The wild-card match between SK Telecom T1 and Afreeca Freecs was very close. In the first game, SKT took the lead with Kim “Khan” Dong-ha’s outstanding performance and  Afreeca responded with Draven in Game 2. 

It all came down to the last game, with SKT picking red side. SKT stepped ahead with the synergy between Kim “Clid” Tae-min and Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok’s Sylas and Qiyana, but Afreeca didn’t go down easy. They managed to keep close until the late game. However, as SKT won the teamfight at Elder Dragon, the game came to an end. SKT took the victory 2-1 and advanced to the playoffs to face SANDBOX Gaming.

All the players of SKT stayed for an interview after the match.

As the captain of the team, Faker, how do you feel about today’s victory?

Faker: It was the first step in our trip to the championship, but it was harder than I thought, so I thought that it’s going to be a bumpy road. Still, I’ll make sure that we reach our goal.

Afreeca is a team that likes to fight. How did you prepare?

Khan: It doesn’t really matter regarding our preparation against a specific team; we made several mistakes in our previous matches, so we concentrated on not making any mistakes. I feel good that our preparation led to our win today.

The dragon fight in Game 1 was splendid. How did you plan to engage?

Khan: Since we had some wards in the back, we decided 2 minutes earlier that it would be better if I teleport there to engage. It went well.

Game 2 was a bit regretful. How was the feedback?

Teddy: The Ezreal-Tahm Kench comp isn’t that strong in the early game and it gets stronger in the late game. Naturally, Draven-Thresh would dominate the laning phase, so it was really hard for us and when I saw Draven stacking up his passive, it was really scary. (Laughs) 

You managed to find the counter after that one game.

Teddy: Rather than finding the counter, it was really comfortable for us because our mid and jungle pounded their bot duo to the ground. (Laughs)

Effort played Alistar in Game 3. It was the first Alistar pick for you in the summer. What did you focus on?

Effort: I think I always get the best picks in each situation, and Alistar was the best pick in the given circumstances.

You didn’t ban Yuumi in Game 3. Why was that?

Effort: We knew how to counter Yuumi and we could also play her so we decided not to ban her.

Clid’s Sylas was all over the Rift in Game 3. How was the game?

Clid: I thought we all did really well. Before the match, kkOma told us that we would win if we make the minimum number of mistakes and it all went well.

The teamfight near Baron was amazing again. How were the decision making in that situation?

Khan: Although our Alistar died, we saw that they were being divided in two directions. So if we engaged, our team would be able to arrive faster so we engaged and it went well.

Did you think you had the game after that point?

Clid: I did think we had a good advantage from that point, but I kept in mind that it’s not over and tried to concentrate until the end.

We know that Effort makes a lot of shotcalls. How were the calls today?

Effort: Since I died many times today, it was really difficult for me, but the other players consoled me well, and I just followed their lead.

Your next match will be against SANDBOX now.

Khan: I believe our last match before we confirmed playoffs was against SANDBOX, and we won that. Since we beat SANDBOX not long ago, it won’t be that difficult to beat them again. I believe we’ll do well and get up to the end.

Clid: We made many mistakes today, so I’ll make sure we reduce those mistakes and deliver better performance in our next match.

Faker’s father came today. Would you like to include a word to him?

Faker: Thank you for coming. Our next match is against SANDBOX; I’ll make sure we win.

Teddy: We’re going up from the bottom… We’ll do well and continue to climb.

Effort: I made many mistakes today, but I’m a person who gets stronger from his mistakes; I think I’ll be able to return in a stronger form in our next match.