On the 8th of July (KST), in the 2018 Rift Rivals, the LPL became the champions with a 3-2 score. This is the second straight championship for the LPL at Rift Rivals; including the recent MSI, the LPL is running ahead on the 2018 international stage.

The following is our interview with the LPL players and coaching staff.

You’ve won the championship again. How do you feel?

RNG Xiaohu: Since we won last time, I wanted to win again this time. I’m very happy that we were able to keep this championship trophy at Dalian, China.

The LPL has won two Rift Rivals championships in a row. How do you think that was possible?

RNG Xiaohu: Personally, I think it was possible because RNG continued to develop.

The Aatrox-Vladimir lane swap was impressive. Was it improvised?

RNG Xiaohu: I think Aatrox and Vladimir are the best champions in this version. We wanted to take both champions first, and then decide which position to play them according to the opponent’s composition. We were going to pick them against SKT, but coach Lee Gwan-hyeong didn’t give us a chance. (Laughs) So we hid them until the last match.

You played a very important match where the LPL could’ve lost. Weren’t you nervous?

RW Mouse: I wasn’t that nervous because I have a lot of experience. However, my teammates were rather nervous, so I talked them through it.

You died at an important moment in the last match. How was that situation?

RNG Xiaohu: That was clearly my mistake. I’m very sorry to my teammates.

You weren’t able to play in the last match last year. How did it feel to play in the last match representing the LPL?

RNG Xiaohu: Last year, WE had better team play. It was regretful that we weren’t able to play. Personally, I was in better form at that time, so it was more regretful. I’m happy that the others had faith in our team this time.

How do you feel after becoming a champion at Rift Rivals?

EDG iBoy: I’m really happy that we won. RW and RNG did well after we lost. I was moved because all the other teams did so well.

Aside from your own team, which team had the best performance today?

RW Coach Steak: RNG, who won both of their matches today, showed the best performance.

iG Coach Kim Jeong-soo: RW and RNG did well today. It’s hard to pick one.

EDG Head Coach NoFe: RW did.

RNG Coach Lee Gwan-hyeong: RW got us an important victory.

RNG Coach Son “Kezman” Dae-young: I think EDG and iG were very tired today. (Laughs)

All LPL teams picked the Red Team, but why did you pick the Blue Team in the last match?

RNG Coach Lee Gwan-hyeong: I think our players like the Blue team.

Do you think the LPL is the strongest now?

RNG Xiaohu: At this point, we can say that we’re the best in Asia. Still, Worlds is important, and we’ll need to wait and see if we’ll be able to win there.

Did you anticipate the order of the LCK’s lineup?

RNG Head Coach Kezman: We really weren’t able to predict Game 1. We thought that SKT would come in Game 2 and Afreeca Freecs in Game 3 as well. Well, actually, we thought Afreeca would play Game 1, but we were wrong. (Laughs) It was hard to predict the last match.