On Jul. 21, in the 2023 LCK Summer Split, Dplus KIA faced Fredit BRION. After a full three-game series, Dplus KIA rose victorious. It was Fredit BRION who took the first strike as they won without allowing any deaths, but Dplus KIA came back in the following two games to secure their ninth win of the season. After the match, top laner Kim “Canna” Chang-dong and bot laner Kim “Deft” Hyuk-kyu joined Yoon Su-bin for a POG interview.

Congrats on the win. You got revenge for the first round. How do you feel?

Deft: It doesn’t really feel like revenge since I didn’t play when we lost in round 1. Since we lost like that, we needed to keep our cool, and I’m happy that we did.

Canna: It was difficult when we lost game 1. Today’s match was really important in the race for 3rd place as the result could affect our performance afterward, but I’m happy that we won.

Although you lost game 1, you showcased the Yasuo-Diana comp. How did you come to pick the comp?

Canna: ShowMaker practiced it often recently, and he was really good. He was really confident, so we tried it today.

It was against Lilia and Tristana. How was it facing them? What did you discuss afterward?

Canna: We made a mistake early in that game. We just said that we shouldn’t play difficult and play an easier comp in games 2 and 3.

Five kills in game 2 came from the bot lane. What did you discuss during the first dive?

Deft: We could have made a cleaner dive if we focused on Rakan first, but we had a communication mistake, and it went a bit more difficult. It shouldn’t have been that close.

You still successfully executed the following dives. Why did you focus on the bot lane?

Deft: The Jinx vs. Aphelios matchup needs some care. Since we saw the opponent jungler’s position well through wards in the early game, we played more aggressively.

The opponent picked Zeri in game 3. It was the second time Zeri appeared in this patch. Did you predict they would pick Zeri and Rell?

Deft: There were a lot of bot bans, so it was odd to see any bot champion. I didn’t expect them to pick Zeri, but it was good for me.

How was it facing them?

Deft: It’s difficult to win a game with Zeri [in this patch]. I don’t think it’s good.

(To Canna) You picked Jax in game 3 and banned him in games 1 and 2. Do you think Jax is a top-tier pick?

Canna: Not that Jax is a top-tier pick for us, we consider what would be difficult to face depending on that day’s comp when we place our bans.

Did you plan to play a comp with a high ceiling in game 3?

Canna: There are many different compositions to win a game. Some have to snowball from early, and there are the late-game high-ceiling comps. We made a comp that doesn’t lose in lane early in the game, while having a lane with or without the initiative, making it well-balanced.

(To Deft) You played Varus. It was the first time you picked it this summer. What was the focus?

Deft: As I said earlier, there were many bot bans. I picked Varus since I can use it in many different ways depending on the build.

Your next match is against Kwangdong Freecs. How do you think it’ll go?

Deft: Kwangdong Freecs faced Gen.G yesterday, and they were really good. We need to prepare well. If we want to prepare for the playoffs and win the championship in the end, our performance is really important. We’ll prepare well.

Canna: I also watched their match yesterday. Kwangdong Freecs had a good flow, and they were so close. They could have won. They’re really good, so we’ll be back well prepared.