Lee "Gumayusi" Min-hyeong has spent the bulk of his career defining success inside one of League of Legends’ most decorated organizations. In a recent interview with Marie Claire Korea, the ADC reflected on leaving that environment for Hanwha Life Esports and helping the team reach the Mid-Season Invitational for the first time in its history.
The conversation took place before MSI began. Gumayusi noted that official interviews had been limited, but he expressed clear satisfaction with the early results. "In my first year after transferring to Hanwha Life, the team reached the MSI stage for the first time," he said. "I’m glad I could leave a good impression on the Hanwha Life fans. And since this MSI is being held in Daejeon, a city with deep ties to Hanwha, it feels even more meaningful."
He framed the achievement less as relief and more as progress toward goals he set when he joined. "Rather than a sense of relief, I had clear objectives from the moment I came to this team, so it felt like I had accomplished one of them."
Gumayusi still lacks an MSI title. He acknowledged past near-misses, including a previous final that slipped away by a single set, and said he approaches every tournament with the belief that victory is possible. Asked about BLG as a leading contender, he remained measured. "BLG may be the strongest team in China, but we also advanced as the first seed. I think we can beat them."
The move away from T1 was deliberate. Gumayusi described the transfer as a new starting point for his career. At T1, winning often carried an air of expectation because of the organization’s history and talent. "I wanted to test myself again with a new team and new members to see if I could still deliver," he explained. "In that sense, the career I’m building here carries a different kind of meaning."
Adapting to the new roster required clarity around responsibility. Gumayusi said he adjusts quickly to new environments, but understanding the exact scope of his role took time. He now sees himself taking on a more proactive presence. "In this team I’m relatively experienced and have more titles, so I’ve tried to find the roles I can fill. Not as a senior, but as a teammate. I try to share more of what I know and have experienced."
On the Rift, he remains confident in his laning. He described his ability to seize early control as among the best in the world and credited repeated experience with teaching him when to push advantages and when to play patiently. In the MSI qualification series against T1, he said the team expanded leads on favorable drafts and minimized damage on weaker ones. "You can’t always have the advantageous composition from start to finish," he noted. "I pay a lot of attention to how we should move depending on the matchup and the situation."
The interview also touched on the national team. Gumayusi was selected for the Asian Games roster alongside former T1 teammates Faker and Keria. Reuniting after the transfer felt natural. "The scene is small, so we keep running into each other," he said. "It was my first time transferring, so I was curious how it would feel to be on the same team again. But because we’ve been together for so long, it just feels like we’ve continued as the same team."
Throughout the conversation, Gumayusi presented the Hanwha Life chapter as both a test and an opportunity. The first MSI appearance validates the early direction. The deeper question he keeps returning to is whether he can continue producing results when the supporting structure is no longer the one that defined his rise. So far, the early returns suggest he is writing the next phase on his own terms.
What are your thoughts on his interview and answers? Do you think switching teams was the right move for Gumayusi? Let us know your answers in the comments box below!