Choi “Huhi” Jae-hyun took the time to talk with WIN.gg about his return to Golden Guardians, playing with Trevor “Stixxay” Hayes again, and the new Aurelion Sol rework.
Choi “Huhi” Jae-hyun has competed in the LCS since 2014. His eight years of competitive play have seen him swap from mid lane to support and reemerge as a top-level competitor on his new role. After departing from 100 Thieves and returning to Golden Guardians, we spoke to Huhi about his 0-2 first week back, playing with and against past teammates, and the upcoming rework to his once-signature champion.
Win.GG: This is your second time returning to a team now that you’re a support, you returned to 100 Thieves after playing mid lane and now you’ve returned to support again for Golden Guardians. What’s it like returning to a team, and how is it different from joining a team as a mid laner?
I feel like [Golden Guardians] is a really different team this time because I don’t have the same teammates as I had back then. It just feels like a completely new, different team. We have a new office, new people, and a new environment.
What’s it been like orienting yourself to that new environment this year?
I think I am still trying to find my footing here, and all of us are. Right now we’re having a bit of a rough time because we don’t have the roster we wanted in the beginning because of some visa issues. So we’re still trying to work on what we can and trying to be more consistent before we have [our] full potential. We’re just trying to take it step by step and improve.
What’s it like playing with Stixxay again, now on a completely different role from your time on CLG?
It’s actually pretty funny because we have lots of past memories together that we will just randomly bring up. “Oh hey, do you remember this incident that we had?” It’s been pretty funny. Playing mid lane with him and playing support with him are two completely different things. When I was mid lane, he was just one of my teammates because his performance wasn’t really affecting mine, and vice versa. Playing support and AD carry is just completely the opposite. We need to be way more in sync and way more synergized in order to perform well. I think we’re still trying to work on that.
Speaking of past teammates, you have all of your ex-100 Thieves teammates to face in the league. You played FBI yesterday, is there anybody you’re looking forwards to facing down? Are you looking forwards to the rematch?
For sure, I’m waiting to rematch FBI and Ssumday and give them some revenge. We got pretty close yesterday but we came up short, so next time I want to show them that it’s different. He was making fun of me, so next time I want to make fun of him.
When you played mid lane, you were known for your Aurelion Sol. Have you seen the new Aurelion Sol rework, and do you have any thoughts on how Riot Games has changed the champion?
I think the champion is just completely changed. He doesn’t have the signature [stars] floating around him. So yeah, I’m gonna see if it’s a viable support and we’ll see how it goes because there are lots of crazy support picks right now. Anything can work out.
So you’ll definitely be trying it out and seeing if Aurelion Sol support is any good?
Oh yeah, for sure.
There’s a lot of hype around how competitive the LCS is this year. Do you feel like it’s stronger this year than in the past?
Before, when I looked at a team I knew “Oh, this team will for sure be easy to face.” This year we have less of that for sure, and I think when Gori comes and we start improving we’ll be one of the contenders as well. So I am pretty excited about where this year will end. I’m just really excited about how competitive the scene is right now.
There are some big changes coming to LCS next patch, how do you think the bot lane changes will affect it and support?
I’m a fan [of the changes] because right now I don’t really enjoy the bot lane when both teams are playing poke comps. For one side, the enemy jungle comes and it’s just doomed, and it’s a consistent snowball. It’s fun when you’re ahead but when you’re behind it’s not really playable. I think crit ADCs bring up enchanters and even melee supports. And usually, with melee supports, I’m pretty confident at finding way more engages than other supports, and flanks. I think I’m a fan, and I want to see where that will lead in terms of bot meta.
Anything to say to the fans that have followed you for years heading into another year of competitive play?
Yeah, I just want to thank them all. Thanks for supporting me and my team, I think we’re still trying to find a lot of fundamentals to improve and slowly work on. You guys shouldn’t be too worried, and trust in our process. I think we can make you guys proud in the end.
