On the 6th (KST), SANDBOX Gaming demolished APK Prince 2-0 in the 2020 League of Legends Champions Korea Spring Split match. SANDBOX never gave up the lead in both games and didn’t give up a single objective. Kang “GorillA” Bum-Hyun displayed his prowess in today’s match and he joined the media room for an interview after the match.

You had a clean victory. Seems you should feel good.

I’m happy that we started off 2-0. When I played on stage today, it felt a bit awkward. The lights, the monitor, the table… It was all new to me. I played in an open-booth in the LEC but it was still different from there as well. It was a fun experience and I believe it’ll be more interesting in the future.

Oh right, it was your first game in LoL Park today.

Yes.

You must have been sad since there weren’t any fans here.

It was the first time in my 7-year career playing without any spectators. Even in exhibition games before, there were at least 20-30 people, but it was my first time with zero spectators. It was quite new.

New in a good way?

I was thinking, ‘wow, I’m playing on this stage’. 

You’re playing with Leo in bot lane. He’s from T1 and since you have a lot of experience, I think you would be able to tell. How do you evaluate him?

We have two bot laners, Leo and Route. I think both are really good. I play with both of them, one day with Route, another with Route. I believe both players will do well. Leo played with top-tier support players like Mata. He was in SKT, right? I felt that he learned a lot from them.

Can you compare the two players’ styles?

Both of them are young, so they like to play without looking ahead. The good thing about them is that although our ages are quite different, they tell me whatever they want to while they respect me. So when they ask me to change certain things, I agree and tell them I will change it. That’s good.

You played in the LEC last year. The results weren’t as good. You must have felt many things.

The biggest thing was that there are a lot of extremely good players. I couldn’t help but become conscious of my age. I try not to, but since we lost so much, I felt that I may have been too greedy. I wanted to break the “age leash” and that’s one of the reasons I came back to Korea. That was the biggest thing. I became open-minded. When I was in Korea, I tried to play what I used to play, do what I’m confident in. In Europe, there were many different picks and they research a lot. They play top Soraka and stuff. Since Europe is a Bo1, they play many joker picks and they work. In Korea, they haven’t played champions like top Soraka yet; I think that’s a difference in the open-mind.

Since many players that you’ve played with retired, haven’t you thought that it may be time to stop?

I try not to express it, but since those players that played with me started to do their military service, I did feel uneasy. I thought ‘the end is near’. However, whenever I get that thought, I try harder. Since I decided to stay as a pro player for longer, I shouldn’t show bad performances. So rather than worrying, I try to do my best to show my best performances until the end.

You have quite a decorated career and experienced many big stages. You may not have many regrets as a player, but what drives you to continue pursuing your career as a player?

The most general answer would be since I played games while everyone else studied, I can’t get out of gaming. I don’t have much left until my military service compared to other players. When I think about what I should do after getting back from the army, I thought that I should return to this scene. I thought what I should do without taking a break… I could have become a coach, but once I transition to a coach, it’s hard to come back as a player. I feel that I have a sort of responsibility to be a player as long as I can.

There should be things that you thought you can contribute to SANDBOX Gaming in specific aspects when you joined. What are they?

SANDBOX Gaming was weak in best-ofs. Since I’ve played many best-ofs, of course, I don’t have a World Championship title, but I think I’ve been high enough. In that matter, I think I can be of some help to the players.

There are many players in SANDBOX. Any players to keep an eye on? Including you.

We have 10 players on our roster. Anyone can appear on stage. But the players I’d like to see shine are our ADCs. They play alongside me and if they do well, it means that I also did well. I hope our ADCs shine.

Lastly, to the fans who cheer for you?

It’s been a while since I’ve played in the LCK. Although you can’t be here with us, I’d like to thank you who cheered for us from home. I hope the coronavirus goes away soon and I get to see you at LoL Park. Thank you for cheering.