TL Yeon: “[At MSI 2024] we, for the most part, had each other’s back. I think a lot [of that] really went away.”

Team Liquid’s Split 3 has been a tough journey for the once-serial champions, and they fell out in a one-sided 0-3 series against 100 Thieves on one last heist. We sat down with TL’s AD carry, Sean “Yeon” Sung, to talk about the team’s loss, his favourite memories with the roster, and the uncertain future for this iconic Team Liquid core.

TL Yeon on their practice being ‘inadequate’ and ‘they were bound to lose’

We’re coming off a heartbreaker against 100 Thieves. How are you feeling right now? Where’s your mind at?

Yeon: I’m just thinking about the game mostly. I think it’s very heartbreaking that we lost. I think it was bound to happen if we lost 3-0 [in the first stage of Split 3] to not make it anyway.

Nick: We heard from APA with an onstage interview about what he thought went wrong. What do you think went wrong for you guys in this series? And then more broadly,

What do you think went wrong in this elimination stage or even the split? Because it has been a tough run for you guys.

Yeon: I don’t know what he said, but to be honest, I think we didn’t play with any of the old habits we played with. I think we didn’t have any of the same concepts that we held deeply, and we just played poorly. We played very scared. We had a very good early game like we usually do, but we just don’t know how to transition it to actually leading up to a win.

Nick: APA sort of said on the desk that Spawn had said, but that you guys lacked conviction or just you were doing good things, but then especially the setup to objectives. You get to the objective and then just sort of wait for 100 Thieves to teamfight.

Yeon: Yeah, I mean, I think we just had a low understanding of all of our champions. I think that because we didn’t have a full grasp of our champions, I think we didn’t have the confidence to go in. That’s the main thing. [Our] practice leading upwards [was] inadequate, and I think we practiced pretty poorly.

Nick: We’ll jump into a bunch of stuff that has nothing to do with pro play, so we’ll do some zero-stakes stuff. One thing I’ve been enjoying asking players, Riot has been doing these themed seasons.

I’ve been asking people if there was a skin line or a part of the world that you think would be like a cool look for Summoner’s Rift or a cool theme for a season. Anything come to mind?

Yeon: “I mean, to be honest, I really like what they did with the Spirit Blossom one. Any other ones like region-based based or like what do you mean?

Nick: There are two sorts of buckets that they’ll pull from. One is regions of the world like they’ve been doing with Ionia and Noxus. But they’ve also said that they might do non “canon” skin lines. Think along the lines of a Star Guardian or High Noon Season. Is there any skin line that you think would be like a cool aesthetic if it affected Summoner’s Rift’s look like the other seasons did?

Yeon: Definitely a winter map or something. I think that everyone really wants a winter map. I don’t know how easy it’d be, but I think most people are itching for one.

Nick: The old Christmas map.

Yeon: Yeah, I wouldn’t want a high noon one because I feel like it would be really bad on the eyes. I don’t like anything orange. I like the Spirit Blossom one a lot more or the base normal one. I wasn’t really a fan of the Noxus one because the colour scheme was just way too ugly for me.“

Nick: APA was saying the exact same thing. That he didn’t like all the red and black and that it was super drab to look at.

Yeon: Yeah. So probably no high noon. Definitely a… Star Guardian, I can’t really imagine it, but definitely something winter. And maybe something like… I can’t think of another one honestly.

Nick: Unfortunately, this does mean you’re going to have quite the long offseason, but fans are always interested to know.

What do you do when you’re not playing League? Are there other games you enjoy? Are there other hobbies that you have?

Yeon: Sometimes I just play TFT. These days I enjoy playing survival games like Rust. I think it’s an old game. I enjoy the survival-type games. PUBG is pretty fun. I haven’t played in a while. Maybe like some Valorant, TFT. That’s about it, I would say.

Nick: Have you played any of the new TFT set?

Yeon: I played a little bit. Seems interesting. I didn’t get the hang of it. So I was like, I’m out.

Nick: Another non-sequitur, there is a new champion coming. They’ve been teased in the latest trailer for the new season, and so it seems like we’re getting some kind of Darkin glaive champion.

The popular rumour is that it’s going to be a support. So that way you could play a five Darkin team. If you could pick, what’s on the dream wish list as an AD carry?

Yeon: To be honest, I think I would like something. I would probably like a beefy boy. Like a Nautilus-type of champion. Those are always fun to play with.

Nick: Speaking of new champions, obviously, I think you have gained a reputation as one of the better Yunaras out there.The latest addition to the AD carry pool. How are you feeling about her? What do you think about how she’s slotted into the AD carry role?

Yeon: I definitely think she’s pretty strong. But I can’t get a good grasp of how strong she is compared to other champions right now. I think she’s definitely one of the top AD carries. Yeah. That’s all I can really say. She’s really fun to play. Yeah.

Nick: She seems to me like, especially in the age of Fearless, somebody who’s sort of bound to show up. She’s a very traditional crit AD carry, good consistent damage output, especially in a front-to-back team fight comp.

Yeon: She’s just very like Varus. Like the traditional AD carry. Just right click, right click, right click. Except like maybe without the poking Varus version. Most traditional AD carry you could ask for. And you can slot into most team comps.

Yeon says TL lost what made them special at MSI ’24

Nick: Is there anything you’d like to say to Team Liquid fans, or the people cheering for you, about this year or looking on to next year?

Yeon: Yeah. I mean, to be honest, no one knows what’s going to happen. No one knows if it’s going to be like a new team rebuild. Or like if we’re going to go the same way. Or if we’re changing some players. So it’s hard to say what’s going to happen. Especially just because we have to start thinking now. But I will say that we had a very lackluster performance. And not making Worlds is a very big disappointment. Especially with how we were playing for the last two years. And I have nothing but like an apologetic, just apologies for the fans, mostly. That’s about it.

Nick: You don’t know what’s going to happen next year. Do you have any reflections on what it’s been like playing with these guys? And what has the time with this roster been like? I’d love to see you guys back as all five next split. But if we don’t,

Just looking back on the time you spent with these guys, any takeaways? Any moments that you’ll keep with you?

Yeon: I think my favourite memory I had was definitely when we made the first international in China at MSI. I think we had a lot of fun moments there. Especially when things were going rough. I think we, for the most part, had each other’s backs. I think a lot [of that] really went away. I wish we were more like the MSI team that we went [as].

Team Liquid will return in 2026 for the LTA Winter Split, but has been eliminated from Worlds 2025 contention.