On Jun. 22, KT Rolster rolled over Dplus KIA 2-0 in the 2023 LCK Summer Split. The two teams both had three wins before the clash, and KT Rolster collected the fourth win first. After the match, coach Choi “supreme” Seung-min and support Son “Lehends” Si-woo joined the media for an interview.

Congrats on the 3-game winning streak. How do you feel?

supreme: I thought winning today’s match meant more than just one win, so I’m thrilled to have won 2-0.

Lehends: I expected today’s match to be difficult, and I’m happy that we won 2-0.

Many people thought there would be a matchup between Azir and Statikk Shiv LeBlanc, but both were banned away. What do you think?

supreme: Champions that build Statikk Shiv often appear in the current meta. The opponent seemed to be looking out for Bdd’s Azir a lot.

What advice did head coach Hirai give?

Lehends: Hirai mostly tells us to focus on the fundamentals. He always says, “Hirai is always watching you.” [Laughs]

supreme: Hirai often analyzes the opponent team’s style and habits and tells the players what he found.

(*Note: KT head coach Kang "Hirai" Dong-hoon is currently on leave due to health issues.)

Game 1 was close, but game 2 was easy. When did you think it was going well?

Lehends: I think the game was decided when there was a kill in the bot lane. We would have had a big lead even if they just used their Flash instead of a kill. In game 1, we made a few mistakes, so the game was close. If we had another chance to play the same matchup, we could probably win like we did in game 2. I think we were a bit stiff and nervous in game 1.

What went well in today’s game?

supreme: The lane matchup went well as we prepared. They weren’t meta picks that are picked frequently, but the players understood the draft and game plans well, so I’m satisfied.

Your next opponent is T1. You’re probably seeking revenge. How will you prepare for it?

supreme: T1 is a very strong pick. We’ll be analyzing the draft and their plays more as soon as we get back to the team house. I’ll make sure we prepare well and play well.

Lehends: I have the same mindset regardless of the opponent. I don’t overthink or undervalue any team.

Was the Quinn pick in game 1 a joker pick that you prepared?

supreme: We didn’t have it prepared specifically for today’s match, but the draft went that way. Kiin is great playing Quinn, so Hirai often asks us to practice such champions. We picked it confidently.

Does that mean it can appear more often?

supreme: Whatever the pick, we can use. We could have picked a different champion other than Quinn, but we picked Quinn so that our future opponents could be aware of the pick.

You banned Yuumi yet didn’t ban Milio in game 2. What was the reason?

Lehends: Dplus KIA seemed to favor utility support champions, so we thought it would be good for us when we have a favorable draft.

In game 2, the opponent banned Azir, but you didn’t ban LeBlanc. Was it because it was alright for them to pick LeBlanc?

supreme: When we watched other teams’ matches, almost all teams banned LeBlanc, but we thought the draft would get really difficult if we had to. So we practiced playing against LeBlanc and tried it today.

The Twisted Fate pick was also impressive. What’s the background?

supreme: We’ve been looking for picks that can face LeBlanc, and it was the best pick for us in today’s draft situation.

What do you think about having all laners build Statikk Shiv?

supreme: The strength of Statikk Shiv is quick lane clearing. If all three lanes can gain the initiative, it could be good. As for today’s match, there were kills in both the top and bot lanes, so the opponent fell hard afterward. I think gaining the initiative in the early game is important.

Do you think you could use the same strategy?

supreme: We’ll need to practice more to stack up more data.

Any last comments?

supreme: We were able to secure a 3-game winning streak today. Our next match is against T1, who we need to have revenge against, so we’ll prepare well and show a good performance.

Lehends: Although we’re on a 3-game winning streak, I’ll think of it simply as another win. And I’ll work hard to secure another win in our next match.