Having beaten the LCS representatives, Cloud9, the day before, DetonatioN FocusMe almost created another huge upset on day 3 of the 2021 MSI; against none other the 2020 world champions, DWG KIA. They had the momentum flowing behind them throughout most of the game, but one teamfight towards the end was all it took for it all to crumble. However, this match definitely garnered all the attention from all around the world as the underdogs from a wildcard region that can create history in LoL Esports.

After the match, the jungler for DFM, Mun “Steal” Gun-yeong, joined Inven Global for a post-match interview. 

It was definitely a close one. How do you feel about the loss?

Honestly, we went into the game with the intent to win, and the game itself was going very well. We were all very excited at the thought of almost beating DWG KIA, but we lost focus towards the very end. This loss is very unfortunate.

What was the mentality of the team heading into the game against a team like DWG KIA?

They’ve won Worlds last year, so they’re definitely a strong team. However, we had nothing to lose, so we just told ourselves, “Let's just play our own game, and see what happens”.

You guys were one teamfight away from beating the tournament favorites. What went wrong for the team towards the end? Can you tell us what happened?

After burning Gangplank’s and Xayah’s ultimates, I told our team to go in. To be honest, there isn’t much to say about that part of the game, except for the fact that I played terribly. 

How satisfied are you with your’s and the team’s performance in this game?

Except for the throw at the end, I honestly feel that Aria and I put up a good fight and had priority against ShowMaker-Canyon, the mid-jungle duo that’s considered the best in the World. The rest of my teammates also played very well today, so I think that’s why we did so well against them today.

How did the team react after getting so close to beating DWG KIA?

To be honest, we jokingly said that the match against DWG KIA was a ‘bonus’ match; if we win, then we got lucky, and if we lost, we had nothing to lose anyways. There was no pressure on our end, and after we lost, we just said, “Meh. Let’s shrug it off, and prepare well to get to the Rumble stages”.

DFM is in the center of all the ‘upsets’ at this year’s MSI. Putting aside all the memes about how NA is a wildcard region, how do you rate Cloud9 as a team?

I truly believe that they’re a good team. Our game plan against them clearly worked, and with a little bit of luck on our side, we were able to beat them, but the next time we beat them, I don’t think we can beat them that easily.

Are there any junglers/teams in other groups that you want to play against?

I… don’t know about other junglers or teams in other groups. Ultimately, the biggest challenge for me was Canyon, and I got to play that matchup today. Coming into today’s match against them, I definitely had butterflies in my stomach.

What’s the team’s goal/expectations for this year’s MSI?

For now, I want to get to the Rumble stages. Once we get there, I think the sky’s the limit. 

DFM has two days off until the next set of matches. What will the direction of the team’s practice look like?

Although we’re 1-2 in groups right now, I think that we played very proactively, and played the game to our pace and according to our game plan. We’re going to plan out how to snowball our leads harder, and not throw at all times.

Lastly, a word to your fans.

If our team plays the way we did against Cloud9 and DWG KIA minus the throws, I believe that we can make it further into the tournament. Please continue to support us!