Zamudo: “It doesn't do me any good to dwell on the past. It's already happened, and I just have to keep moving on. I’ll figure out what I need to do next and execute on that.”

Home > Articles > Zamudo: “It doesn't do me any good to dwell on the past. It's already happened, and I just have to keep moving on. I’ll figure out what I need to do next and execute on that.”

Frankie “Zamudo” Lin joined LYON ahead of Split 3 of the 2025 LTA North. He was unable to compete in 2025 due to visa issues, which extended into the 2026 LCS season. With no resolution in sight, Zamudo and LYON mutually agreed to part ways, ending his tenure in the LCS without a single game played. We sat down with Zamudo to discuss his time with LYON and what’s next for the former NACL MVP as he stands at a crossroads in his pro career.

Let’s start the story in the middle of last year. You faced visa issues from the time you first joined LYON after a dominant split with DarkZero Dragonsteel in the NACL. Tell me a little bit more about that time. Did you practice with LYON ahead of 2025 split three? When did you first learn that you wouldn't be able to play in the then LTA North in 2025?

Zamudo: I was practicing with LYON around July or August. I was scrimming with the team, meeting the team; I was there in person with the team every day. Then I got word right before the first week of LCS that there was a possibility that I wouldn't be playing. The week of LCS, it was confirmed that I wouldn't be playing due to visa issues. I'm not exactly sure what the specific issue was the first time around; they never explicitly told me what went wrong in 2025.

Going into the end of 2025, you were loaned to Isurus. How did that come about, and how was your experience playing in Brazil? Was that driven by you or by LYON?

Zamudo: The team [LYON] brought up to me the opportunity to play on Isurus instead of just staying online. I thought it wouldn't be a bad opportunity and that it would help me secure a visa in the future.

My experience in Brazil was not the greatest because I get sick pretty easily when I travel. When I arrived, within one week I got sick. I was basically sick for my entire time there; for a month or two I just couldn't sleep or anything. I don't think I learned anything particularly unique, but it was a good experience to play in a new region. Playing in Brazil was very different; it was my first time playing on a big stage. Well, I guess it wasn't too big. I'm not sure if it's the headsets, but I noticed you can really hear the fans stomping on the ground, making noise when they're cheering for the teams. That was something that particularly stood out.

Going into 2026, LYON announced you as the starting top laner. How much were you practicing with the team? How was your experience learning from the veterans and working under the uncertainty surrounding the visa situation?

Zamudo: I was practicing with the team throughout. I was with the team in Korea, and we just played there for around two weeks, and I thought I was going to play the entire time. It just didn't end up working out that way, but it was the expectation that I was going to play. It's unfortunate that it worked out the way it did in the end. I think it was a really good experience. Even after I found out I'm not playing on the team, being able to sit in for scrims and hear everyone's thoughts and how they see the game was very, very helpful for me. I think it's a very good experience for sure.

How did you and LYON ultimately come to the mutual decision to part ways?

Zamudo: We thought it'd work out in 2026 because I had played in Brazil and they [LYON] were going to use a different agency, I guess a better immigration law agency. Things didn’t work out. They tried to apply for my visa a second time around January 2026, and it was also declined. We had a conversation after that, and we came to the conclusion that if they tried to apply for my visa a third time, it probably wouldn't be approved. They thought that it would do me more harm if they applied and it didn't work a third time; maybe I'd get blacklisted or something. So, we agreed to mutually terminate the contract and release me.

You mentioned you didn't know the exact issue in 2025. Do you know what the issue was with the visa type you were trying to get approved in 2026?

Zamudo: I think it was P-1A. To my knowledge, the application we sent didn't provide enough evidence that I was an internationally recognized athlete. Looking towards my next steps, I'm trying to figure out things I can do to help me get a visa in the future.

How are you staying motivated despite the setback? Have any of the events of the last nine months or so changed your view on pro play as a career?

Zamudo: I mean honestly when I started my career and up until I faced these issues, I never even considered that this might be one of the things holding me back. I guess my perspective has changed a bit. I know this is a real issue that can affect someone, and after all this has happened to me I find it doesn't do me any good to dwell on the past. It's already happened, and I just have to keep moving on. I’ll figure out what I need to do next and execute on that.

What is the next step for you in your career? In terms of other opportunities, what does that look like for you in the next few months?

Zamudo: I'm trying to explore all the opportunities that are possible. I would love to play in the LCS if possible, but I'm just trying to figure out a way to get my visa. That would be amazing; that would be my end goal still. There are a few other options I've been trying to explore, maybe playing in the ERLs later this year or perhaps even NACL.

