Post-season dream was kept alive with the today’s victory. On March 25th (KST), ROX Tigers reverse-swept MVP 2-1 in the second matchup of Day 39 of the 2017 LCK Spring Split.

MVP had the early edge in Game 1, thanks to jungle and mid dominance. ROX retaliated by having a strong hold over the toplane, but it wasn’t enough to compensate for the deficit in other lanes. In contesting for Baron, Max on Tahm Kench pulled off a perfect engagement and allowed the team to secure Baron as well as the first game.

Game 2 saw Ian’s Pantheon play, but with less impact than he had hoped. ROX continued to harass Pantheon and gained the midlane dominance. MVP bounced back in top and botlane then successfully burst down Baron. Unfortunately for MVP, it was too late to catch up. As ROX won the teamfight and killed Baron, Mickey’s Talon took the game, tying the series 1-1.

ROX chose an aggressive comp that worked for them in the last game of the series, and MVP’s calm gameplay style was nowhere to be found. At around 21 minutes into the game, ROX instantly secured Baron and won the subsequent teamfight. With over 14K global gold difference, ROX closed out the series in a convincing fashion.

Below is the post-match press interview with Hangi “Key” Kim, who contributed to the team’s victory with flexible Zyra plays on Game 2 and 3.

Any thoughts on the today’s victory?

It feels good because we have to win every remaining match to possibly make it to post-season.

MVP dealt a rather crushing blow in Game 1. How did you recover?

Our mistakes were the root cause of the defeat in Game 1. Our comp lags behind as the game goes on, but we crumbled under the weight of our early mistakes. We talked about how we could come back as long as we didn't make mistakes in the next game.

What did you think when you saw Pantheon as a counter for Talon?

When I first saw him in the draft, I thought we may run into some trouble as he has an edge. That’s why I was a bit baffled to see a level 3 solo kill on him. Granted, I didn’t complain.

Game 3 was pretty one-sided from the start. Did you expect to win comfortably?

I thought we won from the draft phase because the opponent chose Kog’Maw-Zilean comp against our Ashe-Zyra. The enemy had no chance in a 2v2 matchup, and we had global presence comp on top of that. I thought we couldn’t lose.

Throughout the Spring Split, experts have viewed ROX as an inconsistent team. These days, though, you guys seem to have gotten it together. Any thoughts?

Our mid seemed to do well when the bot lane struggled and vice versa. We always had this gaping hole in at least one part of the team, which made games difficult. Recently, the bot lane had some troubles, but I think the team’s getting better as the bot lane’s form is recovering.

With today’s victory, you guys are in the top 8. How would you rate your performance in the first round?

If I’ve played better, we would’ve had an easier time getting to post-season. I’m a little bummed out, but I’ll do my best with the rest of the season even if we don’t make the playoffs.

How do you feel about your remaining matchups against SKT and Samsung?

At face value, I think we don’t lack any considerable aspects against them. I believe whoever makes mistakes will lose.

Anything else you’d like to say?

We have remaining matches against two powerhouse teams, but I’ll do my best to win to make it to post-season.