In this interview, we talked with Aaron ‘FakeGod’ Lee to get to know him better, find out how he got into the professional gaming scene, and what his career ambitions are. From highs and the lows, to more personal questions about family and friend reactions to him stepping up to the Pro-Scene.

First and foremost, thanks for joining me again. So, starting with a bit of history, how did you first get into League of Legends as a game? And what was your pathway into becoming a pro?

FakeGod: I first started League of Legends when I saw my sister playing it. I didn’t start right then because she said I would get addicted, so I held off. But a friend of mine was also just starting to play League, and then I decided to give it a go over at his place one day and now here I am. I saw my sister playing during Season 2, but didn’t start myself until Season 3, so I was around 13-years old at the time.

What was your peak rank? And how did you transition into the pro-scene from there?

FakeGod: I ranked up pretty fast when I first started playing. I got through Gold, Plat, and Diamond in like one season. Season 4, I ended around what’s now Masters ELO. But after I was just playing normally and on and off because of high-school, mostly. After high school, I started to really play again and I reached Challenger. After, I saw that Riot was doing the Scouting Grounds and thought, “Maybe I should go for this?”, thinking it would be fun. But, I did really well and then after I joined my first team, 100 Thieves.

What is the reason you chose to pursue League? Were there other games that you had the same amount of talent in, or did you choose pro-gaming over another route in life?

FakeGod: I don’t think there were any other games I was playing at the time. I tried DOTA before, but once I had to turn my character and it took ages, I was out. And the ‘carrier thing’ in that game was confusing to me. I thought Heroes of the Storm was interesting, but when I saw that the whole team leveled up in the same I was instantly out. So, I thought to myself, “I’ll just stick with League.”

Did friends or family have any weight on your decisions to pursue the pro scene? What were your conversations with them like?

FakeGod: My friends thought it was really cool, because that’s like, ‘the dream’, ya know? My parents went pretty well due to my sister already being in the League scene as a streamer. She wasn’t full time, but she played and streamed the game a lot, so they were familiar with it that way. They knew it was a pretty big thing, and that you could have a career out of it. So, that went pretty well. Though, my Mom specifically let me know that if things with League ‘didn’t go well’, that it’s not the end all. I could always go back to college. This wasn’t just one path, and that there are still options. So, she supported it with me knowing that.

If you couldn’t be a League Pro right now, what would you be doing instead? Or is it just a solo-bolo on League?

FakeGod: It’s a solo-bolo on League for me. I don’t really play any other MOBAs, and I’m not really good at other genres like FPS. It really hurts my wrist to play those types of games. So, no Valorant or CS:GO any time soon. Just League, and if not League, nothing else.

What is the best thing about being a Pro League player?

FakeGod: It’s when you get to compete on the weekends, and you get to show how much you’ve improved. Getting to compete against other players who go through the same practice that you do, and you getting to triumph over them is big. Competitiveness is probably the best part of playing since you feel like there’s a purpose for you going through all the practice and effort and showing it on the weekend.

What is the worst thing about being a Pro?

FakeGod: Conversely, it’s when you go through all that practice and you don’t get results, it feels like it’s not worth it. It feels pretty bad because you’re the one getting triumphed over. So, it’s just the other side of the coin, for me, honestly.

What would you say your career defining/personally most impactful moments have been?

FakeGod: For me, one of them would be going against TSM in 2019 Summer Split. It was the first time we lost, and I made a tweet that was like, “Win lane, lose game.” and BrokenBlade, for some reason, got really mad about that. And then when I won the second game, that was one of the best feelings because, basically, before we played that game we bet whoever won that game could tweet whatever they wanted. So, when I won, I was like “Nice.”

Besides that, the Spring Split this year was pretty fun in terms of results. We were very close to first place, and there were a lot of good games that we had. I remember a lot of good Gnar moments throughout the split and those were pretty nice.

Would you say that was one of your favorite splits overall as a Pro?

FakeGod: I would say results-wise, I think it’s one of my favorite splits. But only really in that regard.

Who within the scene has had a big impact on you as a person/player and why?

FakeGod: Right now, I think it’s probably Joseph Jang from 100T. He was a coach in Scouting Grounds for me too, and I first interacted with him there. He’s most impactful to me since he was the first coach I ever had. And he was the first experience I had in learning what being a Pro in League is like. Maybe that’ll change in the future. I still think he’s the most influential for me though.

What has been your biggest lesson, maybe something you picked up from Joseph, through your few years within the pro scene?

FakeGod: From Joseph, I mostly learned how to lane. He was someone who put a lot of emphasis on the laning phase. So, when I first started playing, he went through the early laning phase with me, like level 1, over and over. So, I wouldn’t say I picked up anything in terms of mentality or something like that, it was all basically mechanical stuff.

If you could swap to any other role, what would it be and why?

FakeGod: It would probably be Mid or Jungle. I don’t like Bot Lane that much since it’s too different. Between Mid and Jungle though, I’d probably pick Mid since it’s the most similar to Top Lane. But, I think I could do either of them.

If you got to sit down and get one on one coaching from a single player, who would it be and why?

FakeGod: I would say Faker, but he’s Mid Lane, so that’s a little different. If I wanted it for my role, maybe, Khan?.. I would be interested in how he sees the game. I’d compare that to how different I think about and see the game, and what I can get from his insight from there. There’s a lot I could go into, but that’s the general.

But yeah, if I wasn’t just thinking about Top, it’d be Faker. I think every player in the world would pick Faker.

When you consider your pathway to getting to the LCS stage, what advice would you give to those guys that are floating in the D2+ range and are considering pursuing the Pro-Scene themselves?

FakeGod: If you get high on the ladder, people will notice you. That’s all you gotta focus on. Besides that though, don’t tilt. Stay consistent because Solo Queue is about the grind. And follow the meta and what Pros are doing and playing in Solo Queue. It’s hard to play exactly like a Pro in Solo Queue, but you can really up your advantage trying to model them.

Other than that, I think you could create a small social media platform for yourself to get out there, go to events like Scouting Grounds, maybe stream.. But I don’t have too strong of an idea there.

Last but not least, where do you see yourself after your pro career ends?

FakeGod:I’ll probably go back to college and pursue the math major I was going to before. II’ll think about all the fields and stuff when I get there, but until then, I only have ‘math’ in my mind. I’m not sure what else branches from there.

Thanks again to FakeGod for sitting with me and opening a bit about his experience and pathway to becoming the Pro that he is today. If you’d like to follow FakeGod on social media you can find him at these links:

Instagram
Twitter
Twitch