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Faker

Faker

The latest news on Faker, South Korean professional gamer (League of Legends), including gaming news and updates.

South Korea’s T1 member Faker, or Lee Sang-hyeok, is seen on screen during the final of the League of Legends World Championship in Chengdu, southwestern China’s Sichuan province, on November 9, 2025. Photo: AFP

How League of Legends is still China’s top PC game after 15 years

Vital esports scene surrounding the game, developed by Tencent subsidiary Riot Games, helps maintain its popularity.

18 Nov 2025 - 10:06AMvideocam

Hong Kong economy

Why is Hong Kong’s esports scene not in the game? More backing needed, fans say

12 Oct 2024 - 4:15PMvideocam

Artificial intelligence

Resistance is futile: Channel 4’s Landy Slattery on why AI won’t replace creatives

20 Aug 2024 - 2:54PM

India’s politics descends into an AI arms race as deepfakes threaten elections

The emergence of generative AI has left governments around the world scrambling to legislate against the risks posed by the fast-evolving technology. But India is especially vulnerable – and even Modi’s concerned.

14 Mar 2024 - 11:38PMvideocam

An AI-generated image showing Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi playing guitar live on stage at a concert. Photo: Photo: Instagram/@_a.i_guy_

South Korean esports league faces challenges in mainland China after Taiwan controversy

Tencent’s Huya live-streaming platform halted Chinese broadcasts of the new League of Legends season after a South Korean team referred to Taiwan as a country.

28 Jan 2024 - 7:16PMvideocam

TV shows and streaming video

Review | Gary Oldman wows in greasy mac as spy in Slow Horses season 3 on Apple TV+

In Slow Horses season 3, Gary Oldman dons his flasher mac for another turn as flatulent spy master Jackson Lamb, while the pandemic’s social ruptures occupy Taiwan-set lockdown anthology At the Moment.

8 Dec 2023 - 9:42AM

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South Korean superstar gamer Faker wins historic League of Legends championship

South Korean Faker, whose real name is Lee Sang-hyeok, wins a record-breaking fourth world title after defeating China in the finals.

20 Nov 2023 - 10:58AM

South Korea’s T1 hold up their trophy after defeating China’s Weibo Gaming at the League of Legends world final. Photo: AFP

Esports fans flock to Seoul for League of Legends world final

South Korean powerhouse T1 will take on China’s Weibo Gaming in front of 16,000 sell-out crowd at Super Bowl of esports.

18 Nov 2023 - 2:00PM

Asian Games 2023

South Korean players exempt from military service after Asian Games esports gold

League of Legends triumph – without star player Lee ‘Faker’ Sang-hyeok – is deemed to meet the requirement of being ‘an athletic prize of national prestige’.

30 Sep 2023 - 4:44PM

Asian Games 2023

Esports at the Asian Games: everything you need to know

What are the games, how are they played, and who is expected to win? Find out with our handy Hangzhou explainer.

27 Sep 2023 - 2:47PM

Esports is making its Asian Games debut and has drawn in thousands of spectators. Photo: Xinhua

Asian Games 2023

Asian Games: who is Faker, the ‘Unkillable Demon King’ of esports?

A two-time world champion, he’s been dubbed the Michael Jordan and Lionel Messi of esports, now he’s out to add Asian Games gold to his collection, but who is Lee Sang-hyeok, and how much is he actually worth?

26 Sep 2023 - 2:48PMvideocam

Esports League of Legends South Korean national team player Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok (right) walks past supporters during a fan meeting event ahead of the Asian Games: Photo: AFP

South Korean esports star Faker could get what BTS couldn’t: military exemption

Potential military service exemption for gamers representing South Korea at the Asian Games has reignited a controversial issue.

22 Sep 2023 - 4:13PM

TV shows and streaming video

Review | Season 3 of HBO’s The Righteous Gemstones mocks megachurches some more

The Righteous Gemstones returns on HBO to lampoon televangelism and the Christian fundamentalist American South, while Lee Jun-ho and Im Yoon-ah clash in Netflix K-drama King the Land.

28 Jul 2023 - 9:40AM

8 dead, 7 missing after suspected smuggling boats capsize near San Diego

Illegal crossings have soared under US President Joe Biden. Many migrants turn themselves in to Border Patrol agents and are released in the US to pursue their cases in immigration court.

13 Mar 2023 - 2:31AM

A boat salvager picks up life preservers in front of one of two boats sitting on Blacks Beach in San Diego, California, US on Sunday. Photo: AP

Profile | Singaporean bestselling author Kirstin Chen on the regenerative gift of time

The New York Times bestselling author studied at Stanford University and her third book was a Reese’s Book Club pick … so how did she get here?

11 Jan 2023 - 10:33AM

Meet the author of the New York Times bestseller Counterfeit, Kirstin Chen. Photo: Sarah Deragon

‘Fake news’ says Russia about Lavrov’s visit to hospital with heart condition

Indonesian government and medical officials said the Russian diplomat was being treated on the resort island for a heart condition. Russian Foreign Ministry called it false reporting.

14 Nov 2022 - 6:14PM

Hong Kong environmental issues

Letters | Mil Mill’s troubles underline need to make recycling profitable

Readers discuss the urgency to implement a producer responsibility scheme, the doctors faking Covid-19 exemptions and the Hindu view on euthanasia.

29 Sep 2022 - 11:30AM

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Will BTS be first K-pop stars to bypass South Korea’s military service?

Jin, the band’s oldest member at 29, is due to begin his military service. While there’s government and public support for BTS to bypass enlisting, others they they would not welcome such a move.

27 Apr 2022 - 12:30PMvideocam

K-pop group BTS salutes to their national flag during a ceremony marking the National Youth Day at the presidential Blue House in Seoul. File photo: Yonhap via AP

Who is Faker, the ‘Unkillable Demon King’ of esports?

From high school dropout to League of Legends’ unanimous GOAT, here’s how 25-year-old Lee Sang-hyeok is defying logic once again as he eyes a record-breaking fourth world championship title.

4 Apr 2022 - 8:25PMvideocam

Chinese language cinema

‘Love and life’ the themes of Return to Dust, its Chinese director says

China’s northwest, the setting for rural melodrama premiered at the Berlin film festival, is where its director, Li Ruijun, grew up. He talks about encroaching urbanisation in China, and the importance of nature in film.

22 Feb 2022 - 6:15PMvideocam

Asian Games 2023

Tencent-OCA esports alliance can put Hong Kong on global map

President of the Asian Electronic Sports Federation wants Hong Kong to be part of the qualifying campaign for September’s Hangzhou Asian Games.

24 Jan 2022 - 4:25PM

Gamers from Malaysia and Vietnam compete in the qualifying rounds of the esports event at the 2019 SEA Games in Manila. Photo: AFP

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