have booked their place in the playoffs, but not without a scare. The LCK
champions were pushed to the limit by
on Sunday before eventually coming away with a 2–1 win to secure their spot in the knockout stage of the 2026
League of Legends World Championship.
The tournament favourites remain unbeaten in a Swiss Stage that has already proved challenging for several other top contenders, including Hanwha Life Esports and Bilibili Gaming.
With a 3–0 record, the LCK’s top seed now await their first opponents in the playoffs. Shortly after Gen.G’s hard-fought win over LYON, head coach Yoo “Ryu” Sang-wook sat down with Sheep Esports to discuss the series. Having spent part of his playing career in the LCS, the former midlaner knows the North American scene well. He reflected on a closely contested matchup that forced Gen.G to work hard for their victory.
There was a moment during Gen.G’s series against HLE that caught people’s attention. As you watched your team win, you were looking at them rather menacingly. Sheep Esports described it as a “mafia boss pose.” Were you trying to intimidate them a little after Game 1?
Yoo "Ryu" Sang-wook: “Not at all [Laughs]. The series wasn’t over yet, so I was watching the game closely and staying focused. I tend to look a bit stern when I’m not showing much emotion, so I think that’s how it came across.
Kim "Canyon" Gun-boo had great performances on Qiyana across the first two games. However, it seemed that LYON left the pick open because they felt prepared to play against it. Do you think that was the right approach, or were there other factors behind Gen.G’s Game 1 loss?
Ryu: They had prepared a strong strategy, so it was difficult to deal with, but we were well aware of the situation going into the game. However, there was a communication error, and we should have avoided giving them picks like Kalista and Renata. I made a mistake there, and I think that was one of the reasons we lost the first game.
When there are different opinions about what went wrong between games, especially after a loss, how do you approach those discussions and turn a series around?
Ryu: We concluded that the main reason we lost Game 1 was that we failed to secure lane priority, so in Games 2 and 3, we focused on getting priority. In Game 2, the draft went well, as we had expected. In Games 1 and 3, however, I made several mistakes in the draft, giving the opponents too much priority. I think that made the series much more difficult for us overall.
In Gen.G’s content, you’re shown having unwavering faith in your players. When you find yourselves on the back foot, how do you convey that confidence to them?
Ryu: After a loss, we focus on discussing how we can approach the next game. My feedback is usually along the lines of, “We lost because of this, so if we fix that one thing, we can definitely win.” The players are incredibly skilled, so I encourage them by reminding them that things should go well if we address the areas where we fell short.
For North American fans, you were one of the notable midlaners back in the day. Do you feel nostalgic being back in NA for Worlds? Are there any fond memories or stories from your time in the region that come to mind?
Ryu: If I remember correctly, the United States was where I played out the final part of my career. I have a lot of memories from that time, and playing here in person again feels different. It brings back a lot of those memories, which has been fun.
What differences have you noticed now that you’re a coach rather than a player?
Ryu: The biggest difference between being a player and a coach is simply that I’m no longer the one playing the game. Even when I was a player, I was still focused on the game and analyzing the meta, so that process hasn’t changed. The main difference now is that I spend much more time focusing on drafts and analyzing the meta.
In Game 1, you banned three champions targeting ; in Game 2, you banned two, and in Game 3, you banned four. How do you prepare to face a team with a player like Inspired?
Ryu: We identified that LYON tends to prioritize securing lane priority before giving Inspired a farming-oriented jungler. We were very conscious of that throughout the pick-and-ban phase, and our drafting approach was heavily focused on addressing that aspect of their game plan.
The motto of this World Championship is “This is our moment.” Given your long and storied career, and the many iconic moments you’ve been part of throughout the history of the game, why is this your moment?
Ryu: Because we’re going to win this tournament.
No team has ever won Worlds after going 3–0 in the Swiss Stage. Can Gen.G break that trend this time?
Ryu: I’m not someone who believes in curses or superstitions, but I think we were fortunate to win today, as our performance was such that we probably should have lost. We’ll use what we learned from this match to prepare as well as possible for the next stage.”
