In the 2018 LCK Spring Split held on March 15th (KST), Afreeca Freecs (AFs) delivered near-perfect performance and defeated Jin Air Green Wings (JAG) 2-1. In today’s match, AFs picked champions that didn’t appear that often like Nocturne, Jinx and Anivia.

In game 1, AFs quick macro was impressive. They started rolling the snowball from the bottom lane. They countered JAG’s dive at top lane and took the drakes and Herald. With the initiative, AFs took game 1 within 30 minutes.

In game 2, it was neck and neck until the dive trying to kill SoHwan’s Gangplank failed. As Mowgli’s Nocturne died after diving into the tower, JAG were able to take Baron and AFs also lost the teamfight right after that. As a result, JAG won game 2 and tied the game.

As the Nocturne pick wasn’t that successful, AFs made even bolder picks. They picked Anivia and Jinx. AFs started to have the lead in the early game in kill score and killed Baron almost as soon as it appeared. With the strong push of AFs, JAG champions fell on after another and AFs confirmed their victory in 23 minutes.

After the match, TusiN, Spirit and coach Lim “Ccomet” Hye-sung were interviewed.

Related: AFs Kuro: "Our team is always open to creative ideas. Anivia was one of those."

Q. You won today, how do you feel?

TusiN: We lost to them in Round 1, so I thought “I should concentrate more to win.” It’s a relief that we won.

Q. Spirit performed well from the bench. How’s your condition?

Spirit: I nearly died because of my cold recently. I got an IV and the team took good care of me so I’m all better now.

Q. As a coach, how would you evaluate the team’s performance today?

Ccomet: I’d say about 8 out of 10. 2 points is because they lost game 2.

Q. TusiN performed well with Tahm Kench in game 1.

TusiN: Kiin said that the opponent is thinking of diving at top lane so I told him to endure the attack until I get there. I switched to Teleport and the result was quite good.

Q. You jumped into a 1v3 situation. Was it an intended play?

TusiN: Tahm Kench is a very tanky champion, so there was no problem in that. I thought that I would be able to kill Camille, and they tried to kill me, so we killed them.

Q. (To Spirit) Were you surprised when TusiN jumped in the middle of the enemies?

Spirit: I was watching from the bench, and I thought “Why?” But he did well after that.

Q. What was the intention for the Nocturne pick in game 2?

Ccomet: We always said that we have about 30 picks left to play in the jungle. We actually do prepare about 15 picks. We didn’t pick Nocturne because the bans were concentrated on the jungle. If Skarner wasn’t able to pick up a kill at bottom lane, it should have been alright, but as he got a kill, it was bad news for our Nocturne.

Q. AFs has a variety of picks. Are you trying to bring in more new picks?

Ccomet: I like the LCS. In the LCS, they pick champions that are good on 1v1s and teamfights without thinking about the macro game. So we just try out the champions and then decide. The coaches all have a open mind and the players have a wide pool of champions so it’s possible.

Q. What did the coaches tell you when you were substituted in game 3?

Spirit: They told me to go out there and win. I thought if we lose, I’m going to be in trouble so I really did my best.

Q. How did you get to pick Anivia and Jinx in game 3?

Ccomet: It was one of the picks that we prepared. This was also from the LCS. They play many good champions that LCK doesn't.

Q. (To TusiN) What do you think of these picks?

TusiN: LCK’s picks are quite standardized. The answers are already there. We think that creative picks are better to win than those stereotyped picks .

Q. Many say that the macro game of AFs is like a machine. Why do you think that is?

Ccomet: The head coach prioritizes basics the most. So everyone tries not to make mistakes. The players maybe greedy to carry, but they also try hard to make clean plays. I think that’s why the macro game is like a machine.

Q. In game 3, there was a dangerous moment at top lane.

Spirit: It became dangerous because I recalled when I shouldn’t. I thought uh-oh but they did well.

Q. Skarner is getting good evaluations. Do you think he’s top tier jungle?

Spirit: If you use him like game 3, he’s good. (Laughs) It depends; he can be top tier, but he also can be a white elephant.

Q. You took Baron which appeared at 20 minutes right away. Who made that call?

Spirit: Normally, Kuro makes those calls. At that time, we already talked about taking Baron as soon as he appears from 5 minutes before he appeared.

Q. How do you think the remaining matches will go?

Ccomet: I think it will go well if we do our best in each match.

Q. As a coach, do you have anything to say to the players?

Ccomet: I know you’re doing your best and you’re tired without much time to rest, but the season’s almost over now. Let’s put in a bit more effort for good results.

Q. Do you have any last comments?

TusiN: We have 3 matches left. It’s impossible for us to become 1st place on our own. It depends on how Kingzone performs. We’ll still do our best to come close to it.

Spirit: Kingzone, please lose all the matches so that we can be first place. Lose as many as you can! (Laughs)

Ccomet: Since Kinzone is really good, I don’t think they’ll lose, but still, I wish they lose.