On the 29th of May (KST), we met up with Kim “Deft” Hyuk-kyu during the 2019 LCK Summer Split profile photo shoot.

Deft started off the interview by saying, “Since the Spring Split was the first split (in Kingzone), I had excuses to make. However, Summer won’t be like that. Also, I don’t have a lot of time left as a pro. This year, I’d like to head to the Worlds and deliver results.”

On the question regarding PawN taking some time off and You “Naehyun” Nae-hyun filling in this Summer Split, he answered, “The two players’ playstyle is very different. PawN likes to play around the mid lane whereas Naehyun tends to focus on taking care of the other laners. That’s why we’ll have to change how we play.” Although the possible change in their style, he also said that there won’t be any difficulties since Naehyun participated in numerous scrims during the Spring Split.

His goal for this split was defeating SKT T1. “I’ve never defeated SKT last split. If we can get a lot of wins against them, we’ll be able to fulfill our goals such as winning the LCK title and qualifying for Worlds.” Then Deft added, “Although we underperformed against SKT because we made a lot of mistakes, I was also mentally pressured when playing against Mata. It seemed like he knew my every single move. This time, I’ll put in more confidence.”

Deft focused mostly on practicing during his rest. “Since teams that perform better than us were at the MSI, I didn’t feel comfortable enough to rest. I turned on my live stream and practiced every day.” He said that he was highly impressed after watching G2 play in the MSI. He added that their playstyle and picks & bans were very unique. “If I get the chance, I’d also like to try out more champions in Summer.” said Deft.

The Kingzone players are currently in good shape according to Deft. “Cuzz was performing very well starting from the middle of the last split. These days, Rascal is in such good shape. I think he can win against any top laner.”

Before wrapping up the interview, he sent a short word for the fans. “I think everyone is satisfied with us finishing 3rd since we had almost zero expectations going into Spring. Now that people are expecting more from us, we’ll try our best to answer with results.”