On Jun. 15, in the 2023 LCK Summer Split, T1 faced Liiv SANDBOX. It was a one-sided match as T1 swept Liiv SANDBOX 2-0 and recovered from their loss in the previous match. After the match, T1 head coach Bae “Bengi” Seong-woong and bot laner Lee “Gumayusi” Min-hyeong joined the media for an interview.

You got the second win of the season. How do you feel?

Bengi: It was an important match for us since it was the first game after our loss against Gen.G. It’s a relief that we won, and I believe it will be a good turning point for us.

Gumayusi: It’s our first win after the loss, so I believe it’ll be a good chance for us to make a good flow.

How do you evaluate today’s match?

Bengi: The value of our comp was pretty good, but I think it’ll get better if we work on the details a bit more.

Gumayusi: I’m not 100% satisfied, but it was alright. We should fix the details a bit more.

Did the loss against Gen.G affect the draft today?

Bengi: As we entered a new patch, the cards we could use are different. There are more champions that can appear.

(To Gumayusi) It’s been a while since you last faced Teddy. Did it feel different?

Gumayusi: I felt that he got better since he had some rest. I thought we could still win since our team is stronger.

You had said that your role model is Uzi, and you also mentioned that it’s a bummer that you didn’t have a chance to face him. Uzi is back now. What do you think about him?

Gumayusi: Uzi was my role model since when I was a trainee. It was a bummer that I didn’t have a chance to face him, but since he’s back now, I might be able to play against him at Worlds. I saw his game, and I think he’s still great. I wanted to flash Vayne in the draft to show respect, but I was concentrating on the draft itself, so I forgot. I hope I can meet him at Worlds.

How do you evaluate Zeri?

Bengi: Zeri has a high value. Most teams consider Zeri as one of the top-tier champions. We would need to talk about it more and find a measure to counter it as well.

Gumayusi: It feels that Zeri is OP. There aren’t many picks that can face it. It’s really good - it has good lane clear ability, teamfight ability, and movement speed. It also has high HP, and the damage is really good as well. The laning isn’t that difficult, so Zeri is extremely good right now.

T1’s goal is to get to Worlds. What issues have to be solved?

Bengi: We need to reach the finals to go straight to Worlds without playing in the regional qualifiers. To do so, we have to be good enough to beat strong teams at least twice. We’re setting the big picture right now, and we’ll be working on the details more as we go.

Gumayusi: We’re already trying to fix any issues we have. We’ll need to keep this mindset. Even if we go on a winning streak, we shouldn’t be careless and keep on fixing any issues that come up. We need to keep on finding any problems we have by finding them and fixing them.

Which teams are “strong teams”?

Bengi: I’d say Gen.G, KT, HLE, and DK. There are a lot. We need to improve our performance so that we can beat them all.

Gumayusi: The strong teams are Gen.G and DK.

The next match is against OK BRION. How do you think it’ll go?

Bengi: I heard that they’re going through some change. They’re trying to change the flow, and it could be confusing for them. We need to win no matter what, so I’ll do my best.

Gumayusi: We need to play better than they do. If we do well, we can win against any team, if we play bad, we can lose against any team, so we need to focus on our performance.

Any last comments?

Bengi: We’re starting the season with a 2-1 record. We’ll do well.

Gumayusi: It’s more important to keep on improving our performance. I’ll do my best to keep improving up to and through the playoffs.