On August 26, Hanjin BRION suffered a heartbreaking defeat in their match against kt Rolster in the Play-In of the 2026 LoL Champions Korea (LCK), held at CHZZK LoL Park in Jonggak. Entering the match as the 1st seed from the Rise Group against the Legend Group's 5th-place kt Rolster, Hanjin BRION continually played to their strengths and pushed kt Rolster to the brink, but ultimately lost in Game 5.

Below is the full transcript of the interview with Hanjin BRION head coach Kim Sang-soo and top laner Shin "Casting" Min-je.

Q. How do you feel after such a hard-fought match?

Head Coach Kim Sang-soo: There were games we could have won, so it's very disappointing that we lost. Still, we showed good performance in some games, so we will focus on winning our next match.

'Casting': Ever since the league split into Legend and Rise groups, we haven't had opportunities to face top-tier teams, so I was really looking forward to this match. Although the outcome was a bit disappointing, I think it wasn't bad. I really want to reach the playoffs.

Q. You suffered a loss when you went for Baron instead of taking Dragon?

'Casting': We agonized a lot over which choice to make. In hindsight, taking Dragon was correct, but at the time, Zeri and Yuumi were still strong, so we judged it best to secure Baron and build up our power first. That was greedy on our part.

Q. Still, you have another opportunity remaining?

Head Coach Kim Sang-soo: It would be great if we could do everything well, but since practice time is limited, we want to win by playing to our strengths.

Q. Overall, what parts of today's match do you regret the most?

Head Coach Kim Sang-soo: Above all, the final Game 5 is very disappointing. Other than that, I think we showed good moments while doing what we do best.

Q. Do you have any final words?

Head Coach Kim Sang-soo: I want to thank the fans who cheered for us, and we will make sure to win our next match to advance to the playoffs.

'Casting': There are things we learned today, but it's really disappointing. Still, I found it fun and want to play more matches.