How uncanny it is, that SK Telecom T1 defeat EDward Gaming in the same fashion two times, for two weeks in a row. For three-quarters of the game, SKT had no kills. The gold lead extends to near 10k. EDG gets Baron. EDG breaks SKT’s base. EDG takes down a few inhibitors.

Victory is so near. EDG can taste it.

Except, they were never allowed to touch SKT’s nexus. With a late game team composition comprising Orianna and Twitch, SKT’s team-fighting prowess in both matches sealed EDG’s fate as China’s number one seed bowed out of Worlds 2017.

In an Ardent Censer meta, Bae “Bang” Jun-sik on Twitch earned the most kills with precise positioning in team fights. Game Is Hard sat down with SKT’s AD carry to unravel his thoughts on today’s picks, life with Wolf, meeting Misfits at quarters, and his favourite place on earth.

TANIA MAE: SKT T1 beat EDG the same way twice. In week 1 of groups, Wolf told me that the win condition was getting Infinity Edge on Twitch. What was today’s win condition?

BANG: I think it’s the exact same one as last week. Just let me get Infinity Edge for Twitch, and we’ll be able to win the team fight. We tried to draw out the early game because we had a better composition in the late game.

Today was your first game on Varus here at Worlds. Why do you think he’s being picked over Tristana?

I don’t think Varus is superior to Tristana, but I think it depends more on the situation. After the game I thought, ‘Would the results have been different if I actually picked Twitch or another ADC instead of Varus?’. Thinking back to the game, I think the results would have been the same even if I picked another ADC.

You’ve come to Worlds so many times. What’s the biggest challenge for you this year?

Our team’s goal is to win the World Championship. My personal goal is to have the best KDA out of all the ADCs because I think the most important value of ADC players is to not die during the game.

During this World Championship, in terms of environment, it hasn’t been challenging. There’s no time difference, the weather is nice, there’s a good place for practice and the food fits my taste pretty well too.

After laning with Wolf for so many years, do you think you’ve reached your maximum potential as a duo?

Before talking about our duo, I would like to first talk about one’s skill as a League player. I think there’s a personal maximum skill that a person can reach as a player, and there’s a limit for everyone. In order to reach that maximum level of skill, I think the important point is to not make any mistakes, because these mistakes will be so obvious during the game.

About my combination with Wolf, I really can’t tell because we have been together for such a long time, and I have not duoed with other supports. I don’t think I can tell much if I am in better combination with other supports, but I can assure you that even if our condition is not the best during all my player history, this year it is at its peak.

You’re up against Misfits in the quarterfinals. MSF Hans Sama mentioned that he looks up to you and is looking forward to playing against you. What are your thoughts?

First, I want to thank him for looking up to me.

Even though I haven’t seen much of his plays, I’ve heard a lot of good things about him, about his skill and how well he plays. Personally, I’ve know Zven for a long period of time because since 2015, I’ve met him at Worlds and at other competitions. I know Europe has a lot of good ADCs including Rekkles and Zven. If Hans Sama is doing well in Europe, I know he’s a good player so I’m looking forward to playing against him as well.

Recently on stream you were using Google Maps and reminiscing on your past travels. You’ve been to so many places to compete and holiday with SKT. Which is your favourite place in the world?

I would say France and Chicago; especially France. During Worlds 2015 when I went there, it’s not Paris that I really want to visit again, but the countryside of France.

When I was taking a train to England I saw a lot of landscapes and it feels very wide. It’s mostly mountains in Korea. Compared to that, France has a lot of large fields and it was so beautiful. I didn’t have much time to see those wild fields. I also saw a lot of flowers and other plants in the fields. That’s what I really like about going to France and looking at the landscape.

SK Telecom T1 takes on Misfits in the Worlds 2017 Quarterfinals on 20 October (Friday) at 4pm (+8 GMT).