T1’s star mid laner and professional League of Legends player, Faker, was recently placed in Iron lobbies while practicing on the EUW server, following a surprising matchmaking mix-up.
This occurred as the 2024 League of Legends World Championship, the most prestigious annual event for the game, is currently being held in Europe. Teams from around the world have gathered for this tournament to determine the top.
Even for elite players like Faker, constant practice is essential to stay competitive at the highest level. Faker, widely recognized as a Hall of Legends player, has been fine-tuning his skills on Europe West’s normal queue games.
However, Riot’s matchmaking system seems to have thrown a curveball his way, placing him in games alongside players from Iron, the lowest rank in League of Legends.
As Faker queued up for a few normal games, he encountered unusually low-ranked players, including one in Iron Two. Iron is one of the lowest possible ranks in the game, making it surprising to see a player liek him caliber matched with such opponents.
Given his skills, it was no shock that he dominated these matches, effortlessly racking up numerous kills. Despite the odd placement, he still demonstrated why he’s one of the best in the world, breezing through these lower-ranked teams with ease.
In League of Legends, each account has two separate MMR ratings: one for normal games and one for ranked games. Ideally, a player like Faker should be placed in games with others of a much higher skill level.
However, since the account Faker is using was provided by Riot specifically for playing on the EUW server, it’s likely that the matchmaking system hasn’t fully adjusted yet.