After the opening games for the Overwatch League on the 17th, we got to meet with Seoul Dynasty’s ryujehong. It has been almost a year since we last met with ryujehong in an interview last July before the Overwatch World Cup. Although we met him with a friendly smile, ryujehong’s face did not reciprocate.

“Rather than having a good time, I’ve been so and so. Because the team is not performing to the expectations I had, I have felt some pressure. Particularly in today’s game, it was a very important match. However, we lost and it put a heavy toll on me.”

After the official launch of the Overwatch League, Seoul Dynasty was unable to show a good performance on par with their fan’s expectations. In the first week of the 4th league stage, Seoul Dynasty won the first game but lost the 2 following. This resulted in Seoul Dynasty dropping to 6th place. Considering that they were selected as strong contenders in the early portions of the league, it is a bit unfortunate. And above all, ryujehong felt the biggest burden.

“I don’t have any issues with my teammates. In order to achieve flawless synergy, we are all trying our best. Despite this, we seem to not play as well when we play on stage.

My teammates might not know this, but I, personally, have a lot of regret. I realize everyone is looking forward to Seoul Dynasty performing well. However, things have not gone to our expectations. Because we have experienced downfall before, we have the mindset of how to correct our mistakes. As long as we work a little bit harder, I believe we can solve our issues.”

It had seemed that ryujehong could hardly escape the lingering sensation of defeat. In order to hear more uplifting responses, we decided to move on to a different topic. How ryujehong has liked living in the U.S., has he got any fond memories, does he miss Korea, etc. Thankfully, ryujehong did seem to enjoy his time here with a handful of bliss memories.

“The fact that I am overseas makes me happy. But on top of this, the house is gigantic. It makes living there extremely enjoyable. In order to improve our teamwork, we even got the opportunity to go on mini vacations. One time, we went on a boat and I saw a whale. Usually whales are hard to spot and see. The crew told us that we were very lucky. I took pictures and even saw it spout out some water.

I also went to Disneyland. Guardians of the Galaxy left the biggest impression. I thought I was actually going to die. It was so scary (laughs). It is similar to a gyro drop. I was baffled when the ride started to climb and drop down out of the blue.

In regards to the lifestyle and living conditions, it has been truly amazing. My team has also been good to me. I want to give everything 100 out of 100.”

It has been already over half a year since ryujehong came to the states. It is only natural to ponder if ryujehong misses Korea or not. ryujehong stated that he missed the people and not the place itself.

“I miss my parents. Although wanting to go back is difficult to say because it has been so great here, the feeling of grief slips in when you know you cannot see your loved ones.

I haven’t been able to visit Korea once since the half-year I was here. The other day, it was parent’s day in Korea. However, I was unable give my fullest appreciation. I would always give them carnations. This time I was unable to, and I felt heartbroken. When I am able to go to Korea in August to September, I am planning to go on a beautiful vacation with my parents.

I also miss my fans. If we performed in Korea, Seoul Dynasty would have gotten a lot more support. Of course, the fans here are amazing to say the least. There are even fans who came from Korea to support us.”

ryujehong has explained that Seoul Dynasty’s realistic goal is making it to playoffs. In addition he has clarified that in order to achieve this, ryujehong and his team has to work breathlessly.

“The remainder of the games are crucial. We can only make it to playoffs if we do well on all of them. Although it is unfortunate that our results do not directly represent our practice, I believe there is only one thing we can show. It is Seoul Dynasty practicing harder. We are going to try our utmost to show a superb performance to our fans.

I think the chances we make it to playoffs is around 50% right now. In order to increase the odds, we are going to try our best.”