Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok’s own Hall of Legends skin has been revealed, but following the Unkillable Demon King who should be the next ones be? These are our top four picks.
The first line of Hall of Legends skins has finally been revealed and has been met with major controversy because of its hefty $450 price tag.
Despite the controversial price, the Hall of Legends is an amazing way for Riot to memorialize some of LoL’s greatest players, and it was a no-brainer that League’s greatest player, Faker, would be the first inductee.
However, after Faker, who should be next up? Here are our top four picks for who should be inducted into the Hall of Legends.
4. Uzi
Commonly dubbed the greatest player to never win it all, Jian “Uzi” Zihao has been perennially unlucky at Worlds. Throughout his long stints with Royal Never Give Up (under various name changes), he revolutionized the role.
Uzi made back-to-back Worlds finals appearances in 2013 and 2014, losing to a SK T1 lead by a young Faker, and SSG in their prime.
Despite the heartbreaks, Uzi still went on to perform well past what seemed his prime but never getting the elusive Worlds trophy.
Uzi brush with ultimate glory came in 2018 with an RNG that was on fire, finally winning his first LPL split in spring after years in the scene and many close Grand Finals lost.
That year, it truly felt like Uzi’s curse was broken as he and RNG went on to win MSI in dominant fashion, topping the group stage and sweeping the playoffs.
After MSI, Uzi won yet another LPL split in summer, with glimpses of the Golden Road, and even helped guide China to an Asian Games win over South Korea.
However, it was at Worlds where the glimpse of the Golden Road stopped. They had a relatively easy time in the group, but in the playoffs, they lost to a G2 team that on paper they were vastly superior to, which spelled the end of the road for their impressive year.
Past 2019, Uzi’s career may have been quieter, with the last Worlds he attended being 2019’s and his brief stints with Bilibili Gaming and EDward Gaming during retirement, but it doesn’t take away his status as one of the greatest ADCs to touch the game.
3. Caps
The only Western player on our list, and perhaps the most deserving from the LEC, Rasmus “Caps” Winther is the most decorated Western player and on multiple occasions, has been so close to true glory.
Caps’ true breakout was in 2018 with Fnatic, finishing an impressive 3rd-4th in MSI, losing to eventual winner Royal Never Give Up, and a second-place finish at Worlds that year, losing to yet another LPL team, Invictus Gaming.
Just that year alone would have put him as one of Europe’s greatest mid-laners, but what came after in 2019 should undoubtedly solidify his spot in the Hall of Legends.
With G2 Esports in 2019, he helped guide them to one of the greatest LoL seasons ever, winning both LEC splits, and an MSI, and reaching the finals of Worlds, making that G2 squad one of only two teams to almost pull off the elusive Golden Road.
Even past 2019, Caps is seen as the West’s best mid-laner and the only one who can stand up to LPL and LCK’s best, still putting up impressive performances at MSIs and Worlds.
Just recently in 2024’s MSI, Caps helmed G2 to not only bring a strong T1 to silver scrapes but also a clean sweep of LPL’s Top Esports, finishing a respectable 4th in the tournament.
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A Worlds trophy has eluded him so far, but he is undoubtedly the West’s greatest player and the only one who has been able to go toe-to-toe with the East’s finest, solidifying his spot on the list.
2. Deft
For a very long time, Kim “Deft” Hyuk-kyu’s career was plagued with what-ifs and heartbreaks, and it was only in 2022 after one of the greatest Worlds finals that he got the biggest trophy.
Gaining international attention with Samsung Blue in 2014, they were on a roll, winning both LCK splits that year and coming into Worlds as the number one seed. After a smooth group stage and an easy clean-up of TSM to start the playoffs, they saw themselves against their sister team, SSG White.
Shockingly, they lost to what was meant to be SSG’s second team, who would go on to win the trophy.
Despite their shock Worlds performance, Deft seemed to have jumped right back to where he left off, signing to EDG in the LPL and winning MSI against a Faker-led T1, but once again, Worlds eluded him.
For the next six years, the Worlds trophy kept slipping for Deft, with constant 5th-8th quarterfinal finishes, it felt like he was cursed never to lift the trophy.
It was finally in 2022, after barely scraping by to qualify for Worlds where Deft and DRX turned on the gas, sweeping the play-ins, topping their Group Stage, beating Deft’s quarterfinals curse, beating LCK’s top dog in Gen.G at the semis, and booking a spectacular final against T1.
Billed as Deft’s last dance (it really wasn’t in hindsight but it sure felt like it), against the game’s greatest in Faker, they traded blows until DRX and Deft came out on top, lifting his first-ever Worlds trophy after years of struggling.
Post 2022, it hasn’t been smooth sailing for what was LoL’s protagonist in 2022, with good performances in DPlus and KT Rolster, but his legacy is undeniable.
1. Ruler
Park “Ruler” Jae-hyuk’s career has been stellar up to this point, being a bastion of LCK for a long time, and now slowly becoming one of LPL’s greatest with JD Gaming.
In Ruler’s first year in LCK, right after SSG plucked him from the second tier of Korean League of Legends, he immediately announced himself to the world as one of the best ADCs, qualifying for Worlds and making it all the way to the finals, losing to a dominant T1.
In his next year in 2017, despite a slow start to the year, he qualified for Worlds and won it, this time upsetting the favorites in T1 and denying Faker a fourth Worlds trophy at the time.
Once Gen. G bought out SSG, it was amazing for the ADC. Although there were some stumbles throughout his time with Gen.G, with no international trophies, they were always a contender at any Worlds or MSI they qualified to.
Eventually, after being an LCK mainstay for so long, 2023 saw him join JDG and produce one of his greatest seasons yet.
Ruler immediately hit the ground running in LPL, winning the spring split in his first LPL showing, then winning MSI in an all-Chinese Grand Final. He rounded up the LPL season with a summer trophy and in between the glimpses of a Golden Road, he won Korea the Asian Games.
However, it was at Worlds where the dream was dashed. They topped the Swiss stage and won their quarterfinal match, but against eventual winner T1 and a hungry Faker looking for his fourth trophy in the semifinals, they went out.
Despite that loss, Ruler still goes on. He may not have made 2024’s MSI, but he was close, and just for his pedigree alone, makes him a legend in the game.
