It seemed just another Sunday LCS matchup for veteran League of Legends top laner Jeong “Impact” Eon-young, but his MVP performance in Liquid’s 2–0 win over Immortals also came with a record originally thought to be unbreakable. The 29-year-old Korean has now played the most LCS matches in the region’s history.
In his 630th appearance in the LCS against Immortals on July 28, Impact passed Jason “WildTurtle” Tran to record the most games played in the North American competition since its inception. Impact was unaware of the record in his post-match interview, saying he was too focused on the game—and his dream of a Worlds return—to realize. “That’s good to hear, but my goal is not done,” he said.
Impact’s journey in North American League began back with Team Impulse seven years ago before he linked up with NRG and then Cloud9, finishing second in just his fourth split since his arrival from SK Telecom T1. Since then, he’s established himself as one of the region’s best-ever top laners, showcasing remarkable consistency across a storied eight years in the region that has included six LCS titles.
His first stint at Liquid was arguably his best since leaving his domestic Korea competition, with a three-year run including an MSI final and four-split win streak before he left for Evil Geniuses. He returned to Liquid after FlyQuest’s doomed 2023 Summer split and picked up right where he’d left off, helping secure Liquid the Spring title.
Impact has not been to Worlds since 2022, but he and Liquid took a massive step towards flying the LCS flag in Europe at the pinnacle event today with their win against Immortals. Liquid’s 5-0 record means they’re guaranteed a spot in the LCS Championship playoffs, and with the top three locking in tickets to Worlds, Impact’s dream may well become a reality.
There has been much fanfare around his performances in the LCS so far and Liquid’s upcoming match against C9, who are also undefeated for the split. For Impact though, he remains fixed on returning to the international stage above all else. “I just played EWC and MSI, I’m hungry, [but] it’s not enough for me,” Impact said.
Liquid takes on Cloud9 in a must-see top-of-the-table League clash on Sunday, Aug. 4, before closing out their regular season against NRG on Aug. 10.
