On Jan 20, KT Rolster defeated Hanwha Life Esports 2-0 and continued on their win streak in the 2022 LCK Spring split. Despite a few fumbles in between, KT proved that their teamwork was superior to their enemy’s tonight.

The top laner for KT, Kim “Rascal” Kwang-hee, joined the press room for a post-match interview.

How do you feel about getting two consecutive match victories?

I’m very glad that we’re riding the high momentum. Our gameplay wasn’t perfect, but I feel that our communication in finding ways we can win. We called out the mistakes that we made right away, and gave quick feedback. I think that process went very smoothly. We told ourselves that even if we make mistakes, we needed to be more bold when the time came to shove, and that we were going to lose if we got scared of making mistakes.

What can you tell us about the team’s game plan against Hanwha Life Esports, a team that’s performing a lot better than many have expected them to?

HLE took Corki & Yuumi in game 1, and Vex & Yuumi in game 2. We tried to figure out different ways of pressuring Corki in game 1, especially during the standoff situations in the game. Game 2 was more on us dealing with their engage.

Corki’s arguably the most contested champion in the mid lane. Why did KT decide to let HLE take Corki in game 1?

We realize that Corki & Yuumi scale very hard in the late game. We were confident to shut them down early and not let them scale, but our macro wasn’t meticulous enough. We still have a long way to go.

Top lane Lee Sin is a champion that you don’t really see much in the current meta. Why did you decide to play it in game 2?

Lee Sin has a very good lane matchup against Gragas. Depending on the player, Lee Sin’s a champion that can be utilized in many different ways.

From your perspective, how is the 2022 KT different compared to when you were on Gen.G?

Everyone on the 2021 Gen.G roster excelled individually, so our win condition was for everyone to play well themselves. KT considers teamwork to be very important. Personally, I don’t think there’s too many differences between the two teams. 

There’s criticism in the lack of synergy between KT’s mid-jg duo.

Our roster consists of players who’ve all played in different teams for a long time, so it’s unrealistic for us to have great synergy in such a short period of time. I think that my mid-jungle duo are doing everything that’s required, so I’m not worried too much about them.

KT finished 7th in both the Spring and Summer split of last year. What’s the team’s goals for this year?

Our goal for the Spring split is to make it to the playoffs. Our long-term goal is to qualify for Worlds. I’m usually the type to set high goals, but I found myself very disappointed when I failed. That’s why I decided to take things step by step, and set realistic goals.

How about your personal goals for 2022?

I want to let everyone know that I can perform consistently at the highest level. 'Thin, but long' is my motto.

KT’s next match is against Nongshim RedForce, who also put on a commanding performance against DWG KIA tonight.

Rather than being fixated on keeping up our win streak, our priority is on building our teamwork and our synergy, just like we did tonight.