On Jun 30, KT Rolster faced Nongshim RedForce in the 2023 LCK Summer Split. It was a clean 2-0 victory for KT Rolster as they collected their sixth straight win. It was especially meaningful for KT, as their winning streak over six matches and twelve consecutive games was a new organization record. After the match, head coach Kang “Hirai” Dong-hoon and jungler Moon “Cuzz” Woo-chan joined the media for an interview.

Congrats on today’s win. How was the game?

Hirai: I was careful not to get the players too cocky about the wins. I told them to stay on their toes, and I’m happy that we were able to keep our winning streak. We’ll need to maintain this form moving on to the next game.

Cuzz: I tried my best to keep our style and what we practiced, but there were a few mistakes. That’s regretful, but I’m happy that we did quite well overall.

You’re on a long winning streak. How’s the atmosphere within the team?

Cuzz: Since we’re on a pretty good winning streak, there is some hype. That has a positive effect in our performance, but sometimes, it makes us make rash decisions. Hirai has been helping us stay on track. Thanks to him, we sometimes are shaky, but we’re able to maintain our performance.

You got your 1,000th kill today. How do you feel?

Cuzz: About last year, I saw how many kills I had and thought that I’ll be able to get 1,000 kills pretty soon. I finally got to the record, and I’m really happy. I hope I can keep adding up to my record. It’s a great motivation point for me to work harder.

You got another win on Viego today. You’re 7-0 on Viego, but the rest of the LCK isn’t half as successful. What’s your secret?

Cuzz: We’ve been doing well whenever I play Viego. I’ve watched other teams play play Viego, but I think it goes really well with our team, with our aggressiveness. That’s why I have good results playing Viego. It doesn’t work if I’m the only one who’s good - everyone has to work together as a team.

KT is on a long winning streak. You haven’t lost a single game through 6 matches. It’s a new organization record. How do you feel?

Hirai: I wasn’t aware of it, so I didn’t know it was a new record. It helps if we don’t think about breaking the record. Also, if I put my mind on it, the players can feel it. That’s why I try not to be conscious of such records. Still, I want to keep it going. I believe we can continue on.

Cuzz: I think it’s the first time I’m on such a long winning streak. I’m happy, but as Hirai said, I shouldn’t get too hyped about it. I’m trying to stay calm and focus on my performance and the game.

Your next match is next week, which is a longer break than usual. How will you prepare?

Hirai: I’ll have my players rest a bit. The players are quite tired now. The teamwork has been built up well, and the guidelines I asked them to do are being kept well, so the main priority is about managing the players’ conditions. After the break, we’ll be back to usual.

It’ll be important to win the bigger matches. What is your focus when guiding the players about that?

Hirai: My focus in the spring was to learn about the players, their habits, etc. I made sure to bring the players together into one team. The summer season is about getting good results based on that. Keeping this up is up to the coaching staff. We have to draft well, interpret the meta well, and analyze the matchups properly whenever the patch changes. I’m confident that if we do that well, we can keep getting good results.

Another important point is to keep the players from getting too hyped. Our goal is to reach Worlds, so I’ll make sure that we stay focused up to that point and do well.

Any last comments?

Hirai: I often ask the players to play aggressively while sticking to the fundamentals. I want them to play aggressively without being afraid of dying when they make plays. The opponents were rookies, but they also tried to make plays aggressively, and it was impressive. I think we need to keep doing that. I’d also like to congratulate Cuzz for getting his 1,000th kill. Let’s keep it up.

Cuzz: Hirai keeps telling us to keep what we do best and try to improve more if we have time. We’ll try to do as he said and improve more if possible. Thank you to the fans who always cheer for us.