On Jun. 30, in the 2023 LCK Summer Split, T1 faced Dplus KIA. It was an important match for both teams, as they had four wins each this season. Although the two teams were close in the standings, the games were not, and T1 took an easy 2-0 victory. After the match, coach Lim “Tom” Jae-hyeon and top laner Choi “Zeus” Woo-je joined the media for an interview.

How do you feel about today’s win?

Tom: We had a 2-0 win today, so we had a good result, but the process wasn’t smooth enough. I’m still proud and grateful to the players for doing well.

Zeus: I’m happy that we beat Dplus KIA 2-0 since they’re a team we’re competing against in the standings.

What was the key to today’s victory?

Tom: We were aware of their Ivern since they had a clean performance against Hanwha Life Esports. I believe the bans we invested in that direction were effective.

Why did you come to interview instead of Bengi?

Tom: Bengi told me to give it a shot, so I was a bit confused, but I’m here. [Laughs]

T1 has had a great record against Dplus KIA since last year. What do you think the reason is?

Zeus: I feel that Dplus KIA’s playstyle is similar to ours. I believe that we’re a bit ahead of them in that matter.

Tom: I also think that the playstyle is similar. Moreover, it’s really helpful that Keria knows Deft well when our bot duo goes up against theirs. I think that works out in our favor.

You’re the last team to play in the 13.12 patch. What’s different from the previous version?

Tom: The mid lane changed a bit, and Milio isn’t as good as before, so charging comps appear more often. We need to have a decent top side composition and draft our bot lanes accordingly.

What’s different between drafting with Bengi and now?

Tom: Bengi focuses on the big picture, and we focus more on the small details.

What did you learn from the loss against KT?

Zeus: The biggest reason we lost was that we made ridiculous mistakes. When I rewatched the match, I focused on positioning during teamfights or how I could do better before the 14-minute mark. I was able to think more about the matchup and fix my positioning mistakes.

You’ll be facing Nongshim RedForce in the next match. What will you be focusing on?

Tom: We were aware of Dplus KIA’s Ivern today, and I believe we’ll be able to use it against them. We’ll be heading into Round 2 soon, and we’ll need to fix the mistakes we make. Although we weren’t able to get the result we hoped for in round 1, we’ll be improving as we move on. We’re trying to improve our overall performance rather than trying to get one win ahead of us.

How has the feedback or game preparation changed from the spring season?

Zeus: As I gain more and more experience, I think I gained much more insight. It feels that I’m getting more solid with more experience.

Any last comments?

Zeus: I’m happy that we won 2-0 today, but I can’t be satisfied with our current position. I’ll try to win more and start a good flow.

Tom: Our results are not bad, but I believe it can be better. I’ll make sure that we improve our performance during round 2 throughout the playoffs. Thank you always for cheering for us.