entered
First Stand 2026 as the clear favorite to win the tournament, and their debut match at the event immediately backed that up. Against
, second seed from the LPL, Gen.G delivered a dominant 3–0 victory that kicked off their run with a clear win and also established a new record for
the fastest best-of-five between LCK and LPL teams.
In an interview with
Sheep Esports after the match,
Joo "Duro" Min-kyu spoke about the expectations
surrounding Gen.G and how he approaches that pressure. Talking about his and the team’s preparation for international competition, Duro shared his view on the current meta, champions’ tier lists, and how events’ hosting countries are taken into consideration by players.
Many expect Gen.G to win the entirety of the tournament, and so I wanted to hear from you: how do you personally deal with that kind of narrative?
Joo "Duro" Min-kyu: “Obviously, if that many people are expecting us to win, that is just another way to say that a lot of people are rating us highly and evaluating us very highly, which makes me feel pretty great.
Does it weigh in any kind of way with you and on how your team prepared for the event? I remember you saying that it was a bit tough for you at the beginning of last year because there is always a lot of pressure on Gen.G to perform.
Duro: The fact that we are expected to win the entirety of the tournament doesn't mean that it's actually going to affect how the team prepares or I prepare personally. And although it's true, I have spoken about that pressure from last year, I don't really necessarily feel that anymore.
I assume you also worked on improving the gameplay since last time we spoke, so can you walk me through what you did to improve? How do you prepare for an international tournament like First Stand now?
Duro: When you make it to international tournaments, you have to consider that it's not just Korean teams that you will have to face. There are a lot of different teams that you'll face from different regions, which means that there will be a variety of strategies you'll actually have to deal with. So I think what really matters the most is for you to have a great… like a really nice tier list. And I think as long as you get that right, if that tier list is correct, then I believe that whatever matches that we have left ahead of us, we'll be able to perform well in those matches too.
Do you mean tier list as in what team from another region you consider strong? And if yes, would you be comfortable sharing your tier list for the event?
Duro: When I mentioned tier list is actually more related to champions—nothing related to teams.
Is there anything you find particularly strong right now in this meta? Considering also the new changes at the beginning of the season.
Duro: Honestly, to share my genuine thoughts on the changes, I feel like there has not been that big of a change, like that big of a dramatic change that you can usually tell. So, even from yesterday's matches and today's matches, I feel like we're just seeing the same exact picks so far.
In today's match, there was a moment that was shared on the broadcast in which you said, "Holy sh*t." Can you give us your comment on that moment in particular, or on the emotions you felt in the last game?
Duro: Yes, I'm having a really hard time recalling that exact moment [laughs]. So I think in game three I was playing Alistar, and I think it was probably when I got dove, and I died, and I think maybe I did say "holy sh*t" or "sh*t" and it's because of my own place that I ended up saying that—I think just I kind of blurted that out because I died and that was just plainly due to my own gameplay.
As a last question, if you’re comfortable answering it, like four years ago when Worlds was going to be in the US, Jeong "Chovy" Ji-hoon said—even if playfully—he was afraid to get shot. From your perspective as an esport pro player, does the situation of countries hosting international tournaments matter to players? Like, do pro players talk about it or do they have any thoughts about it?
Duro: Yeah, players definitely do talk about it. Pro-players actually do consider the hosting countries and what the environment is going to look like. For example, let's say that we were supposed to go to Africa for some reason for a tournament, then considering that it's not the safest to be walking out in the middle of the day or at night, I think I would just start thinking about 'can I even just walk by myself outside at one point if I do go to a country in Africa?’
And for the Worlds that is going to be hosted in the US this year: I have never been to America before and I definitely do want to make it [to Worlds]. I've always actually wanted to go to America before. And of course, firearms are legal, but I think I don't really care too much about that part. I feel like the US is one of the safer countries to be in as well at the same time. So I hope that I can have a comfortable time just traveling around in America, if I do make it [to Worlds]. I hope that I do.”
