As of lately, various #esports sources have been reporting that T1 mid laner #Faker is looking to offers from many #LCS teams.
According to the news, #TeamLiquid and #FlyQuest both expressed interest in signing Faker, and Liquid actually made the three-time world champion an offer. Faker has gotten offers from leagues outside of Korea, but according to the report, “there’s a significant probability” that he will stay with T1.
Meanwhile, as a way of updating for the next season, 100 Thieves will take the LCS stage, welcoming back Doublelift, a seasoned League of Legends veteran who departed from the professional scene in 2020.
Faker’s Situation
In traditional sports, it is typical for players to investigate the free agent market before deciding to sign a contract extension with their present organization. Players like Faker can receive offers from other prestigious teams while testing the waters, and then utilize those offers as negotiating leverage while dealing with T1.
The only starting player on T1 whose contract expires before the end of the 2023 season is Faker. This is because the majority of this year’s Worlds runners-up want to return in 2023. According to the League worldwide contract database, Faker will become a free agent tomorrow, Nov. 21, while the other four members of the team’s starting lineup are under contract through the conclusion of the current campaign.
Faker won’t be under an active contract when that free agency period opens, giving him the freedom to sign with whichever team he chooses.
If Faker decides to go somewhere else, his ownership share in T1 would be the only constraint placed on him. Faker’s three-season contract with T1 in 2020 also included a share of the team’s ownership. Former TSM mid laner Bjergsen, who was required to sell his stock in that organization when he joined Team Liquid last year, received a comparable deal.
Doublelift Comeback
Talking about a comeback that has been two years in the making, Doublelift is back in the LCS. The renowned AD carry had last competed in the league for TSM in 2020, leading the group to its eighth career domestic championship.
A different story from earlier today, also by Seeger, claims that Doublelift will join up once more with mid laner Bjergsen from the TSM team that won the 2020 championship. Over the course of their careers, Bjergsen and Doublelift collaborated on two separate episodes of TSM between 2016 and 2020.
Following TSM’s disastrous showing at the 2020 League World Championship, they both decided to retire within weeks of one another. However, Bjergsen made a successful comeback early this year.
The two will collaborate again the following season, but this time they will do it outside of the TSM company for the first time in their careers.
At this point, 100 Thieves hasn’t made any of their plans for the 2023 LCS season official, although it was previously stated that the team plans to advance support player Busio, the top prospect in the North American League, to the LCS level at the start of the next season.
Busio wouldn’t be the only rookie support Doublelift has played with in his career; during his first season on TSM in 2016, he also memorably teamed up with Biofrost. They became one of the greatest bottom lane pairings in the west when together.
Additionally, 100 Thieves supposedly has a deal with MAD Lions AD to carry UNF0RGIVEN. UNF0RGIVEN will act as a backup in 2023, despite the report—which Seeger made earlier this week—making it unclear if they will compete at the Academy or LCS levels. However, the rumored agreement with Doublelift has made this crystal obvious.
The start of the League of Legends free agency begins today, November 21, when player contracts all across the world start to expire.
