After an intense five-game set in the NA LCS third-place match, Phoenix1 head coach Kim “Fly” Sang-chul shared a few thoughts with Oracle’s Elixir about leading his team through the series and the spring split as a whole.

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TIM: This series there were lots of worrying, scary moments. What was it like watching that from back stage?

FLY: It was extremely difficult watching back stage. It kind of induced anxiety, you know? And even after winning, I still felt a little nervous almost!

What did you say to the players between games, especially after game three when you were down 2-1?

There wasn’t anything in particular I said. The players came back with a strong mentality, so we just started focusing on the next game and how to approach it.

Do you usually focus more on specific players in between games, or do you talk to the whole team about bigger ideas?

Usually we talk as a team. I do talk a little bit individually as well, but there’s only so much time for that.

How would you describe your own coaching style? How much do you focus on your own strategy, or scouting opponents, or the team’s communication…?

I think we’re always well prepared, but we also know that the enemies are going to be well prepared. I think the only thing you can do is to prepare. However, we do tend to focus on growing the players’ skill levels more.

This whole split had a lot of ups and downs with big successes and big losses. How did that affect the way you prepared or thought about each week, going in?

I think every week was a different week, just because we had players swapping in and out. So we had to prepare a new way then have to set up all over again.

Are there things you learned about being a coach this split that you’re going to take into summer?

Because I’ve been a coach for so long, I don’t think I learned anything in particular. However, I did feel a lot of things. I think I’m going to take what I felt and approach summer split with it.

What are your goals for the summer for your team?

I do want to go to Summer Finals and win. However, reality is a lot harder than that. I guess another goal I would have is to participate in Worlds, but that is difficult as well.