Kt Rolster vs SKT T1. LoL fans all know about the historical  significance of this matchup. In 2017, victory was on SKT T1’s side; this year, the two clashed once more on the 2018 Spring split playoffs. This time things went a different way.

With the veteran Go “Score” Dong-bin showing off some of his talents, the ticket for the third round of the season playoffs went to kt Rolster. Let’s see what he had to say about his dream of finally ‘achieving Buddhahood’ in the interview below.

Note: ‘Achieving Buddhahood’ - a metaphor referring to ‘Score’ finally winning an LCK title.

Q. This win led kt Rolster to the third round playoffs. How does it feel to be a step closer to the finals?

The matchup against SKT T1 took a toll on my nerves because they always showed competitiveness during the postseason. We’ve won and I’m glad our team showed a quality performance.


Q. Frankly speaking, you were subbed in during a rather unfavorable situation. Your team was trailing 0-1. Did you feel nervous about this at all?

I thought the six of us were performing brilliantly. If we’d just cut down on some of our mistakes, I was confident that we would win.


Q. You’re Smite was always on time throughout sets 2, 3 and 4. You were godlike with your smite. Were you confident?

I was thinking that I had to show my real talents, so that’s what I did. (laughter)


Q. Your signature pick, Gragas finally showed up on the rift after quite a long time. Actually, Gragas isn’t a meta pick in the jungle these days. Was this prepared beforehand?

The Manager and coach recommended Gragas. Kang “Ambition” Chan-yong was using Gragas and I felt that it was a decent pick. I practiced a few times and used him in the match. (Q. Wow… You’ve only practiced it a few times?) Well, I don’t need any practice when using Gragas.(laughter)


Q. You’ve always been using ‘Hillbilly Gragas’. But today you used a different skin, ‘Arctic Ops Gragas’.

I’ve been using only ‘Hillbilly Gragas’... I tried out the new skin because I thought it suited me well.


Q. You’ve been playing alongside Heo "PawN" Won-suk for a long time. These days you’re teamed up with the rookie, Son “Ucal” Woo-hyeon. How would you rate your chemistry with ‘Ucal’?

Son “Ucal” Woo-hyeon and I actually make a good team. Besides that, Ucal performs well all by himself, so there’s nothing to worry about.


Q. On your livestream, You’ve often been using the new champion ‘Kai’Sa’ in the jungle position. Is it a good pick? Any possibilities of using it in a real match?

‘Kai’Sa’ jungle is a pick that can be used in specific conditions, so I’m not that sure if it is good pick. I think a lot of ‘Master Yi’ fans use this champion. It is similar to picking ‘Teemo’ in an official match.


Q. Now the finals are getting closer and closer; you won the ‘KeSPA Cup’ and it seems like the team is in a better mood compared to last year. Do you think you can finally ‘achieve Buddhahood’ this year?

Woo-hyeon(Ucal) said that he’ll help me ‘achieve Buddhahood’... It feels like he really means it, so I think I can.


Q. You have one obstacle left before heading to the finals, which is the match against Afreeca Freecs. Any comments about heading to the third round playoffs?

We’ve shown some good performance in the last game against Afreeca Freecs, so they’ll be on the lookout for a win. Whether Lee “Rush” Yoon-jae starts or I start, I’m confident the team will get a win.