TL Pyosik explains how NA won him over while discussing future LoL plans

After a surprising loss to Vietnam’s GAM Esports, Team Liquid’s League of Legends team has reached the end of the road at the 2023 World Championship. The division’s players, coaches, and staff must regroup for the new year, including Hong “Pyosik” Chang-hyeon, who has plenty of decisions to make for 2024.

If Pyosik doesn’t sign an extension with Liquid, he will be a free agent this coming offseason, giving him the freedom to stay in North America, return home to Korea, or find a new place in another region. Although his time with Liquid hasn’t been the most fruitful, the talented jungler explained how he warmed up to playing in NA over the course of a year.

In an interview with Korizon’s Ashley Kang, the 23-year-old explained that he actually wasn’t looking forward to playing in NA at the beginning of the year and that he only joined Liquid because no other options were available. But as the year went on, he slowly realized what made the region such a good place to play: a focus on player happiness.

“I realized that NA does a lot of creative activities to bond the team, not only in-game but also out, [and] the way I saw NA changed after my one year here,” Pyosik said. “The bottom line for happiness has been the highest here at NA, out of the four years I’ve been playing professionally.”

Ultimately, Pyosik’s thoughts on the LCS broadened over the course of the season, and now he knows that NA isn’t as bad as he originally thought it would be. He is, however, still heavily disappointed with his results at Worlds, especially after improving his shotcalling, communication, and overall knowledge of League. The jungler also said that Liquid’s rookies were placed under heavy pressure after suffering losing streaks in scrims vs. LCK squads, which might have affected their form on-stage.

Looking ahead, Pyosik has plenty of huge choices to make for his career. This coming offseason, he could either stick to playing in the LCS as a top jungler candidate or risk moving to the LPL or LCK where a starting position on a competitive roster might be a bit tougher to find. Either way, he has a good amount of time left to mull over his options before free agency begins.