Kisno: “In terms of being prepared for LCS, not really…I got invited to [in-houses] and played in those, and that was all I did.”

Home > Articles > Kisno: “In terms of being prepared for LCS, not really…I got invited to [in-houses] and played in those, and that was all I did.”

James “Kisno” Woo has been a fixture of the NACL Tier 2 scene since 2023, winning qualification into the NACL three separate times. After strong performances with Conviction and DarkZero Dragonsteel, he joined Disguised in the LCS as a substitute for KryRa as the team sorted out visa issues. Despite not practicing with the team, Kisno showed up in LCS, defeating Sentinels and pushing FlyQuest to match point. We caught up with Kisno to discuss his performance in LCS, his path to pro, and his hopes for the future as a rising NA jungle talent.

We like to start by asking about your introduction to gaming. Was League of Legends the first competitive game you played?

Kisno: League was the first competitive game I played. When I was growing up, I played a bunch of games, but the ones I played the most were Counter-Strike, Minecraft, and MapleStory. I mainly played for fun, nothing serious.

When I started playing League, it was a progression. “Hey, I hit level 30, let’s play ranked. I placed Bronze, let’s hit Silver. Hit Silver, let’s try Gold,” and so on and so forth.

When did you realize you could go pro?

Kisno: I hit Masters as a top laner back in Season 10, and I quit the game for a bit and played Valorant. When I came back, I randomly decided to start playing jungle and I instantly hit Challenger. I added people from my games that I thought were good, and then one day I got messaged by one of them asking me, “Hey, do you want to try playing in a competitive aspect of the game?” I was like, “Yeah, sure. I'm down.” That's how it all started.

It didn't start off great in my opinion. I was supposed to play in the Open Qualifiers in 2022, but our team broke down before we even got to play because our ADC left right before to join Supernova. After that, we weren’t able to form a team that met the ranked requirement, so we actually didn't get to play.

You did end up playing in OQs quite frequently in 2023 and 2024. What did you learn from those first two years in competitive play?

Kisno: I learned how dirty the scene is. I can't lie. My first time playing in Open Qualifiers was in Spring 2023 with CB Gaming. We were seeded 25th but placed top 16. We overperformed, but ultimately we got beat, and that was that. But then Supernova’s jungler got promoted to FLY FAM, so they needed a replacement. I ended up joining the team, and in 2023 Summer we promoted into NACL.

I was really psyched because I was only half a year into my competitive career, and I already made NACL. The owner at the time [who is no longer involved with Supernova] told us he’d be keeping our roster intact, so we wouldn’t have to go searching for a team. This was at the time of the LCSPA walkout; once Riot rejected the continuity rule that would’ve required them to keep three out of five players, Supernova then kicked our entire roster and got a whole different squad. So I had to play OQs again. I felt that was pretty scummy.

Besides that, there were multiple instances of teams being late with payments. There was a lack of professionalism, to put it in a nice way. Some orgs didn't really treat us that well.

As a player, how do you think you’ve grown since coming onto the scene in 2023?

Kisno: I just gradually got better. I feel like I learn a lot more during the offseason compared to when I'm in season. That's something I learned from my last split with DarkZero. The NACL format was pretty bad because the regular season was best of one, so there wasn't as much to learn before playoffs. This time around I learned way more in the offseason. I had more free time to look at stuff on my own and not worry about anything else. You also gradually get better as a player the more you play, in my experience.

You participated in the SIDO combine in the offseason. How did that contribute to your improvement?

Kisno: SIDO was a great addition for the offseason in my opinion because it gave me the experience of actually meeting people in person which I've never done before for League. It showed me how passionate other people are about League. When I first started off, I was generally around people that weren't that passionate compared to myself, but I could definitely see the passion with others [at SIDO]. Talking with coaches not through a screen, but in person as well felt really nice.

Let’s take a quick step back to 2025, when you joined Conviction. You were one game away from getting eliminated in OQs, but you qualified and made top 3 in NACL. What were your expectations for the team when you joined?

Kisno: Our org for OQs was Tempest Gaming, and then we switched over to Conviction for NACL. Tempest said they couldn't provide us with the money, so they asked us to look for a different org. In 2024 I had a really bad split with LiT Esports and had just failed on Dragoon’s Goons. After that happened, I went to Korea with Toasty, Shochi, and Minui, and I hit rank two. I thought proving myself in Korea would at least get me some tryouts for NACL teams, but it didn’t, so I had to make an OQ team. At the time, I really wanted to play on a team with Toasty, but he already had an offer. I was homeless [teamless] with Minui, so we decided to form an OQ team. He was pretty close with DARKWINGS already. He knew Airren. We both knew Horder. We thought we’d promote and be somewhere in the middle of the pack in NACL. We didn't think we would place top three that split.

