Betting on Esports and Pro Gaming

The whole world was waiting for his decision, and Sang-hyeok “Faker” Lee moves to ensure that his legacy with T1 will endure. The symbol and face of the League of Legends esports remains with his legendary team as Faker re-signs with the squad – a deal that will see him play for the same team all the way to 2029, which is a sign of his loyalty and dedication with the team.

At this point, it is clear that T1 is expecting to come up with a lot of massive runs in the coming years. Faker has been really one of the best players to look out for, and it cannot be denied that we are seeing greatness unfold on the biggest stage of the game. The T1 Home Ground confirmed Faker’s intentions of coming up with more runs and championships with the team.

T1 is definitely ready for another massive campaign with Faker at the helm. Another chapter begins once more, and they are definitely showing that they have what it takes to win it all, with him leading the way. Now more than ever, the expectations are high with this team, especially with their loss in the 2022 Worlds Grand Final. Luckily, Faker has a lot of many more years to look out for bigger strides and make a championship dash.

What Does Faker’s Stay Mean for T1?

Faker’s decision to stay with T1 until 2029 is more than just a contract renewal – it’s a resounding statement of intent for both the player and the organization. Known as “The Unkillable Demon King,” Faker has been the face of T1 and League of Legends itself for over a decade.

His presence has been instrumental in establishing the team’s dynasty and global recognition, and his continued stay ensures that T1’s brand remains synonymous with excellence and legacy. This long-term deal signals stability and vision from T1. In an esports industry that often sees players jump between teams or retire early, T1’s commitment to Faker shows that they are willing to invest in the foundation that brought them years of success.

It allows them to build rosters and strategies around a proven leader who not only understands the game deeply but also knows how to win under pressure. Younger talents on the squad will also benefit tremendously from Faker’s mentorship and in-game experience, accelerating their development and reinforcing the T1 culture of discipline and excellence.

Can Faker Cement His LOL Legacy This Time?

If there’s one thing Faker’s decorated career has shown, it’s that greatness is not defined by just championships – it’s defined by consistency, impact, and evolution. Still, for a player of his caliber, the hunger for more titles never fades. After falling short in the 2022 Worlds Grand Final, there’s no doubt that Faker has unfinished business. His re-signing through 2029 offers him one of the best windows yet to finally add another world title to his name.

Many analysts and fans consider Faker already the greatest League of Legends player of all time. With three World Championships, two MSI titles, and countless domestic trophies, his résumé is unmatched.

Yet the competitive spirit that has driven him all these years won’t rest until he leads T1 back to the top of the world stage. Each year he’s in the lineup, Faker doesn’t just play – he defines the meta, sets the tone for his team, and forces opponents to raise their game.

In staying with T1 until 2029, Faker is betting on himself – and his team – to reach the summit again. With a solid roster, strong coaching staff, and an organization built around his leadership, everything is in place for one final act of greatness.

As surprising as it may sound, one of the best players in the history of Counter-Strike has just made the move to join a non-contender team in BC.Game Esports. The player in question: Aleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev. You read that right. The consensus CS greatest of all time suddenly moves to join a team from the unknown and shocks the rest of the community with his decision.

Joining a Tier 3 team is definitely not in everyone’s cards for s1mple’s career. After all, he has led Natus Vincere to a total of 13 S-Tier tournament wins in seven years, including a massive finish at the PGL Major Stockholm 2021 and an Intel Grand Slam that same year. On top of all that, he has established his status as one of the top players in the history of Counter-Strike with all his feats.

It can be remembered that he was inactive for nearly two years, stepping away from the game while it was still in Global Offensive, and the transition proved that he was not recently interested in coming up with a run at that time. In the switch to CS2, the Ukrainian star played briefly before eventually coming back to the game in 2024.

S1mple in the New Squad

S1mple referenced Harry Potter elf character Dobby’s line from both the films and the books, saying “Dobby is free” in regards to his exit from NAVI. While he doesn’t actually have any grudge against his former team, it does seem that there are a lot of talks as to how he could have just staged another comeback with them, but then it’s definitely for the best as the star himself says.

