“Coming to America was a mistake.” – This Is Game interviews Locodoco of CLG Prime

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The following article was translated by William “Chobra” Cho. The original article was written by Hyun Shim of This Is Game, and can be found here. 

We were able to meet a friendly face at IPL5 which is currently under way at Las Vegas. It was none other than Yoon-Sub “Locodoco” Choi (CLG Prime). Locodoco has gathered many fans during his time on teams such as Team SoloMid, Azubu Frost, Startale, and joined CLG Prime as their Support this past October. It was nice to see Locodoco was still the same pleasant and confident person from long ago. We present to you an update on Locodoco along with an interview with him conducted at IPL5.

CLG Locodoco

How are you these days?

Oh I’m just enjoying my time in the U.S. I’m having fun and playing games.

When did you arrive in the U.S.?

I’m not sure (laughs). I guess it’s been about a month.

What were your thoughts when Startale’s disbandment was announced?

There was actually some time between the announcement and the decision itself. I didn’t even have time to be sad as I was constantly contacted by various teams and even a large company.

What was your reason for choosing CLG Prime among the teams with offers?

There could be some misunderstanding with the other teams, but I didn’t choose CLG Prime instead of a Korean team. After much thought, I decided not to join a Korean team and take one season off of League of Legends The Champions. OnGameNet had offered a broadcasting position, so I even considered broadcasting while attending college. In the end, I decided to come to the U.S. and accept CLG Prime’s offer.

There is a basic difference in skill between North American players and Korean players. The North American professional players are not better than their Korean counterparts. In the long run, North America isn’t ideal for me and my dreams, but there was a lot on my mind in Korea. I knew by coming to North America both my mind and body could rest and be at ease. However, this led to another issue.

What’s the other issue?

I really wanted to win League of Legends The Champions in Korea. Also, the Support position doesn’t really fit my style. While I play the game because it’s fun, the real drive is my hunger for success. If my past self when I first started playing looked at the present, it would be disappointing sight.

Does that mean you still want to return to a Korean team?

Definitely. But as a member of the team I can’t just ditch CLG Prime. Not only because we’re currently participating in IPL5, but I don’t think it’s right to return to Korea without any accomplishments. I could force my way back to Korea, but I don’t want to do that. Until now I used to think if the journey is good, the result doesn’t have to be, but now I think the result needs to follow through. I want to be satisfied both from the process and the result. I won’t return in my current position.

There seems to be a lot of pressure on the Support position.

It’s not the position I want, but I believe I can achieve some level of accomplishment as a Support. If I were to just give up and run away, it would be very foolish of me.

What qualifies as “some level of accomplishment”? Would it be 1st place in a North American tournament?

If we say 100% North American tournament, CLG Prime has won every time since I’ve joined. We’ve done well, but what I want is above and beyond that. I want a result that is not only respected by others, but also one that I am content with.

Do you miss your Korean fans a lot?

Yes. To be honest, even the fan service was done because I enjoyed it. I’ve never done something proper for my fans, but I’m sincerely thankful to all the fans that support me. I really miss fans that supported me regardless of where I was or which team I was on, even sending me fan letters. On the other hand, North American fans are memorable because they are very active, and are very radical in showing their affection. In fact, they’re a bit too radical that it’s uncomfortable to talk about (laughs).

You made it to the winner’s bracket quarterfinals in IPL5. Are you confident you can win it all?

I think we made it to the winner’s bracket thanks to the group distribution rather than our own play. I used to be determined to win and believed we could beat everyone, so whenever there was an interview or a chance to share in the past, I confidently said so. I truly believed in my confidence as a fact. Nothing’s changed today, but I’m telling it as it is. At IPL5, it will be hard unless TPA or World Elite players make a mistake, or there are unfavorable technical difficulties for them.

Is your time in North America inconvenient in any way?

I’m totally the American type (laughs). Food, actions, communication…I find all of it comfortable in America. In fact, my Korean is rusty (laughs). If we use painting with crayons as an example, Korean feels like I’m using only 12, while English feels like I get to use 240.

I had a lot of bad memories in Korea. I don’t want to list them off, but one of the reasons I came to the U.S. was to escape them. Ultimately, coming to the U.S. didn’t fully solve the issues, so I think they follow me a bit. Personally, I think coming to America was a mistake. But it’s important to finish the job well even if it was a mistake. So as I said before, as long as I’m here, I want to achieve above and beyond before returning to Korea.

Is there anything you want to share before we end the interview?

I want to thank the CLG Prime teammates. This interview does not mean in any way that I will be leaving the team. I hope there are no misunderstandings. Also, I happened to meet a lot of people from back in the day here at IPL5. A friend from elementary and middle school in the U.S. is working for IPL, and my friend from Singapore who used to play DOTA with me is the Mid player for the Singapore Sentinels. It was really nice to see them. It was good to see the Startale coach and players again too. I was happy to see Azubu Blaze, especially Helios. Finally, I want to thank my fans in Korea.

Tags: clg prime, IPL5, korea, Locodoco

Category: Interviews