Griffin is one of the most popular teams in the League of Legends Champions Korea league (LCK). And this isn’t because there’s a historical legacy behind it, but rather, because of how far the team climbed over the course of only two seasons.
The team only qualified for the LCK in 2018. But in the LCK, Griffin were a force to be reckoned with from the beginning. The team finished its first regular season in second place. With no roster changes, Griffin just kept improving. And this year, it resulted in winning the organization’s first presence at Worlds.
But the roster hasn’t had it easy. A number of issues regarding the players’ contracts and management surfaced to the public, so the players announced free agency as soon as they could. Being as skilled as they are, it was expected that they’d quickly get picked up by other LCK teams in case they decided not to stay with Griffin.
Here’s where Griffin’s famous five have found homes for the upcoming season.
Choi “Sword” Sung-won
Sword hasn’t switched teams for 2020. Griffin will stay in LCK under new ownership and the top laner decided to stick with the team. The top lane role won’t be only his, however. Griffin recently announced Park “Untara” Ui-jin will be a part of the new roster as well, but Sword will still be seen on the Rift.
Lee “Tarzan” Seung-yong
Tarzan is another player who decided to stay with Griffin. He’s considered one of the best junglers in the Korean regional scene and was likely approached by other teams, but it was Griffin’s offer that it was in his best interest. It’s unclear if he’ll be as successful with the new roster next year, but his individual talent can’t be doubted.
Jeong “Chovy” Ji-hoon
Chovy will be playing as DragonX’s mid laner in the upcoming season. This might seem like a downgrade at first, but DragonX has built a strong roster for 2020. Chovy hasn’t failed to recognize that and wants to get an opportunity to come back to the international stage with a new team, one that hasn’t had such dramatic history.
Related: Untara, Naehyun, and coach H-Dragon join Griffin
Park “Viper” Do-hyeon
Viper is staying with Griffin another season as well. The bot laner was the only one with a pentakill at Worlds 2019 and shared the highest KDA with his support. But staying with the team doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll be able to replicate that success since his duo partner has changed and a new synergy will need to be built.
Son “Lehends” Si-woo
Lehends’ future is with Hanwha Life. Hanwha is far from being one of the best Korean teams, but that doesn’t mean Lehends went to a bad team. Hanwha overhauled its roster going into the new season, signing other players from big teams like T1. This means he has a good chance to be at the top again.
