On day 9 of the 2022 LCK Summer split, Liiv SANDBOX defeated kt Rolster 2-0 on the second match of the day. With this victory, LSB picked up their second victory of the split, and went on a better start than they did in the Spring split.

The following is a post-match interview with the top laner for LSB, Kim “Dove” Jae-yeon.

How do you feel on getting your second victory of the split against KT tonight?

I think that there are three strong teams in the LCK [DWG KIA, Gen.G, T1], and the rest play at about the same level. Beating the rest of the pack is our way into the playoffs.

LSB had a 1-2 record in the regular split so far. What did the team talk about?

I did not properly fulfill my role as a top laner. However, no matter how my laning phase went tonight, I think things played out well.

Among the top laners like Zeus and Nuguri, where do you think you stand among the top laners in the LCK?

I think my biggest problem is the laning phase. It’s something I personally have to fix. If I can fix my laning, I think this Summer split will go well. 

Having transitioned into the top lane role quite recently, have you ever thought of wanting to go back to the mid lane?

I did think about it one time. The laning phase was really hard in the top lane, and there was also a time where I just didn’t play well. I thought to myself, “What can I do as a top laner for this team?” [Laughter] It was a time when I was practicing a lot of meta champions, and looking back on it now, I think that it was just purely on my personal performance.

It feels like LSB is a team with clear strengths and weaknesses. What are your thoughts on this?

While we continue to insist on our playstyle and our color as a team, we lack delicacy. It’s easy to say it out loud like this, but it’s a very hard problem to tackle in practicality. If we can overcome this, I think we can aim for a top spot in the standings. 

In terms of your gameplay, what are you most satisfied with tonight?

I completely botched my laning phase in game 2, but I think that I tried to make teamfighting as easy as possible for my team during the mid-game teamfights without dying.

LSB’s next match is against DRX.

DRX is sponsored by Shinhan Bank, while we’re sponsored by Kookmin Bank [Both Shinhan and Kookmin are two of the largest banks in Korea - Ed]. We definitely need to show them that Kookmin’s the superior bank. Also, Kingen’s playing really well right now. He’s a very strong laner, and if I’m being honest, if someone asked me if I can beat him in lane, it’s hard for me to confidently say yes to that question. Still, we’ll prove that we’re the better team.