After watching the League of Legends Worlds 2023 Finals Opening Ceremony, I've been quite intrigued about the story of Deft and Faker. This time, after watching the official anthem and music video for Worlds 2023 'GODSft. NewJeans (뉴진스)' I ended up down a rabbit hole. #NewJeans #Worlds2023 #뉴진스 #leagueoflegends
I hadn't watched pro-play until Worlds 2023 but seeing Deft's story in the anthem mv and getting all the goosebumps, I had to go back and watch all DRX games in Worlds 2022 😅
That "explanation" video barely even scratches the surface of how great last year's Worlds narrative was, which is understandable because there's so much history in between (it's a story 10 years in the making). It was so anime it was hard to believe it was real. Gbay99 is currently making a 5-part documentary of this Faker-Deft story, and only the first part of the documentary is released as of this writing, and it's already so much better than theScore esports' "The Story of Deft". Basically, the video only shows Deft's Worlds journey, from his debut to him finally winning the championship against the greatest player the League has ever seen, Faker, who was also his HS schoolmate. There's just too much in this Faker-Deft dynamic that it would take pages just to explain the layers to this relationship, but I'll just mention a few. First, is them as HS schoolmates. Back in HS before the both of them got scouted by a team, Deft managed to be one of the highest ranked players in LOL and got relatively popular in school for it. But the reason he wasn't the most popular was because the rank 1 player was also attending the same high school as him: Faker, and his HS friends would always try to tease him by comparing him to Faker. Deft knew who Faker was, but Faker didn't even know who he was, nor did Faker know what he's rank is. To Faker, he was just a nobody. Second, as to how different their careers started: both of them debuted in about the same time (Deft ahead with just a few weeks), and while Deft was struggling with his first team, MVP Blue, Faker burst into the scene as a shining star and won his first World cup in his debut year. This is represented in the MV with the scene where Deft as Ezreal is struggling with the blue buff (MVP blue?), whereas Faker as Zed (one of Faker's most iconic champions) effortlessly slays the baron, the game's most impressive neutral monster. Here, Deft began to view Faker as a goal to reach. Third, their teams: while Deft was hopping on to different teams and organizations for his whole career, Faker has always remained with his original org, SKT T1 (now just T1) to this day. And fourth (out of many more), Deft was known for as a player with a weak mental in his early years which costed him so many games, while Faker is the embodiment of clutch (which won him 3 Worlds titles, now 4 after Worlds 2023). As Deft kept on failing, Faker was solidifying his dynasty. The main idea behind the video's narrative is Deft making his numerous attempts at hoisting the Worlds trophy with various teammates (from his days in SSB, EDG, KT, KZ, DRX), failing, and then facing some of those teammates again (but this time, as enemies) to finally win the Summoner's Cup. There's also another layer to this story in the player named "Keria". Keria is a promising young superstar player and, in his debut year, was Deft's lane partner/support (he's the player that 'died' shielding Deft's character in the MV) in a team called DRX in the year 2020 (yes, the same DRX that won Worlds in 2022, but with different roster of players). During their time in the team together, they developed a brotherly relationship. Learning about Deft's struggles and passion for the game, Keria then promised Deft that he will someday make Deft a World champion (important!). Unfortunately, their team fell in the quarterfinals against the then super strong DWG (represented in the video by their mid-jgl duo Showmaker and Canyon), who became the World champions in 2020. Shortly thereafter, Keria was offered by T1 (Faker's team, and is the LCK's most prestigious team) to become the team's support player. Keria was hesitant at first because he didn't want to leave Deft, but it was Deft himself who encouraged Keria to accept the offer as he sees it a great opportunity for Keria to grow as a player. And so, Keria became T1's support player from 2021 onwards. Shortly after his 2020 campaign with DRX, Deft took a short break due to a wrist injury. Everyone thought he would retire from the league scene without having won a Worlds championship despite his numerous campaigns (always falling in quarterfinals, and only reaching semi-finals once in 2014). He tried again w/ HLE but he again fell to Faker's T1 in the quarterfinals. Come 2022, Deft decided to give himself one last shot and returned to his former team, DRX. They entered the Worlds tournament as Korea's last seed, barely earning their right to qualify in a grueling regional qualifier. That made them start at the play-in stage. In the history of Worlds, no team from the play-in stage has ever managed to reach the finals, let alone win the tournament. Thus, nobody has any expectations for DRX to win. But then they kept on proving their doubters wrong. They managed to reach the knockout stages. In the