In the first match of the 2021 LCK Summer Split, Fredit BRION had a clean 2-0 sweep over Liiv SANDBOX. Despite their results in the spring, “chief commander” Eom “UmTi” Seong-hyeon was confident that this summer will be something different. After their win, UmTi sat with Inven Global for an interview.

How do you feel about winning the first match of the season?

I’m very happy that we won, and I’m even happier that today’s win is a big help to our performance or morale.

What’s Fredit BRION’s biggest difference between this summer and last spring?

What we showed last spring was teamfights and counters. This season, I’d like to show a very aggressive Fredit BRION. We’ll be working hard to do so.

How are YOU different from last season to this season?

I originally liked scaling myself and getting stronger, but the meta changed a lot. I’d like to become a chameleon jungler — one that adapts well whenever the meta changes. No one knows when the meta would shift again.

The meta gap between the spring and summer seasons seems to be much bigger than in other years. Wasn’t it difficult to adapt to?

It was extremely difficult. I prepared so much from two weeks ago, and it was very stressful. However, I was rather happy about being stressed. All that stress meant that I’ve been seeking improvement and that I was improving. It was tiring, but I was glad.

When I get feedback, it’s hard and I sometimes want to cry, but after some time passed, I felt that it was a very beneficial time for me. This continued on for a couple of weeks — it was really helpful to me.

In the first game, LSB played top Lee Sin, and in the second game, you played jungle Lee Sin. What do you think about Lee Sin in the current meta?

I think Lee Sin is very high up. But there are so many other strong champions — I think teams and players are still experimenting. It’s really difficult to understand the meta because there were so many changes. It’ll take some time for the players to understand. We’ll need to wait and see.

How about Viego?

I’ve played him a lot. Viego’s really good, but the problem is that there are too many bugs. I saw so many bugs while practicing. Last time, I was playing Viego in scrims, and there were bugs — since it’s a scrim, I can’t pause the game and ask for a chronobreak, right? [Laughs] I thought, is it really alright to allow Viego in official games?

It’s been a very long time since you played in front of a crowd. How does it feel, being able to see and hear the fans again as you play?

I’m very thrilled. There were many fans that were watching me in the seats. I wanted to wave to them after we won the first game, but I didn’t since the game wasn’t over, and we shouldn’t be careless. After we won game 2, I saw the fans and waved at them. Seeing the fans again at LoL Park kind of made me emotional.

I’ve always thought pro gamers exist because there are fans. Before COVID-19 hit, I was in kt Rolster. I left LoL Park then, and I finally made it back. As I saw the fans who cheered for me, I got even more determined to win.

There are several players that have never played in front of a crowd. Who seemed to be the most nervous?

Hena and Hoya. I think they were the most nervous. They didn’t really say that they were, but they were coughing and clearing their throat for no reason, they were shaking, and they weren’t speaking. I could really see that they got butterflies in their stomachs. You should have seen them, they were so cute. [Laughs]

Back at the KeSPA Cup, it affected their performance, but this time, it didn’t. It was a huge improvement. I was so proud of them.

Did you give any advice?

Not much. I just taught them to breathe deeply and said that even if we were to lose the match, it’s alright if we just put on a performance that isn’t regretful. I think it helped relieve the pressure a bit.

Chief commander UmTi!

[Laughs] The other players and coaching staff teases me saying that.

The team changed, the environment changed, the meta changed, and you changed. Are you confident this season?

Honestly, I really don’t know. I want to keep it simple. If we keep moving forward this way and find proper directions for our improvement without being scared, we just might be able to reach the results we want.

Rumor says that there is no clear strong team or weak team.

There surely are teams that I think are extremely good. But I don’t want to limit myself to that. If I ever think we can never win against those strong teams, I would probably feel that I’m trash.

I know that you speak English extremely well. Could you say hello to the global fans?

Hello guys! It’s Fredit BRION jungler, UmTi. Thanks for cheering for me in today’s match. We were able to beat them because of you. Our next match will be against Afreeca Freecs. We’ll get another 2-0  win again. Thank you.