Ryu’s journey from KT Rolster to H2K
Riot·4/11/2015, 1:15:10 PM·0 votes·8,524 views
Many adjectives were used to describe Ryu “Ryu” Sang-ook when he arrived in Europe from Korea -- not all of them complimentary. As the former KT Rolster Bullets mid laner bounced around from team to team, the court of public opinion had already found him guilty of overstaying his welcome in the competitive scene. While many of his Korean compatriots found themselves with lucrative offers from Chinese teams, Ryu’s journey to Europe was seen as a last-ditch effort to revive a career that had not been the same since the most infamous play in League of Legends history at Hot6ix Champions Summer 2013 during the Blind Pick game against SK Telecom T1 K.
In his own words, the journey to the EU LCS stemmed from an affinity for the European practice style and the desire to improve his English.
“I wanted and still want to keep learning English, but I also like the EU practice style a lot. The communication was a lot different when I played in KT, but also the practice times. I also had a lot more fans in OGN,” he jokes.
Following a stint on Millenium, who failed to make it into Europe’s 2015 League Championship Series, and a guest appearance on Team ROCCAT at IEM Cologne, Ryu landed on H2K. Filling the spot vacated by Fabian “Febiven” Diepstraten on the former challenger team, H2K was perceived as a significant step down from arguably one of the best teams in Korea at one time: the KT Rolster Bullets.
Upon their inception, the KT Rolster Bullets formed with Ryu at their core, along with fellow former StarTale members, Won “Mafa” Sang-yeon and Go “Score” Dong-bin. At the Bullets’ best, the summer of 2013, the squad was rounded out by former jungler Choi “inSec” In-seok in the top lane, and the dynamic playmaker Lee “KaKAO” Byung-kwon in the jungle. While Ryu was known as one of the best in his region, he was not the crown jewel of the KT Bullets like his adversary Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok was to SK Telecom T1.
The strengths of the 2013 Summer KT Rolster Bullets were their overall team play and macro strategy. On this type of team, Ryu faded somewhat into the background, pushed aside by the oft-reckless wandering of inSec and the playmaking of KaKAO from the jungle. Where other mids in the region -- the aforementioned Faker and MVP Ozone’s Bae “dade” Eo-jin -- were canonized in the eyes of the public, Ryu was relegated to a wallflower. If one dared to look closer at the KT Bullets, their strategical outplays and their sharp map rotations, they'd realize Ryu truly shone as one of the Bullets’ primary shotcallers.
“In KT the communication was really good and we had a lot of confidence in each other and our gameplay which made us play our own game. Everyone also enjoyed the game a lot and were very passionate and motivated players, which made us play the game 24/7.”
In this familiar place, Ryu is rediscovering himself on H2K. Not as one of the best in his position, not as solely a mid laner, but as the best in his role as a leader at the core of a team.
“I think the role [of a mid laner] is pretty much the same in both teams, even though I did a lot more shotcalling in KT. I still try to do a lot of that in H2K. I keep learning more English everyday so automatically my shotcalling gets better with that.”
The rise of H2K in Europe began in Week 4 of the 2013 EU LCS, ushered in by their new support player, Raymond “kaSing” Tsang. That week, H2K defeated both Elements and ROCCAT. This 2-0 week quickly grew into an impressive undefeated run, spanning four weeks until their loss to Elements in Week 8.
“When I first joined the team we had very good lane phase but lacked a lot in communication. After kaSing joined the team the communication increased a lot, even from me. But we also managed to get into a honeymoon phase again with a new player and the team and practice got a lot more efficient.”
This self-described “honeymoon phase” of H2K was not solely on the back of kaSing himself -- although he quickly was recognized for his playmaking in the bot lane -- but more a product of H2K’s increased communication as a unit. Their newfound team synergy earned H2K a 12-6 overall record, the third best in Europe.
“[H2K] are a very funny team and make me happy but also kind people and I think the social part is very important in a team,” Ryu says of H2K’s strength as a unit.
