T1 Faker DDOS Attacks
Amidst the fervor of the League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) Spring 2024 playoffs, the renowned Lee „Faker“ Sang-hyeok from team T1 expressed deep frustration over an unexpected challenge that has recently surfaced. The squad faced a significant obstacle beyond the competition on the screen: a series of distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks that hampered their capacity to adequately prepare and train. As arguably the most impactful player in the history of the game, Faker's concerns highlight a pressing issue affecting not just his team's performance but the integrity of the competition as a whole.
The predicament became apparent following T1's surprising 0-3 loss to Hanwha Life Esports. In the tense moments after the match, Faker communicated the severity of their situation, emphasizing that the persistent cyber attacks had compromised their ability to engage in essential solo training sessions. This disruption, as noted by Faker, denied them the fair practice opportunity that their rivals had, potentially influencing the playoff outcomes. The issue brings to light the vulnerability of esports teams to such digital threats and the need for robust countermeasures.
T1 Faker Addresses Team Challenges Amidst LCK Connectivity Sabotage
Chronology of Connectivity Sabotage in LCK
The LCK squads experienced severe disruption due to orchestrated connectivity sabotage incidents affecting the Korean solo queue games. These incidents disrupted player participation in essential online practice matches, rendering their preparation efforts for the LCK Spring 2024 playoffs ineffective.
On February 25, 2024, connectivity sabotage affected the matches between DRX versus Dplus KIA and OKSavingsBank BRION versus Kwangdong Freecs, causing match delays and leading to the rescheduling of some games to online platforms. Despite efforts to secure the network, the attacks continued, casting a shadow over live broadcasts and prompting a subsequent switch to pre-recorded matches. By March 13, 2024, an offline game server at LoL Park was established to secure match integrity.
- February 25, 2024: Disruptions began, leading to match delays and rescheduling.
- Week 6: Pre-recorded matches introduced to counter the ongoing disruption.
- March 13, 2024: A secure offline game server was established.
Understanding Connectivity Sabotage in Esports
Connectivity sabotage, widely known as DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attacks, comprises excessive traffic floods from multiple computers targeted at an online service or website. In esports, these attacks specifically aim at game servers or players’ connections, causing severe lag or disconnects and disrupting the flow and fairness of online competitions.
- Impact on Gameplay: Introduces lag or causes players to disconnect.
- Objective: Overwhelm a service with traffic, causing dysfunction.
Amidst these challenges, prominent T1 team members faced personal targeting during their livestreams. T1's mid laner, recognized widely as Faker, linked the team's loss to Hanwha Life Esports directly to the compromised practice environment caused by these attacks. The LCK has taken steps to ensure the integrity of their official matches by creating a more secure environment for their games, which includes moving back to live broadcasts cautiously and implementing offline servers.
