On day 40 of the 2022 LCK Spring split, Fredit BRION were forced to field emergency subs for their match against T1, due to their starting roster testing positive for COVID.  Although their CL roster did not go down without a fight, T1 was too much They’re currently in 5th place with a 7-9 record in the standings, and with a great chance for them to make it into the playoffs for the first time this split, only two matches remain in their regular split journey.

Before he went out of commission, Inven had a chance to speak with Fredit BRION’s top laner, Park “Morgan” Gi-tae to talk about the playoffs, as well as the the recent controversy surrounding the state of Korean solo queue. When asked about their chances to make the playoffs, he replied,

“Everyone’s working hard. If we lock in our spot, we’ll remind ourselves that it’s a whole new beginning, and work incredibly hard. I think it’s important to note that having a great team atmosphere reflects how well a team does, and I will say that our current team atmosphere is really good. Our head coach works his hardest to relieve pressure off our shoulders, and helps us focus on the plays we can make even if we end up losing.”

The mid laner for T1, Lee 'Faker" Sang-hyeok, recently expressed his frustration regarding the quality of the solo queue in Korea. We at Inven dived into an in-depth conversation regarding the state of the KR solo queue with Morgan.

“I definitely feel similar to how [Faker] feels about the current state of the KR solo queue ladder. While it’s not like that in every game, it’s really bad sometimes. It’s hard to come to a definite conclusion, but what Faker stated mirrors my experience in solo queue, so I can definitely relate to his frustration.” 

“The real problem isn’t just about the Chinese players griefing or inting the games, but rather in how Riot’s dealing with the problem. I think trolling is an inevitable issue within solo queue, but Riot’s not punishing such acts properly. This leads to an incredible amount of stress and discomfort.”

As a player with experience within the LPL, we asked how the LPL players thought about Korean solo queue.

“Although there is a Chinese server, other LPL players thought that the overall quality of the Korean server was a lot higher, so they preferred playing on the KR server. Even with higher ping from China, they still preferred to play on the KR server. I’ve never played on Chinese servers, but I think that there are too many one-tricks on the Chinese server, which makes it unsuitable for practice.”

Lastly, Morgan thanked his fans for their support. "Our chances to make it to the playoffs have become very real. We'll continue to work hard even when we lock in our spot. Thank you for all your support."