On the 11th of January, the 2019 LCK Spring Split press conference was held at LoL Park, joined by the ten contending teams. During the Q/A session, teams were asked questions relevant to the upcoming Spring Split, each team’s coach answering on behalf of the given team.

SK Telecom T1, the team has made significant roster changes during the 2018-19 offseason and many people are putting high expectations on the team. Is there any pressure around these expectations?

SKT: Every season has always had pressure for us, regardless of roster changes. So I would not say that this year has any more pressure than previous years. As long as the team can figure out how to be a team, I don’t think we should feel too pressured.

Griffin, people are rating your team very high after winning the KeSPA Cup.

Griffin: We maintained our roster, therefore we were one step ahead compared to other teams. While other teams were figuring out their new rosters, we already had our teamwork solidified. We just had a head start, that’s all.

KT Rolster, you head into the 2019 Spring Split as the current defending champion of LCK. What are your resolutions around this?

KT: It is true that we have had some roster changes, however, we still have the players who can act as pillars of the team as we had did last year. Based on KT’s existing infrastructure, I think we can continue to show good performance.

Kingzone, during KeSPA Cup many analysts considered Kingzone to have a weakness around topside. Yet, you have recently added Naehyun, who is a mid-laner, to your roster. Can you tell us more about the decision?

Kingzone: I believe that Rascal and Cuzz are players with potentials, who weren’t given a lot of playtime during last season. I want to give them a room to grow. As for Naehyun, we were trialing out different players and we saw potential in him.

Damwon Gaming and SANDBOX Gaming, you are the two newest members of LCK. Could you each list two teams that you would like to beat the most in LCK?

Damwon Gaming: Griffin, as a team, has an ongoing narrative with us. So if I had to choose one team, I will choose Griffin. If I had to choose another team to beat … I would like to go with SKT.

SANDBOX Gaming: While we dreamt of LCK during Challengers Korea, KT was our role model and we looked up to KT. Therefore, we would like to go against KT. Also, Damwon Gaming beat us during 2019 promotions and as a result, we qualified into LCK 2019 as the last placed team. I’d like to have our revenge against Damwon Gaming.

Griffin, you have mentioned that you want to create an “everybody wins” situation in LCK.

Griffin: I think the average level of performance in LCK has been going up. The meta is very aggressive, and Griffin is thought to have a good performance in the current meta. I want to increase the level of competition in LCK and the overall quality of games in the current meta, so LCK teams, in turn, have a better chance in the international stages.

Damwon Gaming, there are a lot of expectations around Damwon, due to the overwhelming performance the team showed back in Challenger Korea. Many people are hyping Damwon as the “next coming of Griffin”.

Damwon Gaming: If I were to rate the current strength of the team, I don’t think we will be able to do as well as Griffin last year. We are still learning. We want to get at least to Playoffs this year.