Jojopyun has been hinting that he’s ready to dominate the European League of Legends scene, and with multiple reports confirming that MAD Lions KOI has signed him, it seems almost certain that the North American mid lane prodigy will become the first-ever NA starter in Europe’s League of Legends history.
Interestingly, last year, there was a chance Jojopyun could have ended up playing in South Korea, as he had several offers to consider for both the 2024 and 2025 seasons.
However, he chose to join Cloud9 for 2024, a move that didn’t pan out well, as Cloud9 failed to qualify for any international events that year. Despite his underwhelming 2024, the off-season leading into 2025 was filled with excitement and heavy speculation about his next steps.
According to reports, Ibai and other members of KOI even went as far as pleading with Jojopyun to make the move to Europe.
While he hasn’t yet officially confirmed the exact team he’s joining, his tweets suggest he’s heading to Europe, likely for MAD Lions, based on off-season reports and statements from the organization’s owners.
At Worlds 2024, Caps expressed that he was eager for more competition domestically but didn’t want to move to the LPL or LCK. With Jojopyun possibly heading to the LEC, Caps may finally get his wish for tougher local competition.
While Jojopyun would be the first imported North American player to be a regular starter on a European roster, he’s not technically the first NA player to compete in Europe.
Inero, a former NA coach, played a single professional match in the EU in 2015, being subbed in for MOUZ’s EU Challengers roster. However, Jojopyun’s move would mark the first time a North American player will officially compete on a European team as a full-time starter.