Even given SK Telecom T1’s fall over the past 12 months, few would have expected the LCK table to look quite the way that it does.
As things stand, SKT sit eight, with Afreeca Freecs two players above them and Mid-Season Invitational finalists KINGZONE DragonX in third.
KSV, now known as Gen.G, occupy second, up from fifth in the Spring Split. However, first place is held by Griffin, a team that wasn’t even playing at this level a few months ago.
Griffin made it to the LCK after securing promotion at the end of the Spring Split. Despite going undefeated in the Challengers Korea tournament in the Spring, nobody predicted that they would start life in the LCK in such a fashion.
The South Korean side had risen immediately to the top of the table.
With nine games played in the X game season, Griffin has recorded eight victories and a single defeat. Despite their status as LCK minnows, they continue to defy the odds as they edge ever closer to Worlds 2018 qualification.
A dominant first half of the season saw them beat league heavyweights like Afreeca Freecs, KINGZONE and Gen.G. Only KT Rolster have managed to best them so far.
A well-earned reward
The success of Griffin’s rookie squad hasn’t gone unnoticed.
To thank the team for their hard work in the first half of the season, the organisation has announced that each player, as well as he’s coach Kim “cvMax” Dae-ho, will receive a bonus of 10 million Korean won, equal to around $9,000.
A statement released by the organisation on Twitter said:
“As a form of encouragement and to congratulate our vigorous takeoff, we rewarded the team’s head coach “cvMax” and the players with an extra incentive fee of 10 million won each.”
Should Griffin hold on to their position until the end of the split, there will be far more lucrative prizes on offer. The 2017 LoL World Championship offered a prize pool of close to $5m.