After starting the season with a 2-1 record in the
League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC),
Movistar KOI has lived up to expectations, especially with a win over one of the favorites, Fnatic. In an exclusive interview,
Joseph Joon "Jojopyun" Pyun reflects on the results of Week 1, discusses the differences between Europe and NA, and looks back on his 2023 LCK offer.
Why are you so late to this interview? (laughs)
Joseph Joon "Jojopyun" Pyun: Trying to break my record from last year, bro. (laughs) I think the number was like 43 or something. This year, I’m aiming for 70.
How does it feel being the first-ever NA player in the LEC?
Jojopyun: It’s great to be here, especially with all the hype around an NA player coming to EU. There are so many eyes on me, and that makes the game way more entertaining. When there’s hype and lots of fans watching, I really enjoy it. EU fans are super passionate, especially KOI fans. It’s been amazing so far.
Do you feel more hype in EU? Do you think EU is stronger?
Jojopyun: The EU solo queue and the ERL players are definitely better. NA solo queue is so bad. The top teams in NA are good, but after the top, it gets really rough. In Europe, even the bottom teams and the ERL players are still decent, so the solo queue gameplay is much better. But if you’re only looking at the best teams, it’s pretty close.
Is the greater player base making a difference?
Jojopyun: Yeah, there are way more players, so there’s more development. NA doesn’t even have Academy anymore, so the solo queue here is just better, and there are stronger teams overall.
Another difference is the number of teams—ten in EU versus eight in NA last year. How does that feel?
Jojopyun: Eight teams felt kind of weird because NA used to have 10 too. It felt like there were way too few teams. I prefer 10—it means more matches, which I like a lot more.
Why do you like ten teams a lot more?
Jojopyun: There’s an argument that eight teams mean stronger top teams because only the best players stay. But with ten teams, you get more matches. Single round robin with eight teams feels way too short. With ten, single round robin is fine, though I still think double round robin is better. Like in EU right now, single round robin works, but if there were only eight teams, it’d feel like too little.
Looking back at the offseason, I heard you had the chance to stay in NA. Why did you come to EU?
Jojopyun: A big part of it was my talks with the org, the coach, and players like Melzhet (Tomás Campelos) and Elyoya (Javier Prades). Their views aligned with mine a lot, and their passion really stood out. I felt like their vision for the team matched what I wanted. Also, the fans here are so passionate, and I love playing when there’s a lot of hype—it just makes it way more fun. I also thought the team had so much potential. Four rookies, and I felt I could help develop them alongside Elyoya. Plus, I knew I’d grow more individually in EU than I would in NA. There are still good teams in NA, but unless it was the perfect situation, I knew EU was the right choice for me.
I also heard you had the chance to go to LCK in 2023. Would you have liked to go there, even last offseason?
Jojopyun: Yeah, but the thing that’s annoying is that the LCK offer I got two years ago came so late. Last year, I didn’t want to wait so long again. The LCK offseason is super long, and I wasn’t a high priority for them, so if I waited and they went with another midlaner, a lot of my other offers would’ve disappeared. I didn’t want to take that risk.
Do you regret not going to LCK?
Jojopyun: Not really. It’s easy to say now, “Oh, I should’ve gone,” because I didn’t go international with C9. But I learned a lot from that experience and grew a lot as a player. No regrets.
How was your first weekend in the LEC? You’re 2-1 now.
Jojopyun: The first two games were super annoying because I played with the wrong DPI. I couldn’t even change it in-game. On Azir, I didn’t notice it as much because there aren’t skillshots, but on Ahri, I was literally shooting air. My coaches and staff made sure Riot fixed it for the third game, and it was much better after that. Winning or losing this week doesn’t matter too much. We could be 3-0 or 0-3, but the important thing is improving. The regular season is just about making playoffs. What matters most is our form in playoffs.
Why did you lose to Karmine Corp?
Jojopyun: I could say it was the mouse, but honestly, I just wanted to give them some confidence. If we win now and then crush them in playoffs, it’d feel too bad for them. Let them have the win now so they can say, “At least we won in regular season.”
Jojopyun: I was ready to tweet, but I had a long talk with my team and coach. By the time we finished, it was three hours after the game, so it felt too late to post.
Jojopyun: That’s a secret.
Next week, you’re facing Adam "Jackies" Jeřábek, the LEC 2024 Rookie of the Year. Any words for him?
Jojopyun: Not really, bro. I couldn’t care less. I hope he plays well so it’s a good game. Better competition makes for better games, but I have no expectations.
Header Photo Credit: LEC/Riot Games
