On Apr. 3rd, DWG KIA was able to take the clean 3-0 victory against Hanwha Life Esports in the first semifinal match of the 2021 LCK Spring split playoffs. With tonight’s victory over HLE, DWG KIA now heads to the grand finals, where they’ll face the winners of the second semifinal match between T1 and Gen.G.

Kim “Canyon” Geon-bu, the jungler for DWG KIA, joined Inven Global for a post-match interview.

Congratulations on the 3-0 sweep. Thoughts on the victory? Did you expect the 3-0 victory?

Although I didn’t expect the clean 3-0 victory, I’m still happy about the win tonight. However, there are still things that we need to review and fix, so we’ll need to work hard to prepare for the finals.

What are some of the specifics that the team prepared for tonight’s match?

Our mindset has always been to work hard and have no regrets until the very end, so there wasn't anything in particular that the team prepared for tonight.

With Kim “kkOma” Jeong-gyun having so much experience in Bo5s, has the team’s preparation process for this series changed at all?

Not much has changed, but kkOma has a very good job in preparing our drafts, and was quick to recalibrate when necessary.

I also want to get your reaction on being named the Regular Split MVP. 

I’m incredibly honored. I think the reason why I was able to receive this award was all due to my teammates doing well, so I was lucky enough to receive the spotlight. I’m very grateful towards my teammates.

Cho’Gath has been picked in the bot lane in game 3. I know that it’s a bot lane that’s been up and coming in the LEC; where would you rate Cho’Gath in the meta right now?

We watched Cho’Gath be utilized as a flex pick in the LEC, so I think that the versatility makes him quite okay. However, I’m still unsure whether or not it’s very good just yet.

Experts in the West say that Cho’Gath can be flexed into multiple roles, with some even saying that it’s viable as a jungler and a bot laner. Is there a chance that we’ll get to see Cho’Gath in the jungle from DWG KIA in the foreseeable future?

(Laughter) I really don’t think Cho’Gath jungle will work. Although I haven’t tried it yet, I feel that his clear speed will be slow, and in terms of ganks… hmm… Do I have to take Predator? I’m quite not sure how well it’ll do in the jungle.

In patch 11.6, Xin Zhao received a mini rework to his kit. What is your overall assessment of the changes to Xin Zhao? I know that it’s found some play time in the LPL, so do you think that he’s competitively viable?

His engages have become a lot easier, and his ult duration has increased, so in theory, I think he’ll be really good in teamfights. However, his clear speed isn’t as fast as other meta junglers right now, so I think it’ll be a situationally viable pick.

The DWG Worlds skins have finally been revealed. How satisfied are you with the overall quality of the skins?

I had a chance to see how it looks like in-game, and I’m very satisfied with the end result. From the splash art to how it looks in-game, I love everything about it.

T1 and Gen.G will face off tomorrow, with DWG KIA facing the winners in the finals. How do you rate the current forms of the two teams?

They’re both very good teams, and both teams’ bot lanes are very strong, so I feel that the team with the better bot lane will win. No matter which team wins, I think that it’ll be a very close series. I’m predicting a 3-1 or 3-2.

If you could choose between the two teams, which team would you prefer to face, and why?

We lost to Gen.G in round 2, so I want to face Gen.G in the finals and get the ultimate revenge.

The last time we chatted, you said that the team’s at 70% of being ‘MSI-ready’. Where would you say the team’s at now?

I’d say that we’ve improved slightly since then, so I’d say that we’re at 75%.

If DWG KIA wins this split, the team will become two-time consecutive LCK champions. Please share your resolutions for the finals for the fans.

I want to thank all the fans for their support, and I’ll make sure to work hard to win this split’s finals,