After leading the Griffins to a meteoric rise in the LOL Champions Korea (LCK) in 2018, head coach Kim Dae-ho is now in his eighth year of coaching. Gwangdong, which joined the team from the 2022 Summer Season, has been steadily working toward its goal of ‘advancing to international competitions’ with the addition of the core prospects Kim hopes for and the LCK’s top veterans.
On the 17th, Sports News met with head coach Kim Dae-ho at Gwangdong’s practice room in Samseong-dong, Seoul, to learn more about the team’s preparations for the 2024 LCK Summer Season and the team’s various development directions. The veteran top line with high-potential liners such as Lee “Dudu” Dong-ju and Lee “Bulldog” Tae-young, plus Moon “Cuz” Woo-chan, has been crucial for Gwangdong to become a team that can compete for the playoffs, and the team is also making great efforts to “step up” in the bot line.
‘6th place + PO’ disappointing spring season… “It was tough”
Guangdong’s 2024 LCK Spring Season was a successful one, but there were some disappointments along the way. “In addition to ‘Doo-doo’ Lee Dong-ju, ‘Cuz’ Moon Woo-chan, who joined the team, played much better than expected and created many miraculous victories,” said coach Kim Dae-ho. “Everyone did well, but it was difficult to maintain the team’s power as the roster changed due to health issues, regardless of the bot’s skills. It was a tough season.”
Looking back on the spring season, Kim Dae-ho said that the experiences they went through can be a great source of nourishment for the summer season. “There are many regrettable moments when I think about the ‘upsets’ we suffered even as a weak team,” he said. “However, if I hadn’t experienced the spring season, I think I would have suffered a blow in the summer or been put in a difficult situation by other teams. I think we learned a lot from the losses.”
Guangdong’s feedback process is characterized by Kim’s efforts to make it as easy as possible for the players to learn and explain themselves. He uses the example of Jarvis, the Iron Man to help the players figure out the direction of their play instead of “teaching” them. Instead of taking the initiative in certain situations, he actively answers the players’ questions and creates an environment where they can make it their own.
“If you suddenly say, ‘Lightning happens when yin and yang meet,’ it’s really out of the blue. However, if you pass it on to someone who is curious in the rain, it will be remembered clearly.” ”You have to explain it when the players are looking for points and want to know. If you give it to them, even if it’s the right answer, it doesn’t become ‘theirs’. We’re looking forward to the summer season more than the spring because there’s a lot of interaction.”
Coach Kim Dae-ho singled out Lee “Bulldog” Tae-young as the player who absorbs feedback the fastest. “Besides Lee Tae-young, Lee ‘Doo-doo’ Dong-joo and Moon ‘Cuz’ Woo-chan were always good players,” Kim said. “In particular, Lee Dong-joo has the 토토사이트 strength to study and develop feedback on his own. Although he doesn’t have much direct feedback, he is on par with Moon Woo-chan ‘Cuz’ Moon.”
‘Roll Moonchul’ started with good intentions… Many regrets
Recently, there has been an unfortunate situation that deviates from the essence of LOL internet broadcasting. ‘LOL Mooncheol’, which started with director Kim Dae-ho in 2021, was a content that analyzed the game content of LOL and masked the flirting between each player. It was influenced by the popular transportation YouTube channel ‘Han Moonchul TV’ that assigns fault percentages. However, Han Moon-cheol, a lawyer at Han Moon-cheol TV, expressed his displeasure when LOL, which started with pure intentions, turned into a high-stakes bet.
Director Kim Dae-ho, who started ‘Roll Mooncheol’ with a content called ‘Mac Mooncheol’, also expressed his regret over the recent situation. He said that ‘Roll Mooncheol,’ which started as a way to showcase his leadership abilities and was interesting in terms of content, has gone in a strange direction, causing many regrets.
“I like to show off what I’m good at,” says Kim Dae-ho. In the past, when I was high enough to achieve the ‘Challenger’ tier in the Solo Rankings, I started broadcasting, and recently I started ‘LOL Moonchul’ because I think I’m good at LOL coaching. I took (the name) in the good sense that it reflects lawyer Han Moon-cheol,” he said. ”I focus on interest and fun, but recently, there are other contents that have the purpose of fee hunting. It’s a very disappointing situation.”
Kim Dae-ho’s hopes for the summer season: “Lead Guangdong to international play, break into the top four”
Guangdong is on track for a strong Summer Season 2024. The LCK also received a boost when Genji won the 2024 Mid-Season Invitational (MSI), an international 사설 토토사이트 competition. With the benefit of an ‘extra seed’ awarded to the second-place league, the LCK’s total number of tickets to the LOL World Championships (LOL Cup) is now four. As a result, Guangdong will likely be in a “four-way battle for fourth place” with DePlus Kia and KT in the spring season.
“Both teams are good,” said coach Kim Dae-ho about their opponents. The high point is DPL Kia, but KT has a lot of veterans and good passion. Both teams have the ability to catch T1 and Genji when they play the game they want.” ”I think Guangdong is still in charge of the middle and bottom of the LCK. We want to be the team that breaks the boundaries. We will challenge for a top-four finish and advance to the Rold Cup as our final goal.”
Kim Dae-ho also emphasized that he will come back better next season for the fans. “In the past, I once said, ‘If it’s hard, don’t look at it,’ because I want to share only the good things in life,” he said. “In fact, the standard of security is too high. If you support Guangdong together, I will run well until the end,” he said.