KT Rolster’s surge that began in the Swiss Stage shows no signs of slowing. On the 29th, at Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai, KT Rolster swept CTBC Flying Oyster (CFO) 3–0 in the quarterfinals of the 2025 League of Legends World Championship, setting a historic milestone with the organization’s first-ever berth to the semifinals. Despite entering Worlds as the LCK’s third seed and receiving lower power-ranking grades than the other LCK teams, KT Rolster have proven their strength with results.

Below is the full interview with KT Rolster bot laner Deokdam (Seo Dae-gil) following the team’s first-ever semifinal qualification.

How do you feel after beating CFO to advance to the semifinals?

This is the best moment of my career so far. We’ve had tough stretches in scrims, but we’ve been performing well on stage, so I think we can keep it going in the next match too.

CFO’s bot laner Doggo looked very strong during the Swiss Stage. What analysis did you do to prepare for CFO’s bottom lane, and what do you think clicked in today’s series?

I thought they were a bot duo that really delivers when the team plays around them. So from the start, we focused on getting ahead as much as possible in lane.

It ended in a clean 3–0. Many people expected a 3–1 or even 3–2 even if you won—did you believe a 3–0 was on the table?

I figured we’d win, maybe 3–1. But after Game 1, it felt like we’d prepared more than they did—both in draft and in our play.

Because you locked in three wins early in the Swiss Stage, there was a long break before the quarterfinals. Were you worried about losing your on-stage feel? How did you try to overcome that?

With the gap being so long, it did feel like our match sharpness loosened up. In practice, when things get ambiguous, players can sometimes get a bit heated with each other. Usually, official matches help release that tension, but since we didn’t have those for a while, it was a little tough.

You’ll face Gen.G in the semifinals. Many predict Gen.G to be favored, but KT has upset them before. What kind of series do you expect?

Gen.G are strong enough to be called title favorites. The games won’t be easy, but none of our matches getting here have been easy either. We’ll prepare well like we have been. We made a few in-game mistakes today, but they came from playing freely and enjoying the game, and I’m confident for the next one.

You’ve been in China for over two weeks. Any difficulties with day-to-day life, like food?

I actually like fried chicken more than Chinese food, so I’ve been ordering chicken a lot.

Lastly, a message for the fans.

I think many fans might not have expected us to make it this far. Our journey isn’t over yet, so we’d be grateful for just a bit more support.

This article was translated from the original that appeared on INVEN.