On July 29, Afreeca Freecs defeated DWG KIA in the 2021 LCK Summer Split. DWG KIA took the first game, punishing Afreeca Freecs’ top Kalista pick, but Afreeca Freecs came back in the following games and collected their 8th win of the season. After the match, head coach Jang “Cain” Nu-ri joined the press room to talk to the media.

How do you feel about today’s win?

I’m glad that we got two straight wins against the strongest in the league. I’ll make sure that we make the playoffs by preparing the remaining matches well.

You played Kalista in game 1. It didn’t seem that the game went as planned. Why did you pick Kalista?

Kiin is a player that has a vastly wide champion pool, so we practice many different picks. In game 1, we thought Kalista was the best pick to play against Jayce, so we went in that direction.

In game 2, you picked Draven, which isn’t that popular.

In other regions, some teams consider Draven as a high-tier pick. From before, Draven has several advantages against Kalista. He’s a pick that can be played depending on the players’ champion pools. Since Leo plays him well, we’ve been preparing him.

Afreeca Freecs used to be a team that stumbled in the late game, but now, you’re completely different. What’s the reason?

I think the players have a better understanding of the game and late-game macro. Before, maybe the players became anxious if the game passes 25 minutes — a sense that they would lose if it gets longer. Now, that’s all gone. The players trust each other better, so I believe that’s why they’re playing better in the late game.

You’ve collected your 8th win of the season, and you’re in a position that could aim higher than 6th place. What’s your goal?

Our game score is really bad — among the 8-6 teams, we’re the last. If we want to aim for higher in the standings, we need to win almost all the remaining games. As much as our primary goal is reaching the playoffs, we need to win as much as we can.

Among the remaining games, which game do you think is the most important?

We must beat DRX no matter what.  I think that’s the most important. But all games are really important — we need to win them all.

Fly collected his 1,000th kill today. Any words to him?

As he is the oldest player on the team, I rely on him a lot. I’m thankful to him for working so hard. Congratulations.

Dread has been playing great recently. Before, he was considered a player that has great mechanics but lacks macro. What do you think about his recent performance?

Dread is a player that does extremely well in scrims, but his performance is sometimes shaky in competitive games. I was worried about him a bit, but since our jungle coaches help him a lot and he has a strong will to improve. I believe he’ll become a great player with a bit more improvement.