Griffin’s undefeated win streak rises to 17 after their victory over Hanwha Life Esports in the team’s LCK debut match.
The LCK’s newest squad came into tonight’s hype with a ton of hype. Sporting an undefeated record in 2018 during their time in both Challengers Korea and the promotion tournament, Griffin had caught the attention of fans and pundits alike. And tonight, after Griffin finally entered the LCK stage, they were ready to prove their skill against Hanwha.
But to fans dismay it was Hanwha who took game one. Griffin failed to foresee and prevent Hanwha jungler Yoon “SeongHwan” Seong-hwan’s early ganks, and as such faced the consequences: a fed Darius. With the help of SeongHwan’s ganks and smart teleports Hanwha top laner Heo “Lindarang” Man-heung gained a massive gold lead as Darius, which he used to tear through Griffin in both skirmishes and teamfights.
Down one game and with a substitution made in the mid lane, Griffin’s first LCK match started to look awry. Faced with yet another early game gold deficit, and against a Hanwha once again knocking at their inhibitors by 20 minutes, Griffin’s chances at a comeback were becoming slimmer and slimmer.
But Griffin made their comeback against all odds. Griffin aced Hanwha while protecting their base, giving them not only a huge pile of gold but the Baron, too. Griffin slowly took the lead thanks to having the better scaling composition, and won their first LCK game in a similar manner to their victories back in Challengers Korea.
Related: Can Griffin translate their success in Challengers Korea to the LCK?
Fresh off their first LCK game win, Griffin swiftly ended the match with a dominating game three victory. Hanwha, who managed to draft the Darius once again, could no longer find the top laner a monstrous lead like in game one. Instead it was Griffin top laner Choi “Sword” Sung-won’s Dr. Mundo who became an unkillable giant. With Sword’s Dr. Mundo leading the charge while soaking damage, Griffin cleaned up teamfights with ease.
With their first LCK win earned, Griffin will return to the competitive stage on June 14, when they face MVP.
