On day 22 of the 2022 LCK Summer split, kt Rolster defeated DRX 2-1 in the first match of the day. Despite two of KT’s players forced to play remotely due to them catching COVID, KT still managed to take the win over a team that’s arguably one of the best in the league.

KT’s top laner, Kim “Rascal” Kwang-hee, and coach Choi “supreme” seung-min joined the press room for a post-victory interview.

Two of KT’s players couldn’t make it to the venue tonight due to COVID. Despite this, the team picked up the victory tonight over DRX.

Rascal: Cuzz and Life said that COVID really hit them hard and that they feel really sick. They’re still suffering from the effects, so we thought tonight’s match would be hard. However, they were able to focus on the game and play well, so I’m thrilled that we were able to win our last match of round 1 and carry a positive momentum into round 2.

supreme: Cuzz tested positive this week and Life tested positive this morning. Both of those players weren’t in their best condition. Despite this, they played really well, and made a lot of good in-game calls tonight.

Many have voiced that KT’s very inconsistent. How do you look back at the team’s round 1 performance?

Rascal: We made a lot of individual mistakes in round 1, and our decision-making with regards to objectives around the make weren’t crystal clear. I feel that we made a lot of huge mistakes in game 1, but reduced a lot of them in game 2 and 3, so I think that we’re making improvements.

supreme: Like Rascal said, there are things to improve on when it comes to laning, macro, and member allocation around the map. There were times where we lost games when we had the lead, so we’ll need to be able to tighten up our focus and be able to win the games that we know we can win. 

Were there teams that felt tricky to play against in round 1?

Rascal: There were games where we played pretty well against strong teams, while we hopelessly lost against the weaker teams in the league. We had our biggest loss against Gen.G in round 1, so I’ll choose Gen.G.

supreme: From a coach’s perspective, I analyze the team compositions that our opponents like to use, and try to formulate team compositions that fit our colors; there was no team that felt tricky to play against in that process. In the end, there were few teams that felt difficult to play against, but none of them felt unbeatable. Our team’s very inconsistent, so we’ll need to focus on how to perform more consistently.

Because KT didn’t make the playoffs during the Spring split, the team needs to make it to the playoffs this split to even have a chance to make it to Worlds. What are some of the goals for round 2?

Rascal: Wins are important, but I think how we actually play is also important. The teams we lost to in round 1 are very high in the standings. Our goal is to beat those teams in round 2.

supreme: We played poorly in the Spring split, so we have to earn as many championship points as we can this split. We have to make it to the top of the standings to have a chance to make it to the regional qualifiers. I feel that all the nine matches that we have to play are equally important. We’ll work hard to not lose that rare opportunity.

Lastly, is there anything you’d like to say?

Rascal: Personally, I feel that we lacked a lot of things in round 1. We’ll make sure to fill in the proper gaps that we have as a team for round 2.

supreme: My role as a coach is to elevate the team’s performance level and help the team climb the standings. I’ll make sure to be better in assisting our head coach Hirai, and help the team come together more as a team and produce results. Thank you to all the fans that support us.