Q: Thoughts on the victory?
Hirai: I'm really very happy. This is a very strong team, currently ranked first, and they have maintained an undefeated record. But today was not just about the victory; from the content of the match, we did very well in many aspects and moved in the direction we should be going. This is very encouraging, and I hope the players can also believe this is the right direction and use this opportunity to regain their confidence. Today was a very important day for us.
Deft : I was very satisfied with the performance in the second and third games. In the first game, we actually had some advantages, but when dealing with Alora, we found that neither the laning phase nor the team fight handling met our expectations. I think we need to better prioritize Alora.
Q: How to deal with KT's fluctuating performance?
Hirai: We encountered a similar situation during the Spring Split, but our belief and confidence have always been there. We focused on overcoming the anxiety of the low period during the Spring Split, but after entering the Summer Split, some new problems emerged. So now it is necessary to clearly understand our current situation. Reviewing and sticking to the basics is the most important thing. I believe that even if we don't pursue flashy plays, as long as we play solidly step by step and play the game our way, regardless of winning or losing, this will be the most crucial key.
Q: Thoughts on dealing with fluctuating performance?
Deft : Yes, we received a lot of feedback starting from the basics. Everyone was very focused today, and it felt like there was a lot of improvement. In terms of champion selection, we also discussed many ideas on how to stabilize our performance. Everyone was more confident during the match today, so the performance in this aspect was very good.
Q: Why didn't you ban Alora?
Hirai: If we had more ban slots, it would be easier to ban Alora, but we didn't have that condition. Actually, we also considered that Alora could be moved to the top lane; it was not unexpected. We also tried to deal with it in scrims, and even yesterday, we repeatedly tested various countermeasures. Although we made a judgment, it's hard to say it was entirely accurate. We thought we could handle it, so we decided to play the match this way. But in the actual match, from the laning phase to the team fight stage, various inconveniences appeared. So before we fully figure it out, we decided to make adjustments in the next match.
Q: What was the opportunity to prepare for Smode?
Hirai: Regarding Smode, it's not just him; we also prepared many other options. Recently, Puseong's condition has been very good, and he performs well no matter what he plays. So besides this, we will continue to prepare other champion options, become more diversified in the future, and make full preparations in terms of strategy.
Q: Thoughts on consistently banning Ivern and Leona?
Hirai: To be honest, I think the matches we lost in the last and the previous match were ones we should have won. I remember we also banned Ivern and Leona at that time, but I don't think we lost because we banned Ivern and Leona. If we play the match at our own pace, I firmly believe we can win. If there were a time machine, I wish we could go back to that time and let the players play the match again. Sticking to basic principles, I still believe we would win.
Q: What are your thoughts on situations in the match that are hard to understand?
Hirai: Besides hero priority or BP parts, the team's composition is also very important. These factors cannot be ignored, but they are also part of the basics. I think we have lost too much of the basics in this regard. So we emphasize these basics very much and have reviewed them very resolutely. We have always asked the players to do these basics well. The players also actively participate, share their thoughts and confusions, and these have been well demonstrated.
Deft : From a certain perspective, the games we won did have a significant advantage in hero selection, especially when the opponent's proficiency was not high enough. We gained a lot of advantages by forcing the opponent to roam in the bottom lane. But when the opponent restricted us in BP or playstyle, everyone, including myself, seemed to rely on the early game advantage. We were eager to do something in the early stages of the game, which often put the game in a very disadvantageous situation for both the audience and the players from the start. In our discussion yesterday, we also realized that this would not work against GEN. GEN's strength lies in picking late-game heroes and then gradually suppressing the opponent. Therefore, we tried to either pick more late-game heroes or restrict GEN's key heroes.
Q: What is your determination for the next match?
Hirai: As before, we will not work harder or prepare specially just because our opponent is GEN. I think we should treat every team with the same attitude. We will prepare more seriously for the two matches next week, conduct in-depth analysis, communicate more, share more, and never give up until the last moment, striving to maintain a good game state.
Deft : Actually, I think suppressing the opponent from the early game is a more difficult and challenging playstyle. Although we will continue to pursue this playstyle, we will also understand our state more clearly and adopt this playstyle only when we can. If we can't, we will choose to win the game steadily.
Q: Do you have anything to say to the supporting fans?
Hirai: Thank you very much for your continuous support, and we hope you will continue to support us. The players are really working very hard, and they bear a lot of pressure after each failure. Because the players rely on everyone's encouragement and support to cheer up, I can confidently say that if we get everyone's support, we will definitely repay you with excellent performance. We will fight to the end, and we hope you will support our players more. Thank you, everyone.
Deft : I also feel very sorry because sometimes we don't perform well. But we will prepare without any regrets and strive to have a perfect ending to this season. Thank you, everyone.
