With two match victories under their belt, Gen.G is off to a great start in the 2021 LCK Summer split. So far in the split Gen.G’s various team compositions have been explosive; they’ve moved away from the safe, rotations oriented style, to being more aggressive, and full of skirmishes. Much of their successful transition can be credited to Gwak “Bdd” Bo-seong. He’s had an incredible performance on Akali, which is very different from the mage champions that he’s played in the Spring.

It feels like Gen.G’s team composition and playstyle has shifted towards to be more aggressive. 

It changed this way due to how the current competitive meta is. Engage team compositions are great in this meta, so that’s why Akali fits so well.

In game 1, however, it looked like HLE dealt with the Akali-Nocturne engages very well.

I think that our team composition was very balanced in that game. However, we couldn’t find the right timing to pressure the enemy with the priority we had, so the game was very tough. I wasn’t sure if we would get a chance to come back into the game, but I think we won due to superior teamfighting.

Akali’s doing very well in the LCK this split. Why do you think that is?

I think Akali doesn’t really have a losing matchup these days. Once upon a time, AP mages thrived in the mid lane, but nowadays, since top-support-jungle meta champions are heavy engage champions, I think mages are a lot harder to use.

Not only does Akali have a great win rate in the LCK, a lot of players are proficient on her. Why do you think it still sometimes doesn’t get banned?

Today, Chovy prepared Twisted Fate to counter Akali. I think that because it’s still early on in the split, teams are trying new things and adjusting to it. I personally think that TF is a great counter to Akali. He does well in lane against Akali, and as long as the right team comp is backing him, TF is a great counterpick.

Which of the many changes that Akali received made her thrive in the current meta?

Her Q getting stronger in the late game, and the buff to her E are two really big factors. Also, the buff to Riftmaker was big as well. I think the biggest factor has to be the meta shift in the jungle champion pool, because of how meta team compositions are more aggressive.

A long time ago, you were known for assassin champions like Zed. Are you still confident in your ability to play assassins in the meta?

I’m confident in any meta, but the assassin meta’s the most fun. Sometimes, I can go in without thinking, press some buttons, and the enemy’s dead. There’s also more variety with assassins, and most of all, they’re cool [laughter].

A lot of people believe that Gen.G likes to out-rotate the enemies and is macro-oriented. Some even say that it’s boring to watch Gen.G’s matches. What kind of gameplay can the fans expect from Gen.G?

To a certain extent, I agree. We’re just following the meta, so I know that it’s eventually going to get more fun to watch. Please continue to cheer for us!