On the 8th, Day 4 of the 2019 LCK Summer Split took place. On the second series of the day, Griffin defeated DAMWON Gaming with a score of 2-0. Griffin applied constant pressure in all lanes at all times and slowly dismantled DWG. Sword has been a reliable top laner for his team throughout the summer split and had shown great teamwork with his jungler, Tarzan, in all matches played. 

The following is an interview with GRF Sword.

Congratulations on your victory today. How do you feel about it?

It wasn't a clean victory. I expected game 2 to end quickly, but DWG's split push was a lot more problematic than what we had thought.


Although you guys won your first match this summer, some fans stated that Griffin's performance isn't as good as the last split. 

I can't speak about it in detail, but... during picks & bans, each player on the team wanted to play their own champion. In the end, we couldn't decide what we really wanted, and we kept on building subpar team compositions. It's a bit regretful.

I think we were able to draft properly today.


You played against both DWG's top laner today.

Nuguri is strong during the laning phase, and Flame is strong in everything else. But it feels like the two are steadily getting better and better by taking each other's strengths and making it their own. 


Griffin placed 2nd twice in the LCK. What's your goal this split.

Our goal is to qualify for an international tournament. I'm currently focusing all my energy into reaching the LCK Finals - this is easy to say, but it carries quite the weight. 


Aatrox's win rate is low in the LCK. With Tarzan's counter gank, you were able to win a 2 vs. 2 fight in the top lane with ease. Could Aatrox be just as powerful without team support?

Aatrox is indeed a powerful champion. In the side lane 1 vs. 1, Fiora has the upper hand against Aatrox. However, we were able to reliably push her back as we had fluent jungle-top communication. We felt that DWG was planning to target the top lane, so we prepared a counter gank. 


Is there a certain top laner that you want to play against and overcome?

There are a lot of strong top laners in the LCK. I have to overcome them all.


A lot of fans are praising you for your performance this summer. What's changed from spring?

Honestly speaking, I think I'm the same as before. I believe luck played a part in my victories this split. I'm thankful for the praises, but I don't think I deserve it.


Even after the Jayce nerf, you've played him a number of times. Why? Isn't he a risky pick?

The nerf is quite noticeable. But thanks to it, Jayce is now reliably getting through the ban phase. I was able to overcome the nerf by building different items. Before the nerf, Jayce was still an effective champion even if he was put behind during the laning phase. But now, one setback could completely ruin him.

I'm playing him to take advantage of his early game strength and not dying during the laning phase. 


Any last words?

I want to thank our fans. We'll do our best to keep this momentum going.