On day 36 of the 2022 LCK Summer split, Liiv SANDBOX was finally able to overcome DWG KIA. DWG KIA’s game plan was formulated around their top side players, their primary win condition. However, it was Kim “Dove” Jae-yeon that shut them down, as he not only managed to shut down Jang “Nuguri” Ha-gwon on both on a tank and a carry champion, he also knew what he had to do to aid in his team’s victory in teamfights.

The following is a post-match interview with Dove.

Not only did LSB finally manage to take the victory over DWG KIA after 11 consecutive match losses against them, the team locked their spot in the playoffs and 3rd place in the standings.

After I returned to LSB, tonight was the first time we beat DWG KIA. The team also continued to lose against DWG KIA during that time. They were like this huge wall we couldn’t overcome, so I’m thrilled to finally be able to do it.

After LSB’s loss against Nongshim RedForce, LSB continues to knock down the teams competing for the playoffs spot. What has the team realized after the loss?

No matter how much we thought about it, our plays were really messy. Rather than focusing on one particular reason behind our loss, we felt that we simply played poorly. We reminded ourselves of how we always played, and practiced to regain that form. If we did, we felt we could beat the other teams.

The players who received the POG points all said that your in-game calls were spot on tonight.

Simply put, tank champions can play altruistically. The carries have to be selfish, because they need more time to scale. When I played carry champions, I couldn’t make these calls. I don’t exactly know how good my calls were, but things turned out well.

What was the game plan against Nuguri tonight?

We decided to ban Gnar in both game 1 and 2. We expected him to pick Gwen in game 2, so we planned and executed a certain matchup plan against his Gwen. The top lane matchups aren’t that different, so it wasn’t hard to plan the way we wanted it to.

What can you tell us about the tank vs tank matchup, just like the one we saw in game 1?

Nowadays, I tend to play a lot of tank champions. The matchups against another tank in the top lane feels very comfortable. I feel that when I play tanks, I can be more useful to the team compared to other top laners. Choi “Zeus” Woo-je’s really good on tanks; I’m confident I'm better than other top laners on tanks except for Zeus.

You have a perfect record on Ornn. Why is your win rate so high on Ornn?

Ornn’s a highly contested pick. The team’s color really dictates how much a tank champion can be useful. It depends on how the other teammates plan out fights and skirmishes. Ornn fits our team colors very well, and I feel just as comfortable on other tanks as well.

DWG KIA focused their resources heavily in the top lane in game 2. What was your game plan against it?

Before the start of the game, coach Joker told me to switch my summoner spells to Flash. Usually, you take TP/Ignite on Sejuani, but because the goal was to survive, I took Flash instead of Ignite. I questioned the decision at first, but I actually managed to survive because I took Flash. It helped to snowball the game and win the game. The summoner spell switch may not seem like much, but it mattered a lot in game 2.

Now that LSB has locked in their spot in the playoffs, how far do you foresee yourself and the team going in the split?

In the end, making it to Worlds is the goal. Our round 1 results were good, so making it to the playoffs was inevitable. We hope to make it to Worlds, and are practicing hard to make it.