On June 7th(KST), the Korean national team members gathered up to participate in the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games LoL preliminaries. We were able to meet the team before they flew to Hong Kong. The team was on a rather hectic schedule; the players had to prepare for the Summer split as well. However, they seemed excited and eager to represent their country. Let’s see what the 6 players had to say about the Asian Games.

*The contents can be read in the text below.

Kim “Kiin” Gi-in

Q. You are rather new to the scene compared to your other national team members. How do you feel about this?

It’s an honor to be selected as a part the national team. I am still a rookie. I’ll do my best to perform well.

Q. The Summer split schedule seemed to be rather hectic. Will you be able to stay in shape?

It will be difficult. However, if I take good care of myself, It’ll be fine.

Q. You have 2 Junglers on the team. How would you rate the Top-Jungle teamwork?

Score was so nice to me when I first met him in person. I think it would be the same in the game as well. Peanut was really nice too. I think it wouldn’t be difficult to play with the two.

Q. Did the Afreeca Freecs team cheer for you before you left?

I’ve been chosen to be in the very first Korean esports national team, so they told me to “do your best”. (Q. Who supported you the most?) Well, since they are so busy living their own lives, no one was really giving it their all to cheer me on. (laugh)

Q. Which team will be strongest competitor against Korea?

China. They are the 2018 MSI champions and the players in the LPL are known for their good performance these days. (Q. Are you confident in the Top matchup?) Top is mostly a 1 vs 1 lane, so I think I do have a chance at winning.

Q. You might still feel shy with your national team members. Who do you think is the most difficult player to be around?

(after giving Faker a look) Can I say this right in front of the player? Well, this is quite hard. Faker has a huge career as a pro, so he is rather difficult to approach. (laugh)

Q. Any last words on the Asian Games preliminaries?

I’ve been selected for the Korean national team. I’m going to try my best to perform well and get good results. Thank you.

Go “Score” Dong-bin, Han “Peanut” Wang-ho

Q. Score, you are the champion of the Asian Indoor & Martial Arts Games. What are your thoughts on being able to participate in the Asian Games preliminaries?

Score: When I played in the Asian Indoor & Martial Arts Games, people weren’t that interested. I think fans will be more interested this time, so I’d like to win a gold medal.

Q. You are the oldest in the team. Do the other players support you well? (laugh)

Score: I’ve broken my leg, so I’m wearing a cast right now. The other players are sharing my luggage; I think they’re almost my slaves now. (laugh) (Q. Does Peanut help out?) Peanut would have loved to share my luggage, but he didn’t get the chance to since Ruler helped.

Peanut: What? Didn’t I help you with your luggage? I did share once.(laugh)

Score: Did you? There are so many others who did, you know… Peanut might have felt disappointed. Sorry I didn’t remember. “Thank you” as well.

Peanut: We met for only two days and I’ve helped out once, which means that I did help with your luggage quite a lot. (laugh)

Score: We’re going to meet more often, so it’s not just going to be once I guess.

Q. Peanut, what do you think about the team’s teamwork so far?

Peanut: Teamwork is something that we can improve on after we get to practice more. Faker was easy to get along with since we were on the same team last year. I know how he plays, so it was much easier to prepare.

Q. In this Asian Games, esports is a demonstration event, so there will be no benefits or prizes. Still, I’ve heard that the players are extremely eager to perform.

Score: Well, it might be a tournament without any benefits for us, but for me as a player, I think honor is the most important; this is a great chance. I think there will be more national tournaments like this, so we’ll have to give a good performance and get some good results this time as well.

Peanut: Some fans say that the players earn nothing. I still wanted to perform so badly since I’m a Korean citizen. It would have been better if there were benefits, but the fact that I just wanted to represent Korea was enough. It is such an honor.

Some have asked “why are you participating?”. I want to get great results and prove that this was a big moment for me. Also, this is the very first Korean esports national team.That’s the most meaningful part since esports is getting bigger and bigger.

Q. Taliyah Jungle is quite popular in solo queue. What are your thoughts about that?

Score: According to what I’ve experienced, it’s better than I had thought it would be. She actually has a decent Jungle clear. There aren’t that many “AP Junglers” these days, but I still think she has a good enough chance of being picked in the tournament .

Q. Any last remarks on the Asian Games preliminaries?

Score: We’ll have to get past the preliminaries in order to get more people interested. That’s why I’d like to give a good performance and proceed to the main event.

Peanut: My short term goal is to get through the preliminaries, so I’m going to focus on that for now. After I’m back, I’ll be doing my best in the Summer split. If we do get through the preliminaries, I’ll focus more on the main event in the national team practice. Thank you.

Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok

Q. How do feel about being able to perform in the Asian Games preliminaries?

It’s really new to be performing on a national team. I feel the weight of the responsibility as well.

Q. Your solo queue rank is very high these days. How would you rate your current condition?

I’m doing well in solo queue, but the environments of solo queue and tournaments are different. I think I’ll know once I get there and play.

Q. You’re playing with some new players. How’s the teamwork so far?

I think it’s not going to take long to get the teamwork together, so I’m not concerned.

Q. Do you like the national team uniform?

I think it’s really nice.

Q. In your live stream, you said that you can clear Anvik at 5 star difficulty easily. But it seems that you haven’t cleared it yet.

I’m trying to clear it slowly, on purpose, because the fans might not have fun [if I do it quickly].

Q. Any last words on the Asian Games preliminaries?

We’re doing our utmost to get past the preliminaries. Afterwards, our goal will be to win the gold medal, so we’ll try our best to deliver a good performance for the fans. Thank you.

Park “Ruler” Jae-hyuk and Jo “CoreJJ” Yong-in

Q. You’ll have to endure quite a hectic schedule since there’s also the Summer split going on. Do you feel pressured?

Ruler: The schedule is quite hectic, but I really wanted to perform in the Asian Games, so I don’t feel pressured by it.

Q. I heard that some players were not able to meet up that much because of the hectic schedule. Are there any players that you feel awkward to be with?

CoreJJ: I don’t think so. (Q. So, you’re close with everyone?) Yes, I think.

Q. Gen.G’s signature Bottom duo will be performing alongside the Gen.G head coach, Edgar, in the Asian Games. Some fans are worried about Gen.G since the team did not perform well last split. What are your thoughts?

Ruler: Frankly speaking, I do think that our absence [from the summer split] will be a critical hit. However, if we manage to give a good performance in the Asian Games, I won’t feel that concerned about our performance in the split.

Q. China is the best competitor right?

CoreJJ: Yes. They were always a big threat. I do think they are a strong competitor.

Q. Champions such as Yasuo, Irelia, and Vladimir are picked for ADC quite a lot these days. What are your thoughts about this?

Ruler: In the last two days, I was using champions that are not regarded as ADCs. The picks were quite decent in general. Their laning wasn’t that bad either. I do believe that those champions can be used in tournaments. I personally think that the best is Irelia.

Q. CoreJJ, you’ve used the new champion, “Pyke”. What are your thoughts about him?

CoreJJ: I think I’d need some time to adjust since he is a totally new type of champion in LoL. Still, he has a very good skill mechanism, so he does a high chance of getting picked in tournaments once players get used to playing him.

Q. Any last remarks on the Asian Games preliminaries?

Ruler: Since we were chosen for the Asian Games national team, we’re going to do our best. Thank you for all your support.