On the 13th of August (KST), Gen.G defeated SANDBOX Gaming 2-1 in the 2020 League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) Summer Split. Although SANDBOX Gaming surprised Gen.G by winning the first game, Gen.G quickly got back on track and took the next two games. After the match, Kim “Rascal” Kwang-hee joined the press room for an interview.

How do you feel about today’s win?

I’m happy that we won. I was surprised that SANDBOX Gaming was better than I thought.

What was out of your expectations?

There was a part of us that was complacent. We didn’t think that they would pick Ornn in game 1. They were good in several parts of the game.

Gen.G has been utilizing Pantheon for a while. DAMWON Gaming also uses him as a support often. How does Gen.G look at Pantheon?

Pantheon is a champion that’s strong in the early game so he can start to snowball early. He’s a pick that appears when you want to go strong from the start.

So he’s swappable?

We used to play mid Pantheon often before. We also played support Pantheon; we liked using him in both lanes. In game 1, rather than the Pantheon pick, the game itself was regretful.

You played well with Renekton against Gangplank. It’s not that easy to play Renekton into Gangplank. Do you have a specific tip?

You have to control the range well when you play Renekton into Gangplank. I didn’t manage it well against him in game 2, so the laning didn’t go well. Fortunately, it went well in game 3. The main part is avoiding Gangplank’s passive auto-attack. You just need to avoid that. His Parrrley is rather endurable. You just don’t need to be too afraid of that.

Gen.G tends to snowball like an avalanche, but when it’s stopped, it takes time to get it to start rolling again. What are your thoughts on that?

Sometimes, when we go to the mid-late game, there are times that we play passively until we can benefit surely. I think that’s our biggest problem. There are times that it shows now and then; it’s a part we need to improve before we go to the playoffs.

As you said, the postseason is just around the corner. Is there a top laner you’d like to meet again?

I want to meet Nuguri again. It seems that DAMWON Gaming would go straight to the finals, so meeting him again this series would mean that we would go to the finals.

Your last game in the regular season is Afreeca Freecs. What do you think of them?

They have their champion tiers sorted out more than round 1 and they have their own “winning formula” now. They’re in good shape so there’s a possibility we might meet them again in the playoffs.

What are your thoughts about the new champions, Yone and Lillia?

Both champions are usable in the top lane. Yone feels more comfortable to use in top lane than Lillia. It might be that I’m not that good playing Lillia, but she just feels like a fast elk. Yone seems to be stronger than he appears, so when he’s pickable in pro play, I’d like to use him one day.

Any last comments?

We’ll prepare our next match well to show good performances.