MKOI Jojopyun: “I think we have a habit of dropping our focus subconsciously, [against weaker teams].”

Q: MKOI looks like the best team in the LEC right now — which LCS team would you like to meet if you make it to First Stand?

Jojopyun: Honestly, I don’t know. It’s weird because I looked at the LCS rosters on paper and I don’t know who’s the strongest — and I haven’t really paid attention to how scrims are going or anything, so I don’t know who’s going to take the first split. It’s kind of weird.

I assume probably C9 or TL [will make it] — I mean, facing C9 will of course be really fun. And I think… Who else is a contender? There’s like, LYON. It’d probably be LYON after that. Shopify, FLY […]

I heard Zinie’s [good] — I mean, I never watched him, but I heard he’s good. So I don’t know.

I think C9 will probably be the most fun to vs, if I had to choose — […] NA mid vs NA mid. That’ll be fun.

Q: After you went to the LEC, Yukino and Busio have joined you — and they’re both doing really well. Do you expect it to continue? Have you noticed that you’re a trendsetter?

Jojopyun: Yeah, I mean, I think with how everything is going, I do expect more NA players to come to LEC. But of course, I think LEC would probably only get either really hyped up rookies to develop or if they want like a known name I think it has to be one of the best — if not, from their perspective, it makes sense to import from Korea. […]

I don’t want to say I started it, but I was the first one that moved. Now, seeing Yukino and Busio move too, it makes me feel… I guess I want to welcome them, in a sense — help them [adjust]. 

Because of course, moving to a completely new region, especially [with the] rivalry of NA vs EU, there’s lots of hype, and there’s going to be lots of emotions you’re feeling. I think settling in as fast as possible is the most important to get comfortable.

It’s a good feeling for sure — also a bad feeling at the same time, for the LCS.

Q: How comfortable are you with the idea of spending your entire career in the LEC?

Jojopyun: It never really crosses my mind. In [my mind], maybe I could still go to LCK in the foreseeable future, I’m not sure — or I could go back to NA, or I could stay in LEC. I never [assume that I’ll] stay in LEC.

I never really think too hard about the future, or what’s to come. I just know that if I focus my best on the presence and try to […] learn and work on my weaknesses — and [on myself] as a person — I’ll progress and keep improving. I know the best will come for me anyways, hopefully. 

If I just think about [whether] I’m going back to NA or if I’m staying in LEC next year and forever, or if I go to LCK, [it’d be] really easy to get caught up in that and not really focus on the present. So I haven’t really thought too much about it.

In the offseason, it just grazes my mind every once in a while, but I never really made a full commitment, because — of course — you don’t know what’s going to happen next year, right?

Q: A year ago, you were heavily criticized for your play — now, you might be the best mid in the LEC. Does that cross your mind?

Jojopyun: I mean, I would say the best mid has to be me or Caps, right? Even last year, I think [it was just us] in the running. I mean, in Winter there was Vladi, of course, but I’d say after Winter, the consensus had to be me or Caps.

I mean, after the Caps TP incident versus me, I would say it’s pretty easy to put me above him. […] But I know how Caps is as a player and as a person. I know how I am as a player and a person. I don’t think these things really affect him at all.

I know both our goals are in the playoffs. So it’s just a nice rivalry to have such a competitive mid laner to face. I just know that — whether the consensus is I’m the best right now, or he is, or maybe Vladi, kyeahoo, or another mid laner — [it should] never really matter to the player.

I think that’s the most important. It’s kind of the same answer as my last question. [You can’t] pay attention to the consensus, even if it’s hype — even if it’s praise.

Last year was the opposite, right? Last year, like you said, I was getting a lot of hate and a lot of negativity in Winter. Of course, that’s not easy to deal with. So I had to figure out ways to focus on what’s most important to the game.

Now, it’s the opposite — there’s praise. [But] you can’t let that affect you either, because it’s really easy to get affected by that too.

I feel like I’m now [dealing with] a bit of the same issue, but opposites, if that makes sense.

Q: With Fearless series on the way, are you already prepping the abnormal or creative picks?

Jojopyun: Yeah, I mean, we do practice Bo3s — [in scrims], we play five games and then sometimes night block. We do Bo3 Fearless for 3 games, and then Bo1, Bo1 for the next two. We haven’t done a Bo5 Fearless Draft block yet, so there haven’t been [any] really crazy picks, because I think the craziest picks come out in Game 4 and Game 5 — unless people have some picks prepped against a meta mid-champion.

But yeah, there hasn’t been any… I don’t want to leak, but nothing too crazy. I do have some good ideas though. And I’m already thinking about what we could pull out onstage in playoffs.

Q: Outside of your team, who do you discuss the game with? Are there players from LCS, or even LCK?

Jojopyun: Yeah. I would say, in NA, the player I talk to most about the game is probably Inspired. I think him and I just share ideas about the new patch, or what’s meta and these types of things, or what objectives are the strongest.

I think it’s really important to talk to other players outside of your team […] getting your conclusions from multiple ideas is always going to be better [for] making your own judgements. […]

I’d say NA is mostly Inspired.

From LCK, I reached out to BDD in the offseason and asked him for advice. He helped me a lot with that too. […] Gameplay advice, or just mentality, or anything, you know? Whether it was philosophy, his mindset, his preparation, his gameplay. He gave me some very good advice and some very insightful comments. So I would say in LCK, the most recent was BDD.

And then in Europe, I have my team. I would say from other regions, it’s Inspired or Impact, then BDD in Korea.

Q: Last question. Any shit talk for Yukino tomorrow?

Jojopyun: Nah, I don’t really. He’s my NA boy, so I can’t really say anything too bad. I can’t trash talk. […] I mean, people tell me I have very energetic energy, but then when I look at Yukino, I think, “Wow, he has very energetic energy.” For me to say that about [another player], they must have really energetic energy, you know?

But, I think [facing] the weaker teams, those are actually the harder teams. I feel like we lock in very hard; our preparation, our focus is very locked in when we’re [against] the top teams. […]

And then for example, when we were vs Shifters [we lost focus].

I don’t think Shifters is like a bottom team, but I don’t think they’re at the top with KC, G2, these teams — or now we’re [against] KC Blue tomorrow, right? I think we have a habit of dropping our focus subconsciously, I’d say. […] It’s going to be a good test for tomorrow and against GX.

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