FNATIC were eliminated by Movistar KOI, bringing their
League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC) summer playoffs run to an end. Nonetheless, all is not doom and gloom, as the squad now heads to
Worlds 2025 in China, ready to face numerous international juggernauts. In an exclusive interview, midlaner
Yoon "Poby" Sung-won sat down with
Sheep Esports to discuss the Summer Split, work culture in Europe, his desire to face T1, and the memes surrounding him.
How do you feel after your loss to MKOI? What went wrong?
Yoon "Poby" Sung-won: "We didn’t do very well in the early game. Movistar KOI then took over in the mid-game and, well, we just lost like that.
How do you feel about the summer split, given you had little time with Fnatic? Are you happy with how it went overall?
Poby: Summer went by really quickly, I didn’t have much time with the team. But my teammates and coaching staff worked really hard to help me, and I gave it everything I got. Now, we’re going to Worlds, so I think overall it was a pretty good summer, but we still have room to improve to finish the year on a good note.
Are you personally satisfied with the results, considering you did qualify for Worlds?
Poby: I’m not really happy we finished in third place because I know we’re better than that and could have won against MKOI and G2. Sadly, we made many mistakes in the early games, but we were really close.
How do you see your level as a midlaner compared to others in the LEC? Do you consider yourself one of the best, or not yet?
Poby: Jojopyun (Joseph Pyun), Caps (Rasmus Winther), and myself are good. During the laning phase, I’m very good and I have a lot of confidence in my skill. I’m way better integrated in our team now and communicate well. Now, I think I need to improve with my team around mid-game macro.
Coming from LCK CL, some people doubted you and weren’t confident you’d do well. Do you feel your performance proved them wrong?
Poby: I know a lot of people don’t think I’m very good, but I’m really confident, simply because I know what I’m capable of. I know my level. I can improve a lot.
This was your first time playing in a big arena with many fans. How was the experience in Madrid? Was it stressful?
Poby: It wasn’t stressful, I was just really excited, and I’m so thankful to the fans. It was an excellent experience to play on such a huge stage. In game, there was a lot of noise, and we could hear the fans cheering for us. It was a really good experience. The stage was really cool as well, it was impressive how high up it was.
This was your first split in a major league, and now you’re going to Worlds. How do you feel about that, and are you excited?
Poby: I can’t believe I’m going to Worlds still. I’m just really excited to go there and play against many great teams and improve from it. I believe that I’m ready to face all those international midlaners, it’ll be a wonderful experience. I hope we can have good results. I’m not sure if we can beat all the LCK and LPL teams, but we can make some banger games at least.
Would you be excited to play against Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok and T1?
Poby: I really want to meet T1 and Faker at Worlds. It’s really funny to me that I could have the chance to face them, it feels really surprising that I’m here now.
How is the work culture in Korea compared to Europe?
Poby: In Korea, we have much more practice time with our team, whereas here in Europe, I have a lot more alone time when I can play solo queue or watch LCK and LPL match replays.
Are you aware of the jokes comparing you to Faker, like “greatest of some time” or “some roads lead to you”, and what do you think of them?
Poby: [Laughs] I think these are really funny. I want to thank the fans for making those memes about me.
Do you have a message for Fnatic fans?
Poby: I’m really thankful to all who cheered for us, and I want to say sorry for losing today."
Header Photo Credit: Joao Ferreira/Riot Games
