On the 20th at the Gangnam Nexon Arena for the 2019 LCK Spring Promotion finals, DAMWON Gaming qualified to play in the LCK stage for the first time in its organization history. Displaying a performance on par with expectations, DAMWON showed that they deserved being promoted to the LCK.

Below are the interview responses from DAMWON’s head coach, Micro.

¤ How long has it been since you returned to the LCK?

I believe it has been 2 years. It was quite a long period of time (laughs). I think the last time was with Najin Empire.


¤ How do you feel about qualifying for the LCK.

Of course, I am very happy. The only thing I regret is that we didn’t perform as well as we did in practice. We will make up for it and show a better performance next time. Since the team and I put in a lot of work, we plan on resting for a bit.


¤ Even in the regular season, DAMWON seems to struggle when facing Battlecomics.

There was a point when I knew we weren’t going to lose after reaching a certain threshold. However, after playing against Battlecomics, a few team oriented problems emerged. Because of this, our performance dropped. Rather saying that we have a weakness for Battlecomics, I like to believe that it was just bad timing.


¤ What was the most important aspect to focus on in today’s series?

I thought that the first game would be quintessential. I had to see how our prepared picks fared with their prepared picks. We tested the waters with our draft in game 1. After realizing what their intentions and strategies were, we were able to play to our fullest in game 2. To be honest, we played a very aggressive team comp in game 2. I wanted to change the atmosphere completely by absolutely destroying Battlecomics.


¤ When did you know you were going to win the series?

When we won game 3, I knew we were going to qualify for the LCK.


¤ Is there a particular player that you want to praise?

Although everyone played well, I want to congratulate the players who did not get the spotlight. Our bot duo was the hidden gem. They silently played their roles well, and they made incredible decisive plays today.


¤ You must be filled with emotion right now. This is your first time going to the LCK as a coach. What are your goals?

First, all the LCK head coaches helped us practice. I want to thank them sincerely. There is definitely a significant difference between coach and head coach. I have a lot more responsibility. It makes me nervous that people are calling us Griffin jr.

For us, it all starts now. We will move forward with the goal of winning the LCK. Our goal is not to rise through the ranks of the LCK like Griffin did. Our goal is to prove ourselves in the LCK with our skill. We will try our best.


¤ I heard that you practiced a lot with LCK teams. How were the results?

The results were not bad. We always had more than a 50% win rate. As long as the players don’t get too nervous, I believe it is possible to take down even the top teams. With the players we have now, as long as we do the plays we are supposed to do, I truly believe we can take on any team.


¤ Do you have any particular issues you want to tackle?

There is a lot of criticism towards our jungler. We still lack in experience. We are not yet able to implement a variety of tactics. Although we are practicing exactly this in scrims, we still have communication issues with our jungler. I believe we need to fine tune our communication.


¤ Lastly, is there anything you want to say?

2 years ago, this was the team I spent my own money creating. I had to even eat at a PC bang while creating the team. I am extremely grateful that the players trusted and followed me to this point. I also want to thank DAMWON’s CEO for trusting and supporting me.