Gen.G came up short in the Worlds 2022 semifinal against DRX. The LCK champion was one step away from reaching the grand final but suffered a 3-1 loss in Atlanta. After the series, Gen.G answered questions from the press in a press conference. The questions have been sorted by whom the question was asked to.
Note: During the press conference, on-site translators only translated answers to English if the question was asked in English. Questions asked by Korean-speaking media and Chinese-speaking media could therefore not be included in this article.
Peanut
Q: It seemed like you tried to pick a more aggressive composition in the fourth game. DRX did a really good job of keeping it even and scaling into the late game. What was the biggest difficulty with that fourth game?
A: I think it’s mainly because of what you said. [DRX] was really good at equalizing our early aggression and they were able to find the best reaction to the aggressive picks we locked in early. I think they were able to bring the best adjustments in their drafts. We had no choice but to head into the late game.
Chovy
Q: You played against Zeka today, who has had a meteoric rise at Worlds. Now that you’ve played against him here as well, what do you think he is doing differently from when you played against him in the LCK?
A: I have always thought that Zeka was a very talented and strong player. The biggest improvement he was able to show is the fact that he was able to step up throughout Worlds.
Q: What do you think is the main reason for Gen.G’s fall in performance after such a dominating Summer Split? How much do you think the meta shift impacted your style?
A: I want to say the main reason is that our execution was not on point. We were going for a certain composition that had a certain direction we had in mind. But we were not able to execute it accordingly. It showed in our results, so that’s why it might seem like us having a great fall. Mostly it’s about our performance and how we executed the plays.
Ruler
Q: What do you think about this year’s Worlds run, and who do you think will win the final?
A: Throughout this Worlds, there were several changes in terms of my mindset. In the Group Stage, I was like, “I should never leave any regret behind.” As time went by, we were like, “Because we are doing our best in the given situation, it is ok to leave some things to be desired.” You can regret something that happened before. That was the first change that happened in my mind. This semifinal as well, I feel like I’ve tried everything I have got. I’m feeling pretty ok about it. About the final: I don’t know what’s gonna happen. Both teams look really strong.
Coaching staff
Q: What do you feel DRX brought to the Worlds tournament that they were lacking in the LCK?
A: I believe every LCK team at Worlds had great potential. I think DRX was able to unleash that potential starting from the regional gauntlet up until Worlds. They did a great job.
Q: You’ve been dominant against DRX [in 2022]. What was the biggest factor in your loss in the semifinals?
A: I think the biggest factor was that, here at Worlds, we had so many important matches and games that I was not able to prepare strategies properly. It’s a big bummer. We were able to play out so many winnable games together. It is crushing that I cannot actually bring them more because of how badly I prepared for them.
Q: Although today’s result wasn’t good, Gen.G still managed to win the LCK this year. What do you expect for the team for next year?
A: This year was my rookie year as a head coach and from the get-go I was able to work with these experienced players. I was able to learn so much from them. There were a lot of things that I could’ve done better. I believe next season we’ll do better. We will do our best in order to come back stronger.