DK Showmaker: "Round 2 is where it gets real, so we'll bring our best."

closed out Round 1 on a high note, sweeping their final series 2-0 to finish off a mixed opening split. At the center of it all was midlaner , who delivered standout performances on both Annie and Ahri across the two games.

In his post-match interview, he candidly admitted that their Round 1 win over came with a dose of luck, outlined how DK completely rebuilt their draft process around an internal "algorithm," and set his sights on as the mid laner he wants to solo kill most heading into Round 2.

Heo "ShowMaker" Su: "It was the last match of Round 1, and winning 2-0 feels amazing. I think we'll have to keep working hard to put up good results in Round 2 as well.

ShowMaker: For Game 1, I think our topside had a really strong performance. In Game 2, every lane played well, which is how we were able to win.

ShowMaker: After we took one teamfight, and then Lucid (Choi Yong-hyeokon) Lee Sin insec’d the enemy Lucian in bot, after that I felt like Zeri/Yuumi really got going, so that's when I thought we'd win.

ShowMaker: Personally, I think Ryze is actually the better side against Annie. I did think Ryze should be able to dictate things, but the Annie had Lee Sin attached to her, and that one mid gank picking up a kill was really huge for Ryze's lane.

ShowMaker: Honestly, there's not really much to fix about the players' play. I think it was more that we got a bit unlucky in certain moments or were just slightly off on the details; it's the kind of thing that'll work itself out if we just keep grinding.

ShowMaker: When I was playing Ahri in Game 2, there was a point where we backed off from Rift Herald, and I noticed the enemy bot lane and mid had to base. So I went in alone, killed the Xin Zhao, then took Herald right after. I think that play really blew the game open.

ShowMaker: We really tried hard internally to get on the same page about the draft. We took the concepts we already understood and established broad criteria, like, in this situation we pick this champ, and in that situation we pick that champ. We talked through it a lot and built our own set of rules—almost like a mechanism or algorithm for designing our drafts—and we've been applying that in matches. It's been working well, so I think we've organized it nicely.

ShowMaker: The synergy's been good. Overall, since they are both pretty young, they really shine in fights. It's kind of like, even when everyone's low HP and things look sketchy, instead of running away, they'll stay in and split the aggro until the very end. That's their strength.

ShowMaker: There are no easy teams. Every single match had moments where things felt dangerous, and we managed to pull through a lot of tough games. I really felt like the top of the LCK has leveled up a lot. Going forward, I felt like we’d need to keep polishing things up to maintain a high standing.

ShowMaker: Honestly, when we beat Gen.G, I think we were kind of struggling internally, figuring out our prio-picks and our playstyle, so I think we were a bit lucky to win that one. Round 2 is where it gets real, so we'll bring our best.

ShowMaker: Personally, to perform consistently every game without any dips, just be a constant. As a team, the goal is to maintain a high ranking like in Round 1 and make it into the Legend group.

ShowMaker: I think Zeka (Kim Geon-woo) is the mid laner in the best form right now, so if I can solo kill him, that'd basically prove I'm the one in the best form, right? So I'd love to.

ShowMaker: "I'm always so grateful to our international fans for supporting us. Thank you so much for all the love. Going forward in Round 2, I'll show you some great performances and work hard to put up good results."