Yusa

Yusa, known by his given name Jo Cortez, is a retired professional League of Legends player from the United Kingdom who competed as a bot laner during his time on the roster of Samsung Morning Stars. Now 27, his career is rooted in the British and wider European grassroots scene, a landscape that has long served as fertile ground for developing marksman talent.

Life as a Marksman

The bot lane role that Yusa occupied is one of the most mechanically demanding in the game. Marksmen are the primary damage dealers in the late game, but they arrive there only by surviving a fragile early phase in which precise positioning and clean trading determine whether a carry flourishes or falls behind. As an ADC, Yusa had to balance aggression with caution, dealing consistent damage in teamfights while relying on teammates to shield him from the assassins and divers hunting for an easy pick.

Grassroots Competition and the UK Scene

Playing for Samsung Morning Stars placed Yusa within the ecosystem of organizations working to cultivate players outside the game’s largest leagues. The United Kingdom has produced a number of competitors who cut their teeth in these smaller circuits, environments where opportunity is earned through persistence and where the fundamentals of the role are forged under pressure. For a bot laner, this meant countless hours refining synergy with a support and learning the subtle rhythms of lane priority and objective control.

Every marksman career is built on the relationship between the ADC and the players around him, and Yusa’s time in competition reflects that shared endeavour. The role rewards those who can stay composed and trust their team to create the space that a carry needs to take over in the decisive moments of a match.

Having stepped away from active play, Yusa is part of a generation of British competitors who contributed to the growth of the local scene during a formative period. His retirement closes one chapter, but the experience gained by players in these developmental environments continues to shape the broader European competitive community from the ground up.