SEN DARKWINGS: "I showcased that I could stand my ground [...] I held my own and was a threat."

The first Superweek of the 2026 League of Legends Championship Series (LCS) would pit the two teams with the season on the line: and . Some fans wouldn’t consider this an interesting must-watch series. However, both organizations served a banger of a main course in a thrilling five-game series and the first reverse sweep in over a thousand days.

Both teams put up an entertaining performance, but for every winner, there’s a loser as the Rebels cut Sentinels’ promising season short. Following the heartbreaking defeat, Sheep Esports secured an exclusive interview with Isaac “" Chou. The North American midlane talent reflected on the lessons he’ll carry into 2027, his favorite moments with the team, and why NA mid laners are often overlooked.

Isaac “DARKWINGS" Chou: Coming into the series, we felt pretty good overall about our level of play. We thought… Yeah, I mean, we thought we'd win, and I think it showed in the first two games. We played pretty well overall, and felt like we were all playing pretty well fundamentally throughout the series. Games 3 and 4… I think all the rest of the games were pretty close, like, kind of back and forth. The other team fought a little better than us in those games when it came down to it. I don't feel great about this series, and I felt especially bad about my Yone game… I really wanted to have success. I think they played a little better than us today, and by Game 5, it was unfortunate how that ended.

DARKWINGS: When we went back to review and look at our games, we felt like we needed to have a better understanding of, first, like, our draft and how we wanted to play out the comp, like, if we are shorter range or longer range, and then… we're working individually on what we're supposed to do on our champions. I think during scrim reviews, we would look at our teamfights and keep working on them. That's how we improved our teamfighting.

DARKWINGS: Yeah, this was my first full year in LCS. I wasn't sure what to expect when I came in, but I thought I'd slowly work my way up and try to be one of the better mids in the LCS. I feel like I showcased that I could stand my ground. I had some bad and good series, but I think I held my own and was a threat, especially on my mages. Personally, I felt like the year overall was good. I was able to go to a few international tournaments, and that was a really cool experience. It was really unfortunate that we couldn't go this last split, but it is what it is. I'll take these lessons for the upcoming year.

DARKWINGS: The biggest lesson I want to take away is being more confident and understanding the game’s details better for my champion’s archetype. While I showcased really good performances on mages, I think from the outside, it seemed like I wasn’t as prolific on the other archetypes. I want to focus on being adaptable and knowing my job on these different champions. I want that level of consistency on other archetypes. I feel like my lesson was that I didn’t run out of champions, but I wasn’t as comfortable on the latter picks. When I have that level of confidence, then it's pretty good for me to be able to… How do I say it? To have some control over the game.

DARKWINGS: When we went to Paris together for EWC, that was a really fun time. We played versus international competition, even if it was only three teams. We scrimmed some other teams too, and learned that there are so many other pro players out there. We're part of that team, like Sentinels, and we can compete; that group experience and hanging out with the teammates in Paris.

DARKWINGS: I would say the season was- it might be biased because I'm here- but I'd still say a 6.5 out of 10. That's above average, in my opinion, but not good enough to be a 7.

DARKWINGS: I think the big reason is that Korean mids are looked at so highly. Everyone knows (Lee Sang-hyeok) and (Jeong Ji-hoon), and if you're constantly playing against them, it feels like Korean mids are that good. Everyone's trying to learn from them. I think the reason why NA mids aren't that often… I mean, it's more recent… well, not recent, but over the years, it's been more and more Korean mids. Honestly, I'm not sure why. I think NA talent exists, but I think it's easier that, if you're choosing to import, I think mid is like, you need your mid to be good. They fall back on the safety net that they think a Korean mid is good. It's easier to use a Korean mid than another import in a different role, but I'm not too sure myself.

DARKWINGS: League is at the age where there's the conception that, if you're young and you look really good mechanically, then they'll be able to teach you macro. I think it's not easy, because people index their skills, right? Even if you're super good mechanically, you still have to learn a lot to build good knowledge, and the mechanical side is not super important anymore. It's still important, but it's not the be-all and end-all; like, if you're a good player, you must be mechanically good. Right now, your overall skill level has to be at a certain point, and age doesn't matter that much. However, it's your level of skill, and if you have a good system to work on the skills that someone's lacking, whether that's mechanical… not necessarily mechanical, knowledge, or something else, then it's not like I think a lot of people can be good. It's just that they have to have that level of- it can be personal drive or routine- even just playing well. I don't think it's about age anymore.

DARKWINGS: The one that comes to mind is going to Worlds 2027, but I'd be really happy if I qualify for any Tier 1 international tournament.

DARKWINGS: Thank you for supporting and watching us. Even if we couldn’t go to Worlds, I’m still really grateful there are Sentinels fans out there. Thank you for that.