Jojopyun promises EG will be ‘so much better’ after Day One flop—and expect more trash talk too
The wunderkind has put his hand up after NA's first loss.
North American wunderkind Joseph Jojopyun Pyun has put his hand up after Evil Geniuses flopped in their 2022 Mid-Season Invitational debut, admitting the whole LCS team played far worse than usual on Day Onean issue theyll look to rectify immediately in the G2 Esports rematch today.
In particular, Jojopyun was harsh on himself while speaking to Pentaq.com soon after exiting the MSI arena. I didnt perform to my expectations, the young star said.
Thats pretty disappointing, how I performed.
Evil Geniuses slipped to an 01 start at MSI 2022 following a major flop against European rivals G2 Esports. While many touted the LCS vs LEC battle as a highlight on opening day, NAs champions barely found their footing and were blindsided by an Anivia pick for Rasmus Caps Winther.
G2 played well, Jojopyun agrees, but there was a bigger problem for Evil Geniuses in the defeat; they didnt come anywhere near the highs theyve hit in the LCS.
Yeah, I think G2 played well, Jojopyun said, [but] I think we played worse. Much worse than usual. I think a lot of it was us not playin well. The problem was us not playing as good instead of them playing well. They did play well though.
Jojopyun has been dubbed one of the rising lights in North America alongside the recently-crowned Prince of Pentakills, bot laner Kyle Danny Sakamaki. Neither had any impact on the game outside several high-damage hauls in teamfights. Thats okay though, Jojo adds.
Were getting to play internationally, he said. We are learning.
The loss leaves LCS fans on Reddit, Twitter, and watching on from home in the wee hours of the morning in a panic, especially considering there are just four chances for NA to score bragging rights over EU in the Group C battle.
Their 17-year-old hope has a different viewEG are just getting started.
It feels really great to be versing the best of the other regions, he said. [Were already seeing] theres really just a really big skill gap [between the LCS and international teams]. My goal is now to just go as far as possible with the team, and keep improving at MSI every game that we play. Thats what Im looking forward to.
We could have played much better, he added. We will play better.
Photo via Getty Images for Riot Games
And dont worryone loss wont change Jojos trash talk either.
There were fears that Jojopyun, who has become renowned for his bad manners taunting before and after games in the LCS, would disappear into his shell if Evil Geniuses struggled early. Not so, the 17-year-old Canadian promises; win or lose, hes certainly not planning to stop his roast-heavy comments.
It just makes the games more exciting, Jojopyun said. I dont really see how like I think its great. It makes the game so much more hype. I think its good.
Evil Geniuses return to the MSI stage at 5pm local time for their G2 Esports rematch. They have the back-to-back scheduled today, and will also face ORDER an hour later.