According to the Brazilian esports website Mais Esports, SK Telecom T1's coach Kim "kkOma" Jung-gyun stated at Friday's press conference after the victory against Flash Wolves that, when preparing for a match, he always thinks that the other team can beat them. This way, the Korean coach managed to avoid answering which team considers to be the second strongest of the tournament.

Despite his achievements, the Kkoma has considered that he cannot give any advice to his rival counterparts. "If I can win another three world championships I will be able to give good advice," he said. About his role as the coach of the best team in the world, Kkoma has stressed that he feels a lot of pressure "because we are at the top and expectations are high. I struggle constantly with this pressure, it is not easy, but I keep going," he admitted.

This year's Mid-Season Invitational is being characterized by the absolute equality between the competitors, with the exception of SKT. And, leaving aside the current world champions — who are 7-1 after losing against Flash Wolves in the fourth day of the group stage —, the rest of the participants have had similar performances and are very close in the standings.

Kkoma has an extensive list of triumphs with three world championships wins and a Mid-Season Invitational, in addition to four LCKs. He is broadly considered the best coach of the international scene of League of Legends. He joined SK Telecom in 2012 after being a Starcraft professional player — competing under the name of LittleBoy — and having a brief career as a League of Legends professional jungler in the team StarTale.