SANDBOX Gaming defeated DAMWON Gaming 2-1 on January 30th, the first day of week 3 for the LCK 2019 Spring Season. SANDBOX Gaming had an easy game in game 1 when they crushed DAMWON. However, they were taken by surprise when DAMWON fought back fiercely, winning the second game. It was the third game that decided which team would be the winner; both teams were even, with each team winning a number of team fights. However, SANDBOX managed to win in the last team fight and marched on to destroy the enemy Nexus. All players in SANDBOX Gaming played exceptionally, and Joker, most of all, caught the eyes of many fans with his Galio support. This is the interview we had with Joker after they won against DAMWON.

Congratulations on your win, Joker! How do you feel?

It seems that having a turning point in the most crucial moment let us stay on a winning streak, making today’s victory even more valuable and enjoyable.

This makes it a perfect 5 wins this season so far. What is the secret to your success?

Actually, 5 consecutive wins doesn’t feel real to me; we just came all the way here without thinking too much except for whatever comes next. I think it was our teamwork that led us all the way here -- we have great teamwork and cooperation and have this bond between us which makes us try to help each other out. We have great teamwork and coordination, which seems like the reason we won.  We tend to think about what the others are thinking.

Today’s match was very intense. It was your first time playing against DAMWON Gaming after the promotion, and they are considered a powerful team. How was it?

At first, we thought things were going easy for us. Then it was a hard hit when the second game didn’t go as we thought. Everyone was having a hard time both in-game and mentally.

(And you overcame that with great teamwork?)

I think that showed in our last team fight. I think we were able to get a good result because we encouraged each other to do well without thinking about how we were at a disadvantage.

You picked Viktor as bot laner and Gallio support; what strategy did you have in mind?

It was true that I prepared a Galio pick but the strategy where we picked Galio in the second game just went wrong. It was a pick I prepared for the second game so I was flustered, which kept me from playing well. Things weren’t going well overall. My Galio pick in the first game went great. Not so much in the second game, though.

(So you picked Galio in the second game without meaning to?)

I didn’t prepare to play Galio against Lucian and didn’t have much practice on that part, so I had a hard time playing as Galio.

Your team was thorough with their wards and good at vision control. Do you just let each player do it on their own or did you get any feedback on it as a team?

When our laners are having an easy laning phase, they are good at getting the vision they need or placing wards in any routes our enemies may come to attack us. When things weren’t going great, it became harder to control vision. When things went great, everyone tried to place wards further so all of us could use the map as much as we wanted.

Summit and Ghost got picked as MVP today. If you could, who would you like to pick as MVP (including yourself as a possibility)?

I’d like to pick Dove, our mid laner. Everyone made a lot of mistakes today. There was a moment where the tide turned. We could have been at a great disadvantage in the third game but our mid laner managed to disrupt the enemy’s flow of the game, which made it more advantageous for us in turn. This was all possible thanks to our mid laner, so I’d like to personally pick him as MVP.

Was there anything you regret about your performance during today’s match?

It’s hard to pick an instance from the second game because I made too many mistakes. In the third game, though, there was the moment I was marking the enemy Vladimir and used my skills when he used his Zhonya’s Hourglass. He was the core of the enemy’s strength so I should have done a better job of marking him thoroughly.

Is there any player you’d like to win against in the LCK?

Personally, I think I have already won against the player I always wanted to defeat, which is Mata. I think highly of Mata so I always wanted to defeat him. When I did, I thought that it did help me a lot, like giving me more confidence. My goal is to not stumble from now on.

You will be playing against Griffin next. How do you think it will go? Is there any player you are keeping your eyes on?

Rationally, I think Griffin is above us when it comes to skill, although I don’t really care about such things. The stronger my enemy gets, the more I urge myself to play better -- this is my play style so it just makes me look forward to it. I really want to play a match that is fun. Something that both the audience and the players can enjoy. I want to be engaged in fights a lot -- more brawls. I don’t want an easy win. Of course, Griffin is highly likely to be in the position to get an easy win, but even if we were at a disadvantage, we would still show you what a real fight is.

The League fans don’t know much about SANDBOX Gaming since you are a rookie team. Would you like to say anything to your fans out there in the world?

We are always grateful for our fans. It would be great if any of you abroad could support us, and we will, in return, make the games fierce and fun. Please root for us. Thanks!