Emerging victorious from the semifinals of the 2016 League of Legends World Championship was SKT T1. Despite bringing the series down to the wire against the two-time world champions, ROX Tigers yet again failed to overcome their archenemy. Central to SKT's victory was Seongung "Bengi" Bae's heroic substitute performance, snatching his team from the jaws of defeat.

The entire SKT T1 squad participated in this postmatch interview.







ROX’s peculiar Miss Fortune support allowed them to take two sets. Did you anticipate the pick, and if you did, what was planned as an answer?

Faker: It was a pick we never anticipated. It really threw us off guard. The Miss Fortune support really showed its value during the game. In Game 3, under the judgment that our bottom lane could handle Miss Fortune, we decided not to ban it. That turned out to be a mistake, and from Game 4 onwards we just banned it out.

Wolf: I encountered it in solo queue and gave it a spin myself, which is why I thought I would be able to hold up against it. That was my bad judgment; that might have been the case for other matchups, but Miss Fortune counters Zyra way too hard.



Miss Fortune is fun to play and is strong in lane, but falls short during team fights. ROX Tigers came up with a good item build to mitigate that weakness, so props to them. I want to try it out myself, but I don’t think the team will let me. [laughs]



Most were dismissive of your Lee Sin and Nidalee, but you proved them all wrong today.

Bengi: Playing blue side first pick Nidalee is a huge burden - one I tended to shy away from. My pick today was due to Kkoma making a mistake during the draft, but I'm happy that the result was so positive. I decided it would be better for me to play Nidalee than to hand it over to ROX.



What was your impression of Smeb in-game, and how does it feel to beat such a player?

Duke: It was an honor to face him. He is an impressive player. Our victory today was in large part due to our coaches drafting to empower me in the toplane matchup.



What would you say was the turning point in the series?

Blank: Although we lost the two games I played in, I believe all of our lanes are the best in the world. When Bengi picked Nidalee, I immediately had the strongest hunch that we would win. Bengi is a terrific player, and I think he is way too underappreciated. When the series came all the way to Game 5, I became confident: SKT is the best Bo5 team in the world. I would like to stress that both of our team’s junglers excel on Nidalee. I teared up with joy when Bengi took over the game with Nidalee.







You are well known for always banning Aatrox in NA solo queue. Any reason for that?

Faker: It originally was to play against diverse champions, but now it is merely symbolic. Some people dodge as soon as they see my Aatrox ban. From now on I will understand such dodges to be a show of respect towards me.



Were there any problems due to the five straight hours of intense competition?

Faker: Not really. Some chocolate right before Game 5 was really all I needed.



What was the idea behind leaving Jayce up in Game 5?

Duke: Smeb never really shined that much on Jayce, so we figured maybe it would be better to use the ban elsewhere.



The crowd was amazing today. Did their energy influence your play?

Faker: Not much, but I was not pleased when the audience only chanted for Peanut.



Who do you wish to meet in the finals: Ryu or Crown?

Faker: Both are great players, so I don’t think it really matters.







You admitted that you get angry at yourself when not content with your own performance, and play the next game in "rage mode". Were you able play in rage mode today?

Wolf: I was much more enraged today than last week, which is why I’m looking forward to the finals. Miss Fortune support really surprised me, and I want to show something comparable.



Did sitting out two games negatively affect your gameplay?

Bengi: I expected that I would have to play if we went two games down, so I was prepared to go off the bench when necessary. There was a period in which I became a bit too excited during the game, but I was able to calm down soon enough.



Any unique picks you're saving for the grand finals?

Wolf: Not as of now, but Miss Fortune really opened my eyes today. I might prepare one.



How is your relationship with Bengi?

Blank: I always sit next to him in our practice room. We share lots of information, and help each other become a better player. Our relationship is great.



You always look on top of your game despite your lack of match fitness. What’s the secret? And if you had to rate your performance today, what score would you give?

Bengi: I practiced out of my mind. I would rate my performance today a 7 out of 10.



Blank: Bengi was absolutely brilliant today and I would give him a 2,000 out of 10.



Wolf: Bengi led the team to victory today, so an 8 out of 10. I deducted 2 points because he scolds me all the time for petty things! [laughs]



What was your impression of Peanut in today's series?

Blank: Peanut is always a pain to deal with, but it never was too much pressure since I think our lanes are stronger than ROX's lanes.



Bengi: I was a bit dumbfounded when Peanut got a solo kill on me in Game 5, but apart from that one moment, his pressure was negligible.