On the 5th (KST) at LoL Park, Kingzone DragonX defeated SANDBOX Gaming 3-1 to take the victory in the 2nd round of the LCK Regional Qualifiers. In the post-match interview, Head Coach Kang “Hirai” Dong-hoon thanked the coaching staff and the players for pushing through the difficult times. Also, Park “TusiN” Jong-ik emphasized the fact that winning is important.

The following is the post-match interview with Hirai and TusiN.

Any comments on your victory tonight?

Hirai: Happy. I feel like the team’s performance is steadily improving. The in-game comms were very flexible. I’m very excited to see their performance in the next match.

TusiN: I’m very happy that we got to move onto the last round of the gauntlet. However, I don’t think it’s time to celebrate just yet.

Is Nidalee a pick that you’ve prepared in Game 3?

Hirai: It’s actually a champion that we’ve been practicing with throughout the season. The truth is, it’s really hard to prepare a fresh pick one day before a match. It’s just one of many champions and team comps that we’ve been preparing for. It’s also a champion that Cuzz is really good at.

What’s the biggest change within the team?

TusiN: There’s just one thing that changed, and it’s the fact that this could very well be the very last time. Everyone’s aware of such a fact, so I could tell that our morale and our desire to be better was at our all-time high. There was something that I said during the pause vs. Afreeca Freecs, which was that it could be our very last run with this lineup. I think everyone was also thinking that as well.

Is there a player that you want to give a special mention to?

Hirai: I want to give a special shoutout to Naehyun. I’ve been giving him an intense amount of pain, so I feel very sorry and care for him at the same time. It must be physically hard for him to go through the training, but he’s been doing well. Even if things may be hard for him, he genuinely cares for the team and his teammates, so I feel very grateful.

Your final match is against DAMWON Gaming.

Hirai: Compared to the Spring split, DAMWON has immensely improved since then. With much experience, such as their performance in Rift Rivals, they’ve been continuously learning, and they’ve maturing at an alarming rate. While they can be a bit intimidating, I truly believe that we can beat them. We’ve worked much harder than that. If we can take the first game off them, I believe we can take the match 3-1.

TusiN: We’re thinking about playing the game from DAMWON’s perspective. We hope that our upper lanes will be able to take the game, but if they’re struggling, our bot lane will act as plan B. I want to let my brothers know that even though they may be behind, our bot lane’s got their backs.

Last words?

Hirai: It was a very difficult time for us, but we’ve made it all the way here. I really want to thank the coaching staff and the players. I especially want to thank the players for not losing their way. Instead of feeling pressured about taking the victory in our upcoming match against DAMWON, I hope that the players will have the mindset of just giving it their all, without any regrets.

TusiN: If it was during the season, I would normally say that we’ll work harder and also win our next match. However, right now, it’s not about working hard, it’s about winning. I’ll make sure to always remember these words.