We’ll be back after the break to pick up the pieces

After wrapping up the LCK Summer Split, DRX head coach Kim “Mok-kyung” Kim vowed to return after the break to reorganize the team’s deficiencies ahead of the Rold Cup. 안전놀이터

The team lost 0-3 to Hanwha Life Esports in the first round of the 2023 LCK Summer Split playoffs at the Grand Seoul Roll Park LCK Arena in Jongno-gu, Seoul on Monday afternoon. After failing to advance to the second round, the team dropped to the loser’s bracket of the League of Legends World Championship (Rold Cup) qualifiers.

“There were many situations where we could have won, but I felt that Hanwha Life was more sophisticated and better than us,” said head coach Kim Mok-kyung in a post-match interview, adding that the first round of the playoffs left a lot to be desired.

DRX played the game just two days after the regular season finale on June 6. “We only had one day to prepare, so we talked a lot with the players and coaching staff to make the best possible ban picks against Hanwha Life,” said Kim. “We thought we had a good chance of winning if we won one more fight per set. However, we lost the match because our opponent played a little better.”

“It’s unfortunate that we got caught in a lot of Hanwha’s tactics, and that our dealers were uncomfortable in those situations because they were able to get a good look at the important object fights, and then they were able to get a one-hit fight,” said Kim. “We realize that the teams in the playoffs think we’re a weak team. We need to be more aware of that and work on the shortcomings we showed today.”

He added: “The players were hungry for the playoffs. After the first round, we had to return from vacation and didn’t have a day off for about two months, so I think our focus was low. We’ll have to get some rest and regroup and then look back at today’s game and see what we need to learn and what we need to work on against teams that are above the playoffs.”

DRX will start in the loser’s bracket of the Rold Cup. “Every time we prepare for a tournament, it’s hard to find practice opponents,” said Kim. “We’ll probably scrimmage against teams that are preparing for the finals next week. It won’t be a long break, but we’ll play them and see what we need to work on.”