The competitive year of LPL champion JD Gaming ends in the Worlds 2022 semifinals. After the team’s loss against T1, the players and coaching staff gave a press conference to answer questions from international media. The questions and answers 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.

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Q: In 2020 you reached the semifinal of Worlds and crashed out of the tournament there. In 2021, you missed the tournament. Now, at Worlds 2022, you’ve reached the semifinal and you have fallen short again. Does reaching the semifinal for the second time, but not being able to make it to the final, motivate you going into 2023?

A: It is definitely very regrettable to make it to the semis but not get to the final at Worlds. As a pro player, it’s the biggest goal to win the whole thing. I definitely want to be better in 2023. Hopefully, I can get a world championship.

Q: What do you think of your performance today? You created several highlights, but what did it take to turn the games around for you? And what do you think you could do better next year?

A: Looking at today’s best-of-five, I kinda played a little bit tilted. That’s a bummer for me.

Kanavi

Q: You played Bel’Veth today. Bel’Veth has had a lower win rate throughout the Worlds tournament. What makes Bel’Veth such an impactful champion, and is this a champion you had practiced previously?

A: We decided to play Bel’Veth this time around because she’s really good in the early game and in the late game. Especially when she gets her ult, she’s really good to snowball with. We thought it was a really good pick.

Missing/Hope

Q: You and Hope had impressive splits and it seems like you have improved a lot. What are some of the things you guys worked on in the Summer Split to bring you up to a world-class level?

A (Missing): The biggest reason is that we have a very good atmosphere within the team. Our coaching staff offered us great help, so we’re making improvements as a team together. That’s probably the reason why we can grow together and come to Worlds.

A (Hope): We worked a lot during the Summer Split, that’s why we felt very confident.

Coaching staff

Q: Obviously, things don’t end the way you were hoping for today. What’s the message to your players as you look forward to 2023? And what do you aim to improve on as you get into the next year?

A: I want to tell them: you guys were doing great. You made it up here, which is a great accomplishment. If I did better, you guys could have won. I’m really sorry for my players. But you guys did great. So, do not feel small. You’re gonna get good rest. Next year, believe in yourself and keep working hard.

Q: Many analysts expected that this series would be very top-lane-focused, but in the way the series played out, it felt like the bot lane was very important. Did you expect the bot lane to be a priority matchup in this series? If so, what do you think went wrong in terms of executing that preparation?

A: We had a lot of Aphelios/Lucian matchups, but we lost, which means that the opponent was right about the analysis. I wish I was able to do better. It’s a really big bummer. At the same time, T1 was in great shape. They had Ryze, Lucian, Nami, they had Cleanse and everything, so they knew how to play off of it. I think I should have transitioned our draft a little bit faster, but I could not.

T1 also gave a press conference after the semifinal. You can find it here.