FNC Noah: "Support from fans kept me going. I was almost ready to retire after the summer finals"

Oh "Noah" Hyeon-taek; competing in the 2024 League of Legends EMEA Championship Series Season Finals for Fnatic.

"I have a lot of guilt and regrets. I feel like a disappointment to many people, and I disappoint myself too. I was trying my best today to win and make the fans happy, but we couldn't."

Despite fighting tooth and nail in the LEC 2024 Season Finals, Fnatic fell once more in Munich against their arch-nemesis, G2 Esports. While performances and results might not have met expectations of fans, Noah's competitive spirit and his heart of gold shone through the darkness brought on by the team's loss. In a heartfelt League of Legends interview, Oh "Noah" Hyeon-taek, the AD Carry of the team, reflects on the reasons behind the loss, looks back on the 2024 season, discusses burnout, and shares his mindset going into Worlds.

After a hard-fought match, Fnatic unfortunately lost against G2 Esports. What are your first thoughts after this match?

Noah: I've been trying my best all year. I thought I was getting better, but it still wasn't enough to beat G2. It's mega sad, you know, to lose in the finals against G2 again. It sucks, yeah.

How do you feel about your and your team's progress over the last few months? Do you still see positives from this series and season?

Noah: I think our team got better at both micro and macro aspects, but we're still not good enough to beat G2. I don't think it's enough to win against Asian teams at Worlds either, so we need to improve on that. But yeah, we've lost many times, but we still tried to come back and improve, so I'll try to improve again, I guess.

This season has been incredibly long, and today's match had some really drawn-out games. How are you holding up?

Noah: Today was exhausting, but honestly, this whole year has been tiring. We only had a two-week break in nine months because we went to MSI & EWC. Still, I think we could have won today for sure. Even if we had taken one set, we could have won. It wasn’t that far off since the enemy was just as tired. But yeah, I’m mega tired now, I guess.

If you had to pinpoint one thing that was missing in order to beat G2 today, what would you say that one element was?

Noah: We talked about that after the games. When the enemy was on side lanes, we didn't respond well. Their macro was better. Scrims and stage matches are very different, but we didn’t adapt well today. So yeah, we need to work on that.

Many teams would see finishing second and consistently contending for top spots as a big accomplishment, but for Fnatic, it feels like a disappointment. How do you personally view your season?

Noah: I have a lot of guilt and regrets. I feel like a disappointment to many people, and I disappoint myself too. I was trying my best today to win and make the fans happy, but we couldn't. It’s not the end of our run, so I’ll still try to get first, even if I’m not with this team next year. I don't know for sure what will happen, but I will try my best still.

Noah walks off the stage after a defeat. Credit: Steph Lindgren/Riot Games

With your recent improvements alongside Jun, are you able to see yourself as one of the top ADCs in Europe, or is it hard to see that after this loss?

Noah: Actually, I still think I’m one of the top ADCs in the league, and I've improved a lot this year. If I keep improving, I believe I can be the best too. But I can't say that for sure right now because I’ve beaten everyone except G2. I still don’t have the experience to win against Hans Sama in the finals. I need to beat him first before I can say I’m the best, but honestly, I think I’ve improved a lot this year.

What do you think are the next steps for Fnatic in the coming weeks to ensure you’re ready for Worlds?

Noah: We definitely need rest. We’ll take one or two weeks off before starting to play again. After that break, we can come back more relaxed and ready to try harder. Personally, I feel like I mega-choked in the summer finals, but I worked hard on fixing that, and I don't think I choked today. I just think the enemy was better. But that means we can improve and, it sucks right now, but I see some positive things. I know I can fix my mental issues and show a better version of myself, even on an international stage. I’ll keep trying harder.

Going into Worlds, what do you consider the minimum achievement for it to be seen as a success?

Noah: I think if we can show our best, I don’t really care about the outcome. If we play at our best, I believe we can go far, even against top teams like Gen.G or BLG. They are definitely strong teams, but I think our team has a lot of potential. So, we’ll practice as hard as possible and see how it goes.

You picked Ziggs in game 4, which is popular in the LCK with players like Gumayusi and Peyz. Was this inspired by those matches, and might we see more Ziggs in the future?

Noah: I practiced Ziggs about one or two months ago in summer because I saw many LPL and LCK games where Ziggs was effective. I thought Ziggs could be good, especially in the AD Mid meta since you need to have AP on other sides of the map. I planned to use him, and I think he was a good pick against G2 because he matched well with Hans Sama's champion pool, since he plays things like Draven and Ashe. However, in the last game, our macro play in the mid-game wasn't great. Still, I think we can pull Ziggs out again in the future.

Despite the loss, some hope remains ahead of Worlds. Credit: Michał Konkol/Riot Games

Do you have any words for Fnatic fans?

Noah: You know, haters gonna hate. Even top players like Faker or Chovy get criticism. You shouldn’t let that bother you; just keep trying your best; people will come around if you prove yourself. I want to thank Fnatic fans for their support. I’ve received a lot of hate, but the support from fans really helped me and kept me going. I was almost ready to retire after the summer finals. So, thank you, and I hope to show a win next time if I can.

Header Photo Credit: Steph Lindgren/Riot Games