As Worlds 2021 approaches, the shadow of Team Griffin lingers on

Written by Pedro Romero

Throughout its 11-year existence, the League of Legends World Championship has seen a great deal of distinct flavors of the “once teammates now rivals” storyline. An obvious example is Karsa and SwordArt, two former teammates of Flash Wolves, slugging it out in Worlds 2020 for a spot in the grand finals. For this year’s edition, three Korean players are experiencing a similar story. Once members of the famous Griffin lineup of 2018-2019, Jeong “Chovy” Ji-hoon, Park “Viper” Do-hyeon, and Lee “Tarzan” Seung-yong will reunite in Europe in an attempt to win the Summoner’s Cup for themselves.

After leaving Griffin under tumultuous circumstances, Tarzan, Chovy, and Viper managed to carve out fruitful careers for themselves, garnering both individual praise and team success with little time spent. By now, all have garnered honors such as All-Pro team selections, MVP awards, and an infinite number of Player of the Game accolades.

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In basking the trio’s wealth of acknowledgements, the fans’ attention naturally gravitates to their time in Griffin, the root of their success. It is there where learned to play, improve, and win together against the might of the LCK for a handful of years. Under this context, fans ask themselves what could have been if Viper, Chovy, and Tarzan stayed together in Griffin. Nobody can’t help but surmise considering the brilliant careers and numbers each player manufactured after their time in Griffin.

Downfall of Griffin

After reaching the quarterfinals in Worlds 2019, the trio shocked the entire League community by leaving Griffin amid a flurry of controversy that implicated the team’s upper management over alleged mistreatment of players. According to personal testimonies, such illegal practices included abuse, manipulation, lack of accountability, and creating forged contracts, all of which were reported prior to the team’s participation in Worlds.

At the base of the issue, there was a public spat between team director Cho Gyu-nam and head coach Kim “cvMax” Dae-ho as they seemingly blamed each other for abusing the players. As both parties provided contrasting stories on the matter, figuring out why it happened became less of a foregone conclusion and more of a convoluted mess. Just before the start of Worlds, cvMax was suddenly fired, thrusting the team in an extremely precarious situation. Although the team managed to hold their nerve in Europe, they couldn’t shake the animosity that revolved around them.

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Following an investigation by Riot Korea and members of the Korean national legislation, Griffin revised all of their players’ contracts and allowed them free agency. Director Cho resigned not long afterwards which allowed the team to reboot its staff for 2020.

Unfortunately for them, they had to return without the majority of their core. Chovy was the first player to leave by joining DRX and reuniting with cvMax and Choi “Doran” Hyeon-joon, and though Tarzan and Viper stayed for the 2020 spring split, they too left shortly thereafter.

With the LCK’s transition to franchising, there was little to no hope for Griffin to appear in the league in 2021. Considering everything that transpired in late 2019, they owned an irredeemable reputation that lost them many fans and leverage to remain in the league. Thus, following a 5-9 summer split in the CK, the team released the League staff before waiting until January 2021 to announce their disbandment.

“Starting with the 2018 LCK Summer Split, we were able to live our dreams in a short period of time. These precious moments were possible because of the love of our supportive fans,” the team said in a statement over their disbandment. “ With that dream-like time behind, the journey of the Griffin LoL team has come to an end. We would like to express our endless thanks to the fans who have supported Team Griffin.”

A team initially regarded as the next best team was suddenly and unceremoniously dropped by the league in less than a span of three years. Instead of being remembered fondly as a breakout squad boasting the best talent not seen since the days of SKT Telecom T1 and ROX Tigers from 2015-17, Griffin’s lasting memory will instead be the internal crisis at the tail end of 2019 that spiraled beyond their control and directly led to the players’ exit.

Rise of Chovy

Hailed as the next best mid-lane, Chovy didn’t relent in his ascension in the LCK after leaving Griffin as he helped DRX finish inside the Top 3 through the 2020 summer and spring splits, culminating in a second consecutive Worlds appearance. Playing in Shanghai as Korea’s second seed, Chovy again reached the quarterfinals, but he lost in a series sweep to eventual champions DAMWON Gaming.

Despite switching teams and working in a new environment, Chovy kept his level as a top-level player statistically speaking. Even after moving to HLE from DRX for 2021, his play continued to be as stout as one can be, prompting fans to call him a god. In farming, playing at a macro level, and 1v1ing opponents, he plays like no other, beating the rest of the pack at an astronomic pace. According to Oracle’s Elixir, in the 2021 LCK summer and spring split, Chovy was among the best overall in GD10, XPD10, EGPM, and DPM, categories that easily fit into his mode of play.

