DRX BeryL: “We fulfilled about 95% [Deft’s] Last Dance. It should last until the end.”

In the second semi-final match of the 2022 LoL World Championship, DRX prevailed against all odds to defeat Gen.G 3-1. As a team that had an 0-13 record against Gen.G this year, DRX’s win came as nothing short of a surprise. They now travel to San Francisco where they meet T1 in the finals of the tournament.

The following is Hwang “Kingen” Seong-hoon and Cho “BeryL” Geon-hee’s post-game interview.

How do you feel going to your first World Finals?

kings: Before I share my feelings about the victory, I would like to express my condolences to all the victims and their families of the tragic incident in Itaewon two days ago. I hope the victims can all rest in peace and their families can find peace as well.

In every game we played, we felt the weight of the games, but we always played with an attitude of not losing anything. That mindset helped us play well today.

BeryL, what are your thoughts on reaching your third consecutive world final?

Beryl: I’m thrilled to have the same record of making it to the World Finals back-to-back with legendary players like Faker, Bang and Wolf.

Many people expected Gen.G to take the win, but DRX managed to go into reverse after dropping Game 1. To date, DRX has been on a 13-year losing streak against Gen.G.

kings: Our journey was magical and led to trust, teamwork and a closer bond between our teammates. Because of this, the negative winrate didn’t put any pressure on us.

Even though DRX dropped Game 1, many fans cheered for DRX. How did you feel when you heard that “Let’s go DRX!”? chants from the crowd?

Beryl: I was focused on our game plan for Game 2 so I honestly couldn’t tell if they were cheering for us or Gen.G or not. Now that I know, I would have felt really great if I had known then.

The top team of DRX performed much better than Gen.G in this match. How did you improve your form for the semifinals?

kings: So strong was the confidence the team had to reach higher heights that the winning mentality of enjoying the moment worked beautifully for us. I think that’s why my performance looked great. Our bot lane experience leading our top team and our coaching staff with great leadership have worked together to form a closer bond within the team.

Beryl: Our last workout didn’t go that great, but once we got to the stage we all trust each other to pull our weights. Our regular summer split didn’t go so well and going through all the trials got us to this point. Even if we lose in the final, we’re still second best in the world, so I’ll be very happy either way.

There’s a lot of narrative behind Deft. As someone who worked most closely with him, can you tell us a bit about his journey? Is there anything you would like to tell him?

Beryl: I’m sure it’s the same for every player, but Deft is incredibly hungry to win. People say it’s Deft’s “last dance,” and the dance should last to the end. I think we accomplished about 95% of his “last dance”.

kings: Deft is someone I’m learning a lot from. As he said in interviews, it is important not to cling to results, but to live in the moment. Making lots of these moments is fun and fun. It’s such a cool attitude. We wouldn’t have made it this far without Deft and I really want to help him take home that trophy.

From the first LCK derby in five years to the Mapo High School matchup [Deft vs Faker], there’s a lot of narrative behind the finale this year. What is your attitude going into the final?

kings: I believe our team has achieved the impossible against all odds. I will also prove that on the final stage. We will make sure we play hard and have fun until the end.

Beryl: In the end, T1 is the final boss. They looked really strong against JDG. However, the underdog teams were the ones who took home the trophy at other recent AOS tournaments. As outsiders, we will also ensure that this last step is successful.