Let’s talk about your recent experience with DSG. When did you find out that that was going to happen? What was that experience like?

Kisno: They let me know early on, it was around December. They messaged me, “Hey, we might need you as a sub.” I responded, “Okay, just keep me updated.” There wasn't really much contact until the week of LCS. Two days before, they told me, “Yeah, you're going to fly out.” I asked, “When's my flight?” And they said, "It’s tomorrow." I said, “Okay, sounds good. I'll come tomorrow.” It was very short notice.

Were you practicing to be in LCS condition or did you not actually expect to be called in to sub?

Kisno: I didn't really think it would happen to be honest. KryRa got the offer for DSG during the SIDO combine, but apparently he accepted the offer pretty late or something, I don't know. But in my head, I thought, “They probably won't need me. Everything will be fine.” In terms of being prepared for LCS, not really. There were a lot of offseason scrim teams before LCS, lots of players playing in-houses. I got invited to those and played in those, and that was all I did.

It’s known that you didn't scrim with the team. You just showed up and beat Sentinels. How was it playing live on the LCS stage?

Kisno: I felt good. I thought for sure there would be some sort of protocol that they would go over with you before you get onto the stage, but there wasn't. When we walked onto the stage, we were missing our mid laner and Sentinels was missing their AD carry. The staff told us to go on stage, so we walked on stage and immediately went to our seats. Then, Sentinels came out and they went to the middle of the stage and bowed to the crowd before going to their chairs, and I was confused as hell. I had no idea what was going on. I asked Castle, “Are we supposed to do that?” He told me, "Ref didn't tell us anything, so I don't think so." I asked him if the players usually did that. Castle said they do. Awkward moment. Overall it was fun, though. I was just happy to be there.

Did you know that you would be playing the next week’s match as well? What was that situation like?

Kisno: After the first week, I thought they would have KryRa, so I took photos with Sentinels. I don't know if you saw my Twitter–

I like all your tweets. I want you to know that.

Kisno: Thank you. I thought I wasn't playing, and I told myself, "I'm going to go get a photo with my boy Isaac [DARKWINGS] and with the SEN players, and this will be a memory for me when I go back home." I thought I was only staying for a week. But then, after the game, they told me "Hey, we might actually need you for the second week as well." They told me they’d let me know sometime towards the end of the next week. Then they told me Wednesday or Thursday that I was going to play.

What are your plans for playing in 2026? Will you be playing in NACL or elsewhere?

Kisno: I've been on this NACL team for a month now, and they still haven't revealed the roster yet. I'm just like, dude, you guys need to hurry this up. There's only so long I can hold it in for.

So, you’ll be playing NACL this year. Were there other options, other regions that you were considering, such as EU?

Kisno: I was considering it when Toasty was considering it. When Toasty said he had an offer from EU, I thought, damn, do I want to go EU? But, I didn’t really think I needed to go to EU. I feel like I'll get into the LCS by at least next year. For Toasty, it was like, “I don't think these LCS teams will give me a shot; they'll just import a Korean mid, so I'm going to go and give EU a chance” type of thing.

Do you think EU or NA Tier 2 is a better development option? Not necessarily for your specific situation, but in general?

Kisno: I think EU Tier 2 is 10 times better than our system. EU and NA can have the same duration of a split, but the amount of games that you play in EU is just not comparable. In Europe, you play so many more matches compared to NACL, so you're getting way more practice for the same amount of time. I feel like that's always good for any player trying to go pro.

DSG is exceeding expectations so far. They're also the team that you’ll have to beat for promotion into the LCS. You’re going from subbing for them to playing in NACL and competing for their LCS spot; how does that feel?

Kisno: I don't really feel anything yet because the NACL season hasn't started yet. When we do face them, it'll be months later, so I'm not really worried about it for now. I do agree with DSG being a really strong team; even though I didn't scrim with them and only played the stage matches with them, I knew they would be a really good team. I just have to prepare for it one step at a time.

Before we wrap up, are there any particular games or activities that you enjoy outside of League?

Kisno: I like rock climbing. I think rock climbing is pretty fun. I started a year and a couple months ago. Other than that, I just like sports or doing exercises; it keeps me mentally sane.

Any shout outs or thank-yous to close it out?

Kisno: Thank you to the fans. After my first match when I was on stage (the second week was in the gulag), I met a lot of people that I didn't know were fans of me or knew of me. Thanks to all the fans for knowing me.

And now you know you have to bow to them before you start the match.

Kisno: Yeah, exactly.

Kisno will return in the 2026 NACL. If you’re looking to improve your own League gameplay, you can check out pro coaches on ProDiff.

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