On the 7th (KST), Hanwha Life Esports took down T1 with a set score of 2-1 on day 3 of the 2020 LCK Spring. Not only did HLE’s drafts in all three games showed versatility and strong colors, Kang “Haru” Min-seung put on a stellar performance by almost getting a pentakill on Olaf.

After the match, Inven Global caught up with the jungler of HLE, Haru, to talk about how it felt to wield such dangerous axes, and how he hopes the team will shape.

Today’s match was very exciting. You must feel very good, because you carried the game. How do you feel?

I feel good in the fact that we won, and also in the fact that I had fun.

We have to talk about your Olaf. Did you know that Olaf will be strong in your team comp?

I obviously had to be really strong, since the team composition was funneling their resources into me. If we weren’t strong, the game would’ve been unplayable.

How did you feel when you ran straight into the enemy team and axed everyone?

Truth be told, because I was able to keep killing everyone, it was really fun. The fact that I was able to run straight into the team with everyone watching was really enjoyable.

What were the team’s comms like?

Lehends told me to go in since the drake earlier, but I didn’t charge in. Other than that, my team kept telling me, “Just go in! You won’t die!”, so I just went in.

Did you happen to repeat Olaf’s in-game lines while you charged in?

We knew that as long as I went in, we’d win. So while there wasn’t anything like that, we kept telling each other to just charge in.

HLE’s team composition was very different in all three games. Can you tell us a bit about how your picks work?

The coaches told us that in order to be a team that’s fun to watch and good at the same time, we had to know how to play different team compositions, and the players also believe that as well, so we’re trying many things in many different angles. We tell ourselves that “Nothing is impossible. We can play anything and everything, and can have fun while doing it.” I think this mindset is why the team composition had its own color in all three of our games.

Do you not get nervous if a certain team composition doesn’t work out?

Not really. Instead of looking only at the results, we try to find our color in the process of making a certain composition work, and that we don’t need fear anything while doing so. We don’t really think too much into it, since we trust each other.

Can we anticipate many different team compositions in the future?

There’s a lot we have prepared. We like to be flashy in our victory, so we try to play like that. There will be days where things don’t work out the way they do, but we hope to become a team that’s hard to deal with. 

Game 2 ended in a very unexpected way. It seemed that you guys tried to mimic G2’s playstyle.

It definitely sucks to lose, but we’re not perfect in our teamplay just yet. Looking back on it, it was definitely a game that we could’ve won, so everything’s alright.

Watching game 2, some called HLE “Drunk G2”. What’s your reaction to such an assessment?

Although we didn’t succeed in our play because we lost, I feel that as long as we hone ourselves in our play and have those kinds of plays succeed, we’ll have better nicknames for us waiting down the road.

Then what’s the nickname that you’d like to have?

Right now, we’d like to be called ‘Korea’s G2’, but I want the team to be glorified in our name, HLE.

I think that because it’s been a while since you had an interview, you’re a bit nervous.

Yes, I think I suck at doing interviews.

You were previously a sub jungler on T1, and since you didn’t get much stage time, you must’ve been fairly disappointed.

Definitely. Although it was a great experience, it was still disappointing. I don’t feel that I was subpar in any way, so although it was disappointing, it’s okay. I just need to play better on HLE.

You must really want to prove yourself.

This year, I want to be remembered as a really good player.

Just like tonight?

Yes.

Is there a specific player on HLE that people can expect good things from?

I think that people can expect a lot of good things from everyone. Vsta, the bot laner that played all three games tonight, are really good at angling out teamfights, so please keep a good eye on him. 

Lastly, what would you like to say to your fans?

We’ll continue to put on a great show for everyone, so please keep supporting us. Thank you.