In the first match of the LCK Promotion Tournament Summer 2020, viewers witnessed seismic shocks as two representatives of LCK – SANDBOX Gaming and Griffin continued to show an extremely poor performance, subsequently suffering defeats against two teams from the 2nd-tier league – CK, Team Dynamics and Seorabeol Gaming, with scores of 0-2 and 1-2.
It is worth mentioning that both SANDBOX and Griffin were teams that performed extremely convincingly last season, with SB always in the running for a Worlds spot, while GRF was even the LCK runner-up three times in a row.
The loss to Seorabeol has put Griffin in a “dead end,” as they must face SB in the loser bracket match, and one of the two names that once caused a storm in the LCK during the 2019 season will definitely have to say goodbye to this tournament.
The decline of Griffin probably doesn’t need much elaboration; it is unfortunate that the team’s downfall did not stem from professional factors, but rather occurred due to scandals off the stage.
Although they are at the bottom of the LCK Spring 2020 standings, with extremely quality names still in the lineup like Tarzan and Viper, Griffin fans still hold hope that they will easily overcome the Promotion Tournament to stay in LCK Summer 2020.
However, all that Griffin has shown are lackluster performances, and it is clear that losing captain cvMax is the key reason why GRF is no longer themselves.
Things are not too bleak for Griffin yet, as they still have at least one more match to cling onto hope. If they can defeat SANDBOX in the loser bracket semifinals, GRF will advance to the loser bracket finals against one of the two teams, Dynamics or Seorabeol, to vie for the last spot to remain in LCK.
However, that is under the “if” they can win against SANDBOX. In the LCK Spring 2020 group stage, the head-to-head history of the two teams is balanced with each side winning 1 and losing 1, and thus, the upcoming do-or-die match will be more intense than ever, and there is no guarantee that with their current form, GRF can easily secure a victory over SB.