On Aug 31, Hanwha Life Esports defeated Liiv SANDBOX in round 1 of the LCK Regional Qualifiers. With this victory, HLE will face NS RedForce on Sep 1, a series that will determine the last team that will make it to Worlds.

The mid and bot laner for HLE, Jeong “Chovy” Ji-hoon and Kim “Deft” Hyuk-kyu joined the broadcast for a post-match interview.

Thoughts on the victory?

Chovy: This is the last opportunity that we have to go to Worlds, so I’m glad that my efforts have paid off tonight.

Deft: We had a very long time to prepare for the gauntlet run, and because of it, I was worried that my on-stage performance would drop. After remembering what it felt like to play on stage through the beating that I received from LSB in game 1, I’m glad that we were able to regain composure and win the series.

HLE beat T1 2-0 in the last regular split match, so the fans were eager to see how the team plays out in the qualifiers. Can you tell us how you prepared for the gauntlet?

Deft: I tried to ease my mind in preparing for the gauntlet, but once I was on stage, I did feel the pressure. I’m glad that my hard work paid off tonight.

[To Chovy] What did you think about FATE picking Azir four times in a row?

Chovy: I didn’t think too much into it. I knew the matchup against Azir, so facing the champion itself wasn’t hard at all.

Did you expect LSB to exclusively pick Azir in the mid lane?

Chovy: I knew they were going to play a champion like Azir, but I didn’t expect him to be picked four times.

When would you say that the team was all warmed up, and when did you know you’ve won this series?

Chovy: In terms of game 1, we didn’t make the plays that we did during practice. Whether it was nerves or whatever, we talked about how we needed to focus and remember how we played during scrims.

Deft: Our team composition was something we practiced during scrims, so we told ourselves to shed any lingering nerves and focus for game 2.

We have to talk about game 4. It looked like HLE was going to ban Lee Sin, but banned Rammus instead. What happened?

Chovy: We felt that letting them take Lee Sin was beneficial, so I just clicked on a random champion at the last second.

HLE’s next opponent is NS RedForce. The winner of that series will locked their spot at Worlds.

Chovy: I’ll make sure to beat NS RedForce to make my 3rd consecutive Worlds appearance this year. Thank you.

Deft: There’s no going back from here, so we’ll make sure to make it to Worlds.