On the 20th (KST), DAMWON Gaming faced off against Griffin in Week 3 of the 2020 LCK Spring. With a set score of 2-1, DWG reverse sweeped the series to take down Griffin and take the series home. As one of the trio CK teams that promoted into the LCK at a similar time, this victory solidifies DWG as the team that’s highest among the three in the standings.

DWG’s bot laner, Sin “Nuclear” Jeong-hyeon joined Inven Global for a one on one interview to talk about tonight’s victory.

Tonight’s win wasn’t the easiest victory for DAMWON. Can you tell us about tonight’s match?

Tonight’s match didn’t play out as well as I thought. In game 3, it was especially important that I stayed alive, but I died more than I should have, so I’m not too satisfied.

In recent days, DAMWON’s performance is pretty subpar. Do you think that there’s a huge difference between the current DAMWON and Worlds DAMWON?

The meta’s changed, and we also have a new coach, so I believe we’re in the process of getting adjusted to things. From broadening our understanding of the meta, to building team synergy, we’re in the process of figuring things out. Things are definitely better than the beginning, but we still have a long way to go.

Is there anything that you wish your teammates did for you, that you’ve yet to get off your chest?

I’m usually the type to be direct about them. Earlier, after the match, I told Hoit, ‘Couldn’t you have been riding me (as Yuumi)  a bit more? Why were you only on Sejuani most of the time?’

Then can I safely assume that you’re pretty direct about giving feedback?

Yeah, I think I talk to them about things without feeling too uncomfortable about it. I’m the oldest in the team, so I don’t think I’m uncomfortable with a specific player. I’m cool with all of them, but I feel like with the younger players, they might get hurt if I’m too direct, so when it comes to Canyon or Hoit, I try to say things to them in a comfortable environment.

Then, because of how old you are, are you the type to not get hurt if someone’s direct with you?

I do get hurt, but I try to think of those words to be food for my motivation. I think I accept feedback pretty well.

To be honest, DAMWON is known to be a team that’s stronger in the upper half of the map. As a bot laner, do you feel like you want to always prove yourself? Or frustrated?

Right now, if I use tonight’s match as an example, we drafted a team composition to be focused around the upper half of the map for two of our games. We picked our bot lane first in game 3, and also remember first picking when we were on the Blue side. The best scenario was to first draft bot lane and pick our upper half champions later, and for our bot lane can go either even or slightly ahead, even if the bot lane ends up sacrificing priority through draft.

I feel that a bit of sacrifice is crucial, and I’m confident that if the mid/top priority picks can be sacrificed for a better bot lane matchup, the bot lane will be able to carry. We just do what we need to do to win.

So you don’t really think too much about your critics?

No, not really. I know myself that I need to improve, so just like last year’s Worlds, I feel that I’ll be able to perform well very soon. 

Can you tell us a bit about your support, Hoit?

Cheeky? He’s like a little rugrat to me. I think he’s very rowdy because we’re only 2 years apart from each other, so sometimes, I have to educate him (laughter).

(Laughter) How do you educate him?

When he sometimes crosses the line in real life, I tell him that he can’t do that in a very nice manner. I try to be nice, whether it comes to feedback, or IRL.

As an older figure in the team, do you believe that you’re doing a good job?

There really isn’t much to do as an older figure of the team, as everyone does well on their own. I think that whether it’s scrims or during matches, I’m not doing too bad of a job when it comes to setting the right atmosphere and the tension within the team.

As the older figure of the team, Is there someone that you’d like to ask something of?

Like I said before, I really wish Hoit would stop riding on Canyon as Yuumi, as I feel that he should also be riding on me for a majority of the time. He keeps running away with Canyon to get vision! He should come back after getting vision with Sejuani, but he doesn’t (laughter). Although it’s my fault that I died while I was in a side lane, I feel like things would’ve been different if Yuumi was with me. 

The cat that left home never came back, huh?

Yes, I’m looking for my cat that ran away.

Lastly, can you say a few words to the large number of fans that are worried about DAMWON not performing so well?

It’s definitely understandable that you’re worried, because we aren’t performing as well as we were during when we were at our peak. However, we’re making good progress in understanding the meta further and working with our new coach, so please don’t worry and cheer us on. I believe that you’ll be able to meet the good version of DAMWON that you loved watching last year. Please have faith and cheer us on. Thank you.