As the 2025 League of Legends World Championship final approaches, Faker has once again proven why he’s considered the greatest of all time. Amid concerns over his adaptability to the newly implemented Fearless Draft format, the T1 mid-laner has silenced critics by setting a staggering new record for the most unique champions played in a single Worlds tournament.
Earlier in the 2025 season, Riot Games officially enforced Fearless Draft across all major and minor professional leagues. This change initially raised eyebrows, particularly regarding veteran players like Faker. In both the 2023 and 2024 seasons, Faker relied heavily on a limited pool of champions—most notably Orianna, Azir, and Sylas. In 2023, he won Worlds while primarily playing just these three.
However, Faker has completely flipped the script at Worlds 2025, now holding the record for the widest champion pool at the event with 14 unique picks—a feat achieved from T1’s early matches against IG through to the Semifinals clash with TES.
Notably, Faker has consistently picked champions that were already prominent in regional play. Yet his introduction of Mel, a new addition to his champion repertoire at Worlds, turned heads with a series of flawless outplays.
This achievement officially surpasses the previous record held by BeryL, who played 13 different champions during Worlds 2022. Faker’s versatility not only dispels doubts about his adaptability but also presents a massive drafting dilemma for opponents especially with his only losses coming when on champions like Anivia, Cassiopeia, Sylas, and Aurora.
As T1 prepares to face KT Rolster in the grand final, the pressure is now squarely on KT’s shoulders. Bdd, KT’s mid-laner, also boasts a large champion pool, favoring heavy-damage mages with wombo combo setups like Yone, Taliyah, and Azir. However, except for Yone, the rest are also Faker’s signature picks, meaning both teams will be forced into highly strategic bans.
KT now faces a significant challenge how to limit Faker‘s vast champion pool while still drafting effectively for stars like Doran, Oner, and the Gumayusi-Keria bot lane duo.
T1 has already shown that even when “testing” picks, they can dominate. If they play to form, Faker and T1 could very well write another legendary chapter in esports history.
Sources: gamek