Not surprisingly, the greatest benefactor to Chovy’s current form is his newest team: Hanwha Life Esports. Upon joining HLE, they immediately soared to new heights by finishing in third for spring 2021, and despite languishing in summer, they qualified for the LCK Regional Finals via championship points where they had to win two best-of-five series to secure a slot at Worlds.

“Chovy’s the best mid laner I’ve ever seen, so he fully deserves all the spotlight. I don’t mind him getting all the attention,” said HLE jungler Park “Arthur” Mi-reu during the summer split.

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Despite the tough gauntlet laid in front of them, Chovy refused to let his team lay down, as through his leadership, HLE vanquished Liiv SANDBOX and Nongshim RedForce to qualify for Worlds. A grueling five-game series loss to T1 in the finals forced HLE to start in Play-Ins, but that didn’t leave a deep wound to the team and its star player. They finally made it to the biggest tournament of the year. Now they can restart with a clean slate and challenge for the Summoner’s Cup like everyone else. But with Chovy in their ranks, HLE has to feel they have a slight edge over half of the field.

“In the end , I want to be remembered as a player worthy of the name Chovy,” said Chovy in an interview with Ashley Kang. “It could be done through the level of performance he is showing to fans, and I guess the results are important too, but in the end, I want to be someone who makes the plays that are levels above other people.”

Rise of Viper

As Chovy extended his Worlds appearance streak to three years, Viper was rectifying the disappointment he felt from his time in Griffin in the LPL. Although EDG made a frantic turnaround in spring following roughly three years of obscurity upon signing their newest ADC, they still couldn’t crack the LPL grand finals. Consecutive losses to FunPlus Phoenix and Royal Never Give Up threw them to the offseason instead.

Despite reeling from the elimination, Viper played well for his newest team and was among the best in farming, scaling, KDA, and damage distribution in the league. As a result, fans and analysts quickly saw him as a superstar. That sudden recognition soon turned into silverware as he received the MVP honor, Rookie of the Year award, and an LPL All-Pro 1st Team selection for his first split in China.

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For the Korean ADC, in moving to a new region, unlike continuing his struggles from the end of his stay in Griffin, he was able to rediscover his brand of performance in the bottom lane that normally put fear into his opponents on a weekly basis. Not only that, he learned new details that could further improve himself when taking on the LPL’s best.

“I think my plays last year were rather daunted, so I felt there was a problem. Now, I’m in the process of finding myself again, finding the feeling of what I had before,” said Viper in comparing his days in the LPL and LCK.

“The first thing that comes to mind is that we play only once against one team, so we don’t have a chance for revenge. I think that makes me concentrate more on each match. The league consists of very competitive players and we all try to bring a fun match..”

Even so, in receiving the adulation of the Chinese, Viper wasn’t completely satisfied. He was more focused on attaining team success, something he yearned for since departing from Griffin. Losing in three consecutive grand finals irritated him enough that he saw no other way to acquit himself of the stress than to win the league for EDG. Shouldering the urgency to win, EDG orchestrated another stellar regular season that earned them a bye in the fourth round of playoffs. However, they were upset by a surging Team WE and dropped to the lower bracket, renewing doubts over the team’s ability to win when it matters most.

EDG then faced LNG, another underdog team and beat them in four games.Next, they avenged their earlier loss to WE by sweeping them to set up the grand finals with FPX. EDG looked to be in the driver’s seat for their first LPL title since 2017 as they held a commanding 2-0 series lead over FPX, but a Game 3 loss tipped the balance of momentum and provided the latter an opening to comeback. However, with a crucial team fight after a failed FPX Baron steal, Viper helped kill the enemy and picked off Lwx to close the series and become champions at last.

In one year in the LPL, Viper accomplished everything there was to accomplish for a player. He won the split MVP, Rookie of the Year, All-Pro 1st Team, and the league championship itself, becoming a superstar overnight. Unlike before, Viper now knows what it takes to reach the mountaintop, and with the help of his teammates at EDG, he can realistically achieve the next obstacle in his meteoric rise: win Worlds.

Rise of Tarzan

Unlike Chovy and Viper, Tarzan waited longer than expected to return to competition after leaving Griffin. While he spent his time photographing his cat and grinding solo-queue, he surveyed his options for the future. He could choose to stay at home in Korea or travel elsewhere to China like Viper did with EDG. In the end, he chose LNG, a traditonal bottom table team, as the next destination of his career.

As the theme goes with incoming ex-Griffin members, Tarzan wasted little time to make an impact with his new team. With a franchise-best 8-8 record in spring 2021, LNG reached the postseason as the tenth seed. Though LNG ultimately lost to Suning in the first round, the jungler drew attention for his adept skill displayed which led them to that point. Nevertheless, there was skepticism on whether LNG could improve again in summer.

