SEN Impact: "I'm chasing the fun [...] that's how I became a professional gamer."

As the League of Legends Championship Series (LCS) returns after a gap year, veteran top laner Jeong “Impact” Eon-young enters his 10th year competing in North America. Being one of League of Legends’ most experienced players, Impact continues to "chasing the fun" by joining the newest entry in the North American league.

With Sentinels, the top laner is focused on rebuilding his mindset after a challenging 2025 while learning to manage stress and competing at a high level. In an interview with Sheep Esports, Impact shares how he enters the season motivated to grow alongside his new organization and striving for meaningful success before eventually moving on as a coach, but not in NA.

Jeong "Impact" Eon-young: “It wasn’t bad. I have stressed too much last year, so I’m trying to be as relaxed as possible. I also think I take a break because of that too, but I changed my mind because if I take a break I feel like I still continue to keep playing in my head. That's why I'm back.

Impact: I mean, to me season change doesn't matter that much. To me it matters what happened last year and I kinda failed and lost focus. I feel like I cannot handle my stress that much because I think when I play well, I feel like I don't care about stress that much. I don't care about the stress. I just think ‘how can I win the game? How can I be better?’

But like, when I get stressed I'm thinking too much, and that's my goal this year, to try escape the situation more, having fun and relax. But still I have to be focused more, be professional in game, because I don't want to retire like that, to end up like that last year. I want to be better. I think I want to have some more success, then retire. That's my goal.

Impact: I mean, until I think I’m done. For example, if I think I can be a better coach than player, I will retire.

Impact: I learned from Spawn (Jake Tiberi) about leadership. Even though I think he doesn't understand game knowledge that much, in my opinion, he still has a good leadership to control people. That's why I thought that's good to learn. And to me he was the best Western coach I had.

kkOma (Kim Jeong-gyun) was the best coach in my head, best coach in my career, I think. He taught me about, even if you’re in a losing or bad situation, how you can be used in a team. So sometimes you're losing too much, you are scared, but it's like you're useless if you're just doing that. Other teammates cannot make good decisions because of you. So I learned that from him.

Impact: Yeah, too long.

Impact: I kind of thought of it, because I got offers — until I think 2017/2018 — from China too. And I was thinking of it, but I think my goal now is, if I change jobs to coach, then I think I will try to get into other regions. I will try in China, Europe, or Korea more than NA. It would definitely be fun.

Impact: Yeah, I'm chasing the fun because I don't like when people have a safe job because that's how I became a professional gamer because if [didn’t become a] professional gamer, I would have followed my father to work in the factory, but I thought ‘that's boring.’ So I choose to be a professional gamer. Even if I didn't get any money for one year because I died in spawn. So my next goal is, when I become a coach, I want to try to do it in a new place, like Europe, China or Korea.

Impact: I actually joined here because I talked to some team people, like coaches, head coaches or big players, but I thought they weren’t interesting that much. It's like I need more time to think more about what I want to do but seriously. But Sentinel wanted to keep talking to me and they really want to be successful with me ... I mean, I can see their future. When I joined the team it felt like I could see the future. They're going to do well in the future. Even if the team is not doing great at the start, they're going to build up and slowly get better and better. Because to me, the most important thing is if you can improve, why not? It's not only the players, it's like organization too. If they can improve themselves, then they can be better, and that's what matter to me. So I saw Sentinel’s future and I'm like, ‘oh, that’s interesting.’ And I talked with them and I was talking with them and I went ‘okay, I will join.’

Impact: I think Riot tried to change because last year they tried to make so people have to contest, people have to fight more. I think that's a good change, but the problem this year is that people cannot be creative that much. So you have to stay in your lane more. I think that's a nice try, but I feel like people will be more selfish in SoloQ especially and the culture can be more toxic. But I think it's not a bad change because I can see [Riot’s] point because they don't want to see that laneswap situation too much because people want to see more lane phase. But I thought people want to see more teamfight stuff than lane phase anyway. But it's good thing is that ADCs are stronger, like in the late game.I think the top lane is strong too, so it's more fun to watch the team I think. I think it's an okay change.

Impact: It's kind of big because like now you don't want to play ‘big champions.’ So now blind pick players have a harder time than before. So like you have less champion poor options now than before I think, because you get counter easily because you have to stay in lane. So I'm wondering what other people are going to do because some people can choose to pick ignite so you can go fifty fifty or you play in lane or you can play safe and just hope—just blind pick like Sion or something. I think I enjoy the top lane changes, but the only thing is that you have to stay in lane too long. You cannot go into the enemy jungle, you cannot walk freely. That's kind of the annoying part.

Impact: I think just generally you always make the top lane have more options. And I think it is actually a really good shift to bring because like, for example, people don't want to see it but in Worlds, I saw T1 playing zeri-yuumi, but normally no one wants to see Keria play Yuumi, you know?

But I think that's kind of interesting to see. So also a good thing is like you have many options to play, but bad thing is, especially for a rookie player, my perspective doesn't have a champion pool that big to be confident to win. So I have a good thing or bad thing, but I like the system, especially the new pick and ban.

Impact: Tanks are kinda garbage, I think maybe only K’Sante, I can see that, but that's not a Tank. [laughs]

Impact: You have to make a category for just K’Sante and Sion. [...] I think Ambessa and Renekton should be popular. I think Renekton would be higher because Renekton probably lanes up better, but doesn't leave lanes that much. So Renekton is very popular and people still want to play Ambessa and maybe Gwen. She got nerfed, but still I think that against some matchup, you still can play her, like against Sion and like Ambessa, you still can play Gwen. It's a picker check.

And Rumble should still be popular. I don't know why they don’t nerf Rumble more because I think Rumble having ignite and later having a TP is kind of a problem in my opinion. So yeah, I think it's the very same meta in the top lane [as it was for Worlds]. Maybe I think in later games of a match can change, like in game four, but in my head, one, two, three games should be similar to Worlds for now."