Will League of Legends decline after Faker retires?

As the leading figure in LoL esports, Faker has many fans among players and viewers alike. LCK's star jungler Peanut confessed during a stream that since his high school days, he often heard complaints that LoL was dying out. Now, almost ten years after graduating, LoL is still the hottest game in the esports world. Peanut believes Faker deserves much of the credit for LoL's sustained popularity, even suggesting that if LoL's popularity ever wanes, it would be because Faker retired.

With Peanut’s high praise for Faker, many LoL fans hope Faker will continue competing at the top level, some even wishing he would make history by playing professionally until he’s 40 before retiring. Recently, T1 held a press conference where a host specifically asked Faker if he has the confidence to keep playing until 40 before retiring. (What do you think—will Faker continue his pro career after his contract with T1 ends?)

Faker responds about retiring at 40

Faker replied that he has successfully renewed his contract with T1 for four more years. Initially, he worried that by age 30, continuing to compete might become a burden to his team. However, as competitions progressed, he realized he still had room to improve. In the interview, Faker declared that as long as his health remains good, he aims to play until he is 40 before retiring. (Faker once said he wouldn’t date if he didn’t retire—if he retires at 40, will he still have time for relationships?)

The host also asked Faker whether he plans to leave T1 in the future. Faker said T1 treats him very well and provides many conveniences, so he intends to end his career there rather than joining another team. Finally, the host inquired about Faker’s toughest opponent during his career. Faker acknowledged all his past rivals were formidable, but recently he has lost multiple times to GEN’s mid-laner Chovy in league matches. Therefore, Faker considers Chovy the strongest opponent he has faced in his 13-year career.

Viper’s debut match against ELK

Since BLG dismissed their AD carry ELK, many LoL fans have hailed BLG as the future strongest team in the LPL. Even coach Zhu Kai publicly stated that BLG will win all domestic championships. Due to this hype, many ELK fans are unhappy with BLG’s management, especially since ELK still has one year left on his contract but was still released. This clearly signals that BLG believes Viper is stronger than ELK, so many ELK supporters hope ELK can defeat BLG head-to-head in the Demacia Cup to prove his worth.

The LPL organizers understand what fans want to see, so in the Demacia Cup group stage, BLG and WBG are placed in the same group. The groups are: Group A with IG, NIP, EDG, WE, and LGD; Group B with BLG, JDG, WBG, LNG, and OMG. The top three teams from each group will advance to a BO5 knockout stage. (TES and AL automatically qualified for the quarterfinals due to their top 8 finishes at Worlds.)

Conclusion

Personally, I really want to watch the match between Viper and ELK. Although BLG will not field their full roster because their mid-laner LeftHand won’t start due to certain reasons, WBG has undergone major roster changes during the transfer period, so I think BLG and WBG are roughly equal in strength. Who do you think will win between BLG and WBG?