On day 30 of the 2022 LCK Summer split, Gen.G defeated Hanwha Life Esports 2-0 in the second match of the day. From counter invades to the level 1 setups with Twitch-Yuumi, Gen.G did not give HLE any leeway to come back in both game 1 and 2.

Park “Ruler” Jae-hyuk played Aphelios for the first time this Summer split. He commented, “I felt I was going to either play Kalista or Aphelios tonight. There are a few preferred picks in the bot lane, and if those champions get banned, I’m ready to play my other options.”

The following is the full interview with Gen.G’s bot laner, Ruler.

You played Aphelios for the first time this split.

If Lucian and Zeri get banned, Aphelios tends to get picked a lot, so I practiced him quite a bit. I felt that I gave up quite a bit of CS to make plays elsewhere, so I need to improve on things here and there, but I think I played pretty well overall.

You also didn’t play any Kalista this split. How come?

Champions like Zeri were left alive in drafts, so I just kept picking champions that are better in the meta. There are a few preferred picks in the bot lane, and if those champions get banned, I’m ready to play my other options. It’s probably going to be the same in the next patch as well.

There’s quite a number of bot lane champions that are making their appearance this split. As a bot laner, it must feel good.

Having a lot of options is definitely a good sign. In terms of champion proficiency, my champion pool is very wide. The fact that I can play a lot of champions at any time is a good direction for us.

Game 1 was Gen.G absolutely dominating.

We got the draft we wanted, so we felt very comfortable. We had late-game scaling picks, yet gaining a lead at level 1 made the game a lot easier. The game panned out the way we planned.

Tell me about the top lane Akshan pick in game 2.

Doran told us different options, and one of them was Akshan. We told him to play Akshan if he’s feeling confident. I think he also had fun on Akshan as well.

You had a big smile after you got first blood from the counter invade.

Our comp was disadvantageous, but that play made the laning phase much easier. Also, when Tahm Kench used Abyssal Dive, Akshan auto attacked from a bush, revealing our location. If he didn’t do that, Ashe wouldn’t have been able to react with Flash and kill them both. That’s why I smiled.

Gen.G likes to take long ‘turns’ in the team’s macro. Truthfully, it feels like those kinds of plays come with a lot of risks.

We talk a lot on what kind of plays are good and bad. There are risks, but the return is also enough to head towards that direction.

Gen.G’s next opponents are DRX and T1.

The Summer split’s nearing its end; we’ll make sure to stay focused until the very end. Our next two matches are very important, so we’ll prepare for them very well to win. Thank you for all the support, and we’ll see you next week.