On the 5th (KST), T1 faced off against DAMWON Gaming in the opening match of the 2020 LCK Spring split. With a set score of 2-1, T1 took down DAMWON to take the very first match victory. 

Inven Global had a chance to chat with the bot laner from T1, Teddy, to talk about the victory, about the highly-contested champion that’s still confusing to some pros and experts alike, and moving forward in 2020.

Congratulations on the victory. It was a heated match, where it went all the way to 3 sets. Can you share your thoughts on taking the victory of the opening match of the 2020 LCK Spring?

I had a lot of regrets for the 1st set. I told the team to cover the enemy Lee sin, but because of miscommunication, the game ended the way it did, but the 2nd and the 3rd set went well.

In the 1st set, there was a moment where you 1v1’d the Aphelios as Miss Fortune, and you solo killed him to the point where it surprised many people. What was your thought process behind that moment?

I think that Aphelios can’t crit when he’s rotating his Q, so I thought to myself, ‘Why is he trying to duel me?’ Also, I had heal, where Aphelios had cleanse, so I fought him 1v1 with the mindset of killing him. 

Aphelios is a highly contested pick both in solo queue and in competitive play, and he’s receiving a lot of nerfs as well. What are your thoughts on the champion?

Not only is Aphelios very immobile, he’s a newly released champion and has a very high skillcap. Although he is a very hard champion to play, I think that he has a lot of damage in his kit. He’s very strong in lane, has a very long range, and has great gank set up with his Gravitum, so he’s very hard to play against. However, like I mentioned, he’s very immobile, so he can be easily caught out, so you need to be very good on the champion.

Does the champion suit your playstyle?

Yes, I think it fits me very well.

Faker played Tristana in game 3. Since Tristana’s a marksman champion, how do you rate his Tristana?

Even though he’s a mid laner, he’s very good at marksman champions, so I believe it was a great pick in our comp.

Is there a chance that you’ll role swap with him, just as Caps and Perkz did in G2 Esports?

Hmm… I think that if I practiced mid lane, I’m very confident that I’ll do very well, and I think Faker will be very good as a bot laner as well. However, we never practiced, so I’m not too sure.

Because of the coronavirus, the LCK matches are held without any audience. How does it feel to play without any spectators?

In the beginning and during the game, I can hear people cheering, but because there weren’t any today, it felt very awkward. Today was the first time where I played without any spectators, so it felt very surreal, to the point where I’d never want to experience anything like this in the future.

Do you prefer having spectators?

I think it may vary depending on the person, but for me, it feels better to have fans cheering you on site. The more, the better.

It’s been a long off-season, and T1 faced many changes. From the roster changes, the Nike deal, the new uniforms, and to the new headquarters scheduled to open in March/April, which change excite you the most?

The one thing that I’m most excited about is the new practice room and the team house. The new practice room will be located in the new headquarters, and we’ll also be getting a new team house as well. Ever since my Jin Air days, I lived in Ilsan for around 4 years, so I’m very excited for the new practice room and the team house. Originally, they said both would be ready by February, but because of delays, the anticipation keeps on building.

Which teams do you think will be T1’s toughest opponents in the LCK this year?

Originally, it was Gen.G and DAMWON, but once we practiced against all the other teams, they were all really good as well, so I can’t pick out a single team. However, if I really had to pick one, it would be Gen.G.

Although 2019 is a little bit disappointing for T1, 2020 is a brand new year where everybody is at square one. Can you share some goals for 2020?

Last year, although I performed very well domestically, during international tournaments, there were moments where I got ahead of myself. This year, my goal is to keep composure and not to repeat my mistakes.

Lastly, what would you like to say to the fans cheering you and the team at home?

Because the matches are held without any spectators, there must be a lot of disappointed fans that couldn’t watch the games live. Nevertheless, I’m really grateful for your support, and I’ll make sure to work hard to win all the matches.