On the 28th (KST), in the first game of 2019 LCK Spring Split Day 26, SANDBOX Gaming defeated Afreeca Freecs 2-0 and ended their losing streak. After the match, we interviewed Cho “Joker” Jae-eup, who delivered good performance with Braum and Shen.

Below is our interview with Joker.

How do you feel stopping the losing streak?

We played against Afreeca Freecs twice in a short term of time. If we lose to the same team we lost to again, our confidence would fall, so I thought it was a very important match. I’m happy that we won and I’ll probably be able to prepare for our next match with a lighter mind.

It seemed that the other teams tried to penetrate through SANDBOX’s bottom lane persistently.

Thinking in their shoes, I thought they would try to hit top or bottom a lot. As for the bot lane, even if we fall in small skirmishes, we would be off okay if we didn’t fall behind too severely. I played with the thought that we can get ahead in the laning phase.

When you lost two straight games, how was the feedback within the team?

Before we lost to Afreeca Freecs, we were worried about our performance. To make it worse, there were issues with some players’ conditions. I think that was the reason for the two-game losing streak. The team atmosphere went bad after that, so we had many talks. We talked about what was lacking in the team and did our best to fix everything.

You played against each team at least once now. Is there anything you feel different compared to the start of the season?

At first, there was no team that I thought we would defeat. The only thought that I had was surviving. But as the season went on, it seemed like our team was a decent team. When we slipped two straight games, I thought that going back to the mindset of the beginning and play with a modest mind. By doing that, I think we were able to attempt more diverse things.

What’s your goal for Round 2?

Staying in the mindset of when we started and ending the season within 3rd place. I want to go to the playoffs at least. I want to become the team that smiles to the end by concentrating until the end.

Any last comments?

I’d like to say thank you to my family, friends, team office, and the fans who always cheer for me.