T1 Doran: “As long as we are well-prepared, I believe that we will be able to win [against G2] without a problem.”

Q: Was Game 3 scary at all? Did it feel like you might actually lose to the scaling?

Doran: The opponent had some power; [a few times, we] did feel like we were falling behind and we were at a disadvantage, but I think we were able to come back pretty well and turn it around. And honestly, yeah, in Game 3 the enemy showed some resilience and [demonstrated] their potential, but we actually always thought that we would be able to win in the end.

Q: Did you expect the Nasus pick? Are you familiar with it at all? It’s been more popular in the West.

Doran: Yeah, you don’t normally see Nasus on the competitive stage, but I think we did have some sort of expectation of it. We kind of saw it coming that other regions might actually go ahead and use it — and they have a good reason to. After seeing the Nasus in Game 3, I don’t think we necessarily got flustered or shocked or anything — we just focused on our own draft.

Q: Do you think it’s a viable jungler? We haven’t seen it in LCK, but do you think we will now?

Doran: Yeah, Nasus as a champion is actually quite weak before level 6. And I’m sure that as long as you’re able to get past that timing, he definitely has his own strengths and pros. I feel like it’s just that, because of how we play out the early games pretty aggressively, I don’t think it’s a very common pick that you would see in a region like LCK.

Q: The western teams — G2, FURIA, and LYON — got smacked 9-0 over the last two days. Some games were close, but it looks like they just couldn’t win any key fights. Is this an eternal mechanical gap?

Doran: Yeah, honestly, not having any experience playing in the West, I guess I don’t have a complete understanding of how the pro players actually practice, or how they manage their days on stage — or anything like that. I guess, just to give you an example, from my perspective coming from an LCK team, there are a lot of different things that they invest in and use their time in.

When it comes to the LCK, teams are so incredibly competitive — and there are so many powerful teams — that maybe, possibly, an inevitable gap [with the West] does exist.

Q: What are your expectations for HLE vs BLG?

Doran: Yeah, both of the teams are definitely the favorites and two of the strongest teams at MSI. So, you know, I can’t really pinpoint or predict what’s going to happen, but I do expect it to be a very intense and fun match to watch.

Given that in order for us to achieve our own goal, we’ll have to meet either of them, I can’t really predict what’s going to happen, and I don’t really have any expectations. I just want to focus on our own match and our own game.

Q: What do you think of facing G2?

Doran: I consider G2 the strongest team from the West. I mean, we’ve been facing them for a very long time — quite often, for a while now, we always get matched up against them.

We have a lot of experience playing with them, so as long as we are well-prepared, I believe that we will be able to win without a problem.

Header Image Credit: Riot Games