The first team to take their first match victory in the 2022 LCK Summer Split was Kwangdong Freecs. Their top laner Kim “Kiin” Ki-in played a huge part in their victory once again, as he displayed incredible teamfighting prowess in game 1 and 3 on Gwen. He not only proved that he’s still a monstrous top laner, but also the fact that Gwen is still one of the top meta picks in the top lane, even after the huge durability patch of patch 12.10.

Thoughts on getting the opening day victory?

I felt that we’d win 2-0 when we won game 1. However, we played too poorly in game 2.

Why was game 2 so poor?

I made a lot of mistakes, and I couldn’t shut down the enemy Swain very well.

Unlike before, you took Ghost over Ignite on Gwen tonight. How come?

That was a conscious decision that I’ve made after factoring the teamfight aspect of it all.

Even after the durability patch, Gwen still remains very strong in the meta. Are there any champions left that can stop her?

There are counterpicks against her. However, it feels like every team deals with her differently. Gwen’s a great champion, but I wouldn’t say that it’s unplayable against her. She’s a late game champion that’s a bit different from Kayle.

What are your thoughts on the durability patch? Does it suit your playstyle?

Champions all became very durable, so I’ll need to play a lot more to tell. I think that there’s a high chance that late-game champions take over the meta.

Do you think that the games will get longer as well, across the board?

It’s much easier now to survive the laning phase, so there may even be new champions that become meta.

Jang “Nuguri” Ha-gwon returned to DWG KIA and the LCK.

I’m curious to see how he’ll adjust in the LCK after taking some time off.

What’s your goal for this Summer split?

We play against relatively weaker teams in the early stages of the Summer split, so I want to win streak as much as possible. Other than that, I’ll focus on perfecting our team play.

Lastly, is there anything you’d like to say?

A lot of fans came to watch us play at LoL Park. Seeing everyone motivates me to play better in matches, and I hope everyone comes to watch us play more.