Buzz
Even the President of T1 has confirmed that only Faker has not renewed his contract with T1.
In recent days, alongside intense matches, one of the things that the LoL community is paying close attention to is T1's contract extensions with a series of their players. This is seen as an investment for the future. Players like Oner, Zeus... are still very young and can contribute to professional LoL for many more years.
But as T1's players have all renewed their contracts one by one, according to T1's CEO Joe Marsh, there is still one name who hasn't extended with the team. And that is the legend Faker. As of now, his contract with T1 only lasts until the end of Worlds 2022, specifically until November 21, 2022. Another player with a similar contract duration to Faker is Asper - who holds the Support position and is a member of the coaching staff of the team.
However, if Asper only participates in coaching activities and has not played a single minute since joining T1, Faker's position is completely different. He is the pillar of the team and despite his age, Faker still performs well against major opponents in important matches. From LCK Spring 2022 to MSI 2022, Faker's contribution to T1's overall performance is indisputable. In fact, in many matches, if Faker didn't shine, T1 could have failed.
It is very likely that Faker wants to wait until the end of the season and see the results of the tournaments that T1 participates in to consider a new contract. Because, as mentioned above, Faker is no longer young and his playing time can only be counted by season. Not to mention, with the postponement of ASIAD 2022 indefinitely, the possibility of Faker having to fulfill military service is very high.
This has stirred up anxiety within the LoL community. Everyone knows Faker's time is running out, but if he truly has to retire within the next season, it will still be too sudden. According to many speculations, the postponement of ASIAD 2022 may have influenced the decisions of T1 and Faker. Because, no one knows whether he has to fulfill mandatory military service according to South Korea's regulations.
If Faker indeed has to retire, it will be an immeasurable loss to the LoL scene. However, everything is just speculation. And everything may only become clear after the end of Worlds 2022.
