Immortal Demon King “Faker” Lee Sang-hyeok and Spring Emperor “Xiaohu” Li Yuanhao are about to face off in the sixth multi-game match of their careers. The stage is the LoL World Championship (Worlds Cup) finals.
Lee Sang-hyuk's T1 and Xiaohu's Weibo Gaming will face off in the 2023 LoL World Championship finals to be held at Gocheok Sky Dome in Guro-gu, Seoul on the 19th. While expectations are high as it is the World Cup finals, the matchup that is drawing more attention is the matchup between Lee Sang-hyeok and 'Xiaohu', who have established themselves as mid laners representing Korea and China for a long time. The two players have previously competed in multiple matches five times.
The first meeting between Lee Sang-hyuk and ‘Xiaohu’ was at the 2016 Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) held in Shanghai, China. SK Telecom T1, who shared 1 win and 1 loss in the group stage, and RNG, which Xiaohu belonged to, met in the semifinals. And in the first multi-game match between Lee Sang-hyeok and 'Xiaohu', T1 swept away their uneasiness in the group stage and won 3-1.
And the two players reunited at Worlds that same year. This time it was the quarterfinals. The flow was similar. Like the MSI semifinals, T1, which dropped the first set, defeated RNG in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th sets, advancing to the World Cup semifinals. After gaining momentum by defeating RNG, T1 defeated Samsung Galaxy in the finals that year and became Worlds Champion for the second time in a row.
The following year, 평택출장마사지 in the semifinals of the 2017 World Cup, Lee Sang-hyuk and ‘Xiaohu’ will face off again. Although it was a burdensome situation to face RNG of LPL's top star Zhen Zahao "Uzi" at Worlds held in China, T1 won 3-2. On this day's match, the so-called '5 Galio', which is still talked about among fans, appeared, and Lee Sang-hyeok picked Galio in all five sets, overwhelming 'Xiaohu'.
In this way, Lee Sang-hyuk went on a three-game winning streak against 'Xiaohu' in the multi-game competition. However, starting in 2018, the LCK entered a dark period and continued to slump in international competition, and at this time, 'Xiaohu' rebounded. By winning MSI in 2018, he became the first Chinese mid laner to win an international competition. And 'Xiaohu' also won the 2021 MSI, achieving a second championship, tying Lee Sang-hyuk's MSI championship record.
And at MSI in 2022, the two players will face off in a multi-game match for the first time in five years. After sharing 1 win and 1 loss in the Rumble stage, T1 and RNG met in the finals. And T1 ended up losing website 2-3 in the finals. At this time, Lee Sang-hyuk tasted defeat to 'Xiaohu' for the first time in his career. And with this win, 'Xiaohu' stood tall as the MSI winner with the most wins and further solidified his nickname 'Emperor of Spring'.
However, 'Emperor of Spring' is a glorious nickname for 'Xiaohu', but it is also a nickname that reveals limitations. This is because the momentum of spring could not continue into fall. In the quarterfinals of the World Cup that same year, T1 won 3-0, completely avenging the loss in the MSI finals. In this way, Lee Sang-hyuk once again left the pain of autumn to ‘Xiaohu’.
Two players with such a history are now facing their sixth multi-game match in the World Cup finals. Lee Sang-hyuk is aiming for his first win in seven years, and 'Xiaohu' is making his first career Worlds final. Will Lee Sang-hyeok, the Immortal Demon King, continue his undefeated streak in Worlds against LPL and achieve his fourth World Cup title? Or will Xiaohu finally defeat the Immortal Demon King, who had been blocking him for a long time, and win his first World Cup title? There is growing interest in whether it will succeed.