VG Easyhoon’s confessions: why he’s leaving Korea behind
“How can the light of day ever understand the depth of darkness?”
– Friedrich Nietzsche
The year of 2015 was a time that shone ever so brightly for Lee “Easyhoon” Ji-hoon. Together with his team, SK Telecom T1, Easyhoon dominated both LCK Spring and Summer Seasons, and claimed the trophy at the one stage all League of Legends players dream of playing – the World Championship. Through the Summer Season Finals, pro gamer Easyhoon became known as the “Emperor,” and showed his prowess as a mid laner that could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok.
After the interview with Easyhoon, a thought popped up – “What if, the months of 2015 had really been the darkest time for Easyhoon instead…?” The worries that Easyhoon himself had said aloud were as heavy and dark as the glory he’d achieved, and rather than being able to easily say something, it forced some self-reflection.
Starting a player’s interview with a philosopher’s famous saying is quite a shameful thing to do. But the reason why it was used is because Easyhoon’s interview brought forth a side that hadn’t really been considered, or thought of, before. The story of darkness obscured by light, told by Easyhoon. How about it, us listening together and sharing the weight of those worries?
“Earlier this year… after the Sister teams were disbanded, I went through a chaotic time. It was a moment where a lot of pro players had worries about the suddenly narrowed one-man starting position. At a public hearing that had been held at the time, mentions of me started to surface. “What is to happen with the skilled players who won’t be guaranteed a starting spot?” The answer was, “Certain degrees of sacrifice are needed.”
In a coffee shop located in Jamsil a few days after the first snow, and on the verge of dusk, Easyhoon rehashed stories of quite some time ago as a response to questions asking about his foreign transfer opportunities. Stories about new challenges, honor, wealth and similar were anticipated, but the worries concerning transfer were as deep as the time taken to think about such issues.
“It was all thanks to Head Coach Choi ‘L.i.E.S’ Byeong-hoon and Coach ‘KkOma’ Kim Jeong-gyun that I was able to remain on SKT T1. Both of them encouraged and supported me as a player, an individual. They always told me, ‘We would love for you to remain on the team,’ ‘You would be a huge help to our team.’ And thanks to them, I made up my mind that whatever stories about me would come and go, I would remain on the team.”
Easyhoon didn’t spare any compliments about his former teammates and coaching staff. “Spring season, Sang-hyeok and I competed for the starting spot. The standard for being chosen as the starter, was being the most suitable person to pull our team to victory for the applicable matches. I was able to grasp some opportunities, and Sang-hyeok was able to get the chance as well. Those near us would make all sorts of noise about our team’s starting decisions, but because our Head Coach, Coach and teammates were all very great people, I didn’t feel any unrest.”
“I didn’t really feel any discontent during the Summer Season, where comparatively, I didn’t get to play many games. Sang-hyeok’s skills rose relatively to mine, and I wasn’t able to get the chance to play -- but it was the coaching staff’s decision for pulling our team to victory and I could fully understand why they made it.” The calmness which resonated in Easyhoon’s voice only amplified the normally collected aspect of his personality. And with that, he started to speak a bit more rapidly.
“The reason why I decided to transfer…is not because of my teammates or the coaching staff. That decision… I held after playing the Semifinals match at the 2015 World Championship. I had gotten the opportunity to play on a big stage, and the 1st, 2nd matches were satisfactory. So, I thought that I would be able to play the 3rd match, but ultimately ended up being substituted out. After I descended from the stage and Sang-hyeok showed up, everyone started to chant out his name, ‘Faker.’
After coming down from that stage, I had a lot of thoughts. ‘What kind of meaning will I end up having on this team?’ ‘And in the end, isn’t what people want the most, ‘Faker’…’ “
Easyhoon was peaceful when delivering the message of how he had felt then, and calmly continued his train of thought on the situation. “I’m really fond of the book Justice by Michael Sandel. The book discusses utilitarianism. In order for ‘the greatest happiness of the greatest number,’ there’s a saying that sacrifice from a certain minority is needed. Of course, in the book it isn’t said that the definition is the sacrifice of a few. But if everyone cannot become happy, it’s that the best alternative plan is to find the happiness for as many people possible, and that is inevitable in the end.”
