Fresh off his arrival from South Korea, former T1 Challengers midlaner Yoon "Poby" Sung-won is already turning heads in the League of Legends EMEA Championship with Fnatic. Two BO3s played, two clean victories against Team Heretics and SK Gaming—not the toughest opponents in the league, but still, Poby's debut has been nothing short of impressive. From laning to teamfighting, everything looked crisp. Unsurprisingly, he earned a well-deserved spot in our LEC Summer Split Week 1 Team of the Week.

Poby’s LEC debut began with a standout performance against Kamil "Kamiloo" Haudegond in an Orianna vs. Taliyah matchup. He dominated lane with over 50 CS lead and built aggressively with Luden’s Companion and Shadowflame, topping the damage charts in the game. In game 3 of that series, he locked in Syndra—another control mage—and delivered a clean 6/0/5, showing strong synergy with jungler Iván "Razork" Martín Díaz. The two already appear to have good in-game chemistry.

Tougher opponents ahead

The following Monday, Poby shined once again on Orianna, this time against veteran Felix "Abbedagge" Braun. The champion seems to be a favorite among midlaners trained under T1, as evidenced by Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok’s own current preference. Poby wrapped up that series on Yone, proving he can handle both control mages and aggressive melee picks. His 3/1/6 scoreline included a clutch ultimate hitting three SK players right after a Maokai engage from Razork, catching their opponents completely off guard.

It’s been a near-perfect start for the young Korean midlaner—but to be fair, both Team Heretics and SK seem to be among the weaker teams in the league. The real test begins in Week 2 when Fnatic face Team BDS and Ilias "nuc" Bizriken on Sunday, August 10. The matchup is already heating up off the Rift: nuc threw the first jab on X, saying, “Poby, don't get cocky just because you beat those silly monkeys in lane. On Sunday, the really important day, let's see who's the real boss.” Poby fired back: “I will make you look like another monkey too.”