On day 13 of the 2022 LCK Summer split, T1 took a commanding 2-0 victory over DRX in the second match of the day. Despite their massive 24-match win streak having come to a sudden halt at the hands of Kwangdong Freecs in their last match, T1 came back strong, and managed to shut out DRX to gain their 25th win of the season.

The following is a post-match interview with Moon “Oner” Hyeon-joon.

Thoughts on the victory tonight?

It sucks that our win streak came to an end last match, but I’m relieved that we shut out DRX 2-0.

The massive win streak suddenly came to a halt against Kwandong Freecs. Many say that KDF prepared well for the series.

We didn’t expect KDF to pick those champions. I believe the reason why our win streak came to a halt was because they simply prepared much better than we did.

What were some of the problems that the team faced in that series against KDF?

Rather than having a huge problem, we simply didn’t know about the Seraphine pick. As for the feedback, we discussed the small mistakes that we made in that series.

In the Western community, some say that T1’s drafts are stuck in the past, with picks like Xin Zhao, for example, that focus a lot in the early game. How is the team approaching the draft?

We don’t think our drafts are stuck in the past. To talk a bit more about the Xin Zhao pick, for example, we had to get priority in other lane picks, so he was more of a secondary choice. I don’t think our drafts are behind the meta.

You were named POG [Player of the Game] for both game one and two. How do you rate your own performance tonight?

I’d give it a seven [out of 10]. I missed a lot of skillshots when I was fed. I think I was a bit nervous tonight. I didn’t have a particular reason why I was nervous, but for some reason, I was.

Your synergy with Zeus especially shone this series. It feels like it is even better than before. What’s the secret behind it?

He’s someone I’ve been playing with for a long time, and since he’s constantly improving, it feels like I’m also improving as well. 

I want to talk a bit about Lee Sin. Historically, even if it wasn’t a meta pick, players in Korea consistently picked him. In the current meta, where late-game scaling comps thrive, some say that Lee Sin doesn’t really fit in the current meta. What are your thoughts on this matter?

After he received buffs to his base AD, I feel that he doesn’t fall behind other AD junglers. As long as he’s utilized well, I don’t think he falls behind champions like Wukong and Viego.

What kind of plays does Lee Sin need to make in order to thrive in the current meta?

I think it’s important that he needs to be positioned so that he can threaten the enemy carries.

Most pro junglers can proficiently play Lee Sin to a certain degree. As a Lee Sin player, where do you think you rank among the other pros?

I think it varies depending on how he’s played. I want to say that I’m currently the best Lee Sin player. However, depending on the playstyle, there might be someone better than I am.

Bel’Veth is out. Have you practiced her at all? What are your thoughts on the champion?

I haven’t in scrims, but I have faced her in solo queue a couple of times. I think she’s a very snowbally champion, where if she gets kills, she’ll steamroll, but she’s weak if she doesn’t get kills. With enough practice, I think she can definitely be viable. Once she becomes available in pro play, I think she might immediately make an appearance in pro play.

They say that every team in the world watches T1’s games to learn from them and practice based on that data. Do you feel pressure knowing your opponents might have analyzed T1 to the bone?

We also analyzed the teams that we face to the bone, so no.

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

It’s my 500th game coming up really soon. I can’t believe that it’s already been that long, but it feels really good to have hit that milestone already, and I'm very grateful to the fans that took care of me. I hope to spend many more days as pro with the fans.