Following the conclusion of Day 1, Team South Korea's head coach Kim 'PLIKHE' Sung-min and player Sim 'Gyumin' Gyu-min shared their thoughts on the performance and their outlook for the remaining matches of PNC 2026.

The Grand Finals of the 'PUBG Nations Cup (PNC) 2026' kicked off on the 26th at the Jangchung Arena in Seoul. South Korea secured 7th place overall after five matches, earning one 'chicken dinner' and 17 kills. While their early exits in matches 4 and 5 were disappointing, their meticulous gameplay in the first three matches stood out.

Below is the full transcript of the interview with head coach Kim Sung-min and player Sim 'Gyumin' Gyu-min after the Day 1 schedule.

Q. How do you feel after finishing Day 1?

Head Coach Kim Sung-min: The final match was a bit disappointing, but there are still so many games left that I think we'll be fine if we provide good feedback.

'Gyumin' = Matches 4 and 5 were a bit of a letdown. It feels like a tournament with a lot of variables.

Q. What percentage chance do you give South Korea for winning? Also, which teams do you see as the biggest obstacles to victory.

'Gyumin' = It's hard to put a percentage on it, but I believe we have over a 50% chance. What I've felt while playing is that it's not necessarily about specific teams being a threat; rather, the water mechanics have changed, and the circle RNG has become more impactful. It comes down to how few mistakes we make and how well we capitalize on opportunities when they arise.

Head Coach Kim Sung-min: Seeing teams that are considered overwhelmingly strong on paper fail to secure enough points and get eliminated early, it wouldn't be surprising if anyone won. I don't feel like any specific team is creating direct variables for us, so we'll just have to wait and see.

Q. Let's look back at the incident in the final 5th match?

'Gyumin' = We were aware that there weren't many teams in that area, and 'Seongjang' went out to scout despite the red zone risk and was hit by shelling. I went to revive him after laying down smoke, but I think I was spotted, so I was shot and knocked out by the blue zone. It's a shame because if I had successfully revived him, we could have kept the momentum going. That was my mistake.

Q. Aside from that incident, you rarely had early exits. Your synergy with 'Seongjang' as an in-game leader seems solid.

'Gyumin' = 'Seongjang' is a player with a wealth of experience who can cover things I miss, so I've received a lot of help from him in-game. I think 'Seongjang' just had some bad luck today. I trust he'll perform even better tomorrow and the day after.

Q. You secured a win on Taego. Your stable and clean operation was impressive.

'Gyumin' = Taego is a map where we always performed well in Dplus KIA, so we had a high understanding of how to play it. We did our best without any variables, and it's encouraging that we took 1st place perfectly without a single mistake. We could have secured more kills if we had played more aggressively, but I'm proud that we executed a clean game.

Head Coach Kim Sung-min: I knew we had an excellent understanding of the circles in that direction, so I wasn't overly surprised. We just need to provide feedback on the minor mistakes.

Q. Starting with this PNC, the perspective has changed to 3rd-person. How does it feel to play in actual matches.

'Gyumin' = If you look at the leaderboard, traditional powerhouses like China, Vietnam, and Thailand aren't at the very top; Brazil and Argentina are. That's the variable. It's not that those teams are weak, but it shows that teams ranked below the traditional favorites can definitely rack up points when the opportunity arises. There are often significant advantages or disadvantages in combat positioning. Having played it, the skill gap between teams is definitely not large, so I think narrow margins will decide our fate. There's no guarantee that Brazil or Argentina will do well again tomorrow. We'll have to keep watching through Days 2 and 3.

Q. Lastly, a word for the fans who are passionately cheering for South Korea.

'Gyumin' = I know the fans must be upset that we finished matches 4 and 5 poorly, but there are still 10 games left. Brazil is pulling ahead in a situation where it wouldn't be strange for anyone to win, but we can definitely catch up. We will prepare well to leap into the top ranks.

Head Coach: Internally, we're trying not to dwell too much on the disappointing matches because there are still 10 games remaining. We'll prepare well for the remaining matches.