Cryogen Takes Flight, Heads to LCS

Just two months before his 19th birthday, Michael ‘Cryogen’ Luu was working alongside Division ONE powerhouse Maryville University to swiftly sweep their closest rival, Winthrop University, in the D1 League of Legends Fall 2025 Finals.

Now, as the second youngest player in the region, he suits up to join North America’s most dominant professional League team since 2024, FlyQuest (FLY).

​Tasked with filling the enormous shoes of FLY’s former 1st Team All-Pro support Alan ‘Busio’ Cwalina, Luu will attempt to keep them competitive through substantial roster shifts that now see FlyQuest sporting the youngest team in the League Championship Series (LCS). Joined by former North American prodigy Johnson ‘Gryffinn’ Lee in the jungle, and FLY’s newest European top lane project Ibrahim ‘Gakgos’ Bulut, the Green and White have gone all-in on young blood after having their championship core ravaged by poachers.

Throughout his time at Maryville, Cryogen was known for his filthy gameplay in the support role, masterfully piloting ranged champions like Bard and Neeko as well as melee supports like Rell and Poppy, impressing with a nearly undefeated Division ONE regular season and postseason run, dropping only a single game to Winthrop in Week 1. His hallmarks, unwavering confidence and sharp shot-calling, stem from his years of semi-professional play, where he joined players like Purdue University mid laner Aaron ‘Klexo’ Yang on Lotus Exiles, before bouncing around amateur teams looking for his chance.

That chance would come in the collegiate scene, after an impressive first-place finish in the Aegis Challengers League 2025 Summer Split – a North American amateur League of Legends tournament series – where Luu would accompany University of Southern California AD Carry Joseph ‘Levitate’ Hong in the bottom lane and Maryville University newcomer Kolby ‘PhyMini’ Ashby in the mid lane. Cryogen, handpicked by Maryville LoL Head Coach Aiden ‘Niles’ Tidwell, would join a rockstar cast of North America Challenger League (NACL) level talent to form the deadliest roster in Division ONE. Despite a subpar finish to the National Association for Collegiate Esports (NACE) Fall 2025 Playoffs, a paltry 3rd-4th place with rival Winthrop University claiming the crown, Luu’s performance was enough to get him serious looks at the next level.

Crucially, Cryogen’s competitive history has a massive hole: zero true NACL experience. His meteoric rise to LCS play is very unheard of, especially given his youth and inexperience at the professional level. However, as a product of FlyQuest’s development program FLY NZXT, the Vietnamese support had already netted the attention of the top dogs on American soil. His swagger precedes him, and the confident aura he oozes should get FlyQuest fans excited for 2026. While many fans are focusing on FLY's inexperience and writing off their Winter split, Luu’s operating from a whole different headspace. “I think we’re good to win it all in Split 1,” Cryogen boldly declared at LCS media day.

Big thinking like that is par for the course for the Maryville phenom. When asked about what lies ahead for Cryogen at the next level, Coach Niles left little room for interpretation. “He wants to be the best support in America.” Niles warns. “And he’s got the skill to do it.”

Luu’s leapfrogging of the developmental challenger league is sure to spark skepticism, but make no mistake, he is undoubtedly one of North America’s finest supports and as strong a candidate as any to fill the vacancy Busio left behind. As the first, and currently lone, Division ONE promotion to the LCS, he will look to forge a path that soon, others such as Dignitas stand-in and Winthrop AD Carry David ‘Mobility’ Rigley will hope to follow.