Gen.G vs Griffin – KeSPA Cup LoL 2018 Grand Finals

KeSPA 2018 Cup is LCK’s annual tournament organized by the Korea Electronic Sports Association and famous gaming companies KeSPA, Riot Games and Afreeca with a total prize value of up to ₩ 100,000,000 which makes around $ 90,000.

The tournament with the participation of 19 teams includes some of the strongest teams of the competitive landscape of League of Legends. Teams that participated in the 2018 KeSPA Cup include the teams present at LCK in the Summer of 2018 and the KeG Championship 2018 champion.

The reason for picking up this match is that it is the grand finals series between two of the strongest teams in the event. Gen.G is one of the most prominent names of the League while Griffin shocked everyone last season with a phenomenal performance in the first season of LCK after getting promoted from the 2nd division. Now Griffin will meet Gen.G in a revenge matchup for the closing of the LCK in the summer split, where the newly promoted were left out of the Worlds after Gen.G eliminated them in the race for the Worlds in the Regional finals.

Gen.G

Worst Worlds Performance

In Worlds 2018, Gen.G was not only defeated on five of the six occasions but it was the first time in five years of the competition that a Korean side didn’t make it to the quarterfinals. You would have to travel back to Season 3 and see the first time when a Korean team did not reach the quarterfinals of Worlds. In that year, Samsung Ozone fell to Gambit and got eliminated in the group stage.

In the following years, the three participating Koreans always reached the quarter, also starring in the last three finals. In two of them, Samsung Galaxy and Gen.G were the finalists. That is why the fall of Gen.G of these Worlds 2018 was quite painful for a Korean team in the prominent history of LCK in Worlds. They managed a victory against Cloud9 and were brutally defeated in the other group stage duels against the Americans and twice against Vitality and RNG.

Gen.G Signs Peanut

After such disappointing results, some changes had to be made in the lineup of Gen.G. After a lot of rumors were flying around. However, all of those were neglected and Peanut signed for Gen.G with a chip that makes him the highest paid jungler of the LCK.

After a mediocre performance in the 2018 League of Legends World Cup, Gen.G was clear that they had to find a way to boost their game. Although apparently, they had been following Peanut for a long time, the departure of the jungle from Kingzone DragonX made the signing of the player all more realistic. Therefore, Gen.G bet all its resources in signing Peanut since the opening of the transfer market, and they did so in style! Although Peanut has received multiple juicy offers from other leagues and interests (most notably the one from SKT that has tried it by all means), the jungle has decided to sign in exchange for staying in the LCK and a salary that makes him the highest paid jungle in the competition, according to InvenGlobal.

However, the club ensured that not everything will be changed with the renewals of the contracts of CuVee, Ruler, Fly and Life, the four names retained their place on the lineup one of the strongest Korean teams in the last season.

This lineup seems to be working for the team for now, since the Korean side is in the final of the Kespa Cup. On their way to the final, the Gen.G side beat sandbox gaming 2-0 in the qualifying rounds. Then they beat Kingzone DragonX and KT Rolster. In the three games played in the competition, they only dropped a single map against KT. This just shows the dominance of the team in the preseason of the LCK.

Griffin

After failing to reach Worlds, some initiative had to be taken by the management of Griffin.

Still8 acquires Griffin

Griffin’s narrative takes a frantic turn in its aspirations for the Korean elite of League of Legends. The team that arrived from Challenger Korea to surprise in the LCK became a part of Still8, a brand previously known as Kongdoo Monster in November.

One of the revelations of the last two years in the competitive landscape of Riot in Korea, Griffin made much-needed changes. Since its creation in 2017 of the side in Challenger’s League of Korea, their rise has been unstoppable until sneaking between the best teams in the world.

The investment has been worth to give value to a brand that now becomes part of Still8, a company steeped in the current model of electronic sports with several teams in different games. Still8, previously known as Kongdoo Monsters, pulls new brands every time they enter the competitive division of an eSports title, such as Team Panthera in Overwatch, Team Reddot, and Ghiliesuit in PUBG or Team Husk in Fortnite.

Griffin will keep its current name to compete during the spring split of 2019, but from the summer split of the same year, we will see a change in the name and logo with the new brand proposed by Still8.

Not much activity in the transfer market

The lineup of the has not seen any prominent change since they have only made changes in the Support department. The side acquired the services of Jeong “Kabbie” Sang-hyeon a 17-year-old. This will be his first competitive team and by the looks of it, he will be the understudy of the main support of the team Legends.

Final verdict

Gen.G 3 – 1 Griffin

Odds on bookmakers

Bookmakers	Griffin Odds		Gen.G Odds
	European	American	European	American
GG.bet	1.45	-222	2.55	+155.00
Loot.bet	1.50	-200	2.48	+148.00
Bet365	1.44	-227	2.62	+162.00
X-bet.co	1.39	-256	2.84	+184.00