quarterfinals, Deft faced his old team EDG (his team for 2 years with his support Meiko, with whom he won his first international title). In a tense BO5, DRX managed to pull a miracle and eliminated his old team in a close 3-2 series by doing a reverse sweep after being down 0-2. This was especially amazing considering how they lost the 2nd game of the set. In the semifinals, Deft faced the LCK champions GenG with old teammates Chovy and Doran from DRX 2020. Worthy of note is that for the entirety of year 2022, DRX had never won a best-of series against GenG, and yet, DRX beat them 3-1. Then comes finals and Deft came to face with an old face---Faker, once his goal to reach now turned a massive wall to overcome. Not only Faker, Deft is also now against his 'little brother' Keria, the player who once promised him a Worlds title. In a historical BO5 that is both simultaneously exhilirating and heartbreaking, Deft and DRX, against all odds, brought down Faker and his T1 in another close 3-2 series, also effectively breaking Keria's heart. This is what the 'final battle' in the MV shows. In a way, Keria did make Deft a World champion, just not in the way they both envisioned. A true Cinderella story; an underdog story for the ages. And there's still even layers to this story that I haven't mentioned, but it would make this already long comment even longer. Suffice to say, last year's Worlds narrative was *chef's kiss* The story has a sequel though. This year's Worlds' narrative is just as amazing and engaging as last year's, albeit it's not an underdog story, but of an epic 'savior of the nation'-type of hero's journey, and one of redemption; this time centered on Faker and his team, T1, with the same exact roster of players that lost to Deft and his team in last year's Worlds finals. But that's a story for another video.
Wow!! Thank you so much for breaking it down. I have a few videos about Faker & also this year’s worlds that i’m going to check out. I’ll probably watch them this weekend. Truly amazing stuff!
Deft story made me so emotional I love him sm that man is so precious and girl that was not faker at 3:25 that was Meiko 😭 deft and faker never were in a team together but thanks for the reaction you’re like the only one I saw who reacted to the story as well so thanks for that I’m gonna subscribe :)
After watching the League of Legends Worlds 2023 Finals Opening Ceremony, I've been quite intrigued about the story of Deft and Faker. This time, after watching the official anthem and music video for Worlds 2023 'GODSft. NewJeans (뉴진스)' I ended up down a rabbit hole.
#NewJeans #Worlds2023 #뉴진스 #leagueoflegends
I hadn't watched pro-play until Worlds 2023 but seeing Deft's story in the anthem mv and getting all the goosebumps, I had to go back and watch all DRX games in Worlds 2022 😅
Omg! I totally understand you 😂
That "explanation" video barely even scratches the surface of how great last year's Worlds narrative was, which is understandable because there's so much history in between (it's a story 10 years in the making). It was so anime it was hard to believe it was real. Gbay99 is currently making a 5-part documentary of this Faker-Deft story, and only the first part of the documentary is released as of this writing, and it's already so much better than theScore esports' "The Story of Deft".
Basically, the video only shows Deft's Worlds journey, from his debut to him finally winning the championship against the greatest player the League has ever seen, Faker, who was also his HS schoolmate. There's just too much in this Faker-Deft dynamic that it would take pages just to explain the layers to this relationship, but I'll just mention a few. First, is them as HS schoolmates. Back in HS before the both of them got scouted by a team, Deft managed to be one of the highest ranked players in LOL and got relatively popular in school for it. But the reason he wasn't the most popular was because the rank 1 player was also attending the same high school as him: Faker, and his HS friends would always try to tease him by comparing him to Faker. Deft knew who Faker was, but Faker didn't even know who he was, nor did Faker know what he's rank is. To Faker, he was just a nobody. Second, as to how different their careers started: both of them debuted in about the same time (Deft ahead with just a few weeks), and while Deft was struggling with his first team, MVP Blue, Faker burst into the scene as a shining star and won his first World cup in his debut year. This is represented in the MV with the scene where Deft as Ezreal is struggling with the blue buff (MVP blue?), whereas Faker as Zed (one of Faker's most iconic champions) effortlessly slays the baron, the game's most impressive neutral monster. Here, Deft began to view Faker as a goal to reach. Third, their teams: while Deft was hopping on to different teams and organizations for his whole career, Faker has always remained with his original org, SKT T1 (now just T1) to this day. And fourth (out of many more), Deft was known for as a player with a weak mental in his early years which costed him so many games, while Faker is the embodiment of clutch (which won him 3 Worlds titles, now 4 after Worlds 2023). As Deft kept on failing, Faker was solidifying his dynasty.
