After a difficult Week 1,
continued their run by securing a 2-1 victory over
in Week 2 of the
LCS. A loss to
and a tepid win versus Dignitas seems somewhat shaky for the somewhat-new, somewhat-familiar Cloud9, but Lee "
" Sang-min, the team’s returning midlaner, is eager to build the team’s confidence up. Loki sat down with
Sheep Esports after the DIG series to discuss the vast room improvement he believes Cloud9 is capable of, going into the team’s scrim performance, Korea versus NA differences after having gone back and forth, and why he thinks he’ll return to 100% form.
What was going through your mind during Robert "" Huang’s dive in Game 3?
Loki: It was planned because we were really strong, and we were kind of a dive comp. So, we just tried to get mid tier 3, because mid tier 3 was 1 HP. So, we prepared to get the mid tower first, and then, after that, we would just dive Anivia. If Anivia is dead, we’re gonna end the game for sure, because Anivia is quite strong at defense. So, we just tried to go to Anivia’s side, but Blaber miss-clicked, I guess, and he just ran it down, yeah.
Were there any concerns, like ‘Oh no, we’re throwing the game, what’s gonna happen here?!’ or were you like ‘It’s ok, there’s gonna be another chance to end the game.’
Loki: I don’t mind too much, because even though we were inting a lot today, I feel like Game 1, 2, 3, I don’t really mind, because we’re really good in scrims right now. So, I don’t mind.
Tell me a little about scrims. How are they going? Are they going ok? Are you getting to know your teammates again, because, you played with most of them before. Do you feel like you’ve been integrated back into Cloud9 well?
Loki: Our scrims performance is quite good right now, and we are individually always good players. So, if we just fix the macro, then we’ll be much better. But on stage, it’s still not fixed, the macro. So, we should fix it.
One of the big stories about Cloud9 is the seven-man roster. How does this feel for you? Do you feel like you have to work harder to keep the starting spot? Do you feel inspiration to talk with Eain "" Stearns?
Loki: I mean, the seven-man roster is just okay, I feel like. I don’t mind too much, because I think that I’m improving a lot from last year, and this year, I’m getting better than before. So, I really don’t mind that we’re doing a seven-man roster, and I didn't feel pressured, so I’ll just keep improving myself.
Another big story is your return: you were one of the most popular and talked-about players at 2025’s finish, and suddenly, Cloud9 had to change, and later, you went to play LCK. Why did you decide to come back? Is there any specific reason?
Loki: I don’t have a special reason, but I want to make Worlds. Last year, I had family problems, so that’s why I had to go to Korea. I fixed the family problems, and then, after that, I played in the LCK for a while, and then, I feel like NA is more comfortable to play in, and I can focus on the game, so that’s why I chose to come back here.
Why do you think NA is more comfortable to play in?
Loki: NA and Korea's environments are quite different, I feel like. The Korean environment is better, because Korean solo queue has the best environment, with really good players. But, I feel like there’s a high chance to make Worlds in NA.
C9 has a curse they haven’t been able to break of qualifying to international tournaments, lately. Do you feel like there’s a pressure on you and the squad as a whole to finally break this curse this split?
Loki: Honestly, our mood right now is so good. It’s really comfortable to play the game and just talk about how we’re gonna play, or how we’re gonna fix our problems. We could always play better, but we’re a strong team right now. We should fix our problems on stage, like team macro, and we can fix it soon.
Tell me about the difference you’ve noticed from your time on C9 in 2025 to the current iteration of C9, with a different coach and some different players?
Loki: In 2025, when I was playing in C9, I didn’t have much of an ego, because I was lucky, and there were always several veteran players. After Split 3, I had a kind of ego, so I could talk about my opinions a lot. And then, in 2026, I feel we are improving a lot individually. So, we’re getting better than before, everyone. And, with our coach, sometimes the draft was dogshit [sic], so I didn’t want to play.
So, after the game was over, I just say to my coach, I don’t want to play this draft, we should change to something else, or otherwise we cannot win. And my coach says, ‘If you don’t want to play the draft, you should say before the game starts, so we can drop the draft and research something,’ so I was like, ‘OK, yeah, cool.’ And then, we just talk about individual opinions, so the coach can think what’s the highest pick, or what’s the lowest pick, so he can make a simple draft.
In Tennis, there’s this concept called “unforced errors,” which means errors you make that are not caused by enemy pressure, but just on you. Do you think this series was complicated because Dignitas made a lot of good plays, or was it more unforced errors from Cloud9, adapting to the new team?
Loki: I think that on stage, my sleep was not good, really, and that’s why I inted a lot today. I didn’t get pressured, I didn’t get nervous too much, compared to last year. So, if I just sleep well, then I’d really be better, because I didn't show 100% of my performance, just 40% or 50% right now. I don’t know if my teammates got nervous or sleepy, I don’t know. Maybe we just have to do better on stage.
If Week 1 and Week 2 was ‘Loki at 40-50%,’ how will it look when Loki’s at 100%? Will Cloud9 be the best team, will it be easy to win a championship, and how long will getting to 100% take?
Loki: If I can show a 100% performance, then we can win easily, I feel like. Even if I show 100% performance, if the team runs it down, it’s gonna be hard to win the game. I will fix it in one week or two weeks, and then, I’ll be fine. It’s been a while since I played on stage, because when I was benched on
, I didn’t play scrims for one month, so I forgot how to play the game. Now, I'm kind of fine with how I'm playing the game now, so I will fix this soon.”
