Faker’s Contract Renewal and Mohammed bin Salman’s Intentions

Recently, Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok, the greatest esports player in history, announced an exceptional four-year contract extension with his team T1. At the same time, Saudi Arabia’s tourism development company Red Sea Global was unveiled as T1’s new main sponsor. On the surface, it is a welcome sign of esports growth and Faker’s status—but beneath it, it may be a calculated move on a grand chessboard led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

 

'Red Sea Global' / T1 homepage as main sponsor of T1

 

“Sportswashing.” This term refers to a state using astronomical spending on sports to wash away its negative image—human rights abuses, dictatorship, war crimes. Saudi Arabia is now conducting one of the most blatant and large-scale sportswashing operations in history.

 

Oil Money Swallowing All Sports

 

Saudi’s ambitions are not limited to a particular sport—they are consuming all sports. In football, they brought Cristiano Ronaldo to their domestic league with a staggering €200 million salary, and followed that with Neymar, Benzema, and others. Although their bid for Lionel Messi failed, they succeeded in making him a tourism ambassador. It is also widely known that the state sovereign fund PIF acquired Newcastle United in the English Premier League.

 

In golf, they did something even more shocking: they launched a new league, LIV Golf, which in less than two years forced the PGA Tour into a merger through massive financial pressure. Leading this effort was the PIF, run by bin Salman’s close ally Yasir Al-Rumayyan. This is just part of a broader plan: hosting F1 Grand Prix, major WWE events every year, and global boxing title matches in Riyadh. And now, the final piece of their puzzle: esports.

 

VISION 2030 homepage

 

Behind the Flow: “Vision 2030” and Image Cleansing

 

At the center of all these investments is Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia’s national reform project led by Crown Prince bin Salman. Its official goals are moving away from an oil-dependent economy, fostering tourism, culture, and entertainment, and providing jobs for the youth. But its underlying purpose is darker.

 

Bin Salman purged numerous royals and business leaders during his rise to power. In 2018, he was implicated in the brutal killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Turkey, sparking international outrage. Saudi’s repressive gender policies, media control, and the fact that 15 of the 19 9/11 hijackers were Saudi nationals remain deeply ingrained in Western memory.

 

Significantly, Saudi’s sports investments ramped up dramatically after the Khashoggi incident when their global image hit rock bottom. Organizations like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have criticized it strongly, calling PIF-supported sports events tools of image washing.

 

The Final Puzzle: Esports and Faker

 

In this massive sportswashing project, esports holds a special place—its audience is younger, global, and digitally native. Through platforms like YouTube, Twitch, and TikTok, esports reaches audiences across borders in real-time. Thus, it is the most effective medium for long-term brand image cleansing.

 

Hosting the 2024 Esports World Cup (EWC) with a record‐breaking $60 million prize fund was just the prologue. Now they’ve chosen Faker, the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) of esports, and his team T1 as their symbolic ambassadors.

 

EWC2024 League of Legends category winner T1

 

Faker is not merely a great player—he is a living legend in esports, who has held the top position for over a decade, with no controversies, embodying humility and diligence. Saudi choosing T1 and Faker goes beyond sponsorship—it is an attempt to buy his clean, positive image and fuse it with their own branding.

 

There’s excitement around Faker’s four-year contract—but also a sense of unease. We must ask: is that logo on his jersey the sign of pure sporting growth, or is it a way to cover up the shadow cast by a vast kingdom?