The two teams playing in the 2022 LCK Spring finals have been finalized. T1 was the first ones to punch their tickets into the finals after a dominant 3-0 victory over Kwangdong Freecs, while Gen.G took a 3-2 victory over DWG KIA, with game 5 arguably being the biggest comeback victory of the split. The finals is slated to take place on Apr 2, and it’ll also mark the first time in over two years since the live audience returned to the finals stage.

After T1’s victory over KDF, mid laner Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok and head coach Choi “Polt” Seung-hun spoke about their victory, as well as their thoughts on the upcoming finals.

It was a clean 3-0. How do you both feel about the victory and moving to the finals?

Faker: I’m very satisfied that I’m playing in the finals again, and also happy that I 3-0’d tonight.

Polt: It feels that we’ve been able to showcase what we’ve prepared tonight, so I’m very satisfied.

[To Faker] How do you feel about being the mid laner for the All-LCK First Team?

I don’t hold too much meaning about it, because in the end, winning the championship is what really matters. I think it’s the result of having good teammates and performing well with them.

Oner was the only one who wasn’t a part of the All-LCK First Team. How did he react? Was he disappointed?

Faker: After seeing the announcement, he was unhappy to the point where he didn’t speak for the day. However, he was back to normal the next day [laughter].

Tonight, you played Vex twice into FATE’s Leblanc. Is the matchup easy for Vex? Tell me more about the matchup.

Faker: Vex is a champion that really depends on the players’ master over her. I believe that she can have priority as long as you don’t make a mistake.

Unlike game 1 and 2, where T1 took a dominant victory over KDF, there were moments in game 3 where T1 staggered. 

Faker: The enemy’s team composition had champions that were good at defense. It was much harder to snowball the game due to our opponents being really good at defense past the mid-game mark.

What personally impressed me in game 3 was when the team went back in to kill the enemy Xayah after losing the fourth dragon. Who made the call?

Faker: Keria was able to catch the moment when the enemy got complacent. When he’s on engage champions like Nautilus, Keria’s really good at finding the angles to go in. Just like he did tonight.

What’s the secret behind T1’s fast tempo and the team’s ability to snowball the game very quickly?

Faker: There are a lot of games where we manage to snowball in the early-mid game, and that comes from my teammates knowing their power spikes really well. I think it’s all possible due to how confident the team is in the plays they make. 

Polt: The players are very good at finding the plays they need to make in the game. If I really had to choose something they need to work, I’d say that they sometimes get complacent when they’re massively ahead.

[To Faker] It was recently announced that Kim “kkOma” Jeong-gyun was appointed as head coach for Team Korea in the upcoming Asian Games. How do you think you’ll feel if you get to work with him again in Team Korea?

It’s been a long time since I worked with kkOma, so it’ll be quite a trip down memory lane. It’s also really fun to work with new players, so if I do get to play for Team Korea, it’ll be a very memorable competition.

Obviously for Faker, playing in the finals isn’t anything new, but for Polt, this is your first finals as a head coach. I’m curious if anything about your mindsets changed for this split.

Faker: Not much has changed, because I’ve always prepared hard for every finals that I played in. This split, our team played very well throughout the regular split, so I’d say that I feel more eager to ultimately win the championship.

Polt: The last time I went was the 2021 Summer finals, so as the head coach this split, I’m preparing even harder to win this split.

What does T1 need to work on for the finals?

Faker: We don’t have that many practice partners until the finals, so I think it’s important to organize all the data and experience that we’ve gathered until this point. Maintaining our form and physical condition is our number one priority.

Polt: Our coaching staff will work incredibly closely to maintain our players’ form. It’ll be up to us to analyze our opponent, and to help maintain their best condition until the finals.

Lastly, is there anything you’d like to say to your fans?

Faker: There’s about a week left until the finals, so I’ll make sure to prepare well to perform better than I did in the playoffs.

Polt: We’ve made it this far, so we’ll make sure to win the finals. Thank you.