League of Legends star Faker makes year-end donation to charity

Esports League of Legends Korean national team player Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok / Courtesy of SK Telecom

Lee Sang-hyeok, the Korean gamer better known by his player name “Faker,” made a 30 million won ($23,176) donation to a nonprofit charity organization called Community Chest of Korea, T1 Entertainment and Sports announced, Wednesday.

“I delivered donations to Community Chest of Korea again this year, to mark the year-end and New Year’s season, when warm helping hands are most needed. This was a meaningful year and I know my fans have done good deeds before me. I hope my donation can contribute to warming up the holiday season,” the 27-year-old said in a statement.

Also dubbed as the Michael Jordan, Lionel Messi or even the “god” of League of Legends (LoL), Lee is thus far the most renowned and iconic professional player in the game’s history and now leads the Seoul-based SK T1 team.

Since his debut in professional gaming at the age of 16 in 2013, Faker has spent his entire career playing for the Korean team and attained unrivaled records of national and international titles — four World Championships, two Mid-Season Invitationals and 10 national titles.

Lee is now the highest-paid gamer in the country, earning 10 billion won a year and stars in television advertisements with Tottenham Hotspur striker Son Heung-min, but regardless of his rise to stardom, Lee chooses to remain humble.

In local media appearances, he said he spends only around 200,000 won per month and wishes to donate his fortune after retirement. He is known to have made donations during the COVID-19 pandemic, national disasters and year-end seasons.

Faker’s humble attitude had a positive influence on his fans.

Korean T1 fans led an online campaign during the 2023 LoL World Championship in November, in which they uploaded posts of good deeds done in the name of rooting for Lee’s team, such as picking up garbage from the streets and donating blood.