Nongshim RedForce faced off against Liiv SANDBOX on day 30, match 2 of the 2022 LCK Spring split. With a set score of 2-1, NS managed to take their first match victory after a seven match losing streak. Although LSB tried to lane swap their top and mid to catch NS off guard, Kim “Canna” Chang-dong’s Tryndamere dominated Lee “Clozer” Ju-hyeon’s Fiora to carry his team to victory.

After the match, Canna joined the press room at LoL Park for a post-match interview.

Thoughts on the victory?

We couldn’t find our ground early on in the split to fall into a losing streak, so winning tonight was very meaningful.

Starting from week 3, the team fell into a 7-match losing streak. What did the team talk about during that time?

Although we were losing, we tried to keep the atmosphere as bright as possible. We kept talking about the things we lacked during practice, and as for tonight’s victory, I think that the coaching staff putting a lot of focus on our bot lane really paid off.

You couldn’t play due to catching COVID. How did you feel when you were forced to watch from the bench?

It was a sudden situation, so our CL players only got to play a couple of scrims before they played on stage. It was very disappointing that I couldn’t play, and that the CL players had so little time to practice. Thankfully, I wasn’t too sick, but I still felt really bad.

Before tonight’s match, you never played Tryndamere competitively. Is there a reason why you played him all three games tonight?

I actually have a lot of practice on the champion, but due to our team’s colors, we just didn’t have a chance to draft it. Tonight’s team compositions allowed me to play Tryndamere, and I think it worked out as well as it did in practice.

There was the sudden lane swap from LSB, where you played against Clozer’s Fiora tonight. Do you think you’ve really proven the ‘top diff’? 

I really like how I played game 3, especially because I beat someone that I know really well. IT was really fun. I said this earlier in the broadcast interview, but you better not come back to top lane again, Clozer [laughter].

It feels that the meta is no longer bot lane-ccentric, unlike how it was earlier in the split. What are your thoughts on the current meta?

It’s definitely more top side oriented. However, if bot side loses lane and the snowball moves to mid lane, there’s only so much you can do in the side lanes, so bot side’s equally important.

Four teams share a record of 4-8 in the standings at the moment. How confident are you in making the playoffs this split?

I think it’s hard for us to climb near the top of the standings, but I feel that we can beat the other teams that are in the middle of the pack and make it to the playoffs.

Next match for NS is against Kwangdong Freecs. How are you feeling about the matchup  against ‘Kiin’?

It’s been a very long time since I played against him on stage. I couldn’t play against him in round 1, so I want to have a very fun laning phase against him.