Should Faker leave Korea?

League of Legends is a team esport and, therefore, the list of triumphs of a player does not necessarily reflect his quality. For example, to consider that Konstantinos "FORG1VEN" zTzortziou is worse ADC than Pierre "Steeelback" Medjaldi because the later won the Spring Split of 2015 with Fnatic would be a fallacy of major proportions.

In addition to how difficult it is sometimes to measure the level of a player due to the incessant changes of the metagame, which led Faker to shine little in 2014, the small amount of both national and international tournaments in the competitive circuit makes it even more complicated.

Even so, the absolute control that Faker has on virtually all facets of League of Legends is overwhelming. It is almost impossible to find a part of the game in the which he is not the best: champion pool, capacity of adaptation to the metagame and best-of series, potential to create plays and define games with them, and so on.

In fact, only by the skill and the mentality that he owns, it would not be surprising that Faker could protrude with ease in almost any game he would like to engage. He himself has stated in the Players' Tribune that he considers himself to be the best player in World of Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos.

However, the likelihood of Faker following Michael Jordans steps, sportsman to whom is usually compared in terms of their impact to his discipline and importance for esports in general, and abandon League of Legends is zero.

About Jordan it is said that the absence of rivals that forced him to raise the bar was one of the reasons that led him to baseball. This is not a problem for Faker, which recognized at the press conference after the victory against Samsung Galaxy that he is a player who is motivated with much ease, no matter how many awards he has won. "I appreciate each championship very much, so I want to go for another one", he said without having even stopped to enjoy the victory.

The achievement of his third World Championship, according to the player itself, was the biggest challenge of his career. For 2017, however, the possibility of accepting an even more complicated challenge is presented to Faker: conquer the planet with a team from another region.

Last year, during the exodus that led to the departure of 30 players from South Korea, China already attempted to take over the best player in the world. Unlike the members of Samsung White and Blue, Faker rejected offers from China that were hovering around the million dollars just to recover his crown with the organization that turned him into professional.

This year it is rumored that some have come to put 4 millions over the table. It is important to remember that the careers of esports players are generally shorter than the traditional athletes and, although I imagine that SK Telecom T1 pays him well, changing team would be a massive monetary boost for Faker.

But beyond the economic aspect, which has never seemed to mind him too much, what it would mean for Faker go to another region or remain in South Korea? From my point of view it would generate two large storylines.

The first could be compared in a certain way with the return of LeBron James to Cleveland Cavaliers. Although in this case Faker would abandon his homeland, he would share with the basketballer the mission of backing a team or even a region to his shoulders in the search for an international victory. If he achieved this it would still remain as a collective triumph, but any possible existing doubt about the dependence of SK Telecom T1s unit would be dispelled.

As never before, Faker would demonstrate that he can face the world and succeed. The best player of the history would transcend even League of legends to prove that victory is possible without the Korean infrastructure and put an end to all the excuses given by the West to justify its failures.

The second, under the premise of permanence, could lead to the extension of the dynasty of SK Telecom T1 until a final point of no return. Faker would continue to face the best teams of the planet in South Korea and continue feeding a relationship with his organization similar to Tim Duncans with the San Antonio Spurs. If Kim "kk0ma" Jeong-gyun and Bae "Bengi" Seong-woong also remained on SK Telecom T1, the analogy could be extended to the relationship of Duncans with Gregg Popovich and Kobe Bryants with Derek Fisher respectively.

Personally, I do not think that Faker is going to abandon SK Telecom T1. In his three years of career he has been loyal to the entity that has led him to stardom and, while he has the will to continue accumulating titles, I think he will remain in South Korea because playing there increases your chances of winning.

The money, as succulent as it may seem to those unfamiliar with the situation, nor do I think it is a problem. Going to another region would end any economic concern in his life, but between what he has earned so far and the image he has created and will continue developing in SK Telecom T1, he must have resources to spare. In addition, his interest in studying some scientific branch may lead him to a lucrative job in the future given his apparent intelligence.

Should Faker leave South Korea? Thats a question for which I dont have a single correct answer. The only thing I'm sure of is, whatever is the decision he makes, the real winner in the final instance will be League of legends for the simple fact of being able to continue enjoying the best player of all time.