Faker Named to Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People in Sports
The selection places an esports player alongside traditional sports icons on a major global influence list, marking a formal recognition of competitive gaming within mainstream sports culture.
Reporting from 2 sources: KAI-YOU, Inside.
Lee Sang-hyeok, known as Faker, the T1 'League of Legends' player, has been selected for TIME100 Sports 2026 in the Icons category, alongside Lionel Messi, Shohei Ohtani, and LeBron James. Time introduced him as 'widely regarded as the best esports player of all time,' citing his six world championship titles and his role as a symbol of esports industry growth.
Faker, the T1 'League of Legends' player whose real name is Lee Sang-hyeok, has been named to Time magazine's TIME100 Sports 2026. The list, first published this year, selects 100 of the most influential figures in sports, including athletes, coaches, and executives. Faker appears in the Icons category, a group that also includes soccer's Lionel Messi, baseball's Shohei Ohtani, and basketball's LeBron James. Time's profile calls Faker 'widely regarded as the best esports player of all time,' noting his six world championship wins and his status as a symbol of the esports industry's development. In 2025, Faker and T1 won the League of Legends World Championship, securing the first three-peat in the tournament's history and giving Faker his sixth title. He was also the first inductee into Riot Games' Hall of Legends in 2024.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 2 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.