When someone brings up the name "Easyhoon," the reactions are mixed.

They range from:
"Why is he still on SK Telecom T1? He put me to sleep with his Ziggs play,"
to the ever popular,
"What the hell, why is SKT T1 playing him over Faker!?"
to the always loving,
"Who?"

No matter what Easyhoon does on SK Telecom T1, he will never be Faker. If he plays perfect from this point on, and doesn't lose another game for the rest of 2015, people will still clamor for Faker to be the starter over him. With Faker, the League of Legends scene has seen him grow before their eyes – from hyped, brash rookie, to the best player in the world, countless titles and a Worlds MVP under his belt.

Summer of Fire

Easyhoon, who started his career before Faker, played on the amateur GSG. Ironically seen as a boring grinder during his days on SKT T1 S, Easyhoon was a part of one of the most innovative, exciting games in LoL history. GSG won 2012-2013 NLB Winter against CJ Entus using an unorthodox strategy centered around a jungle Heimerdinger with four Doran's Rings. With the victory, Easyhoon and his GSG teammates re-qualified for Champions Spring 2013.



Their first season in Champions, GSG didn't have the best time. As an amateur team without the backing of an organization or the stable infrastructure, Easyhoon and the rest of the team struggled to a 2-10 record. Although there was talent, their oddball picks and strategies didn't work on the big stage, getting beat down by the more established, well-run teams. After GSG finished in last place in their group alongside MVP Blue and won NLB Winter, the latter team decided to dump most of their current roster to take a chance on GSG and their qualified spot in Champions.

Easyhoon, alongside Solo (Heart) and Cheonju (Acorn). went over to MVP Blue, with GSG's support PoohMandu going to the new SK Telecom T1 K team. SK Telecom T1, a standard bearer in Korean eSports, had finally taken the plunge into League of Legends. They had already acquired a team with former Champions winner Reapered as the star player, and they now were building a second team around a promising rookie called Faker.

Moving from a team that had fun with the game, playing unique champions not standard in the meta, to a more polished, refined Champions team, Easyhoon became one of the strongest mid-lane players from his debut onward. MVP Blue picked up a young AD Carry from solo queue, Deft, and never looked back, as they vied to become one of the elite teams in Korea.

Faker's Shadow

The new MVP Blue's debut into Champions wasn't the strongest, finishing last place in their first-round group with a disappointing 3-7 record. The transition from an amateur setting to a professional structure was difficult for everyone on the team – except Easyhoon. In a season where his team finished in last place, Easyhoon placed second in KDA rankings for Mid players, with an astonishing 4.40 ratio.

Right below him was SK Telecom T1's new golden boy, Faker, finishing his rookie season with a 4.19 KDA. More importantly, Faker led his team as a rookie to a third-place finish, eclipsing Easyhoon's individual accomplishments. Easyhoon might have had the overall better season statistically, but Faker brought a sense of excitement and play-making ability that Easyhoon simply couldn't.

The first meeting between the two in Spring would summarize their futures – Easyhoon on his signature Karthus, and Faker on what would become his signature LeBlanc, highly mobile with the ability to make awe-inspiring plays. With the gold tied in the early part of the game, Faker turned the tide with an all-in solo kill of Easyhoon's Karthus. While Easyhoon would keep safe and play well after the single outplay, it didn't matter – Faker snowballed that single opening and rolled SKT T1 K to a blowout victory.



In a world without Faker, Easyhoon could have been the king of Champions. His main champions – Karthus, Orianna, Ryze and Ziggs – weren't similar to Faker's assassin-happy favorites, such as Ahri, Zed or LeBlanc. But there was no question about his strength in lane and team fighting. Where Faker's strengths were quick thinking and outstanding mechanical skill, Easyhoon relied on his positioning and slow, methodical timings to give him an advantage.

Faker's meteoric rise continued, winning Champions Summer and then going onto raise the Summoner's Cup in Los Angeles. Easyhoon, still in Korea, had to watch on, as his own career was beginning to stagnate. He was on the verge of becoming one of the biggest names in Champions, but Faker's rise along with Dade's emergence pushed Easyhoon down the ladder.

Following Season 3, Easyhoon caught the eye of SK Telecom T1. With their secondary team not doing well compared to Faker's dominance, they looked for a change and signed Easyhoon as their Mid lane. With Marin, a player regarded as "Faker of the Top Lane" due to his solo queue performance, Easyhoon was finally put on a team where the spotlight could be on him.

Unfortunately, SKT's ideal of the S team with Easyhoon never came to fruition. Instead of SKT T1 K, which had a quick, run-and-gun offense that rewarded big plays and highlight-reel-carrying performances, SKT T1 S put the team first before everything. Marin, who people thought would turn the Top lane on its head with roams and mechanical out duels, played more utility champions to help the team win.

