On Jan. 28, T1 defeated Nongshim RedForce 2-1 in the 2022 LCK Spring Split. It was their fifth consecutive win as they remained undefeated in the spring season. With the win, they rose to 1st place alongside Gen.G. Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok had a great performance today as he was voted as the Player of the Game for game 1. After the match, he joined the press room to talk to the media.

You’re on a 5-game winning streak. How do you feel?

I feel good that we got five consecutive wins. Since Nongshim RedForce was right behind us, it was a meaningful win.

T1 used to have a hard time early in the season in previous years, but this year, it’s one of the best starts. Why do you think T1’s doing so well from early this year?

One of the reasons would be that our members didn’t change much. Usually, in the spring season, teams that adapt quickly to the new meta tend to spurt ahead. As for us, we have a lot of discussions about the meta. 

Also, in previous seasons, we sometimes met the favorites from the beginning, and it took more time for us to bring up our forms. This time, all of our forms were in good condition from the start. Factors like this all came together well. I believe that’s the reason.

You said that Corki is a rather boring pick, but you picked him first in game 1. What was the reason?

In the LCK, teams prefer champions that aim for the late game. Corki often stands out later in the game, and there haven’t been any teams that dealt well against Corki yet. It’s a good pick overall in the meta, so I picked him first.

Game 2 ended rather earlier than the other two games. What was the problem?

The biggest problem was that we lost big in the Rift Herald teamfight. That turned into a huge snowball.

In game 3, you picked Azir. Bdd is also a great Azir player. Was it a strategic pick or was it to prevent Bdd from playing Azir?

Partially, it was to prevent Bdd from playing Azir, but considering how it went in the first two games, we thought teamfighting would be important in game 3, so we picked Azir.

Polt had said that he wanted to finish the first half of the season undefeated with a 6-game winning streak. Your next opponent is DWG KIA. How do you think it’ll go?

DWG KIA is a team that we really need to win. We just need to prepare well. Since the Lunar New Year’s break is right around the corner, I want to start the break in a good mood.

The team atmosphere should be really good right now. To you, what are your teammates doing well, and what aren’t they doing well?

Right now, everyone’s maintaining their forms well, and they’re all extremely confident in games. That’s very positive right now. On the other hand, as much as they’re confident, sometimes they’re a bit too confident. That sometimes makes the opponent benefit. There’s a lot to improve regarding macro as well.

You brought up macro. Right now, people say that T1 gets stronger the later the game goes. What are your thoughts on this?

Recently, it’s not just us. All teams prefer late-game comps, so we’ve been playing macro aiming for the late game. Up to now, things worked out well in terms of macro, but there are still areas we can and should improve on.

People call you, Chovy, Bdd, and ShowMaker the top 4 mid laners. Right now, the four mid laners’ teams are ranked from 1st to 4th, and LoL fans are saying that the mid lane is the most important in the current meta. Do you agree?

In the current meta, it’s true that the mid lane is the most important. However, the reason the top 4 teams are like this is not only because of the top 4 mid laners, but also their teammates are doing well too.

Any last comments?

Happy Lunar New Year.