him back by the playoffs.”
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With Faker’s new return time frame in mind, it’s likely, if not guaranteed, that he’s going to miss all five of T1’s remaining matches. In the five that he’s already missed, T1 have posted a match record of 1-4, with all four of their losses coming by way of 2-0 sweeps. At the time of Faker’s injury, T1 held a record of 6-2 and were primed to compete for a top spot in the LCK playoff bracket. Now, the team sit decisively in fifth place, with a first-round bye being realistically out of the picture.
If there’s one saving grace for T1 at the back end of the Summer Split, it’s that falling out of playoff contention would take a Herculean losing streak. Since four of the five teams below them in the standings have abysmal records of 3-10, T1 would need to win just one or two of their games against them to avoid a total collapse.
The team’s next match is on Sunday, July 23 against BRION. Should Faker hit his return date and get back to the T1 lineup in time for the playoffs, he would likely be back on stage on Aug. 8, although the effects and fallouts from his treatment could play a factor.
