KT deokdam: “Gen.G has a perfect balance as a team… so we have to break it.”

After the series against CFO, which saw KT advance to the Worlds 2025 semifinals, we spoke with KT ADC deokdam for his thoughts on the series, his message to DK ShowMaker, who was attending the match, and the key to the upcoming semifinal match against Gen.G.

Davide: Congratulations on the win.

What were the first impressions of the series, and how did you guys prepare for this match, considering the long break you had after the direct qualification in the Swiss stage?

Deokdam: I was very, very happy to pick up a 3-0 today. Well, we had such a long time, honestly, so we want to make sure that we can work on our kind of issues throughout the scrims.

Davide: Can you kind of elaborate what those issues were?

Deokdam: Early game setups and how we snowball throughout the game.

Davide: We moved to Fearless Bo5s. We saw that you guys went for a different draft approach, compared to the Bo3 [in the swiss stage].

Can you kind of explain to us why you guys made the priority to pick changes?

Deokdam: It’s not actually about us changing our priority because it’s a best-of-five from best-of-three. It’s more about we’re preparing our own strategy into the specific opponents that we’re going to face.

Davide: Was then the game 3 picks where you guys went for the iconic Zoe and jungle Viego. Was that also planned all along?

Deokdam: For Viego, it was mostly because we thought we kind of lacked damage, so we wanted to lock in something that can do more damage.

Davide: Doggo has been one of the outstanding players in the Swiss stage for CFO.

How was it to face him in such an important series?

Deokdam: He was great and I guess I feel like he’s also actually a very aggressive player.

Davide: You are facing Gen.G next and you were one of the few teams that beat them this year.

What do you think will be the key in this matchup?

Deokdam: I would say Gen.G has a perfect balance as a team, so we have to break that balance. I think we really have to practice a lot around team fights [and] how we’re going to crack that.

Davide: T1 is playing against AL in two days’ time.

What do you think about this matchup?

Deokdam: Recently, AL’s form has been looking great, whereas T1’s form had a little more to be desired. So AL seems to have the edge, but T1 also has this aura, you know, something we can see from them. So I think T1 also has a decent chance.

Davide: Are you down to giving me a prediction?

Deokdam: It’s a tough one, but I want to do both sides of the story. In case AL wins, it’s going to be 3-1 for them. But if T1 wins, it’s going to be a 3-2 T1 win.

Davide: The last time you were here at Worlds on the knockout Stage was in 2022 with DWG. Your former teammate, Showmaker, was here in the crowd watching the games.

What would you like to tell him if you could speak to him right now?

Deokdam: You know, making it all the way to Shanghai to support and watch our game is a very tough decision to make. So I’m very grateful, and because of his support, their support, I think I would be able to do even better in the next game.

Davide: Considering this is your second time [at Worlds].

How does it compare to the first Worlds appereance?

Deokdam: In my first Worlds, I was really happy to be there and then I wanted to beat everyone and get everyone. But now I’m also very happy and grateful, but I don’t want to think about the future. I just want to focus on the present, every game ahead of me, focus every single victory I can obtain right now… And I’m very grateful for every moment.

Is there any player that stood out to you at this Worlds? It could also be one of your teammates if you wanted to mention them.

Deokdam: I want to say Duro, this is his first experience at Worlds and he’s been doing a great job.

Davide: We’re running towards the end of the interview.

Is there any last message you would like to say to the fans?

Deokdam: Up until here, we have been going through a lot of, you know, tough matches, and especially including the upcoming Gen.G series as well. Because we were able to take them down last time, we were able to make it to Worlds… I want to make sure that we get another win up against them in the next match.