“Whilst going through this, I thought of EDG’s Heo “PawN” Won-seok. In 2014 he was able to rise to the stage of the World Championship and record a win, as a member of Samsung Galaxy. And Caster Jeon Yong-jun asked, for PawN, ‘Who is the greatest mid laner?’ and the crowd yelled out Faker’s name. And taking 2014 as a standard, though he showed the closest performance as world’s best mid laner the crowd did not rotate the glory of world’s best mid laner to PawN.”
“I don’t think there’s anything wrong about that. People, in the end, cheer for players they love, and even if by objective standards Faker is not the best, they’re able to cheer for him. And therefore, when Sang-hyeok was able to rise to the place of world’s best again, a much more bigger feeling of catharsis could be felt. I can say, though, that Won-seok and I are victims of the situation surrounding that. But because more people are able to feel happiness when cheering for Sang-hyeok, isn’t that the best fitting? The feelings that I’ve felt, compared to Won-seok, are smaller…”
Listening to Easyhoon’s stories, two worries popped up. The first was concerning how this interview would be organized, and the second was the worry that the players mentioned in Easyhoon’s interview would feel hurt once more by this. Easyhoon, as if he had suddenly cued into these worries, resumed talking once more about these named players.
“About Sang-hyeok or Won-seok, I don’t particularly feel any special kind of feeling towards them. And it’s not Sang-hyeok’s fault that Won-seok wasn’t able to get recognition. Who would dislike that spectacular type of performance from Sang-hyeok? And for me, while spending time so closely with Sang-hyeok I felt once more of how great of a player he is, and I’m anticipating that he will play an even greater role in the future. If only for the development of League of Legends.
The reason why League of Legends was able to develop this much is because of the monstrous performances that Sang-hyeok was able to show, and also because of the audience that loves them. He has a lot of weight on his shoulders and is carrying all of that, or even more. I hope that he continues to do well and feel that he is a being capable of achieving great things.”
A smile lingered on Easyhoon’s face as he spoke of Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok. After some hesitation, he continued to talk with a laugh. “If I was a little younger, I would’ve liked to move to another Korean team and face off against him. Due to the ambitions of being a player. It would be a meaningful challenge, if I were to face against him once more.
But I’m not so young and if I am to consider my future, shouldn’t I be thinking of other things, now? I’ve also now been a pro gamer for 4-5 years and though I believe that the audience is correct, that kind of interest and poor treatment is tiring. I want to distance myself from that audience interest and quietly live out my pro career.”
He spilled a lot of things when asked one question, the reason why he had decided to transfer. And as if everything he had wanted to say had been delivered well, he laughed and was able to be very chatty. And like he had said everything he had planned to say, he began to express his thanks. The first people that he mentioned were again, his teammates and coaching staff.
“I was really thankful to my Head Coach, Coach, manager, and teammates. The reason why I was able to endure on the team was all thanks to them. And I really wanted to say thank you to the fans that liked me. To like me out of the very many, and charming players…the only way to repay them is to show them a good image of myself going forward. But that doesn’t mean that I can say I’ll try harder than I am now. Since I’ve always done my best (laughs).”
The face of Easyhoon after the conclusion of the interview displayed a myriad of emotions. Lightheartedness after saying everything he had wanted to say, and embarrassment about confessing the worries he’d had. And for some moments after the interview, we walked together and engaged in friendly conversation. Outside of the coffee shop, the night had broken and the moon hung in the clear sky. Looking up at the sky, a thought came into mind – that Easyhoon, as a person, was much like the moon. When looking straight at it, it seems always cold and never changing, but much like it waxing and waning, that he is a person always changing, holding many thoughts.
The moon that I gazed upon, Easyhoon studied as well. And we talked while reminiscing of past moments.
“Thinking about it, all of the matches that we played were paths of thorns. The CJ Entus match, the LCK Finals, Worlds… In those important matches, if I had done badly in one game, I wonder what it would’ve looked like, being compared to Faker. Now, I’d very much like to lessen that burden.”
Original Korean Inven article here: http://www.inven.co.kr/webzine/news/?news=147495&site=lol
