Griffin reign supreme in Korea with their major trophy win

Even though it was a simple preseason tournament, Griffin have set a precedent for 2019 LCK Spring with their dominant outing at the KeSPA Cup 2018. Griffin once again returned to their best form with their heavy emphasis on mid-game team fights proving decisive against these new rosters. Over the course of three series, Griffin failed to drop a single game to their opponents as they eventually swept a spirited Gen. G roster that was looking impressive until their series. Plaudits once again fell to Jeong “Chovy” Ji-hoon in the mid lane as his entertaining roam heavy style amassed an astounding 21.0 KDA.

Dominating with ease

The LCK season is beginning to ramp up and the early favorite for championship gold this year is looking like Griffin, soon to be KongDoo Monster, for the Spring Split. Although the KeSPA Cup is never the official barometer to test team strength, there was no denying Griffin’s unique ability to break every opponent using their patented style and late game creativity.

© KeSPA Cup 2018

The DAMWON series showed Griffin’s versatility on a variety of roles as Lee “Tarzan” Seung-yong was drawing multiple bans on meta junglers, freeing up the picks for Griffin in games two and three. No matter what champion he used, Tarzan was a constant threat on the map. In that space, Chovy was guaranteed his bread and butter Galio pick pretty much every game, and he made sure to use the new changes to his advantage.

Heading into the KeSPA Cup Finals, it seemed like Griffin would face their first real challenge with Ruler and Peanut looking in rare form. Instead, the series was once again decided on Griffin’s merit and they made sure not to gamble on any play to give Gen. G their much needed momentum. Although the synergy between Peanut and CuVee made plays during the series, Griffin always found their way in the mid game to pull the odds in their favor. In the end, Griffin walked away from KeSPA Cup 2018 full of confidence as they secured their first trophy win.

The KongDoo Monster era

In this following season for Griffin, their brand might be changing but the team is keeping all their pieces intact for LCK 2019. After achieving their first bit of silverware as a team, Griffin Head Coach Kim “cvMax” Dae-ho promised to continue their special brand of League of Legends. Fans of the league have grown fond of Griffin’s ‘wacky’ team compositions that somehow always come together in the late game.

As a five man unit, there is no team as potent in Korea across all five roles. The travesty of Griffin not making it to Worlds last year will surely stay in their mind going into this year as well. Griffin were quite possibly Korea’s best team at the end of LCK Summer, and their crisp team fighting may have been the answer Korea needed so desperately at the Worlds stage last year. Heading into 2019, Chovy and co. seem more than ready to correct those mistakes.

If their performance against their counterparts in this past tournament was any indication of their skill, we can anticipate Griffin dominating the LCK from the outset. Chovy and Tarzan have solidified themselves as star players, the coaching and player structure is sure to improve with their buyout, and the future looks brighter than ever for this unlikely cast of cerebral gamers. If SKT seemed poise to win it all with their ‘super team’ acquisitions, Griffin are the biggest hurdle standing in their way.