After losing to China's Edward Gaming at the Midseason Invitational in May, SK Telecom T1 returned home for Korea's Champions Summer 2015 split and steamrolled the opposition, finishing 17-1 against local competition.
As the dynamics, or meta, shifted in League of Legends, Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok reasserted his role as the team's primary mid-laner, successfully wielding a variety of champions. SKT concluded their dominant run by sweeping KT Rolster, another telecom-owned team, in the Champions 2015 Summer Finals, taking a fourth national title.
In October, the team arrived in Europe for the League of Legends World Championship, where they were heavy favorites for the Summoner's Cup. SKT easily won through the early stages of the competition, dispatching their opponents with their signature style -- methodical, deadly and largely free of errors.
In the end, despite all of the uproar about the rise of the heavy-spending Chinese teams, SKT faced another Korean team in the finals: the GE Tigers, now called the Rox Tigers, and formerly the KOO Tigers. Jang "MaRin"Gyeong-hwan, SKT's top laner, had been the team's star throughout the tournament-but it was Faker who ultimately sealed a victory for his squad, commanding the fourth game of a best-of-five to close it out.
That night in Berlin, SKT became the first team in the world to twice hoist the Summoner's Cup.
The victory cemented Faker's legacy as the greatest player in the League of Legends history; SKT had become an esports dynasty in the vein of the 1990's Chicago Bulls, led by the Michael Jordan of LoL.
But just weeks after the championship, the team was struck by a series of departures, similar to the wave that hit several Korean teams the year before. While jungler Im "T0M" Jae-hyeon remains teamless, Lee "Easyhoon" Ji-hoon, Faker's backup in the mid-lane, and MaRin, the top-laner who had performed so well at the world championships, both announced that they were leaving for new, likely more lucrative, pastures in China. Ultimately, Easyhoon went to Vici Gaming and Marin signed with LGD Gaming.
Meanwhile, Faker reportedly extended his contract with SKT, and a capable Lee "Duke" Ho-seong was signed to replace MaRin.
When Korea's spring season kicks off this week, League fans will be watching to see if SKT remains dominant despite its roster turnover -- and if Faker, already a seasoned veteran at just 19 years old, can continue to stay one step ahead of game that's perpetually in flux.