Leaving behind their poor results in Round 1, SKT T1 is slowly building momentum in Round 2 of the 2018 LCK Summer Split. Today, we met up with SKT's support player, Effort, to hear from him about his recent performance against Gen.G Esports, and the nickname that his fans gave him.

You defeated Gen.G Esports with a score of 2-1. How do you feel?

Since GEN is a very strong team, I wasn't confident, and I was very nervous before the match. I'm very happy that we beat the 2nd place team [at the time]. 


SKT has been performing a lot better in Round 2 when compared to its performance in Round 1. What caused the sudden improvement?

During Round 1, we had various issues regarding picks, macro, and more. During Round 2, however, we little by little improved upon what we had issues with. I think that's why we have been performing better.


In game 2, SKT lost to a comeback. It feels like SKT loses a lot of their matches this way. 

We tend to struggle with closing out games when we're ahead. That's why we had feedback regarding it while preparing for our next match.


Although you didn't play him today, you're very famous for your plays on Pyke. Can you give us some tips on playing that champion?

As a Pyke, it's best that you remain unseen by your enemies at all times. Only show yourself when you're in a situation where you can get a kill. 


The fans have nicknamed you 'Buddha statue'.

I'm very talkative when talking to someone I'm familiar with. But when I talk to strangers... 

I think that's why they have been calling me that. 


Are you acknowledging that you indeed look like a Buddha statue?

I'm not sure... but since other people have been saying that I do, I'll believe them...


You seem to have long nails just like Wolf. Did he inspire you to grow them?

Even before I joined SKT, I always felt discomfort when I had short nails. That's why I've been maintaining long nails for quite a while now. 

In the booth during an ongoing series, coach Bengi seemed to give Blank a lot of feedback. On the other hand, coach Poohmandu seemed to give you a lot of feedback. 

Usually, coach Poohmandu gives detailed feedback regarding picks, whereas coach Bengi speaks to Blank regarding his pathing, early game timing, and macro management. 


The regular season will soon come to an end. Is there anything you want to say to your fans before we wrap up this interview?

There are only a few games remaining. If we fail to advance to the playoffs, those few remaining games will become our last games of this season. We'll prepare thoroughly so that won't happen. I think we're able to play like we have been, thanks to the fans. Thank you very much.