Easyhoon, as the centerpiece of the team, would utilize Ziggs during the champion's peak. Even when SKT T1 S would fall into impossible situations in the late game, bleeding behind a 10k gold deficit, they would extend games over the 50-minute mark with their plodding style.

Faker, with his glorious blade, would get all the praise with his masterful solo lane victories. Easyhoon would do what he did best – slowly kill his opponents, stretching the match long enough to hopefully break through. If Faker saw a wall in front of him, he would burst through with no caution in the world and reach his goal. If Easyhoon was faced with the same obstacle, he would walk up to the wall and patiently start digging into the wall with his plastic fork until he got the job done.

Lost Temple

Even in the season Easyhoon's Team S outperformed Faker's K, no-one really cared. K, who barely made it through the group stages, got stomped in the quarterfinals by rivals Samsung White. S, who quietly got through the group stages for the first time, scratched their way to a 3-2 victory over NaJin Black Sword in the quarterfinals.

In the semifinals, Easyhoon was one game away from making the Champions final. The games weren't pretty against the KT Arrows, barely scraping their way to wins and getting blown out in losses. Still, they made it to the fifth and deciding set against Arrows, but lost again in a demoralizing fashion. They got crushed by Samsung White in the third-place match, and once again, even outperforming Faker. But Easyhoon and his team were seen as boring and difficult to watch.


When it was announced Korea was disallowing an organization from having two teams, it felt like the end of Easyhoon – at least, the end of him on SK Telecom. Next to Faker, what was he? Faker was the most beloved player in Korea. Easyhoon, in comparison, was simply the guy who abused Ziggs and made it easier for people to fall asleep after his team's games. He might move to another team in KeSPA, but it seemed like his time to shine on Korea's most famous team was gone.

Surprisingly, he has stayed on SK Telecom T1 as the sub behind Faker. During the off-season, Easyhoon has been shooting up the Challenger ladder, currently 8th. Of course, Faker sits at 7th on his main SKT account, and 2nd on "Hide on bush" ID, one-upping his former rival and now teammate for the umpteenth time in their careers.

Trading off time during the preseason, Easyhoon and Faker shined with their new teammates. Easyhoon, who is familiar with Marin and the Bottom-lane duo of Bang and Wolf, has been successful with his usual robotic style. Faker, placed together with Marin, has brought out the best in the young Top-lane player, letting Marin be a Top-lane carry and live up to the potential he had when he first started with SKT T1 S.

Now with the season upon us, the opening match against NaJin e-mFire summed up Faker and Easyhoon's relationship perfectly. Faker, playing a bit arrogant, first-picked Xerath and let the NaJin team counter-pick him. On a siege champion that needs the right team composition and support to work well, Faker and the rest of SKT were trounced in the first game against Ggoong's Zed-led NaJin team.

Easyhoon, playing in the second game, waited till the last pick of the draft and chose Xerath. On the slow-moving, siege tank-like champion, Easyhoon crushed NaJin, picking up the MVP award for the game and getting SKT back into the series.

So with Easyhoon picking up a big win with his safe, simple style, and Faker falling on his face with a bit of arrogance, who did SKT choose to go with in the end? With the series on the line, SKT went with Faker, pushing Easyhoon back on the bench and letting their crown jewel have one last shot at redeeming himself.

Faker, being Faker, did just that – he picked the same LeBlanc that crushed Easyhoon in the two players' first meeting, and did the same thing against NaJin. Easyhoon, sitting from the sidelines, watched as Faker picked up the first Pentakill of the season and gained the attention for his amazing play. Easyhoon might have chipped away at the wall, but Faker was the one who finally broke it down.

Paper Crown

If I were to tell you these were the five best Mid laners in the Korea the past two years, the obvious answer to who Player A would be easy. Yes, it's Faker, the best player in the world himself. The highest KDA, the most kills, and a bunch of assists to go along with his play-making ability.

Player C is Ggoong from NaJin e-mFire. Player D is Ambition from CJ Entus. Player E is Dade formerly of Samsung, now Master 3.

Yeah, that's that right – Player B is Easyhoon.
Boring, Ziggs-stretching Easyhoon.
He averages more kills than the assassin monster Ggoong, and he backs it up with having the lowest death total of the five best Mid lanes due to his cautious style. You can say that Easyhoon isn't the most exciting player, but you can't say he doesn't get the job done when it comes to picking up kills and assists.

With the season only beginning, the story of Faker and Easyhoon isn't finished. SK Telecom T1 have ended up with the two best Mid lane players in Korea – one loved and praised, the other overlooked and pushed to the side. Easyhoon has waited for his chance to shine and make a Champions final his entire career, and this SK Telecom T1 team is his best chance at getting there.

Faker will continue doing what he always does – making jaws drop and leading SKT to another chance at the Summoner's Cup. Easyhoon will stand behind him, watching and waiting for his chance. Faker might be the King of Korea, but Easyhoon will stab him continuously in the back with his plastic fork until the crown drops.