T1 Zeus | "Reason I've been suffering all this time...Gumayusi, I'm envious."
Post-match interview with Zeus following a 3:1 victory vs DK:
Q: How do you feel about the victory?
First of all, I must admit being nervous because losing today meant a straight elimination. When we lost the first set, I had some negative thoughts that we might really lose today. But after winning the next game, I felt more confident, thinking, "we won’t be going home today."
Q: The match predictions between Korean and international specialists/crews varied. Generally, domestic crew predicted T1 to prevail. You must feel even happier since this win secured your place in the lower finals. How did you prepare for your match against Kingen?
I prepared for Kingen by focusing on the fact that he used to pick more tanky champions. Recently he's been playing more damage-dealing champions. The first set was a bit uncertain, but by the second set, I realized he was sticking to those picks, so I focused on that, especially Gangplank.
Q: In the first set T1 brought out an interesting bottom XP synergy composition. You played K'sante. Which areas were you dissatisfied with individually and what kind of feedback was given as a team?
Nilah is more short-ranged than other ADCs so there are limitations. But, she is a good champion for hyper scaling. You could look at the first set as the composition that Gen.G and HLE does well with K'Sante and Maokai. With this comp, we were trying to suffocate the opponent as the game progressed. But that didn't work out so Nilah couldn't really demonstrate her strengths.
Q: You carried the game with Camille in the next set. Can you describe the key moments, especially the final team fight where you got a Quadra Kill?
After securing the double kill, I sensed an opportunity for a Penta Kill and called for it. But we had to push bot lane to secure the win, so I focused on that instead of chasing down Maokai for the Penta.
Q: We could see that you were chasing down to the enemy side for Penta. Were you not disappointed?
I just tried dealing some damage as I was heading to Bot but found Maokai very tanky. Hence, I chose for the victory instead.
Q: There sure were a lot of memorable moments. With Camille, it can be all or nothing. You play Camille exceptionally well whenever you bring her on. How confident do you feel with this champion?
I feel quite confident with Camille in terms of my proficiency. I believe that players like Bin feels like a real craftsman but I am not quite there to be honest. Camille requires a lot of team's support, especially from the Jungler, so I only pick her when I know I can level up well.
Q: You also received unanimous Player of the Game (POG). Do you think you deserved it?
Umm, yes a recognition is a recognition (smiling). I’m grateful.
Q: In the 3rd set, you picked Yone as the 5th pick on the Red side. The Aatrox vs Yone matchup was a hot topic of discussion following the drafting phase. You have a good record with Yone vs Aatrox. What do you think of this match up?
I picked Yone confidently because I felt that there were many things Yone could do in that situation like pushing hard during lane stage. I didn’t expect having to counter Aatrox specifically, but it ended up being a natural choice in the draft.
Q: At the last team fight, you also showed some "trolling" (Korean term "aggro"). Oner mentioned that Yone was doing "weird things". Was that intentional?
I think Oner’s call was accurate. I felt we were in a favorable position, so I decided to take a few risks with my skills. I didn’t think I’d die, so I tried to experiment a bit.
Q: With today's come back, T1 proved once again that you are formidable in best-of-five. Do you have thoughts on why your team is so strong in best-of-five?
Our team has a wide champion pool, and we all excel at maintaining momentum during a series. We also learned that we’ve made it to every final without fail (with this roster), so I think it's a positive record for us.
Q: In the beginning to mid season your form was somewhat low but came back amazingly from the latter part of the season. Looking back at the season, what were your personal disappointments and challenges?
When I look back from MSI till now, I struggled with lane swaps and that heavily impacted me. Towards the end of the season, I felt that our team developed a better understanding regarding lane swap. We have now come to apply that well so that's helped me to improve my form.
Q: With lane swap, you have to face 1v2 so was that a difficult aspect you found as a Top laner?
I don’t think the enemy Top laner gets significantly ahead as long as nothing disastrous happens. But it was challenging because we didn’t have enough practice or data on this lane swap strategy. This made it hard to make decisions and execute during tournaments. In such urgent situations I believe we need to play with some pre-arranged agreements. There were a lot of games where we took greater blows than we should have.
Q: Can you share a message for Gumayusi, who became 16th player in LCK to reach 1,500 kills today?
Congrats, congrats.
Q: (Laughing) Do you mind maybe sending a more lengthy congratulations?
Actually, a lot of those kills came from the support of his teammates who gave up those kills (caster laughing in response). I wish to reach 1,000 kills someday too. I am envious.
Q: With this roster ("ZOFGK"), you have never failed to make it to LCK finals. Next week, T1 is heading to Gyeongju in order to continue on this stats. T1 struggled often against HLE this season. Do you think you can continue the 100% rate to progress to the finals?
This situation feels similar to Spring, where HLE won 3:0 against us so that was hard on us. I do believe we can win again like last time. Compared to the previous series, we’re in a much better position. I didn’t feel like we lost the last match up because Hanwha played better than us, but rather because we couldn’t exert our full potential. So we can certainly win.
Q: Lastly, can we hear how you feel about your facing the "tank" of Hanwha Life Esports?
After winning against HLE, we would have to play the finals the next day. So I hope we can have a quick, clean win - oh normally if I say this we don't progress. Ah, I will just say that I really want to head to the finals. Fighting!
Q: Do you have any final messages for your fans?
I’m grateful for all the support as this year was filled with another ups and downs. Thanks to all your support, it is really uplifting. Yeah, I will send my love to all our fans. Thank you.
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