Karmine Corp closed out a perfect KC Road Trip in Paris, beating G2 2-1 to cap a 3-0 weekend at home. RFT.GG spoke with KC head coach Bok "Reapered" Han-gyu right after the win to talk about what finally tipped a rivalry KC kept losing, the mindset shift from MSI to the EWC, and where this roster's ceiling really sits.
Finally — you came so close so many times against G2. What made the difference between today and all the other times?
There are a lot of differences. I'd say the experience from MSI and the EWC made things a bit different, and obviously there's a meta shift too — I think we adapted to this meta very well. And our way of playing the game, our way of talking to each other, we changed a lot between the splits, from winter to spring to now. I'd say we improved a lot and we changed a lot. It feels great that we can show our home crowd that we're changing and improving.
What would you say changed the most between MSI and the EWC? What was the major shift — in game, or in how the team talks to each other?
There are a lot of in-game changes, obviously, but I'd say the main one is this. At MSI, when the pressure was on, everyone relied on each other — "this guy knows how to play, so maybe I should follow him." But when you don't even know what's going on in the game, it's not just esports — you should focus on yourself first.
The other thing is that you should set your own standard, so that when others are struggling, they can rely on you. That's never a bad thing, but if everyone does it, it becomes a disaster. That's what we saw at MSI. So that's the one thing we shifted our mindset on. Back in split one, whenever we did an interview, it was "KC, yeah, strong talented players, strong individuals" — but we never saw that at MSI.
We lost our identity at MSI.
So: let's come back as strong individuals. You guys are free to play whatever you want, play your own game, and if you see a good angle, just go. If it's bad, let's review it together. That's the main thing that shifted — the mindset.
Why do you think it happened at MSI? Why were players relying on each other more, maybe trying to play as a team too much? At the start of the year you told me it was a lot of very good individuals that you needed to put together — do you think they went too far the other way?
Yeah, I think that's what happened at MSI. Everyone was thinking too much about how to play as a team, how to help each other — sacrificing themselves too much to help each other. Or, "let's play Dragon" — everyone just drops the wave and goes there, and then they have no clue: "Okay, how do we play this Dragon? I have no idea, just hit it," and then we all die there. It's because of the pressure, and also the learning curve everyone has to understand: every single individual makes a team, not the team makes the individuals — it's a different order.
We changed our approach from MSI to the EWC, and that definitely made a difference.
At the start of the year, I asked if you felt this team had the potential to be the best you've ever coached, and you told me to ask you in November. Right now, I want to know if it's at least going in the right direction — because I remember you told me you coached Deft and EDG at MSI 2015. That's a high bar, but is the potential here at least?
There's a lot of potential — but like I said, ask me in November.
But I'll say that the future is bright.
One last word for the fans.
Thank you to everyone rooting for us in the arena and online — it felt very special. I always say on my social media that it's an epic experience. Even though I've been coaching for more than ten years, these are very epic moments. This kind of passionate, engaged fanbase — especially coming from Korea, and from the US — it's a very special thing I've experienced here. So I'm trying to enjoy the moment while working hard. Keep your eyes on us, and keep rooting for us.