The main idea behind the video's narrative is Deft making his numerous attempts at hoisting the Worlds trophy with various teammates (from his days in SSB, EDG, KT, KZ, DRX), failing, and then facing some of those teammates again (but this time, as enemies) to finally win the Summoner's Cup. There's also another layer to this story in the player named "Keria". Keria is a promising young superstar player and, in his debut year, was Deft's lane partner/support (he's the player that 'died' shielding Deft's character in the MV) in a team called DRX in the year 2020 (yes, the same DRX that won Worlds in 2022, but with different roster of players). During their time in the team together, they developed a brotherly relationship. Learning about Deft's struggles and passion for the game, Keria then promised Deft that he will someday make Deft a World champion (important!). Unfortunately, their team fell in the quarterfinals against the then super strong DWG (represented in the video by their mid-jgl duo Showmaker and Canyon), who became the World champions in 2020. Shortly thereafter, Keria was offered by T1 (Faker's team, and is the LCK's most prestigious team) to become the team's support player. Keria was hesitant at first because he didn't want to leave Deft, but it was Deft himself who encouraged Keria to accept the offer as he sees it a great opportunity for Keria to grow as a player. And so, Keria became T1's support player from 2021 onwards.
Shortly after his 2020 campaign with DRX, Deft took a short break due to a wrist injury. Everyone thought he would retire from the league scene without having won a Worlds championship despite his numerous campaigns (always falling in quarterfinals, and only reaching semi-finals once in 2014). He tried again w/ HLE but he again fell to Faker's T1 in the quarterfinals. Come 2022, Deft decided to give himself one last shot and returned to his former team, DRX. They entered the Worlds tournament as Korea's last seed, barely earning their right to qualify in a grueling regional qualifier. That made them start at the play-in stage. In the history of Worlds, no team from the play-in stage has ever managed to reach the finals, let alone win the tournament. Thus, nobody has any expectations for DRX to win. But then they kept on proving their doubters wrong. They managed to reach the knockout stages. In the quarterfinals, Deft faced his old team EDG (his team for 2 years with his support Meiko, with whom he won his first international title). In a tense BO5, DRX managed to pull a miracle and eliminated his old team in a close 3-2 series by doing a reverse sweep after being down 0-2. This was especially amazing considering how they lost the 2nd game of the set. In the semifinals, Deft faced the LCK champions GenG with old teammates Chovy and Doran from DRX 2020. Worthy of note is that for the entirety of year 2022, DRX had never won a best-of series against GenG, and yet, DRX beat them 3-1. Then comes finals and Deft came to face with an old face---Faker, once his goal to reach now turned a massive wall to overcome. Not only Faker, Deft is also now against his 'little brother' Keria, the player who once promised him a Worlds title. In a historical BO5 that is both simultaneously exhilirating and heartbreaking, Deft and DRX, against all odds, brought down Faker and his T1 in another close 3-2 series, also effectively breaking Keria's heart. This is what the 'final battle' in the MV shows. In a way, Keria did make Deft a World champion, just not in the way they both envisioned. A true Cinderella story; an underdog story for the ages. And there's still even layers to this story that I haven't mentioned, but it would make this already long comment even longer. Suffice to say, last year's Worlds narrative was *chef's kiss*
The story has a sequel though. This year's Worlds' narrative is just as amazing and engaging as last year's, albeit it's not an underdog story, but of an epic 'savior of the nation'-type of hero's journey, and one of redemption; this time centered on Faker and his team, T1, with the same exact roster of players that lost to Deft and his team in last year's Worlds finals. But that's a story for another video.
Wow!! Thank you so much for breaking it down. I have a few videos about Faker & also this year’s worlds that i’m going to check out. I’ll probably watch them this weekend. Truly amazing stuff!
natgeo should hire Gbay99
Deft story made me so emotional I love him sm that man is so precious and girl that was not faker at 3:25 that was Meiko 😭 deft and faker never were in a team together but thanks for the reaction you’re like the only one I saw who reacted to the story as well so thanks for that I’m gonna subscribe :)
Omg my bad 🙈but yes i realised they were always opponents, i probably saw glasses and got confused 😂. Thanks so much 🥰 more to come 🫶🏾
funny how league of legends people use nick names like "faker" "deft" "doran"
yet they play character with regular names like Victor, Annie Catlyn