We interviewed FlyQuest’s top-lane rookie Gakgos about his signing, while FLY president PapaSmithy elaborates on their next “super talent.”
We talked with FlyQuest's newest signee for their League of Legends team, İbrahim "Gakgos" Samet Bulut. The rookie top-laner will have his tier-1 debut in the League of the Americas (LTA) North. See what Gakgos and FlyQuest president Christopher "PapaSmithy" Smith have to say about the move.
From LFL Division 2 to LTA North
At 17 years old, the Turkish top-laner Gakgos has a little over a year's worth of professional League of Legends experience under his belt. His pro career began in January 2024 with mCon esports, then NASR Turkey until December 2024. This year, he was picked up by Project Conquerors in the Ligue Française de League of Legends (LFL) Division 2.
PCS closed out the season in second place, after which Gakgos was contacted by FlyQuest. "It was like... March 11 [when] I first got news," Gakgos recalled. "I was so surprised, I was never expecting that. I was so surprised and I was so happy. It was so good."
Now that the signing has been finalized, Gakgos has had time to let it sink in. "I feel excited now, I can't wait to go there and perform. I'm very excited," he said.
Gakgos is not taking up current FLY top-laner Gabriël "Bwipo" Rau's spot — instead, they will share stage time. We saw a similar setup recently from the Pacific team CTBC Flying Oysters (CFO), in First Stand 2025. This six-man roster with two top-laners proved to be successful for CFO, and FlyQuest seems to want to invoke the same success with Bwipo and Gakgos.
"I'm super excited to integrate Gakgos into our systems and let him express himself — both in and out of the League of Legends server," said PapaSmithy.
"Whenever I bring in a super talent, all I want is to give them space to naturally grow and show their true color because I'm certain that fans will see the same brilliance that I have from little snippets of his gameplay."
Gakgos revealed that he has already been receiving coaching sessions from Bwipo. "I'm watching their scrims, and I'm asking questions about it — about the game, about his picks, about the matchup," he said.
In terms of the double top-laner setup, here's what Gakgos had to say:
"It's good if the main top-laner wants it, but if the main top-laner doesn't want it, it's not the best idea. But Bwipo, he's good with that. Our champion pools are different, so we can play different champions in comps. So that will be good for FlyQuest."
Gakgos' most-played champion in pro play is K'Sante, but he told us that his favorite champs are Irelia, Jayce, and Rumble. Meanwhile, Bwipo plays the tankier, bruiser champions like Sion, Urgot, Ambessa, and Renekton. Again, this dynamic and difference in champion preference mirrors that of the CFO top-laners Hsu "Rest" Shih-Chieh and Shen "Driver" Tsung-Hua.
While he wasn't watching LTA North at all before, Gakgos told us that he has made an effort to watch more games from the region. "After [I got] the news, I'm trying to watch every game, but there is a really big time difference, so it's night time for me when they play live," Gakgos says. "I'm sleeping when they're playing, but I'm trying to watch every game after the day, in the morning." The LTA North live broadcast runs from 11 p.m. to around 4 a.m. in Turkey, where Gakgos currently resides.
As Gakgos joins FlyQuest, he will also be ushered onto the biggest stage he has ever been on in his entire career. FLY has built a solid fan base throughout its years in the LCS (now LTAN). To this, Gakgos said, "I think for me it's too early to ask for fan support, but I will do everything in my power to earn the respect and support of the fans!"
Related articles
PapaSmithy on FlyQuest's rookie pipeline
Speaking more with PapaSmithy, he detailed his thought process behind the pickup and his philosophy in leading FlyQuest.
"One of the things I'm the most sure about when it comes to integrating a talented rookie is to build a roster and team culture around the rookie player rather than the other way around," PapaSmithy said.
"When we put together our 2024 roster, the foundational pieces were a rookie AD carry in Fahad "Massu" Abdulmalek and a sophomore support in Alan "Busio" Cwalina. Our statured veterans Bwipo and Kacper "Inspired" Słoma knew they were joining a project with talented players hungry to learn but short on experience and opted into that, which means when teething problems happened for the bot lane, Bwipo and Inspired bought in further in helping raise them up rather than focusing on their current shortcomings."
FLY's current AD carry Massu went through their Academy and Challengers pipeline. He then took the international stage by storm with his impressive performances and took FlyQuest to a quarterfinal finish in Worlds 2024. He was also the LCS Rookie of the Year in 2024.
"What sets Gakgos apart from other top-laners is his ability to process information under pressure. In a teamfight situation, he can read the current state of all 10 members in a fight instantly and be ahead of every fight situation before anyone else on the server. This natural ability to "read the game" at his tender age is unprecedented. It's an X-factor that as he gains experience, and fundamentals will allow him to reign supreme over his competition."
Gakgos' and FlyQuest's hopes
Apart from League of Legends, Gakgos is also high-ranked in VALORANT. According to him, he's a one-trick Jett player at Immortal 3. When asked if he would ever consider a professional career in VALORANT, he responded, "Oh. I'm not interested. I'm playing this game for fun. I think League’s competitive [scene] is 10 times better than VALORANT's. There is so much pressure when playing VALORANT, but League is more chill."
We also asked Gakgos if there was a particular LTA North team he's looking to go up against. He responded with a succinct, "I think there's three or four good teams with FlyQuest, but I like mostly 100 Thieves’ gameplay."
However, when we mentioned the League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC) teams and players, he replied with vigor. "I want to play against Kim "Canna" Chang-dong in an international [event]. He's the best player in LEC right now. I'm a bit scared of him, but I want to play against him also. So, I will say Karmine Corp."
He also opened up about his association with GIANTX top-laner Eren "Lot" Yıldız. "I've been working with him for like one year. I want to play against him too. He's my teacher."
As for PapaSmithy, his hope for Gakgos is simple. "Europe is going to wonder how they let the best top-laner in the West get away and rue the day that FlyQuest signed Gakgos!" he said.
