On the 8th (KST), kt Rolster faced off against DragonX in the 2020 LCK Summer split. With a set score of 2-1, KT managed to defeat DRX in an upset victory and end DRX’s undefeated streak. Even with Smeb filling in for TusiN (who was unable to start due to health issues), Kim “Aiming” Ha-ram showed that he was still in top shape.

After a much-needed victory for KT, Aiming joined the press room at LoL Park for a post-match interview.

Today’s victory was not an easy one to achieve. How do you feel?

We never beat DRX during the Spring split, so I’m incredibly happy that we took them down today.

You played with Smeb in the bot lane today. How long did you two practice before this match?

We played a couple of games in scrims. Truth be told, we didn’t have a lot of time to prepare for this match, and there were many times we lost in scrims. However, I’m glad that it worked out today.

Why did the team pick Maokai support in all three games?

We actually prepared a different champion to play today, but Smeb decided to play Maokai on the spot. I thought it was a good pick as well, so we ended up playing Maokai in all three games.

Fleet Footwork is not a keystone rune that people usually take on Senna, so why did you decide to take it?

I practiced a couple of games on Senna with the rune, and the movespeed boost alongside the sustain seemed to fit her well, so I took it this match. I personally think that it’s the best rune for Senna in a team game. However, I don’t know how it’ll be researched in the future.

DRX picked Shyvana jungle. How did the team react to their draft in game 3?

Nothing in particular. When we looked at the draft, our lanes didn’t have priority in general, so their jungler had an easy time farming it out. I think that’s why they decided to play it, but we didn’t feel that it was a good pick.

Recently, the team atmosphere didn’t look too great. What do you think the motivation was behind today’s victory?

Because we had no choice to start Smeb, it actually served as an opportunity to band together even more. Before the match, we told ourselves to give it our all with no regrets. As a result, it proved to be a mental boost, so I think that’s why we won.

Will TusiN be able to recover and return for the next match?

He became sick around 3-4 days ago, and told us that he’s not well enough to play. We were very surprised at first, but he’s recovering well. I think that he won’t be able to recover for the next match. Things are unsure yet, so we’ll see.

Last split, when the team was going through a 5-match loss streak, head coach Hirai took the team to a workshop and overcame the team’s slump. Did something similar happen this split?

There wasn’t anything like that, but we had one-on-one talks. Also, we, the players, are talking a lot amongst ourselves, and we’re in the process of putting the pieces together.

Next match up is against SANDBOX Gaming.

A new head coach recently joined SANDBOX, and they won their last match, so we’ll prepare well to beat them.

Lastly, a word to your fans?

There are a lot of fans that are worried because of our poor performance. We’ll work even harder to improve ourselves. Please continue to cheer us on.