Most people agree that Faker has a net worth of about $10 million. In the cacophonous, fiercely competitive realm of esport, that figure seems both massive and oddly constrained. After all, for over ten years, this player has dominated League of Legends, converting sold-out arenas into virtual temples. Even so, his wealth isn’t quite comparable to the stratospheric contracts of NBA or football players. And that disparity speaks to the current state and potential future of esport.
Faker was raised in Gangseo District by his father and grandparents after being born Lee Sang-hyeok in Seoul in 1996. He spent his afternoons learning foreign languages and solving Rubik’s cubes. The hum of a PC tower, the glow of a monitor in a dimly lit room, and a teenager honing reflexes that would later astound millions of people are all vivid images of that peaceful apartment. He must have felt reckless at the time, but he left high school to pursue gaming full-time. It appears to be surgical in retrospect.
Faker — Bio & Professional Overview
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Lee Sang-hyeok |
| In-Game Name | Faker |
| Date of Birth | May 7, 1996 |
| Birthplace | Seoul, South Korea |
| Nationality | South Korean |
| Profession | Professional Esports Player |
| Game | League of Legends |
| Team | T1 (formerly SK Telecom T1) |
| World Championships | 5× World Champion |
| Estimated Net Worth (2026) | ~$10 Million |
| Annual Salary | Approx. $6 Million |
| Equity | 6% Ownership in T1 |
| Reference | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faker_(gamer) |
In 2013, when T1 was still known as SK Telecom T1, Faker joined the team. He won a World Championship almost instantly. Then another. And yet another. He has amassed a record number of LCK titles and five World titles over the years, earning the moniker “The Unkillable Demon King.” It seemed as though esport had discovered its Michael Jordan when he played in the 2016 World Championship final, his fingers hardly leaving the keyboard and his eyes unblinking and focused.
However, trophies aren’t the main source of wealth in esports. Faker has earned slightly more than $2 million from tournament prize money. That is significant, but not as much as his pay. He is reportedly one of the highest-paid players in competitive gaming, taking home about $6 million a year from T1. It appears that investors view him more as a brand asset than an athlete, the face of a team that goes beyond a single season or game patch.
In 2020, Faker acquired a roughly 6% ownership stake in T1, making him a part-owner of the company. That stake could be worth $13 million, $20 million, or more, depending on how T1 is valued. It’s possible that his long-term wealth will be determined by this equity rather than his salary. Faker positioned himself inside the machine rather than just at its front, in contrast to many esports pros who lose their edge as their reflexes slow.
What’s remarkable, though, is how little his way of life appears to match his wealth.
He is renowned for being thrifty, according to his teammates. According to reports, he avoids ostentatious purchases, lives in team housing, and makes generous donations to disaster relief funds and the Community Chest of Korea. He quietly made large contributions during the COVID-19 pandemic without holding press conferences or launching social media campaigns. It seems to him that money serves more as security than as a showpiece.
His story is made even more interesting by the larger cultural background. Esport used to exist on the periphery of legitimacy. Tens of thousands of fans now swarm arenas like London’s O2 to watch the League of Legends World Championship, while millions more watch from home. Faker was essentially made a founding myth of the sport when he was inducted as the first member of the Hall of Legends in Seoul in 2024.
As team valuations change, it’s still unclear if esports salaries will plateau or keep rising. Markets for sponsorships change. Trends in viewership fluctuate. Every season, new prodigies are born. In 2025, Faker himself committed to T1 until the age of 33 by signing a new four-year contract. In competitive gaming, where burnout and wrist injuries frequently shorten careers, that longevity is unusual.
Observing this development, one gets the impression that Faker’s wealth underestimates his impact. $10 million is impressive in terms of finances. He has far more symbolic value. By demonstrating that success in a virtual arena can result in tangible financial gain, he contributed to the legitimacy of esport as a profession.
Nevertheless, he continues to practice the same mechanics that initially propelled him to the top of the Korean hierarchy while seated at the same desk in the same team facility. The awards mount up. The contracts get bigger. Equity increases in value.
The image of a young man leaning toward a screen, calculating outcomes in milliseconds, and amassing wealth one precisely timed play at a time, however, is essentially unchanged.
