Kim “Ssumday” Chan-ho, star Korean top laner for 100 Thieves, is widely regarded as one of the most talented at his position in the League of Legends Championship Series. After a dominant 2020 Spring Split where he shined as one of the league’s best, Ssumday was rewarded with a contract extension that will ensure him staying with the team through at least 2022.
But a simple two year contract extension isn’t anywhere near where his ultimate goal lies. “I want to be the best,” Ssumday told TheGamer. “I want to be an exemplary person, consistently well-played.” The best is something that nearly every kid playing League of Legends wants to be someday. But the desire to be “exemplary” is where Ssumday’s competitive mindset diverges from the norm.
It Starts With Teammates
Ssumday is known around the LCS as the polite, soft spoken top laner who dominates his opposition when called upon.
Before his reputation preceded him in North America, Ssumday was an up-and-comer on Korean team PSW Ares in 2012. In February of 2013, at the age of 16-years-old, Ssumday signed to the KT Rolster organization.
Now, at the ripe old age of 23 playing with 100 Thieves, Ssumday keeps a group chat with his old teammates from KT Rolster that he spent so much of his early career with. He spent over three years with the organization before leaving his home to compete in North America’s LCS.
After a middling, year-long stint with Dignitas in 2017, Ssumday found himself on 100 Thieves. There, he would team up with LCS veterans William “Meteos” Hartman and Zaqueri “aphromoo” Black. He also reunited with former KT Rolster teammate Ryu “Ryu” Sang-wook. With then 21-year-old Sun “Cody Sun” Li-Yu on AD carry duties, 100 Thieves outperformed all expectations and finished first in the 2018 LCS Spring Split regular season.
Despite getting swept in the finals by Team Liquid, who would then go on to win four consecutive splits, Ssumday maintained faith in his teammates. Ssumday’s play may revolve around his individual strength in lane and in fights, but he always credits his success to his teammates.
Speaking about his jungler Meteos, Ssumday pointed out his teammate’s game knowledge as one of the key factors to the success 100 Thieves found. “Meteos is really good at calculating things. He’s thinking about a lot of things, what they’re gonna do, what we’re gonna do, what’s happening. He’s really smart about the jungle.”
The next split saw 100 Thieves finish fourth, beating Clutch Gaming in the playoffs before losing to Team SoloMid. With their high finishes in both spring and summer, 100 Thieves earned a chance to compete internationally at Worlds 2018.
To Be The Best, You Have To Beat The Best
When asked if there was one top laner in the world who he really wanted to play against, Ssumday’s answer was simply, “TheShy.”
During Worlds 2018, Ssumday and his 100 Thieves teammates lost both games they played against Kang “TheShy” Seung-lok’s Invictus Gaming. Ssumday would suffer an early exit from the group stage while TheShy went on to face European juggernaut Fnatic in the Worlds finals. In a clash of titans between Europe and China, TheShy and Invictus Gaming made easy work of the European champions, cleanly sweeping them 3-0. Invictus Gaming had won China their first ever Worlds title, while 100 Thieves packed their bags and headed back to North America.
As China’s League of Legends Pro League seems to raise the bar every year in terms skill, TheShy has somewhat struggled. Invictus Gaming dropped every match they played in the recent 2020 Mid-Season Cup. Many were critical of TheShy’s performances in the tournament, but Ssumday doesn’t believe the star top laner has lost a step.
“He was kinda inting MSC, but I don’t think it was because he performed [badly]. He’s just really respected in the draft. Other teams really prepare against IG so I think they did really well against TheShy. That’s why it looks like inting. But I don’t think it was that he performed bad or something.”
Ssumday mentioned that he’s not concerned about TheShy. Despite his seemingly poor international play, Ssumday still has a hunger to get revenge on his Chinese counterpart.
Learning To Lead
The 2019 LCS Spring Split was a low point for 100 Thieves. Meteos left to join OpTic Gaming, Ryu left the mid lane to become a coach for the team and Cody Sun was replaced with Bae “Bang” Jun-sik. They finished in last place, losing fourteen out of their eighteen games.
The season after that, the 2019 Summer Split, Ssumday was benched just four games in. Due to Riot’s import restrictions, 100 Thieves had to choose between playing Ssumday in the top lane, or bring back Ryu to play in the mid lane. Management chose Ryu, citing the mid laner’s leadership skills that propelled him over Ssumday.
Ssumday didn’t play another LCS game in 2019, and 100 Thieves finished 8th, going 8-10.
However, 2020 began a new year for 100 Thieves and for Ssumday. The team brought back Meteos to the jungle and Cody Sun to the bot lane. They also added up-and-comer Tommy “Ryoma” Le to the mid lane. Ssumday was happy to reunite with his former teammates, saying of Meteos, “He’s just really a good jungler, so I like him as a teammate.”
Despite looking inconstant at times, 100 Thieves finished strong, and ended the regular season in third. Coming off his benching, Ssumday was back to dominant form. 100 Thieves would have been nothing without their star top laner, and they quickly signed him to an extension to lock him up through 2022.
Ssumday indicated that with his new extension, brings new responsibilities. “Our mental coach keeps reminding me I can help my teammates and be more of a leader.” Being a leader is something that everyone can find challenging, especially for someone from a foreign country learning English on the fly.
But 100 Thieves’ altruistic top laner is full of motivation and he knows what he needs to do. “As a team, obviously I want to get better results than the Spring Split. The final goal is going to World’s this summer.
“A personal goal is [to not feel pressured] when I show something, and having fun with my team.”
Ssumday noted that with being a leader, comes improving as a person. “I want to be a better person… I want to be an exemplary person, consistently well-played.”
For the average person, leaving friends and family behind to go play League of Legends in a foreign country with a strange language is already a tough ask. But Ssumday is not the average person. Ssumday’s dominance over Summoner’s Rift matches his good-hearted nature in real life.
At 23-years-old, Ssumday notes that he still has a lot to learn. He want to be an “exemplary” and model player. But above all, he wants to win. When asked if he being an example to others is something he thinks about a lot, he laughed and said, “Yeah, I want to be the best.”
