Samsung Galaxy’s veteran jungler Kang “Ambition” Chan-Yong has been synonymous with the success story of his team during the Korean regional gauntlet. Commonly associated with a stern, almost cold personality, even he had to show some emotion with the victory over KT Rolster in the finals.

Ambition was more than aware of the low chances of them moving forward to worlds, and he attributed his team’s upset victory not to some pocket strategy, but consistent hard work, writes Daily eSports’ Lee Yoon-Ji.

“I believe that not being overly conscious of making it to worlds and trying our best each game gave us this result,” he told Daily esports. “If our goal was to make worlds from the get go, we should have despaired half way through.”

He also shared that he’s still “couldn’t believe” they were going to the world championships, to the point that his teammates asked if it was all real in the car back to the gaming house. Despite his first venture into worlds coming quite late, he had a more dramatic viewpoint.

“Everything happens for a reason,” he said. “I think I didn’t make it to worlds before all for this year, like something out of a drama. I used to hear a lot of comments saying that I couldn’t qualify for worlds even after years since my debut. Now it feels like I pulled out an aching tooth.”

Despite the 2016 Samsung roster was made up of mostly rookies, it still managed to place fourth in the League Champions Korea summer split. Ambition credited the growth to the coaching staff, which he said tirelessly studied opponents to prepare strategies.

“They know what we’re good at and what they’re good at,” he said. “They do the drafting phase for us, so all we have to do is play well. I also think the rookie players on the team have the ‘rookie mindset’ that makes them eager to learn. Since they also practice diligently, they can only get better. I end up working hard too, in the midst of everyone.”

He continued to say that if they “can continue to play well without clashing with one another, we will continue to grow regardless of results,” and also showed great confidence in his team’s chances at worlds.

“I want to play with famous foreign teams such as North America’s Team SoloMid,” he said. “Our first goal is to make it out of groups. If we continue to play well, I think we can make it to the semis or the finals.”