On the 1st of July (KST), in the 2018 LCK Summer Split Day 18, Afreeca Freecs (AFs) defeated Gen.G Esports (GEN) 2-0.

Although Haru took first blood in Game 1, Kuro's Zoe delivered good performance and was voted MVP. In Game 2, GEN picked Ornn at mid lane. Although GEN took three Mountain Drakes, they weren't able to stop Kiin's Aatrox, which was 3 levels ahead of Kennen.

After the match, Kuro, Kiin and Spirit were interviewed by SPOTV.

Q. Both players were grumbling before the game today. Kuro was grumbling about the picks & bans, and Kiin said that you didn’t want to play Aatrox. How was today’s match?

Kuro: The reason I was grumbling was because we lost a lot. I was a bit mad at that. Now, we practiced hard and our performance is a lot better now. If the last time was 3 out of 10, today was about 8 out of 10.

Kiin: I do play Aatrox, but I really don’t like it. I just smiled because I had no choice but to play Aatrox.

Q. Aatrox is reworked. How do you think the reworked Aatrox is?

Kiin: I think this Aatrox is better. I don’t think the reworked Aatrox is very good.

Q. (To Kuro) You delivered good performance with Zoe. It seemed like you were satisfied with the picks & bans.

Kuro: Frankly, we never played our composition in Game 1 before. It’s a relief that we got good results. I think I hit my skillshots with Zoe quite well. The insta-kill on Ezreal was really good. I played Zoe a lot so I see whether I can get kills or not and I do it.

Q. Kiin was pushing the lane deeply in. Did the team call for you to push?

Kiin: It was my own decision. I wanted to kill Kennen but wasn’t able to. In the teamfight at mid lane, I went in while all the teammates were falling back so I asked them to back me up. I think that was a good highlight for me.

Q. Kuro has a wide pool of champions. Yesterday, Poppy appeared at mid lane, and today, there was Ornn. How do you think of this current flow?

Kuro: Any champion can appear in this meta. Garen could appear at top or at mid lane too. (Q. Garen?) (Nods) (Q. Garen??) Yes. Garen is a really good and easy champion. I played mid lane Garen before. I think he’ll be picked in the pro scene soon. Maybe within two years? (Laughs)

Q. How were the calls in the teamfights in Game 2?

Kiin: It was just natural and went accordingly to the situation.

Kuro: We said let’s fight because we had TP. Everybody fought well. One side got Ashe and the other side got Ornn.

Q. I heard that there’s a superstition that if players touch Kuro’s tummy, they deliver good performance. Even players from other teams come and touch it. What’s happening?

Kuro: My tummy and butt are a bit chubby. (Laughs) So it feels good when you touch it. It's like a lucky charm. Other players are often after my tummy and butt. (Q. So the players that are close to you come and touch it?) No, they just come touch it. (Laughs)

Q. It’s Kiin’s 1 year anniversary. You developed a lot over the year, what do you think?

Kiin: I’m surprised that I developed this much. I think I was lucky. The fans’ support was an important factor of my growth. I want to say thank you to them.

Q. It’s Spirit’s birthday today. A word to the fans?

Spirit: I performed on my birthday. I want to thank the fans who came to watch. We won because of you. Thank you.

Q. You’ll be playing in the Rift Rivals soon. Any comments regarding that?

Kiin: I’ve experienced taking part in a competition overseas, so I’m not nervous anymore. My goal is to become champions.

Kuro: It’s been a while since I took part in a competition overseas. I’ll do my best to become champions with everyone else.

Spirit: Since we’re representing the LCK, we’ll deliver performance worthy of that, and come back as champions.

*Images captured from LCK Twitch Channel