On Sep. 1, in the 2022 LCK Regional Qualifiers, DWG KIA defeated Liiv SANDBOX 3-1 and clinched the #3 seed from the LCK. In the match, Jang “Nuguri” Ha-gwon played in all three games that DWG KIA won and contributed to the team’s victory. After the match, Nuguri joined Inven Global for a brief chat.

How would you evaluate the whole summer?

It was regretful. During the regular season, I was always sorry to the fans. There were too many games that we underperformed. My own performance and our performance as a team were both disappointing, so the results weren’t as good. There are so many regrets this season.

There still should have been something good about the season.

Well, I played with my old teammates again, so the way we know each other well was good. The way that we knew each other, even without saying anything, was good.

How did taking a break during spring work out for you?

I was able to refresh myself. Maybe I should have done something more meaningful. [Laughs] I just stayed at home, not doing much.

In today’s match, the blue side won all games except for game 4. Looking at the results around the world, it seems that the blue side is advantageous. What do you think?

I think there are some champions that you must ban on the red side. When we discuss the draft, it gets hard on the red side. There are many champions that the blue side can take as their first pick — some might say that the red side can take two good picks, but sometimes two champions create counter-synergy. Thinking about all those things, the blue side is more convenient to draft.

You’ve secured your fourth consecutive Worlds ticket. How do you feel about that?

It was really difficult this year, compared to other years. [Laughs] I feel a bit numb. I don’t know why, but I feel more desperate to win this year. Maybe because it was so difficult getting here. I want to show a great performance at Worlds this year, since I didn’t perform as well up to now. I want to work hard so that we can get good results.

Are there any players or teams that you’d like to meet at Worlds?

I'd like to meet Top Esports and Gen.G at Worlds. I think it’ll be fun playing against TES since they’re really good at playing the LPL style. Gen.G is also extremely strong, so I also want to improve our performance so that we can meet and beat them.

There’s only one ticket left to Worlds from the LCK. Which team do you think would make it?

Honestly, I really don’t know. They’re all similar. I wouldn’t be surprised if any of them makes it. They all have a chance.

Any last comments?

It’s an honor to go to Worlds again at DWG KIA with such great teammates. I’ll show a good performance there. There were a lot of ups and downs this season, but thanks to all the cheers and support, we made it to Worlds. Well, our results weren’t worthy of all the support… All I can say is thank you. We’ll get better results that are worthy of your support.