T1 Keria: “I watched Rekkles growing up and I was impressed by his humbleness and eagerness to learn.”

T1 seem already warmed up after a convincing series against FlyQuest in the first day of Swiss stage. We spoke with T1 Keria after the series to wish him a (late) happy birthday, his opinion on the LEC teams, and his thoughts on the grasshopper for side selection.

Davide: First of all, congrats on the victory. I wanted to first wish you a happy birthday.

How was it to celebrate and how was the cake?

Keria: I was happy we were able to win the victory against IG yesterday on my birthday. And after the game the team prepared a cake for me which was a customized cake with a cute character on it. So I thought it was quite cute and I was happy.

Davide: What was your impression of FlyQuest? We’ve talked about how they were potentially the best western team coming into the tournament.

So what do you think about them after playing against them?

Keria: I think they’re strong during the mid-games, I think when they force the fight, they are really good at doing the teamfights. When we actually faced them, I was able to see their strengths. They were a good team in general.

Do you think the Bard pick was intentionally left out by the enemy team because they thought that you wouldn’t pick in the first rotation?

Keria: After the match yesterday, I did an interview and I said if my Bard is open I was going to give Inspired a hard time. So I actually think I had a lot of fun.

Davide: You also said that winning the third trophy would be a key step to reaching your goal. I know you also said that you didn’t want to talk about the goal or reveal what the goal was, but

Do you think that winning another world championship would make it the best support in LoL Esports history?

Keria: I think it really lives up to if I actually win Worlds this year and if I do, I think I’ll probably get some recognition from fans and the public. But aside from that, I think what’s more important to me is getting mature, not just in game but [also] off the game. I want to give my fans a good inspiration. So those are the things I really want to focus on.

Davide: Rekkles was watching you guys play today from home on stream and he showed his former T1 merch to prove who he was supporting.

What would you like to tell him?

Keria: You know, last year I was a teammate with Rekkles during Worlds and growing up, I watched him playing professionally and I was very impressed and motivated by the fact that he was very humble and eager to learn [despite] many years of career. So I really have a good experience and memory with him. So I look forward to seeing him in the future, and thank you.

Davide: Having played against the LTA now,

Which team among the LEC teams would you like to play next? Or which player from the LEC would you like to face?

Keria: I played with some LEC teams and I think they were good teams. So I don’t really specifically pick a good team. I actually think they consist of good teams this year, so I look forward to meeting any of the teams from the LEC.

Davide: The last question is not related to Worlds, but still relevant. At the Asian imitational we saw the use of the grasshopper for side selection.

reasons why every league event should be hosted in china cause so far the ASI has given us:
– staff wearing cardboard cutout masks of each teams' "representative"
– actual cardboard cutouts of the players in their seats onstage
– a grasshopper to decide.. side selection..? pic.twitter.com/DXQxLgE5Vk

— Linda Pro League 🦦 (@iCrystalization) October 6, 2025

Do you think it would be cool to bring that same side selection format across all competitions in the future? Are there other ways, aside from the normal coin toss, that you think would be a cool way to decide side selection?

Keria: I think it’s really up to competitive ops there, right and in the [people from] LoL esports who are really good at those jobs. It’s up to them to make the decision. Personally, I don’t really like insects or bugs, so I am personally against it.

Last message to the fans and then we can round off the interview. Can you say something in English?

Keria: Thank you for supporting me. We grow up. Okay, good. We. We will qualify to the quarterfinals.