Jojopyun on MKOI's recent form: "Our teamfighting is just disgusting right now"
Movistar KOI are out of the EWC on day one, beaten 2-1 by GAM Esports. RFT.GG caught up with mid laner Joseph "Jojopyun" Pyun after the loss to talk about the teamfighting that's deserted a side built on it, chasing a meta that keeps shifting, the KC hex, and the NA-versus-EU debate.
How are you feeling after the series?
It's embarrassing — we're out on the first day. At least I see a clear weakness. Against BLG there were winning spots, and of course against GAM there were winning spots too. But right now we're not good, because the meta is just skirmishing and fighting, and whoever fights better wins. It's a lot of execution, and that used to be our strength last year — we'd go into the teamfights knowing we're going to win.
Loading comments...
Right now I feel like we've been focusing so much on other things that we haven't really been focusing on our teamfights. Which is fine, because in the long term, if we balance everything, that'll be the best.
But right now, our teamfighting is just disgusting.
We can have 4k leads, 5k leads, play the map well, then we go into a 5v5 and just lose — when last year we'd be down 4-5k and win those fights. So of course, in this meta, if we lose the fights, we can't win. If we prioritise how to teamfight like humans again, we'll be in a good spot.
You said it used to be your strength. When you focus on the early game in practice instead of teamfighting, aren't you scared that if you focus back on teamfighting, you might drop a bit of early game?
Yeah, it's very natural. That's how you learn — if you learn something new, usually your baseline for everything else drops. For us it dropped way too much, though, way more than expected. I'm not sure why exactly, to be honest. Maybe we just forgot how to fight, how to position — we weren't thinking too much about it. But of course, if you focus on fights again, other things will fall a bit.
It's all about balancing it, and right now fighting is the most important. If you lose the fights early game, mid game, you're going to get stomped on the map with the champions that are being picked. So yeah, it's natural if it falls, but we just have to balance everything.
Loading tweet...
Even though teamfights and skirmishes are important, it feels like the early game is just as important — because the skirmishes that decide how the game looks usually happen in the early game, right?
Yeah, that's really what we've been focusing on at this EWC. When we came back from the break in Berlin and played KC, who'd just come from MSI, we were getting stomped early — because at MSI you just pick early-game champions and snowball. So our early game was really, really bad, and we had to adapt fast. Now it's really good. Against BLG we were chilling in a scaling composition and getting through the early game pretty easily every game, so it's not really a weakness anymore.
The problem is we have no strength right now.
So as long as our early game is okay and our teamfights are good, for sure we can win the next split.
Right after the BLG loss, Supa and Elyoya told me this is a meta you're supposed to be strong in — Do you feel this meta suits you too?
To be honest, it's weird, because I feel like this team's strengths and weaknesses change very fast compared to other teams. My strength could be side-laning or laning, whatever — and then it just changes. For Yoya, he's a really good teamfighter and plays macro well, and then all of a sudden it's a weakness and something else becomes a strength. I feel like our team is so volatile in what's our strength and our weakness. So maybe last year the fighting, early skirmishing, jungle-support meta would be a strength — at least two weeks ago it was really dogshit. Now, of course, it's getting better again.
Photo Credit: Wojciech Wandzel/Riot Games
So it comes down to adaptation. Do you feel that you're slow to adapt?
I'm not sure if it's slow to adapt, but we really need to know what the meta is and then have an idea of how we want to play. If we don't, we're just behind. If we really know what the meta is and focus on getting better at it, we'll improve faster than any team. From this EWC we really know how to play this meta at least. Maybe it changes for playoffs, but I think we're on a good path knowing what to do.
You've missed second place twice, even the final, this year. What do you think you're missing to take that extra step — especially against KC, who seem to be your bogey team? What was the assessment after the last final?
I think the winter final was very free — we were up 2-1 against KC and then threw game four. I remember Viktor went the wrong runes, we were snowballing, and we still lost. At least Zeph and Reapered are my old coaches, so they probably have a good idea of how I play. And in spring I just prepared really badly for the KC series. Out of the whole split, I think I played my worst in the KC series. I came in with, I wouldn't say a bad mindset, but a different approach, and it didn't work. So I learned from that.
At MSI, we saw NA 6-0 EU. Do you believe NA might be better than EU after all?
Not sure — I don't think so. I think Inspired just carries NA so hard. It's kind of like G2 in Europe: if there were no G2, the whole of Europe — not this year, but in general — would be so low-elo, and it's kind of like NA right now.
Photo Credit: Lee Aiksoon/Riot Games
If there were no Inspired in NA, they would also be so low-elo.
So it's just that certain players in NA and EU are good. As a region, I still think EU has more players, so the weaker teams are naturally better, and there are academy teams and a system. But the top teams are very similar. I also think EU just chokes against NA. I don't know why — at least in the past.
You weren't at home today either, and in a week you play the Summer road trip in Paris — that might be even harder. What do you expect, and is it the most important part of the regular season?
It's definitely the most exciting part of the regular season. The most important, I'd say, is how we improve over the whole split — I don't really care too much about the results, just what we improve on. To be honest, playing in France and Paris is really fun, because we're the enemies.
I really enjoy being the villain, hearing the boos — it gets me very hyped.
Loading tweet...
I don't know about my team, I never really asked them, but even at EWC today it was really fun. So I'll just enjoy it.
What will be different this time from the other splits you've played?
I think we haven't been using our strengths this year — we've been working on our weaknesses a lot. Our weaknesses got much more solid, but we just have to bring back our strengths. So I think we realise what exactly we have to work on, and we kind of have an identity again.
Rapid Fire Questions
A rapid-fire round to close out — yes/no answers, with optional context.
Second best player in LoL history after Faker? →Me.
Most underrated LoL player in history? → ShowMaker.
Best player you've ever faced in your role? → I scrimmed against Chovy, but on stage, Faker.
Best team in modern LoL history? → Probably the T1 roster with Zeus and Gumayusi.
You'll win Worlds before you retire. → Yeah.
This year is the best version of yourself as a player.→ I've been rusty coming into this event. In spring my form was better. I've been working on my weaknesses to ramp up for playoffs, so I don't think my form is the best right now — but I'm not too worried about that.
The hardest loss of your career? → Maybe the reverse sweep against G2 is up there — to go to MSI, there had to be another one. The T1 series at Worlds was very sad too. The Cassio R Flash.
A Western team will win Worlds before 2030.→ I think so.
EU wins Worlds before NA.→ Depends if I'm in NA or EU, you know.
The meta is in a good state right now.→ For the Western teams, yeah, because there are so many fights. When the game is slower and controlled, besides G2, the Asian teams' macro is so much better. So it's in a good state for Western teams.
Draft matters more than individual skill at the highest level.→ At the highest level, draft matters so much, because the matches are played how they're supposed to be — everyone understands the win condition. In the LEC draft matters, of course, but not as much as at the very best teams.