Do you see your future in NA in the long term, or would you shift your focus to other regions like EU or Brazil? Given the troubles you’ve had, do you think you’d be ready to take another LCS offer?

Zamudo: I wouldn't mind playing in any region. I would be open to playing in EU or Brazil. It just depends if that's even an option available to me, I suppose. Brazil kind of worries me, because every time I'm in Brazil, I get really sick. So, I'm not really sure, but I would be open to it.

If I got an LCS offer, I would probably take it. I feel like I'm taking a 10 million-year break. So, I'd be ready if the opportunity presented itself to me.

With that in mind, what would success look like for you at the end of this year, and where would you like to be at the start of next year?

Zamudo: To me, success by the end of this year would be figuring out the exact next steps I need to take in order to acquire a visa and working towards that. I would find it a success if I could get on an LCS team or find another Tier 1 opportunity by the start of next year. But maybe that won't be possible, and that's okay. But I'll keep working towards that.

The fans won't be able to see you in LCS this split, but they can learn a little bit more about you. How did you first get into League, and when did you realize you wanted or could go pro?

Zamudo: I got into League around the end of season 2, when Zed came out. I saw my brother playing League, and Zed just looked like the coolest character ever seen in a video game. League was already downloaded because we shared the same PC, and he would let me play sometimes. When I first started playing, I was a support Blitzcrank one-trick. I eventually swapped to top lane because of one of my online friends I had met at the time. He played Darius top lane, and he'd always carry my normal games. So, I wanted to copy him.

I only played recreationally up until the release of Clash. I faced an amateur team while playing Clash, and I jokingly asked them if I could join their team because I beat them. I don't know, it was so stupid. I just jokingly asked them if I could join their team and they said yeah. That's how I got into the amateur scene. I played for a year or two in amateur, just for fun really. I found it really fun; that's the whole reason I started trying to go pro. It wasn’t until 2022 when LS noticed me in Champions Queue that I ever actually thought that I had a chance of going pro, to be honest.

You first broke into the Proving Grounds circuit in 2022. You started winning accolades in the second half of 2024. What do you think you learned in your first few years that helped you become the league MVP by 2025?

Zamudo: I was very fortunate to meet [Maryville University coach] Niles. He believed in me, and he gave me the opportunity to play at MU. He helped me a lot with out-of-game stuff which I think is just as important, if not more important, than in-game stuff. Keeping a good sleep schedule, eating, exercising, all these things helped me a lot. Talking with people about the game helped me a lot in my process to becoming the best, especially with [coaches] Niles and Draxyr. Talking with my teammates like ScaryJerry, Spirax, and Yuuji about how they think about the game and how they practice helped me a lot.

You mentioned out-of-game stuff. What are some other topics, activities, or games that interest you outside of the game? Are you part of the climbing mafia? Every person we talk to seems to love rock climbing. Can you explain that?

Zamudo: I do know a lot of people that love rock climbing. At MU, they all love rock climbing; I know Kisno and Toasty love rock climbing. I'm not actually sure why. I've never actually tried rock climbing before, but I just know it's really popular. I mean, it sounds fun, but it doesn't sound like too much fun to me at least.

As for how I spend my free time, I just watch some TikTok, read manga, or talk with friends. When I was at MU, we would play basketball occasionally. I thought that was pretty fun. These days I mostly read.

Do you happen to have a favorite manga?

Zamudo: No particular manga, but I'm a big fan of the romance genre.

To close it out, we always like to say any shout-outs or thank-yous?

Zamudo: I'll definitely shout out to my brother. He's always supported me going pro. We were never too close growing up, but he's gotten a lot more involved in my life and has been trying to make an effort to be closer to me since four or five years ago and I really appreciate that. I’d like to shout out my girlfriend. She's been supporting me, I really appreciate that. And finally, I'd like to shout out Kisno. I have a turtle on my bed. It's him.

I don't know what that means, so we’ll leave the mystery of Kisno and the turtle as an exercise to the reader. Hopefully we won’t see you dominating our editor’s K’sante in normal draft queue anytime soon.

Zamudo: I still remember that, actually; I always remember that. It was Stormrazor Vayne, it was completely OP.

Zamudo is exploring options for the rest of the 2026 season and will be looking to deliver more MVP-level performances as he works towards his long-awaited Tier 1 debut. If you’re looking to improve your own League gameplay, you can learn from pros like Zamudo on ProDiff.

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