Faker: After 30, he is still willing to compete for a long time. E-sports has nothing to do with age.

Lee Sang Hyuk (Faker). (Provided by Nagoya Asian Games Preparatory Committee)

[Reporter Lu Yangxuan/Comprehensive Report] The South Korean team defeated Taiwan in the Nagoya Asian Games e-sports "League of Legends" yesterday to complete its second consecutive championship. The 30-year-old legendary player Faker (Lee Sang Hyuk) did not participate in the game, but he praised his teammates for their outstanding performance and expressed that even though he is over 30, he still hopes to continue to be active in the game for a long time.

Korean media "Sports Kyunghyang" reported today that Faker is the only South Korean player selected this year for the "TIME 100 Sports" list of the 100 most influential people in global sports. He officially entered the professional stage at the age of 16 and has won the "League of Legends" World Series six times in his career, becoming the first player in history to complete three consecutive championships. He is also the first professional e-sports player to be awarded the "Blue Dragon Chapter" of the Korean Sports Medal.

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Faker said at the gold medal press conference held at the "Korea House" in Nagoya today, "It is a very precious experience to win the gold medal in the Asian Games. I am really happy." However, he has not played in the finals for two consecutive times. Faker said, "I did not participate in the finals as a starter in both times, but I don't care about this. Rather than starting, I value more that I have the opportunity to stand on the stage of the Asian Games and experience this process first-hand."

Faker also praised the performance of his teammates, "The entire team performed very well. It was also a very meaningful experience for me to see "Zeka" Kim Gun-woo, who replaced me, compete and win the championship."

Korean media pointed out that with the reduction in playing time, there has been speculation recently that "his retirement period is gradually approaching." According to the e-sports current situation survey of the Korea Content Agency, the average retirement age of professional e-sports players is 26.7 years old.

However, the 30-year-old Faker made it clear that now is not the time to talk about retirement. "E-sports is still an emerging project that continues to grow. Even though Bae Jae-min, the player who won the championship in the fighting game "Tekken" this time, is in his 40s, his strength is still top-notch, right? Strength has no direct relationship with age. What matters is how much enthusiasm you can maintain. I also think I can continue to compete for much longer."