“Dobby is free. I just want to play, BC.Game gave me the chance, and they’re serious about building a top-tier team. Let’s see what moves we make and how I can impact things. Maybe some things will change, maybe not–only results will show,” said s1mple.

However, moving back to a Tier 3 team is not the optimal move. But s1mple wanted to point out joining BC.Game is definitely a good move for him as it humbles himself and puts him on a different standard to rebuilding his career once more. On top of that, he does not want to waste time in being benched – which could be a potential move for any inactive player coming back to play.

With BC.Game, s1mple starts in the squad right away, replacing AWPer Tim “nawwk” Jonasson, who was benched by the squad in late June. He will be joined by Nemanja “nexa” Isaković, Luca “pr1metapz” Voigt, and Aleksandar “CacaNito” Kjulukoski. The squad is also expected to make more transactions in the coming weeks to improve around s1mple.

Bye Bye NAVI

Following the Austin Major, Natus Vincere actually revealed in a press release that they received a lot of offers for s1mple. All of those were sent into the star’s way for his consideration. Eventually, the Ukrainian star considered joining BC.Game at the end of the day.

“We are incredibly grateful to Oleksandr for the journey we traveled together, for the numerous trophies, unforgettable emotions and highlights! We say goodbye for now, but we’ll be waiting to see you back on the server. GOAT!” said NAVI in its statement.

Now that s1mple is wearing new threads, it is easy to expect that he will be gunning for a lot of wins to begin his career with the team – starting with the ESL Challenger League Season 50: Europe - Cup #1 this coming August 11th.

No one can deny that Joona “Serral” Sotala has been one of the most dominant players in the history of StarCraft II. Most of the time, he is seen dominating the game with his high-level performances, and he did not waste time in owning the big stage of StarCraft II in the Esports World Cup 2025.

Once again, the Finnisher finishes strong, and he is now crowned the champion of the SCII tournament in the EWC, this time, he brings home a massive prize of $200,000, and a promising bragging rights to silence all of his critics who are creating ruckus about him moving on from the game. Definitely served them all right.

Serral’s triumph over Kim “Classic” Doh-woo was quite a stunning finish, and it cannot be denied that the SCII star has showed time and time again that he remains as the most prominent player in the game, which says a lot about his legacy in the game. No one would have anticipated that he’ll be coming back for more performances given how he’s missed some time in the game.

A Serral Clinic

Serral was owning the whole tournament right from the start. The Finnish star did not suffer any losses in the Group Stages when he took down HeRoMaRine and Classic in those games. The Finnisher made it look easy as he plowed through his opponents in just a short amount of time, showing how ready he was coming into the tournament.

In the Playoffs, Serral took down one of his rivals in Reynor with a 3-2 thriller – perhaps the only challenging game that he’s played in the whole tournament so far. He would then beat Cure in a sweep in the semifinals before securing his spot in the Grand Final.

Classic, on the other hand, had to battle in the lower brackets of the Group Stages after losing to Serral. He defeated ShoWTime in a 3-0 sweep before qualifying for the Playoffs, then swept through Clem in the Quarterfinals and dropped only a single game to Solar in the semis.

Serral took a 2-0 lead in a whimper in the final with wins in Persephone and Incorporeal. Classic did find a way to steal a win in Ultralove before Serral jumped back to a 3-1 lead with a win in Pylon. Classic tried to stay alive and even conquered a victory at Ley Lines to make it 3-2, but Serral was undaunted that he took over Torches and Magannatha to deny two more games for Classic and lock up the final for good.

A Defining Victory for Serral

This victory over Classic marked Serral’s third major world title, behind his championships in IEM Katowice back in 2022 and 2024. It can be remembered that Serral also played in the first SC2 EWC event but fell to Clem in the final. He is also the first finalist to return to the final stage of the same tournament.

“This is the highest achievement you can get,” Serral said after the match. “I trained hard, I put a lot of effort into it. I’m kind of speechless, just incredibly happy.”

The tournament drew a massive amount of global attention, with the final peaking at 80,000 concurrent viewers and an average of 40,000. That is a total of 1.4 million hours watched, with the final being the most-watched showdown of all.