Even though
Team Heretics showed promise toward the end of the
2026 League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC) Versus group stage, the squad has now been eliminated from the playoffs after back-to-back losses to G2 and GIANTX. In an exclusive interview, Korean AD Carry
Yoon "Ice" Sang-hoon sat down with
Sheep Esports to give a retrospective on the past split, discuss the differences between Heretics and his previous team, and outline his goals before retiring.
How are you feeling after today’s elimination? What are your thoughts right now?
Yoon "Ice" Sang-hoon: “It always feels bad to lose, but I think we improved a lot from the beginning of the split, so I’m not feeling too sad because of that. At the start of the LEC Versus, we were really bad. We had a lot of progression, so if we just focus on the next split, I think we will keep getting better.
How have the last few days been, especially after the loss against G2? Was the mood still positive in the team?
Ice: The mood has been pretty normal in the past few days. We always just chill together and play our scrims. I don’t think we let the results affect us at all.
What do you think the team is currently missing that caused the playoff elimination?
Ice: Our main issue has been connecting to one another in-game. I think it showed in both our playoffs matches; we lost because we don’t play as a team properly. Everyone needs to learn to play with each other better so that we can understand what each player wants in-game.
Do you feel you are integrating well with the team?
Ice: I haven’t had issues integrating in the team, but on botlane, with my support Stend, I feel like we have issues with others. We try to talk a lot about how I want to play the game.
How is your synergy with Paul "Stend" Lardin?
Ice: Before the series against G2, I felt like we had good synergy, but after that match… I’m not sure, but it felt like we lost some of our confidence.
How do you explain the difference between your strong results at the end of the group stage and your playoffs struggles?
Ice: Other teams improved, but we stagnated since the group stage. They just improved faster than we could.
This is your third year in the LEC, and at 24, you may face mandatory Korean military service soon. Is this something you worry about?
Ice: It hasn’t really impacted my mindset. I just want to make sure I can achieve Worlds and my goals before I retire. I still have until the end of 2027, after which I’ll have to go.
Has it been frustrating to face difficulties and poor results after your strong start in the LEC? How do you handle tough splits as a player?
Ice: I try not to let it affect me. If I lose confidence in myself, things may get even worse. I always approach competition with confidence and focus on myself.
How does the environment in Heretics compare to BDS? Is the atmosphere better, and how do you feel about it?
Ice: Here in Heretics, everyone from players to our coaching staff are friends. We’re all very close. I feel ten times better than I did in BDS. Over there, while players were close, we were really not close with our coaching staff.
You tweeted to Doğukan "113" Balcı “I did it for you” after eliminating Shifters. Was that related?
Ice: I didn’t mean it to flame Striker (Yanis Kella). I was just really happy after that match.
Ice: I’ll always prefer Korean food. In Heretics, we have a chef and sometimes he makes Korean food for us. He makes really good meals for the team, so it’s not a problem at all.
Do you have any final message for your supporters?
Ice: Thank you for cheering for us. Next split will be better. I hope… I hope you keep cheering for us.
Do you have plans for the offseason before the next split?
Ice: I will probably go back to Korea for a bit.”
