Returning to his home country after a season with
in the LCS,
played the first two LCK matches of his career this week under the banner of
. Defeated by
in the opening match of the LCK Season, BRION managed, to widespread surprise, to overcome First Stand contender
this Friday with a 2-0 victory. Following the team’s first win of 2026, the midlaner granted an exclusive interview to
Sheep Esports. Loki discussed the reasons behind his return and shared the insights he gained from his year abroad.
How are you feeling right now?
Lee "Loki" Sang-min: “I thought we'd win 2-0, so I'm really happy we won. My mindset was that if we just played the way we do in scrims, we'd definitely win. There were some areas that were a bit lacking today as well, but I'm happy we won.
While preparing for this match, was there anything you focused on in particular?
Loki: As a team, this year we've been really focused on improving our concentration during Baron fights and side-lane macro, and I think we did a good job stacking dragons and playing around that objective-focused style.
Even though this is your debut season, you've shown impressive performances in your first two matches. If you were to rate your performance this week out of 10, what score would you give yourself, and why?
Loki: Hmm, I'd give myself about a 5 or 6. I feel like I haven't shown even 1% of what I can do yet, so if I can just adapt to the stage quickly, I think I'll be able to show much better performances.
Since joining the team, what aspect do you feel you've synced up on the fastest?
Loki: I came back to Korea from Cloud9 for personal reasons, and after those were resolved, I joined HANJIN BRION. Personally, I wanted to compete in the LCK — it's always been a dream stage for me — so I wanted to join the best team I could, and that's why I joined HANJIN BRION. As for syncing up with the team, I think I worked hardest on matching our shot-calling.
Then what areas do you still need to work on going forward?
Loki: For competitions, I think I need to adapt to the stage faster, and I feel like I'm making good progress on that. As a team, if we refine our shot-calling in more detail and really communicate calmly, I think we can get even better results.
How did your time on Cloud9 influence you, and over the past year, what area do you feel you grew the most in personally?
Loki: From my time on Cloud9, I think my laning got a lot stronger. Going abroad frequently gave me international experience, and playing with so many different players made me feel like I leveled up. I also kept watching replays of top players to try to keep growing.
Having gone through the LCS experience, what do you want to show more of going forward, and do you have a message for your American fans?
Loki: What I want to show the most is just everything I've got — my true self on stage. The fans in America really supported me so much, and it gave me a lot of strength. Even after coming back to Korea, there are so many fans cheering me on every match, and I'm truly grateful. I'll do my best to repay all the support going forward.”
