The world turns its gaze towards North America as the biggest tournament of the
League of Legends esports season is set to begin in just a few hours. With
standing in their way,
are now ready to defend the honor of the LCP at
Worlds 2026, hoping to make a deep run and move past their underdog status.
The only Worlds veteran on the squad, jungler
sat down with
Sheep Esports ahead of the event to discuss his upcoming matches and goals on the international stage, before delivering an exclusive warning to his Brazilian counterpart.
How have your travels been, and how are you enjoying North America so far?
Lương "Gury" Hải Long: “We've been here since the 12th, and so far, I feel like the weather here is incredible, and the food is pretty okay too.
How have scrims been so far? Have you found good opponents, or has it been difficult to find scrims?
Gury: It's been tough getting scrims, to be honest, but we've managed to find a few opponents in the last few days. They're not, like, top-tier opponents or anything, but it's good that we get some scrims going.
What will be MVK's mentality going into Play-Ins? A lot of people see you as underdogs. Would you agree with that, or do you see it differently?
Gury: It's right of them to think of us as underdogs because we are pretty young players, but we'll also try to prove to them that we're here for a reason.
You're the youngest team at Worlds, but you're also the oldest player of the team. What does that mean to you? Do you feel like a big brother to your teammates?
Gury: Even though I'm the oldest player on the team, this is a very young roster, and I'm quite a young player myself. Even so, I'm still trying to pass on the experience that I've gained playing on the international stage to them.
Do you feel like they're mature, or do you sometimes have to make sure they stay disciplined, given that you're the oldest of the young players?
Gury: All of the young players always have a very high ego and always want to do whatever they want. And I try my best to calm them down and keep them disciplined.
What about you? Do you have a bit of ego as well?
Gury: I do have a pretty high ego myself, but sometimes I have to lower my ego so that I can work with everyone.
You said in the LCP's Hotpot Hot Takes that the CBLOL and the LEC would be the easiest regions to get wins against. Do you stand by that, especially with FURIA first and potentially later?
Gury: In the past couple of years, teams from the VCS and LCP have had a pretty good track record against teams from the CBLOL and LEC. So I'm pretty confident with my statement going against them.
Do you have a message for , who you’ll be facing today?
Gury: [Laughs] I've seen a picture of him when he still had his Ronaldo hairstyle. This time, I'm going to show Tatu who's the real Ronaldo.
If you make it to the Main Event, your birthday is on the 28th. Have you thought about celebrating it in the Swiss Stage?
Gury: I did think of the possibility of being able to enjoy my birthday in the Swiss Stage. If that really happens, that would be so nice.
Is there anything in particular you want to do here before returning to Vietnam, either during or outside the tournament?
Gury: [Laughs] I want to try out all of the fast-food restaurants in America.
Is there a specific one you'd like to try the most?
Gury: I had the chance to try In-N-Out, and it was really good.
What do you expect from the next few days, and how are you feeling heading into your matches?
Gury: Right now, I'm feeling perfectly calm, but when tomorrow comes and the match is closing in, I will probably feel a little nervous. I hope we can do well in that match.
Do you feel any pressure representing the LCP, given that the region is seen as an underdog and people aren't expecting it to be particularly strong after CFO's roster fell apart last year?
Gury: I like it when we are rated as the underdog because that's when people drop their guard against us, and we will be able to land a big punch.”
