Few players have defined League of Legends the way the T1 midlaner has. Already regarded as the greatest player of all time, he has now added another historic record to his career: Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok became in 2025 the first player in League of Legends history to reach 10 Worlds appearances.

Since making his debut in 2013, Faker has become a permanent fixture at Worlds, leading T1 to five championship titles and multiple deep runs as their lowest result has been semi-finals. More than a decade later, he remains at the top of the scene, continuing to set records that may never be broken.

*Article with data collected on September 23, 2025

The players closest to Faker

So far, the closest player to Faker is Huang "Maple" Yi-Tang, who has featured at Worlds nine times. Just behind him are several current stars tied at eight participations, including Rasmus "Caps" Winther, Jo "CoreJJ" Yong-in, Park "Ruler" Jae-hyuk, Jeong "Impact" Eon-young, and Li "Xiaohu" Yuan-Hao. Legendary veterans such as Kim "Deft" Hyuk-kyu, Yiliang "Doublelift" Peng, and Nicolaj "Jensen" Jensen also reached eight appearances during their careers, although they have since stepped away from the scene either through retirement or mandatory military service.

What makes this milestone so remarkable is not just the number itself, but what it represents. To play in ten different Worlds tournaments requires not only individual excellence but also long-term team success across vastly different eras of the game. Faker’s ability to adapt to new metas, lead his team year after year, and remain relevant at the highest level is one of the main reasons he has become the face of competitive League of Legends.

With this new achievement, Faker has once again raised the bar for the entire scene. While a handful of active players are still close behind him, it may take years before anyone else matches his record-breaking consistency on the biggest stage.