Back from the bench, Ibrahim "Fudge" Allami is ready to return to the Summoner's Rift, embracing the changes brought by the newly rebranded League of Legends Championship of The Americas North (LTA North). Now representing Shopify Rebellion, the Australian toplaner aims to make an impact and recapture the heights he once reached with Cloud9, focusing on steady improvement alongside his new team. In an exclusive interview, Fudge shares his thoughts on his return to the Americas, his goals for the league, a potential rivalry against Cloud9, and Kendrick Lamar's latest album.

You’ve got a big smile on your face—I'm sure you're happy to be here. How does it feel to be back?

Ibrahim "Fudge" Allami: "It feels weird to be called the toplaner for Shopify Rebellion, and then, being in the LTA North also feels strange...

It's like if you had a coma after spring, woke up, and just went, "Where did the LCS go?"

Fudge: It feels fresh, and I’m excited. I’m excited to play on a new team, and also excited to play in the LCS... or well, rather, the LTA North.

What made you sign with Shopify Rebellion so quickly, especially when other top lane spots were still available in the LTA?

Fudge: The main thing was their belief in me. They were very adamant about getting me, and I was pretty much their only main option in the offseason, which made me feel like this is a team that wants me, that will help me, and knows what they want. Some teams are talking to every single top laner available and don’t really know what the hell they’re doing. Obviously, there were other teams that were possible options, but also, Reven is the head coach, and I’ve worked with him before. I’m pretty close with him, and I was happy to work with him. I think he was also a big reason why I wanted to join Shopify. So, as soon as we got the right contract, I was happy to sign and agree.

Since you joined early, did you have any influence on the final roster, being one of the first players to sign?

Fudge: I had some impact. I think most of it was Reven (Seong Sang-hyeon) and heavenTime (Simon Jeon), our manager, making the calls, but I was pretty happy with all the options they presented to me. I just gave my preferences, and they decided based on their conversations with the players. I’m pretty happy with how our roster ended up. Obviously, I’ve worked with Palafox (Cristian Palafox) before in Academy at C9 in 2020, and I thought Contractz (Juan Garcia) was a really good option. Out of all the options we had, I think he was the best choice. I also think Bvoy (Ju Yeong-hoon) and Ceos (Denilson Oliveira Gonçalves) are really good, so I was happy with our entire roster.

Since the leaked screenshots came out, I have to ask: Palafox or Yasin "Nisqy" Dinçer?

Fudge: I mean, we were going to choose Nisqy before Palafox, so I feel like it would be disingenuous to say Palafox. But obviously, if Nisqy wasn’t 100% certain about coming and had some issues with it—and I don’t know exactly what were the reasons—well it's better that way and we obviously have Palafox now. So, we’re going to win with Palafox.

You signed with Shopify Rebellion until the end of 2026. Where do you see yourself in the next few years? Do you see yourself staying with SR and becoming their franchise player?

Fudge: Yeah, I mean, I see Shopify as a really good org. I think they're really well-managed, and they have great infrastructure as well. We have a really nice facility, great apartments, and we get treated really well as players. So, I see myself playing with them. Obviously, we’ll see how the year goes and the next year as well, but I see myself staying with SR in the near and far future.

You're probably going to face Cloud9 soon, and you'll be up against the player who replaced you, Park "Thanatos" Seung-gyu. Do you feel a bit of a grudge or like you have something to prove when facing them?

Fudge: I definitely feel like I have something to prove. I don't really feel a big grudge or anything. I'm not on bad terms with any of them, and honestly, when it comes to Thanatos, I don’t really think about him much when it comes to Cloud9. When I think about playing against Cloud9, it’s more like, "Oh yeah, I’m playing against Blaber, Zven, and Vulcan," (Robert Huang, Jesper Svenningsen and Philippe Laflamme) you know? So, I think it’ll be fun. It’ll definitely be a lot of fun. I'd guess the expectations are that we’re going to lose against them. C9 is definitely considered a pretty good roster, and I’m sure we’ll be the underdogs going into the game against them. But, it’s going to be a big deal for me, and hopefully, we make an upset happen.

Last year, Shopify Rebellion was like the blue shell of the LCS, beating top teams. With a stronger roster on paper now, what do you think is the ceiling for this team?

Fudge: Well, I think we're pretty good as individual players. Ceos is obviously really, really good. In Brazil, he was considered one of the best supports. Bvoy also got first-team All-Pro last split. And obviously, me, Contractz, and Palafox have all won. Contractz and Palafox won on NRG, and everyone thought they were the underdogs, but then they just won straight up at the end of the season, obviously against me, which is kind of funny. And yeah, clearly, I’ve played for quite a long time and have won many times. Everyone has the potential to be really, really good. So, I think right now, we still have a lot to work on. We have a lot to improve on from scrims, and there are still many things we’re not doing well as a team and individually. But I definitely think we have a very good shot at being a top-four, top-three team right now.

Do you have a specific goal for yourself by the end of this year?

Fudge: I don't have a specific goal. I just want to improve and be considered the best. Obviously, I want to win—that's an obvious goal, right? Like, every single player will say they want to win. But for me, I think the only thing that's really on my mind is just improving, because I think that’s what’s going to lead to the wins and everything you really want as a player: just focusing on yourself and improving.

When you were benched from Cloud9, there were a lot of negative narratives going around, with people saying you didn’t work hard enough or were slacking. Did you see any of that? What are your thoughts?

Fudge: I don't read Reddit anymore, but yeah, I'm sure that was the narrative. People will always come up with crazy stories. No matter what you do, there's going to be either an overly positive or negative narrative about you. For example, in 2021, when I played well at MSI, everyone was like, "Oh my God, Fudge is the best player." The reality was, I wasn't actually that good. It’s just that people push a narrative, and everyone else starts believing it. You believe what you see—even subconsciously, your brain just absorbs it, and then you start thinking it too.

So, obviously, all the people saying I'm really bad aren't doing it because they watched every VOD closely, saw all the little mistakes I made in lane, and thought, "Oh yeah, this guy's not very good." No one commenting on Reddit is watching the games that closely or is above diamond. So, I try to block out all these narratives. I don’t let it affect me. I avoid it because, no matter how confident you are in yourself, if you see it, it will affect you. I just focus on myself.

Is 2025 going to be the return of the Fudge factor?

Fudge: It definitely will be.

I know you're a big Kendrick Lamar fan. What are your thoughts on his latest album? And do you have a favorite track?

Fudge: I really like his latest album. Favorite track, I mean, it's kind of mainstream, but "Luther" I think was the best one. I think SZA also kind of carried that song, to be honest with you. I don't think it was his best album, but I still thought it was really good. And yeah, I'm on the Kendrick Lamar train—Kendrick's better than Drake, of course, as everyone already knows. Funnily enough, his concert is happening on May 23rd, which is my birthday, and also the day before playoffs start for the second split of playoffs. I was like, damn, I want to get these tickets, and then I saw the date and I was like, oh, that sucks.

Yeah, that's a dilemma—getting drunk before playoffs starts…

Fudge: I don’t have to drink, but it's like, you're kind of like, you know, you're not focusing on your playoff game if it happens.

Do you have something you want to say to the fans before we finish?

Fudge: Please support me. I'm a good friend with your boy LEC Wooloo. So please, you know, be friendly with me too, you know. Thank you very much for watching or reading this piece. Shopify is gonna win. We win it. Let's go.

We'll probably see you in Vancouver for MSI, we hope you make it there.

Fudge: I am making it. We'll see you there."