Faker Says T1 Can Beat Elon Musk’s AI in 2026 Showdown

T1’s Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok celebrates after winning the 2025 League of Legends World Championship. (Photo courtesy of Riot Games)

SEOUL, Dec. 18 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s e-sports icon Lee Sang-hyeok, better known to millions of fans as Faker, said Thursday he is confident his League of Legends team, T1, can defeat an artificial intelligence opponent proposed by Elon Musk for next year.

Speaking at a press conference in Seoul, Lee welcomed the tech industry’s growing interest in competitive gaming. “It’s encouraging to see AI and major tech companies paying attention to our field,” he said. “Chess may have already fallen to AI, but I believe we can win the match next year.”

Musk announced in November that he plans to stage a 2026 showdown between Grok 5, an advanced model built by his AI company xAI, and T1, which clinched this year’s League of Legends World Championship. Musk called T1 “the best human LoL team,” prompting T1 to respond on X with a photo of Lee and the message, “We are ready.”

Lee, 29, has been synonymous with professional League of Legends since joining T1 in 2013, securing six world titles and cementing his status as the most accomplished player in the game’s history. He recently signed a four-year contract with the team, a move he suggested would carry him through the end of his career.

“With this contract, I expect to spend my entire professional career with T1,” he said. “The organization has given me so much beyond financial compensation.”