On the 21st of July, the 28th day of the '2018 LCK Summer Split' took place. On the second series of the day, SK Telecom T1 defeated Hanwha Life Esports with a score of 2-0. In game 1, Blank provided constant back up for his team, always being where he is needed. In game 2, Bang reliably played the perfect late game ADC. 

After the series, the two MVP titlists of today's match, Blank and Bang, were invited for an interview with the OGN casters.

How do you feel taking that victory?

Blank: I’m in tears… it has been so long since we’ve taken a clean 2-0 victory.

Bang: It was a 2-0 victory. It feels great.


Your team was in a tight corner; desperate for a victory. It must’ve been very pressuring.

Bang: It was actually more pressuring when we had lost 2, 3 times. Strangely, it became less pressuring when our losses starting racking up. Of course, we were still in a bad situation, but less was expected from us [allowing us to play with more ease]. Regardless, we always tried our best to win.


Blank, your performance has been getting better and better. What’s causing your boost in performance? Are you satisfied with your current state?

Blank: I’m not sure. I think it’ll be good for me to receive some feedback in regards to my small but frequent mistakes and my skillshot accuracy.


Was it burdening to play against Nocturne as a Taliyah jungle?

Blank: Both champions are squishy, so it was definitely a pressuring matchup. However, I become more confident in my plays when I have a Stopwatch. I played to take as many advantages as I can for my team.


Bang, you’ve been playing with Faker for the longest time. But today, you played with Pirean. What kind of a player is he?

Bang: Both of them are extremely good players. But if I’m to describe one of Pirean’s strengths, it’s that he feels a bit more stable in-game.


In game 2, the team’s composition was built around Bang. Were you expecting to make a comeback?

Bang: Since the enemy’s top-jungle(Jayce, Kindred) composition was stronger, we had thought beforehand that the early game won’t go in our favor. However, at the same time, we thought that we would have the advantage in the late game if we are able to take some kills. It’s a bit regretful that we were a lot more behind in the early game than we had anticipated, but since we had a good team composition, I knew that we had a good possibility to pull off a comeback.


In the final teamfight near Baron, what do you think of Bang’s performance that came following Thal’s Malphite ultimate?

Bang: I was afraid that the enemy team was going to retreat after taking the Baron. But they came to fight us.

Blank: After the teamfight, we complimented Thal on his play. Our shotcalls during the teamfight were all over the place.


In the current state of the team, it’s crucial that SKT wins each and every game. How did you react when you saw HLE subbing-in a new set of players?

Blank: It’s really rare for a team to make that kind of move, so I was both amazed and scared -- at the thought of what kind of strategy they have prepared. I went in the game with the mindset that we’re better players.


What kind of advice did the coaches give you before the game?

Bang: Because so many players were subbed-in, we expected an early game invade from them. Although I was thrown off by HLE’s sudden move, it made me happy. The enemy team probably made that move in desperation, forced to switch things up because of how well we played in game 1.


Any last words?

Blank: There is still hope for us -- thank you for realizing that and cheering for us. We’ll carry on that hope and win the next match.

Bang: If we make poor results, we may end up finishing the season early [accounting Worlds]. However, if we improve on our plays and a little bit of luck helps us, I think we still have a good chance. We won’t give up, and we’ll do our best.