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For the first half of the summer split, it seemed as though LNG did exactly that by going 7-0, beating JDG, FPX, RNG, and IG in that order. But by the end of the regular season, their strong start was offset to 10-6, finishing in eighth place and setting them up for another gauntlet run. Like spring, LNG began playoffs against Suning, but this time, they won in five games to advance to the next round. There LNG faced Top Esports, another perennial contender, and they won again 3-1. Next was RNG, the reigning MSI and LPL champion, but they too fell to the LNG freight train.

LNG’s hot streak ended as losses to FPX and EDG gutted them out, but as a result of their playoff run, they made the Regional Finals. Difficult as it was, thanks to the dependable jungler, LNG went on to qualify as the fourth seed, completing one of the most unlikeliest postseason runs in recent memory.

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Upon the addition of Tarzan, LNG became one of the most resilient LPL’s teams literally overnight. The team had no business being this good this quickly, but their jungler made it happen regardless. At this point last year, LNG watched playoffs and Worlds from the couch after finishing in 13th place. Now they are standing with the world’s best teams and have a superstar jungler in their midst that can be the catalyst for a hot streak. They pulled the impossible before by qualifying for Worlds from the 10th seed. Who’s to say they can’t do it again in Worlds?

What Could Have Been

After seeing the extraordinary heights of each ex-Griffin member this year, fans can’t help but wonder what could have been if they stayed together. During the team’s peak, they were runners-up in three consecutive LCK splits and boasted a young electric lineup with plenty of years and an ever-changing competitive dynamic ahead of them.

While it’s true the team couldn’t defeat their opponents in KT Rolster and SKT Telecom T1 in those grand finals, who’s to say they couldn’t learn from their losses and unseat the old guard like what DWG KIA have done recently? Focusing on each ex-Griffin player’s statistics after leaving the team, everyone is still afloat and have not declined in their form. Doran and Son “Lehends” Si-woo, Griffin’s top laner and support, remain starting caliber players. Take those two and have them reunite with the  trio, they could stand on the same level as DWG KIA. Some might go so far to say they could supplant DWG’s dominance of last summer to the present day.

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This is surmised even as both teams experienced the identical timelines in their existence. Both started in the CK; both were promoted to LCK in close proximity; both gradually improved to then become one of the best in the region; and both qualified for international competition. The difference between Griffin and DWG is the former’s learning curve was tremendously shorter as they reached the grand finals in three consecutive times.

DWG would go on to reach and win their share of finals, but that happened far later than their predecessors and after a couple of player swaps. On the other hand, Griffin’s lineup hardly changed, save for Doran subbing in for Sword in late 2019. With the two teams’ close rivalry (Griffin was ahead of DWG in head-to-head by 3-2), in addition to the striking resemblance seen through their initial existence, people were looking forward to the start of a new fierce rivalry, but alas, that didn’t come to pass, for Griffin prematurely folded before anything else was generated.

Looking forwards to Worlds 2021

With Worlds 2021 approaching, the Korean trio were informed of the opponents they’re scheduled to face. As the first seed of the LPL, Viper is slated to compete in Group B alongside T1, EDG’s old foe, and 100 Thieves, the LCS champions. For the other two, they were drawn to the same group for Play-Ins in an apparent twist of fate. Rounding out their group is Latin America’s Infinity Esports, Oceania’s PEACE, and Brazil’s Red Canids.

Unsurprisingly, everyone immediately set their sights on LNG-HLE as their marquee match for the preliminary stage and relished in watching the best mid-laner and jungler square off at the world stage. As for the players in question, they will treat it as any other game that they played in their storied careers. They’ll do so with composure, patience, and reticence. In speaking about meeting his old teammates, Tarzan played down its significance as expected, but he also expressed his hopes of meeting them in any capacity during the competition.

“We’re all on different teams now, so I wonder if we can find a time to meet each other, but if we can find the time, maybe we can meet up. I wonder if there’s much to say between us, but it will be good to see the old faces again,” said Tarzan.

Nevertheless, the players’ reservations won’t stop fans from getting excited about what is to unfold in less than a week’s time. The storyline involving the three former Griffin players is too tantalizing for them to ignore. As they speculate on how that fateful match will turn out, they will also reflect and surmise how each player’s career would’ve turned out had they stayed in Griffin during the scandal of late 2019. Viper, Chovy, and Tarzan have each become their own person since leaving by maturing and winning in distinct ways after collectively experiencing bitter defeat as rookie players. Having improved themselves since leaving, they will now show their new selves on stage with the world watching.

Written by Pedro Romero

Freelance writer with approximately three years of experience. Worked for numerous outlets including esports.com while covering League of Legends, Valorant, and Dota 2. Currently at Bronze I in NA LoL solo-queue.

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