DePlus Kia really showed off their powerhouse side against Reef Sandbox. In sets one and two, all three lines mined the first turret tower to open up a gold gap. Set two was a particularly notable performance. Despite only getting one kill, DePlus Kia extended their global gold lead to 6,000. It was a game that proved that the team is a strong contender for the Spring Season. The team’s head coach Choi Cheon-ju expressed confidence in the current meta, saying that the team has no particular weaknesses.
Q. How does it feel to win today’s match?
Choi Cheon-ju: It was our first time playing two games. The first game went to three sets, so we got a little sloppy when we were waiting, but I’m thankful that the players kept up their performance, and I’m glad we got two wins before the Lunar New Year holidays.
Kellin: It feels good to get a clean 2-0 win. I was happy with the way we played.
Q. What were some of the things you worked on in preparation for this match?
Choi Cheon-joo: I thought about one thing a lot. We chose the blue side, but other teams preferred the red side a lot. We thought about why other teams preferred the red side, so we studied that and used it a lot in our banpik.
Q. There were a lot of different situations at the bottom line. How did you approach the game from the bottom line?
Kellin: We were very confident in our lineup, so we played hard, and we talked to Hyuk Kyu-hyung about the direction of the team. There were times in the beginning when they were strong and there were times when we were strong, and we were able to capitalize on those times.
Q. ‘Kellin’ is a supporter with a strong lineup. You met Deft, who is also a strong lineup player. How was your chemistry with Deft?
Kellin: At first, we didn’t have a lot of chemistry, and we had a lot of different team decisions, but we’ve been working together a lot lately, and he’s been playing for so long that he has a lot of details. I’m learning a lot from that.
Q. What has stayed the same and what has changed as you’ve switched teams?
Kellin: I’ve noticed a lot that we play cleaner and don’t stretch the game.
Q. What’s the direction of your strategy?
Choi: I think it’s important for all five of us to have a deep understanding of the direction of the banpick or the winning plan for the combination, so we talk about it a lot.
Q. Plus Kia seems to be playing very well. As a coach, what do you think are their strengths, and what do you think they need to work on?
Choi Cheon-ju: Our players are all very smart. Their understanding of the game is so deep and wide. When we make a strategy, our individual ability to execute it is outstanding. And the five of us have a lot of trust in each other. I don’t think there’s a lot of room for improvement in the current meta, and I think the challenge will be to organize the changes between patches.
Q. What are your thoughts on your next match?
Kellin: We have a T1 match against Nongshim RedForce next week. I don’t think Nongshim is a bad team, and T1 is also a strong team. We’ll prepare well and play well. I hope our fans have a happy New Year.
Choi Cheon-ju: I think we’re already working hard enough and doing well enough that we don’t need to do anything extra, we just need to do our best against any team. However, next week we’re all away, 한국야동 so I’m very curious to see which camp our opponents will choose. We will work hard and prepare well as usual.