On the 31st, at Sejong University, the Finals of the 2018 LoL KeSPA Cup took place. On the Finals stage, Griffin took a flawless victory of 3-0 against Gen.G Esports. Griffin had displayed a dominating performance this tournament by not having dropped a single set during the quarterfinals and beyond.

The following is an interview with the new KeSPA Cup champions.

Please tell us how you feel about your victory.

Sword: I wanted to show the fans that we had improved. It feels great that we won. There are a lot of future important matches that need to be played, and we'll do our best to show great performance during those. 

Tarzan: It's very meaningful that we finished the last day of 2018 with a victory. It's just as meaningful that we won without dropping a single match.

Chovy: We had a flawless victory, and I won the MVP title. I will remember this day for a long time. 

Viper: It feels great that we won. In order to experience this feeling again, I'll work harder. 

Lehends: It's my first time winning a tournament, so it feels surreal. I'm happy that we won so cleanly. 

Cabbie: I feel great that I was able to win with such cool guys. I'll work hard moving forward and do my best to see play on stage.

cvMax: The training the players went through were definitely a tough one. The players did well during it. We'll do our best to show great performance in the coming tournaments.

Coach Byun: We worked extremely hard after placing 2nd in the LCK Summer Split. I'm happy that our hard work paid off on stage.


In game 1 and 2, you guys were on red side. However, you left Cassiopeia open, despite her current banrate. Did you predict that Gen.G Esports won't be picking her? 

cvMax: In every game before the Finals, GEN banned Cassiopeia. Even if they had practiced Cassiopeia after their semifinals victory, it wouldn't have been enough time to fully master her. Our players were confident in playing against a Cassiopeia, and our ADC player, Viper, is great on her, so it would've favored us more if she was left open. 


You made sacrifices and plays for the team. Were you a bit disappointed in the fact that you couldn't play to your own will?

Sword: I wasn't satisfied with my performance in games 1 and 2. If I was going to play for the team and endure a tough laning phase, I shouldn't have been killed by the enemy ganks. If we had to play around top lane, it would've put me in a better position. However, the compositions that we played didn't need to, so it's fine. 


In game 1, Thresh's hooks were the winning factor. Was he a pick that you had prepared beforehand?

Lehends: Thresh wasn't actually a pick that we had planned beforehand. It was unfortuante that I couldn't play the champion that we had actually prepared. Thresh, Alistar, and Braum are all champions that are stable during the laning phase and teamfights, and is the reason why we picked them. 


In game 3, when Cassoipeia was banned, you guys picked Jayce and Braum.

Viper: Braum is a very strong pick against Ezreal and Tahm Kench. In addition, Jayce is also strong against Ezreal, so we picked those champions. 

Lehends: During picks and bans, we were certain that the enemy team was going to pick up Ezreal and Tahm Kench. We retaliated with Jayce and Braum.


During the quarterfinals and semifinals, you were an immense carry. It's unfortunate that you weren't able to net the MVP title during the Finals.

Tarzan: I had shown everything that I had during the quarterfinals and semifinals. I had nothing else to really show. I came to get carried, so it's fine.


Chovy, how does it feel having won the tournament MVP?

Chovy: I'm satisfied with myself that I had shown MVP performance today. 


Is there something that needs improvement within the team moving forward?

cvMax: I'm satisfied with the performance that our team had put out during the KeSPA Cup. I find the 'process' of receiving a certain result more important than the result itself. The KeSPA Cup was the tournament that got us closest to what we're working towards becoming. In order to keep this up, we'll need to work hard and exert this kind of performance purely on our own skills and not relying on luck. I'll also train my players so that they can learn to adapt to new patches.


The FA market was very active this year. How competitive do you believe the next LCK season will be?

cvMax: A lot of changes were made this year, so I expected the teams to consume a lot of time adapting to them. However, I felt that the teams were already working well together. There are some teams that have gotten a lot stronger, such as SKT T1, Afreeca Freecs, Gen.G Esports, and DAMWON Gaming. I won't know what the other unmentioned teams are capable of either, so I'll need to prepare well for them.


Any last words in regard to the 2019 season?

Viper: I'm very happy that I'll be the one to answer this final question. (Laughs) With what we had learned through this victory today, we'll do our best to become a better team in the future LCK split and international tournaments.