On July 11th (KST), in the 2018 LCK Summer Split Round 1 Day 19, Hanwha Life Esports (HLE) defeated kt Rolster (KT) and reached 5th place. HLE bot laner, Gwon “Sangyoon” Sang-yun showed determination to develop and to make the team stronger contenders for the championship.

The following is the post-match interview with Sangyoon.

You defeated KT today and went up to 5th place. How do you feel?

We were good early in the season, but other teams played better, and our rank went down. If we lost today, I would have thought that it’ll be hard to get higher, but now, we can aim for a higher place.

How did you prepare the match against KT during the Rift Rivals?

We didn’t rest and just kept on practicing. When we were watching Rift Rivals, we thought that we want to play there too, and we saw KT’s games, so we were able to prepare to play against their strategy as well. Of course, it’s not that we win if we see their strategy beforehand, but I think we gain a bit of an advantage.

When were you sure that you won in today’s games?

In Game 1, when we got the two kills at top and Lava said that he was ahead, I thought that we’d win. I knew that we'd win Game 2 even before the game started. The comp was an easy win if we don’t die to Talon and if Dr. Mundo doesn’t die.

The performance of Hanwha Life Esports has changed. What’s the reason?

As we got a sponsor, we thought that we need to put in more effort. I think the 10-man roster also has a good effect. Our coaching staff is also doing their best. I think these are the biggest reasons.

You played Ashe-Nami at bot lane today. Can we expect seeing an ADC-Support comp more?

Mostly the AP champs don’t have the initiative in the lane. It’s more convenient to take action first with the ADC champions, so I think the ADC bot lane will prosper again. The meta always goes round and round.

Lucian was picked in the Rift Rivals, which doesn't appear that much in the LCK. What do you think about Lucian?

I don’t play Lucian much. Since I don’t play him much, I don’t know why he appeared often; I’m not sure whether he’s good or not.

Your next opponent is SKT T1. How will you prepare for the match?

We haven’t beat SKT T1 that many times, so we think we’re the underdogs. We’ll be getting rid of that thought first. If we don’t lose the initiative in the ADC position, we’ll be able to win.

Were there any champions that left a deep impression during the Rift Rivals?

Kled is one of those champions I really hate. If this kind of champion gets popular, we need to gather information on him by practicing. (Laughs) Now, any team can make any picks; if they win, that’s the reason they picked that pick. No champion is obligated to go anywhere and winning is the answer now.

Any last comments?

I want to thank the fans that cheer for us. Also to the team office for looking after us so much. We’ll do our best to compete near the top.