On Jan 28, Fredit BRION took on Kwangdong Freecs in the 2nd match of day 13, 2022 LCK Spring split. Today’s starting lineup saw the former top laner for Griffin, Choi “Sw0rd” Sung-won after a long absence from pro play. Although it wasn’t the cleanest victory for Fredit BRION, they took the 2-0 victory over Kwangdong Freecs.

After the match, Sw0rd joined the press room for a post-match interview.

Thoughts on winning your first match back in the LCK?

My team was on a losing streak as well, so I played as if this opportunity was my last.

There must’ve been a lot on your mind over the past year. With all that’s happened, tell me about why you decided to challenge yourself again without giving up.

While my ex-teammates were doing all well, I spent my days just getting refreshed and not really doing much. I had a lot of time to reflect, and as a player, it felt like I didn’t achieve anything in my career and didn’t leave much of an impact. I wanted to achieve something as a pro player.

Head Coach Choi “Edgar” Woo-beom previously said, “While [Sw0rd] didn’t lose his touch in his micro, we struggled to synergize as a team because of his long break”. However, he had much praise for you tonight. Tell us how you prepared for tonight’s match.

He worried about me a lot, and also cheered me up in the process as well. When the team went on a losing streak, the team started to question our own abilities, so I focused on what I could do to change that team atmosphere.

What was on your mind when you found out you were starting for the team?

I felt that cohesion and trust was important between our teammates. We’re definitely not perfect, since we still make mistakes in our in-game calls during teamfights, so I focused heavily on cohesion with my team.

Flipping game 1 around was a prime example of what Head Coach Edgar was expecting. What went through your mind when you made that decision?

The matchup wasn’t that bad, but I made a lot of mistakes. However, my teammates scaled well into the late game, and everyone kept cheering me up. I think that’s why I was able to stay focused and hit that late game spike.

What do you think about your overall performance in the two games you played tonight?

Because of my long break, I realized that I lacked a lot of data in laning, so ‘Morgan’ helped me a lot with this. I feel that even with all the grueling practice, a lot of what I wanted to achieve in the game didn’t go the way I wanted to. The lack of detail in the lane matchup on my end was definitely disappointing. However, keeping the communication on the same page during teamfights, as well as being bold in teamfights when behind are some of the things I feel I did well tonight.

As you said, all your ex-teammates from Griffin are excelling in their respective teams at the moment. Do you regret taking such a long break?

If I say I don’t, it’d be a lie. Even still, I feel that the time I gave myself ultimately became my medicine, so I believed I’d be able to return. I don’t think I would’ve been able to return without that break. You never know what’s going to happen in your life, so today feels very surreal.

Lastly, is there anything you’d like to say?

From my head coach, my team, my fellow peers, all the fans cheering me on, and especially ‘Morgan’ for helping me out a lot, I want to say thank you.