Beginning his snowball with a 1v1 kill against Søren “Soren” Holdt Frederiksen’s Ahri at 10 minutes, Ryu ended the game 6/0/8, delivering the killing blows to Copenhagen Wolves’ nexus in an H2K 3-0 sweep. It’s not a return to form in raw mechanics, nor is it his return to carrying his team. While Ryu can carry, his true value to a team is in his steadfast presence in the mid lane, and his overall communication with his team.
Once Upon a Time in Korea
Upon their inception, the KT Rolster Bullets formed with Ryu at their core, along with fellow former StarTale members, Won “Mafa” Sang-yeon and Go “Score” Dong-bin. At the Bullets’ best, the summer of 2013, the squad was rounded out by former jungler Choi “inSec” In-seok in the top lane, and the dynamic playmaker Lee “KaKAO” Byung-kwon in the jungle. While Ryu was known as one of the best in his region, he was not the crown jewel of the KT Bullets like his adversary Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok was to SK Telecom T1.
The strengths of the 2013 Summer KT Rolster Bullets were their overall team play and macro strategy. On this type of team, Ryu faded somewhat into the background, pushed aside by the oft-reckless wandering of inSec and the playmaking of KaKAO from the jungle. Where other mids in the region -- the aforementioned Faker and MVP Ozone’s Bae “dade” Eo-jin -- were canonized in the eyes of the public, Ryu was relegated to a wallflower. If one dared to look closer at the KT Bullets, their strategical outplays and their sharp map rotations, they'd realize Ryu truly shone as one of the Bullets’ primary shotcallers.
“In KT the communication was really good and we had a lot of confidence in each other and our gameplay which made us play our own game. Everyone also enjoyed the game a lot and were very passionate and motivated players, which made us play the game 24/7.”
In this familiar place, Ryu is rediscovering himself on H2K. Not as one of the best in his position, not as solely a mid laner, but as the best in his role as a leader at the core of a team.
“I think the role [of a mid laner] is pretty much the same in both teams, even though I did a lot more shotcalling in KT. I still try to do a lot of that in H2K. I keep learning more English everyday so automatically my shotcalling gets better with that.”
The rise of H2K in Europe began in Week 4 of the 2013 EU LCS, ushered in by their new support player, Raymond “kaSing” Tsang. That week, H2K defeated both Elements and ROCCAT. This 2-0 week quickly grew into an impressive undefeated run, spanning four weeks until their loss to Elements in Week 8.
“When I first joined the team we had very good lane phase but lacked a lot in communication. After kaSing joined the team the communication increased a lot, even from me. But we also managed to get into a honeymoon phase again with a new player and the team and practice got a lot more efficient.”
This self-described “honeymoon phase” of H2K was not solely on the back of kaSing himself -- although he quickly was recognized for his playmaking in the bot lane -- but more a product of H2K’s increased communication as a unit. Their newfound team synergy earned H2K a 12-6 overall record, the third best in Europe.
“[H2K] are a very funny team and make me happy but also kind people and I think the social part is very important in a team,” Ryu says of H2K’s strength as a unit.
The final test
In their quarterfinals matchup against Copenhagen Wolves, Ryu locked in a familiar champion for the mid lane. The champion he was known for, throughout the English-speaking world, as the champion that Faker bested him with in a blind pick match: Zed. The uncertainty over the pick -- specifically based on the one other Zed game that Ryu had played as well as his key Diana play in the previous game -- was palpable in the casters’ voices and comments.
Beginning his snowball with a 1v1 kill against Søren “Soren” Holdt Frederiksen’s Ahri at 10 minutes, Ryu ended the game 6/0/8, delivering the killing blows to Copenhagen Wolves’ nexus in an H2K 3-0 sweep. It’s not a return to form in raw mechanics, nor is it his return to carrying his team. While Ryu can carry, his true value to a team is in his steadfast presence in the mid lane, and his overall communication with his team.
