"I Wanted to Stay in Korea, But the Circumstances Didn't Allow It" — YoungJae on Life in Brazil, LOUD's midlaner, and Facing LYON
LOUD are the CBLOL Cup champions. In a season marked by an unexpected roster upheaval just days before the semifinals, they surprised everyone by lifting the trophy regardless. Still at his new home for First Stand, jungler Ko "YoungJae" Yeong-jae sat down with RFT to talk about his journey as a Korean import, the chaos of the playoffs period, and what it means to face LYON in the opening match.
How are you settling in? It's been a few months in Brazil now, have you noticed any cultural differences?
More than the cultural differences, it's the food and the vibe of the people that I notice the most. Brazilians are really cheerful and fun to be around. But they genuinely cannot eat spicy food at all. Back in Korea, something like Shin Ramyun is just a normal level of spicy — here it's considered extremely hot. There's nothing even close to that, so I miss it a bit in my daily life.
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There is, but it's just different. With something like sundubu jjigae — soft tofu stew — it's supposed to be rich and a bit spicy. The versions they sell here taste a little bland. It's not bad, it's just not the real thing.
You're one of many Korean players who've made the move abroad. Is it purely a numbers game — not enough LCK spots?
To be honest, I think most players who go abroad do so because they want to play in Korea but simply can't find a spot. That was my situation too. I wanted to stay in Korea, but the circumstances didn't allow it. I think there are a lot of players like me.
You took longer than most to make that decision though. Did you still believe you could make it work domestically?
Until a few years ago, I had absolutely no desire to go abroad. My only goal was to perform well in the LCK. But things didn't go the way I hoped, and eventually I had no choice. That said — I'm genuinely satisfied with life here now. It turned out better than I expected.
Let's talk about the playoffs period. Two days before the semifinals, your mid laner announced he wouldn't play. What was that like?
It hit us completely out of nowhere. We were in full panic mode that day. The situation was serious — if we couldn't find a replacement in time, we were looking at a forfeit. That's how bad it was. But then Envy (Bruno Farias) came in, stepped up immediately, and honestly played really well. Given how bad the circumstances were, the outcome was remarkable.
Did it affect your performance on the Rift?
Not at all, actually. If anything, I think Envy integrated really well into our playstyle and we performed better because of it. There was no negative impact. We just adapted and moved forward.
Photo Credit: CBLOL - Riot Games
One thing that stood out this season was LOUD's early game struggles. Is that something you addressed heading into this tournament?
It was a communication issue from the start of the season. We'd discuss things in prep, but then in-game we wouldn't execute the plan. It caused a lot of problems early on. But if you watched our playoffs and finals, you could see the improvement. We worked really hard on it, and I think we fixed it.
Inspired told me before this interview that he thought FURIA was the best team in Brazil. Can LOUD prove him wrong?
I have full confidence in that. And honestly, I understand why he said it. Our roster changed almost entirely — only one player stayed from the previous lineup. From his perspective, we're basically a brand new team he's never seen play. It makes sense he'd default to FURIA. But we're going to win.
Last question — what are your goals here, and who do you want to face?
Realistically, saying we can beat an LCK or LPL team right now would be getting ahead of ourselves. Our first goal is to beat LYON. That's what we're focused on. One game at a time.
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