The fairytale story of Griffin almost ended on Saturday, but the rookie team managed to survive against Afreeca Freecs. The rookies took the series 3-2 and move on to the finals of the League Champions Korea Summer Split playoffs in Seoul.
As one legacy fades into the annals of history, another rises. It's only fitting that on the last ever OGN LCK broadcast, rookie team Griffin continued its run through its inaugural split in the league, pushing past Afreeca Freecs. While Griffin may have earned a spot in the finals against KT Rolster, there were several moments where it looked like it would crumble.
Griffin took Game 1 on the back of superior teamfighting micro play and a strong compositional matchup but Afreeca wasn't fazed one bit. Top laner Kim "Kiin" Gi-in took over Game 2 on his Ignite Quinn, zooming around the map to take out towers and killing any isolated Griffin members he found. The rest of his team, meanwhile, put on a masterclass in how to play around the strong splitpusher, creating opportunities for Kiin to go to work without sacrificing much in return. The push-and-pull on opposite sides of the map seemed to be too much for Griffin to handle as it collapsed in the later stages of Game 2, and that momentum rolled over into Game 3. This time, jungler Lee "Spirit" Da-yoon's Lee Sin got things going early on, counterjungling Griffin's Lee "Tarzan" Seung-yong and making him look like he was still just a challenger jungler. With Griffin on the back foot early on, Afreeca snowballed an objective lead and a Kiin Kennen first blood into a gold lead, eventually finishing the game in 35 minutes.
Griffin held on. Sure, AD carry Park "Viper" Do-hyeon looked nervous throughout the series, as would most rookies in his shoes, yet the rest of the all-rookie lineup played beautifully in Game 4. Perhaps overconfident, Afreeca drafted a teamfighting composition to try and go toe-to-toe with Griffin in an effort to finish it off once and for all. But Griffin fought back, cutting through Afreeca as it got its second wind and forced a Game 5.
Things were tense in the early stages, which played right into Afreeca's hands. Showing veteran grit, Afreeca knew just when to force objectives, such as a gutsy Baron call around the 33-minute mark that gave it the lead. It even got as far as breaking Griffin's mid lane inhibitor. In the end, Afreeca's objective lead meant nothing if Griffin could teamfight perfectly, and that's exactly what it did, showing off flawless mechanics in the late game. Suddenly, Afreeca was the team that looked desperate, going for a 41-minute Baron to end the game one way or another. Ironically, it was the youngest rookie on the rookie team, 17-year-old mid laner Jeong "Chovy" Ji-hoon, who made the clutch play when his team needed him, landing a massive Command: Shockwave to decimate Afreeca.
Griffin now prepares for the final hurdle on its way to Royal Road immortality and a guaranteed spot at Worlds when it takes on veteran super team KT Rolster in the LCK Summer finals at 4 a.m. ET on Sept. 8.
--Noah Waltzer