On Jan. 20, DRX defeated Nonshim RedForce in the 2021 LCK Spring Split. The battle was close, but DRX managed to collect a win. In today’s match, all fans were quite surprised as DRX jungler Hong “Pyosik” Chang-hyeon locked in Udyr, a champion that hasn’t been played for a long time. He even gained a win with Udyr and was voted as Player of the Game. After the match, Pyosik said that he was proud that he successfully debuted Udyr today.

How do you feel about today’s win?

I feel proud that I played a new champion and had a successful Udyr debut.

How did you get to pick Udyr today?

I didn’t have much information on Udyr in our last match against Hanwha Life Esports. After that match, I learned about the champion. Frankly, I've only played him just to have fun in solo queue, but it was quite good, so I tried him out in scrims. They went well and I ended up playing him today.

I really didn’t give much thought to Udyr, but Kanavi, who’s playing in the LPL tried to convince me that I should play him. It’s good and fun, he said, so I tried it. At first, I didn’t think it was that good, but it really was fun.

What was intended with the Udyr pick, and how well did it go?

Honestly, there isn’t much that Udyr can do. Until I get Turbo Chemtank, I just focused on jungling. After I built Turbo Chemtank, I tried to find their weak spots — targetted champions that are alone or ones that didn’t have Flash. Dashing in at a speed that they didn’t predict was the main direction.

What would be the biggest advantage of Udyr?

The biggest advantage would be that Udyr just simply makes opponents angry. It has an effect that can shake up the opponents’ mentalities. It’s also really good for hit & run.

So is Udyr clearly a good champion in solo queue?

If there are trustworthy laners in bot or top, it’s quite useful. Udyr’s damage is too weak so it’s really important to have a trustworthy teammate.

Udyr is one of the candidates for champion reworks this year. Do you think it’s necessary to rework Udyr?

The new items this season are really good for champions that didn’t have any moving skills, so I don’t think Udyr needed a rework.

You flashed team emotes a lot today, like T1 or Hanwha Life Esports. What was the reason?

All of my former teammates joined big companies, so I flashed those emotes thinking of them.

Before you faced Hanwha Life Esports, Deft said that he hoped you do well too. Did you see the interview?

[Laughs] I didn’t see it. Deft is really an awesome guy.

It’s only your second year as a pro player, but you have a lot on your shoulders. Isn’t it tiring?

I know that I still have a long way to go. I’m just playing while thinking that I just should do my best in this situation.

You had the least experience in the team last year, but now, you’re the pillar of the team. Do you feel the responsibility?

I do feel more responsible. Within this team, my macro has to be close to perfect. That makes me feel pressured, but I think it’s been fun up to now.

It could be because of the responsibility, but your form is really great up to now. What do you think about your performance up to now?

Last year, we tried to find positive reasons to fight more often. This year, since we have many rookies, I try not to make irregular plays and stick to the fundamentals.

What would be the biggest difference between last year’s Pyosik and the Pyosik of today?

I’m simply a different person. I really didn’t think much before, but now, my brain is more flexible. I think that’s the biggest difference.

Are the younger players doing well on the team?

I think they’re doing a good job.

Who do you get along with the most?

It’s not that much up to now, but I think I’ll get along with Becca the most in the future.

How’s the synergy with mid laner SOLCA?

Our synergy isn’t the best, but it’s not bad at the moment.

The rookies have a few games down now. They started to gain wins. Do they still get nervous on game day?

They do say that they’re nervous, so I just tell them it’s alright to just feed.

Peanut played Nidalee in all three games today. Was that intended?

The picks and bans simply went that way. I just played what I was given. We did think that Nidalee would be picked, but rather than making them pick Nidalee, we just thought that if they picked her, we’d face her.

Nidalee’s recent LCK record isn’t that good. What do you think the reason is?

Last year, Nidalee’s power spike came with Runic Echoes, and the price of it was quite cheap as well. Now, Night Harvestor costs 3,200, so Nidalee’s power spike is delayed. I think that’s the reason Nidalee’s winrate is low.

Aatrox is one of Rich’s favorite picks, but you banned him in all the games.

We thought of picking Olaf and Udyr today, but those champions are just like HP potions when there’s Aatrox, so we decided to ban Aatrox today because of the comp.

Experts predicted DWG KIA, T1, and Gen.G as favorites. DRX is now quite high in the standings with today’s win. What do you think about the experts’ predictions?

In a previous interview, I said that my standard is 2020 DRX. If 2020 DRX is 100%, I think we’ll be a strong team if we could reach 70%. Right now, I think we’re around 50%.

What would be needed to fill the remaining 20%?

We would need to read the map better, improve our laning prowess, and teamwork.

Any comments to the fans?

Thank you to all the fans that cheer for our team. We’ll show you better performances in the future so I’ll be grateful if you always cheer for us.