

Rift Rivals LCK vs LMS vs LPL will take place from Thursday, July 6th (KST) in Kaohsiung. Before the event, head coaches from the Korean representatives of the Rift Rivals have shared their feeling and resolution for the very first Rift Rivals. KT's head coach, Jihoon Lee shared how he'd have liked the team to not be in a losing streak in LCK, but hoping that the Rift Rivals will be a chance for the Korean region to grow together.



Head Coach Lee started the interview by expressing regret that they couldn't do well in the split before leaving for the Rift Rivals. "It feels bad that we have to leave for the Rift Rivals after a losing streak in LCK, but we have our reasons. Our match schedule in June was very hectic, so the players were exhausted. Rift Rivals is an international tournament, so it's crucial that we win our matches, but I'm slightly relieved that we will be playing alongside some of the strongest Korean teams. We'll just have to do our part."



He shared how he is hoping that Rift Rivals' unique format will cause the Korean region to grow together through cooperation. "Rift Rivals is different from the World Championships, because although you 'represent' your country in the Worlds, it's still a competition based on individual teams; it's somewhat uncomfortable for teams to share strategies and information with other teams from the same region. This tournament is different. Teams from the same region are on a same boat and will be exchanging strategies, so I'm expecting this to be a good opportunity for LCK teams to grow together."



As for KT's opponents, LPL's RNG and LMS's ahq, they'd have liked to have more time to prepare but found a shortcut through Mata at least for RNG. "We didn't get much time to prepare against RNG nor ahq, but we've done our research on the team characteristics and their preferred champions. Mata used to play for RNG, so we have it somewhat easier when preparing against them. As for ahq, they are a strong team, and they have always appeared in the Worlds since 2014, so we know who we are going up against. We'll do our best to win against both."



LCK Head Coaches' Resolution for the Rift Rivals

SK Telecom T1 - Head Coach Byunghoon "cCarter" Choi

KT Rolsters - Head Coach Jihoon Lee

Samsung Galaxy - Head Coach Woobeom "Edgar" Choi

MVP - Head Coach Jaehwan Kwon