Michael “MikeYeung” Yeung particularly stands above other players in bottom-performing teams this split. Since joining P1 in the middle of the season, he played a pivotal role in securing a handful but valuable wins for his team. Even in losing games, the rookie jungler had consistent showings.

Granted, he did fumble in some regards as he made questionable decisions, which seemingly made him disappointed in himself. It’s understandable considering his greenhorn status as a League pro. However, he didn’t let the disappointment take control of him and proved to us that he is capable of rising above.

Though the summer split was harsh to P1, MikeYeung’s future is anything but. He successfully inherited the rookie jungler throne, previously held by Akaadian and Contractz and possesses upright personality and positive mindset. In the last week of regular play, we were fortunate enough to have a small chat with him.

Recorded and edited by Jerry Coria

Hey guys, I’m MikeYeung. I’m from Phoenix1, and I’m their starting jungler.

Thoughts on your rookie split as a pro?

My first split as a pro didn’t necessarily go as I expected. I didn’t think I would do so great at the start, and I thought that I would improve as I continue to get more experience, especially with patch changes. That’s a huge experience boost as a pro player. Since I didn’t have to transition to new champions to different meta so fast before because it was just solo queue; you can play whatever you want. But going into the next season and to relegations as well, I think I’m going to have a lot more experience with patch changes I’ve had dealt with in the middle of stressful and intense situations where all the teams are super close to each other. So in the next season, I feel that I'm just going to be an even better player.

Are you satisfied with the record in the summer split?

we’re definitely not satisfied with our team record as we have a chance of going to relegations and it’s not in our control anymore. it’s pretty much based off of how Fflyquest and other teams are doing at the bottom of the standings. That’s going to decide if we go to relegations or not.

What would you say a weakness of P1?

For Phoenix1 overall, it was pretty great experience coming in and having a really good shot individually. But as the season went on, we struggled with maintaining a solid 5-man roster. I think it was unfortunate on our end that we had to swap in so many new players even in the summer split. So, we had to play against teams that developed their team work, synergy and had a whole year of learning. Coming into next split, I hope that we can stick with a steady 5-man roster, and we can just improve from there.

What are some challenges to address to have better results as a team?

I think team structure is the most important thing for NA LCS right now. With the franchising coming in and all these teams getting their act together when it comes to roster changes where they can maintain a perfect or nearly close to the ideal team environment. For example, CLG opted to go for the really positive, hardworking and strict team environment. I think that’s the way we have to go.

How do you stay positive in defeat?

The main reason why I’m so positive even after a loss... Of course, you want to feel guilty or remorse, but overall you have to be grateful for the things you have. I was taught this lesson at a very young age when I lost... And went through some troubles when I was a kid.

What's the story behind using your real name as a gamer alias?

MikeYeung is just my childhood nickname, so I was called this throughout high school. Another reason why I really like the name is it just reminds me of my family — just having the Yeung name and how it’s spelled remind me. I’m just grateful for the things I have such as family, friends, and ones that I care about.

Any plans for the offseason? What's your mindset for the next split?

My goal for the offseason after relegations or after the gauntlet depending on how we end up is to improve individually. I’m going to be trying to grind it out in solo queue and stream some of the solo queue games as well. My goal is to have multiple challenger accounts, possibly over four or five. Right now, I already have three while in the middle of the season, so I’m going to even increase that amount in the upcoming offseason.

Which NA team do you think has the best chance to win Worlds?

I think TSM or IMT will have the best shot in this split because, going into the past and coming into this season, they have really strong rosters. You can see that they’ve stuck with this five-man roster for years and in splits to come. They’ve had very little iterations, so that just means that they have so much more experience compared to some of the other teams — also C9 as well. These players have been on the same team. They’ve been working together for the longest time, so they have an advantage over other teams.