Sandbox Gaming defeats KT Rolster to keep their hopes of a top 2 finish alive. With relegation on the line, KT played valiantly, taking the series to a full set against the top 3 team in LCK. However, Sandbox would not be denied, methodically dismantling KT in the last game to close out the series with a 2-1.

Riot Korea has interviewed Park “Summit” Woo-tae and Kim “Dove” Jae-yeon following the match.

Summit, you must have prepared hard for this series, considering it’s entailed in your path to securing second place in the regular season.

Summit: Yes, I was quite nervous going into the match, but I am glad it managed to work out well for us.

Dove, you must have been determined in your own way as well.

Dove: It was an important series for us, so we were anxious from the start. However, we managed to claim victory at the end, which is quite a relief.

Summit, you performed admirably on Yorick in the first game. Yorick as a champion is being prioritized frequently right now. Do you believe it is a suitable champion to play in the current patch?

Summit: A lot of champions have been nerfed recently, meaning there aren’t many champions that can be picked blind. However, I believe Yorick is a champion that can be picked blind.

It has been noted that your Maiden has lasted for 10 minutes at one point. With such remarkable control of Maiden, you must have quite a bit of interest and mastery over Yorick as a champion.

Summit: Since it was going to be picked blindly, I practiced quite a bit [of Yorick]. Today, I think the Maiden lived for quite a long time, which I think is thanks to me caring for her.

We will be looking at a highlight of Summit’s play in the first game. A fight starts in the Baron side river, which Summit joins via TP.

Summit: I start the fight by hitting my E on to the carries, which is great for me. By following my opponent all the way there, it could have lead to me throwing, but I managed to the evade the danger with style.

Dove, you played Ryze against LeBlanc in both game 1 and 3. What do you think of the matchup?

Dove: Since Ryze outscales Leblanc as the games go on, I picked it against LeBlanc throughout the series.

When the LeBlanc-Ryze matchup in the midlane was established once more in the last game, did you think you would be able to win again?

Dove: Yes, I thought that if the game goes on without any accidents, we would be able to win.

In the first game, since your opponents already lost against Ryze, they would have had ample time to research a counter strategy against it. Did you prepare a different playstyle perhaps in answer to that?

Dove: No, I have decided to play as I usually did [going into the third game].

During the series, the Draven was given up [to KT Rolster]. Can you tell us the reasoning behind that?

Summit: Our bot lane assured us that they will be able to play against Draven without much trouble.

Did Ghost express any wish to play Draven?

Dove: He’s the type of guy that wants to play Draven as soon as the circumstances call for it, but he didn’t really say much today. I think he really wanted to play it though.

The Head Coach’s reaction while watching the game has been quite memorable this split. Is he aware of it himself?

Summit: When we watch replays of our games, we get to see our Head Coach’s reaction, which is great to see.

Does he encourage the players during scrims in a similar manner?

Summit: Yes, yes he does.

Your next match will be against SKT. While your playoffs spot is nearly confirmed, your remaining games are still important [for better placing in playoffs]. How will you prepare for your upcoming match?

Summit: I think SKT is our strongest opponent to face in our remaining matches. We have to prepare hard against every team, of course, but we will do our best against SKT.

Dove: I have been researching a new pick in the mid lane, which I might bring out next series against SKT.

Will be able to expect a whole new champion from you?

Dove: Oh, please don’t expect it, just think about it a bit.