SK Telecom T1 head coach Choi “cCarter” Byung-hoon kept details close to the vest heading into SKT’s quarterfinal matchup against Misfits in the League of Legends World Championship.
In a brief interview with Fomos’ Choi Min-sook ahead of Friday’s quarterfinal match, cCarter was steadfast in making sure not to underestimate his team’s opponent.
“I focused on making sure that none of the players will get sick going into the quarterfinals,” he said. “We haven’t scrimmed against (Misfits), but I do think that they are one of the good teams as they’ve made it to the quarterfinals, and they have a very strong grasp of the game’s basics.”
Misfits made a somewhat surprising surge to qualify for the quarterfinals out of Group D, defeating North America’s top seed, Team SoloMid, in a tiebreaker match. Misfits qualified as the No. 2 seed from Europe based on championship points, garnering a third place finish in the spring European League of Legends Championship Series split and a second place finish in the summer split.
At the center of Misfits’ success is the bottom lane of Steven “Hans sama” Liv and Lee “IgNar” Dong-geun. As worlds is played on the patch where Ardent Censer is largely considered to be broken, the focus of games seems to shift to the bottom lane, and the Misfits duo has shown incredible teamwork. Although cCarter is aware of the momentum Misfits has, he said his team is likewise prepared.
“We prepared not only to win the bottom lane, but so the team as a whole will win,” he said. “I hope the fans continue to show us their support as the players are working tirelessly to put on good matches.”