Faker on age, motivation and longevity in esports

In a lengthy interview with the South Korean edition of Marie Claire, Lee "" Sang-hyeok discussed, among other things, age in esports and the fear of getting older in a young environment. “I came to realize that what causes your performance to decline isn’t necessarily age itself,” he said, instead pointing to “the boredom or lack of motivation” that often come from being active for a long time.

As early as 2018, the South Korean star, who already had three Worlds titles to his name, was looking ahead and, more specifically, toward the end of his competitive career. In an interview with The Korea Herald, which Marie Claire referenced in its question, he said at the time, “I want to keep on until I’m 27, or even older. And I am confident that I can continue to do so until that age, or even beyond that point.” Now 30 years old in August 2026, he was asked by Marie Claire whether he was afraid “that your performance might decline because of your age,” to which Faker replied:

As mentioned in the introduction, Faker believes that desire and motivation are much more important when it comes to maintaining a high level. He has also signed with his historic club through 2029. To overcome his “fear of aging,” he said that reading has helped him continue to believe in himself and improve: “Since then, I’ve read books and kept thinking about how I could improve and perform better.” Rather than focusing on that fear, he now prefers to focus “on making sure I don’t become desensitized or complacent through familiarity, and on continuing to learn and stay fully engaged.”

These are sentiments he had already expressed in 2021 during an interview with Inven Global, when the South Korean midlaner said he was “satisfied with my accomplishments and results, but never fully in life. That feeling is what keeps me motivated.” He also explained that what kept him motivated was “performing at a level that I’m satisfied with,” adding that performing well for his fans was “what keeps me going.”

The age myth is one of esports’ enduring talking points, but it is obviously just as present in traditional sports. Some of the best examples in esports can probably be found in Counter-Strike 2, a historic game that has existed for more than 20 years, where some of the names still competing are over 30 years old. Dan "apEX" Madesclaire is one such example.

At 32, he had the best year of his long career in 2025 with Team Vitality. In an interview with Thorin, the French In-Game Leader notably argued that “this stereotype of saying, ‘Yeah, he’s washed. He’s more than 30 years old’ is actually not true,” while remaining realistic about his own situation: “Of course, I’m less good than others, but I know that in some important moments I can pop off.”

While Faker therefore talks about maintaining his motivation, CS2 player Markus "Kjaerbye" Kjærbye (ex-Astralis, FaZe Clan) expressed a similar idea with HLTV, saying that he had lost “the hunger and determination to compete at the top level” in 2022, which ultimately led him to retire. Another factor in maintaining a high level is having a healthy lifestyle, as he explained by saying that “just sitting down and only playing Counter-Strike is not what brings out the best version of myself.”