On day 3 of the 2021 LCK Spring split, DAMWON KIA faced off against T1. Both of these teams have a strange connection with one another, as members on both teams have been a part of each other’s organization at some point in LoL Esports history. This battle of the titans ended in DK’s favor, as they came out on top with a set score of 2-1 against T1.

The two Player of the Game (PoG) for DK, top laner Kim “Khan” Dong-ha, and mid laner Heo “ShowMaker” Su, joined the LCK broadcast for a PoG interview.

Tonight’s match marked the return of Khan in the LCK. How does it feel to return?

Khan: I think a lot has changed since the last time I was in the LCK. This is also the first time where I’m the older brother figure in the team, so it feels good to get carried. It’s a new experience.

We’ve been waiting for your signature sunglasses. Where’d they go?

Khan: (laughter) I only wear those when I’m in a really bad mood, but apart from the small hiccup in tonight’s series, I’m in a pretty good mood.

ShowMaker, you’ve also had many highlight reel moments tonight. Thoughts on the victory?

ShowMaker: I was recently underperforming in scrims and solo queue, so I felt really bad for the team. However, I felt like I stepped up tonight, so it makes me very happy.

After the game 1 loss, the team felt like a different team in game 2 and 3. What kind of feedback came from kkOma?

ShowMaker: We felt like we were just absorbing what they were feeding us, as we got helplessly sucked into their pace, so we fixed our draft and told ourselves to be more confident.

(To Khan) as you’re one of T1’s long-standing enemies, do you think that DK’s win rate against T1 helped you get a victory over them? Did kkOma give you any useful tips?

(To Khan): I felt that whenever I beat T1 in the past, it was all because I carried, but coming into DK and 2021, I feel that I’m getting carried by my team.

It feels that you’re really trying to be careful with what he says in this interview. Is it just you wanting to hurry up and finish this interview because of that exhaustive series?

Khan: Exactly.

(To Khan) You’ve had a great solo kill resulting from a true 1 vs 1. How did you feel when you got the kill, and how did the team react?

Khan: It was such a cutthroat contest in the top lane, that no one even said nice to me, so I’m very disappointed in them. (laughter) Not one of these zoomers recognized the boomer in the top lane wrestling against my opponent. I was very sad. I’m definitely going to gather my teammates to just rewatch that moment.

As people get older, they tend to yearn for compliments. Some may say that the oldest in the team should be the one complimenting, but it’s actually the opposite. Why did you not compliment him, ShowMaker?

ShowMaker: It’s not like he said anything right away. We were positioning ourselves, and five seconds later, I heard him yell, “I GOT HIM!!” (laughter) I wanted to react to his solo kill, but it was a tense moment, so I just said, “You got him? Cool…”

(To Khan) Speaking of the solo-kill, why did you decide to play Gangplank? We were expecting Jayce to be played.

Khan: Jayce also does well into Gnar as well, but I wanted to prove that GP is a great pick into Gnar. And when people start playing GP into my Gnar, I can beat my opponent against the same counterpick. However, things didn’t go how I planned it in my head.

Did you decide to build Essence Reaver into Immortal Shieldbow out of instinct? Or is it an item build that you prepared?

Khan: I once tried this build in scrims, and the build felt really good. I have to use my Q a lot to really get value out of Immortal Shieldbow, but since I don’t really get to use my Q on Gnar a lot, I just wanted a faster paced item build. Essence Reaver felt like the perfect item to accelerate that pace, so I’ve been building it a lot.

(To ShowMaker) Your baron steal in game 2 felt like that moment when you got the baron steal as Syndra last year. You were also against T1 Ellim back then, and if I was in Ellim’s shoes, I’d be fuming.  How did the team react to the steal?

ShowMaker: When Baron was at around 5K health, I saw the blue Smite dropped in the pit, so I told them I was going to steal baron with it. They weren’t that surprised. The weird thing is, I feel like we have a lot of comeback victories against T1. We’re pretty lucky.

Khan: (Thumbs Up)

ShowMaker, you received PoG for game 3. How did you feel when you saw Faker start for the team?

ShowMaker: Both Faker and Clozer are really good players, so I just focused on my own gameplay.

What are your thoughts on him picking all 3 games?

ShowMaker: He’s an incredible Azir player… I want to get good at Azir… I think he played Azir well.

(To Khan) With the bot lane being massively behind, the game felt heavily in T1’s favor. How did the team try to come back from a deficit?

Khan: I’ve never won Worlds, so I wanted to learn how world champions keep their composure when the game feels absolutely helpless. I would’ve lost all hope in such a scenario, but seeing them so mentally strong was the most curious thing to watch, and want to learn their secrets to apply to my own gameplay.

Your next opponents are Nongshim RedForce. Any words of resolution?

Khan: Wang-ho (Peanut), you’re watching this, right? I’m going to kill you.

ShowMaker: I’m sorry, Mr. Peanut. I’m going to ward your raptors.