The 2022 LCS Spring Split kicked off with a bang, and among the highlights was the debut of Cloud9's full roster, who went 2-0 against Golden Guardians and Evil Geniuses. C9 flipped the script on the current meta with mid laner Ibrahim "Fudge" Allami playing Ivern mid and Soraka mid in their respective wins and relying on rookie AD carry Kim "Berserker" Min-cheol to carry the squad in the damage department. 

After his first weekend in the LCS, Cloud9 top laner Park "Summit" Woo-tae spoke to Inven Global about adapting to his new team's unique approach, keeping in touch with his former teammates, and which top laners he is looking forward to facing this season. 

You just went 2-0 in your first games as a member of Cloud9. How are you feeling after your first week in the LCS?

In the first game, I think I had a decent performance, but I lost so hard in the second game. I am happy that we won, but even though we did win both games, I am also kind of sad.

Cloud9 seems to be willing to pick champions that no one else is right now like Ivern mid and Soraka mid. Can you talk a bit about these picks and, if at all, how it changes your approach to the game as a top laner?

Overall, I think it's positive. However, I'm not up to speed with this style of gameplay yet, so I'm trying my best to adapt.

I know that you and a lot of other members of Cloud9 only recently got here. How long has your starting five been practicing together as of now?

A week.

Sounds like there's a lot of room to improve, but so far, the team looks quite good, especially rookie AD carry Berserker. How do you feel he did this weekend?

I don't know if it has to do with him being so young, but I guess being young means being really good mechanically.

[Laughs] It does seem to go that way more often than not, but when this roster was announced, people were looking at you as the primary carry of the team. Has that put any extra pressure on you, and if so, how have you been handling that?

Overall, I'm really thankful for the fans' high expectations of us. I think that Berserker is doing a great job in fulfilling his expectations, but I have yet to fulfill some of mine.

You played against Eric "Licorice" Ritchie and Jeong "Impact" Eon-young this weekend. Are there any other LCS top laners you're looking forward to facing?

After playing against Impact today, I felt a significant difference between him and the top laners native to North America that I've played against so far. I'm looking forward to meeting the rest of the Korean top laners in the LCS and playing against them, too.

If C9 goes to Worlds 2022, are there any top laners in the LEC, LCK, or LPL you'd like to test your mettle against?

I don't think there are a lot of good top laners left in the LCK. With that being said, I want to try to play against Alphari.

You weren't the only player who left Liiv SANDBOX after 2021. Are you still in touch with any of your former teammates?

I don't reach out to them as much as I could. However, my ex teammates who were on Liiv SANDBOX with me are all having a bad time in each of their teams, so they all message me very often to tell me about what a hard time they are having.

Well, I hope you can at least be happier with your own performances as the season progresses. Thanks for the interview Summit, is there anything you want to say to the Cloud9 fans?

I think the practice methods and style of gameplay are very different in the LCS when compared to the LCK. I will try my absolute best to adapt as fast as possible.

All images by: Riot Games