kt Rolster lost 1:2 to Dplus KIA in the Legend Group of the 2026 LoL Champions Korea (LCK) regular season Round 3, held at LoL PARK in Jongno, Seoul, on the 9th. Although they started off on a high note by winning the first set, they were unable to stop Dplus KIA's winning strategy, which focused on the bottom lane from the second set onward.

Speaking to reporters after the match, head coach Go Dong-bin summarized the day's performance: "I thought this was a crucial match because our opponent was Dplus KIA, so it's disappointing to lose. The final set was very difficult in terms of pick-ban. In the second set, there were many situations where we could have won, and it's a shame we didn't play more calmly."

In the third set, kt Rolster brought out a non-ADC Mel to counter the powerful Kalista-Renata duo, but they collapsed early in the laning phase and ultimately lost the game.

"More than anything, the biggest issue was that we couldn't support the bottom lane," Go explained. "Since our top side also lacked priority, we allowed too large a gold gap before even reaching the teamfight phase. We picked Mel to shut down their laning, but it was the wrong choice."

Regarding the inconsistency of rookie 'Fenrir' Park Gang-jun and the possibility of calling up 'Jiwoo' Jung Ji-woo, he said, "If 'Jiwoo' is in good condition during practice, I am willing to consider using him, but we don't have much time left before the fourth round or the playoffs. We need to be cautious. I can't give a definitive answer yet. 'Fenrir' hasn't played many first-team matches, so there is a lack of stability. I believe our top priority is to improve our team coordination."

kt Rolster will face Dplus KIA again in their very next match. Go concluded the interview by saying, "We face Dplus KIA again soon, so we need to fix the mistakes and issues that appeared today. We will prepare well and make sure to win."