On day 44 of the 2022 LCK Summer split, T1 defeated DWG KIA 2-0 in the second match of the day. With this victory, T1 finished second place in the regular split standings, and were seeded in round 2 of the upcoming playoffs.

The following is the post-match interview with the head coach for T1, Choi “Polt” Seung-hun.

Congratulations on taking the final match victory against DWG KIA. How do you reflect on the team’s performance this split?

Although we finished 2nd place in this split, I think that the way we put the period mark on the split was in a positive direction.

How do you reflect on some of the good and the bad from T1’s performance this split?

One thing that I wish would’ve gone differently was that we didn’t have enough time to prepare for this split, and the players’ level of fatigue was already pretty high, so I don’t think we were well equipped to tackle the journey that we had to embark on this split. We invested a lot of time to solve the issues that we had in order to prepare for the playoffs and ultimately win the championship, but in that process, it’s disappointing that there were inconsistencies in our performance. However, in that process, we still managed to rack up a lot of victories, so I’d say that’s a win.

There’s quite a bit of criticism in T1’s draft, in that they’re behind in the meta.

I believe that there are different ways to prepare for the playoffs. We secured second place a week ago, so we felt that the matches that are ahead of us are more important than this week’s matches. I believe that there are drafts where the meta champions are drafted to form team compositions, and there are drafts that are unique and specific to our players.

Up until now, this was my thought process, and I understand that others can think differently than I do. As long as we can get through the playoffs and win the finals, such inconsistencies that I spoke of can be overlooked. Of course, the best scenario is to perform well every time, but since we did show gaps in our performances, the plan is to use the data that we’ve gathered to statistically and strategically reinforce our drafts, to the teams that we face in the playoffs.

T1's message to those that are essentially stalking the players

There’s concern on how T1’s issues outside the game [truck protests, stalking the players] will negatively impact the team’s performance.

I’m not too sure if it’s just our team, because I do not know what it’s like with the other teams… There are a lot of such issues specifically with T1. Because of this, the players already have a mental fortitude for such issues, and they’ve been pretty blunt about it. As long as such issues don’t directly affect the players, like stalking the players near the HQ for example, the players won’t really be impacted. Furthermore, the coaching staff and the management are assisting in any way we can to not only combat such issues, but to not let them affect their performance. There’s no need for concern.

Lastly, a word to the fans.

Although the fans may think that we may be performing inconsistently, we’re preparing a lot in the playoffs patch. Please believe in us and continue to cheer us on.