Griffin’s Mid Laner Chovy’s Deathless Streak Comes to an End Against SANDBOX Gaming
Griffin fans experienced mixed emotions as they witnessed mid laner Jeong “Chovy” Ji-hoon’s exceptional deathless streak come to a close in their first three-game match of the 2019 LCK season against fellow first-place team SANDBOX Gaming.
Chovy, however, seemed unfazed by the end of his impressive KDA (Kill/Death/Assist) ratio. In a post-game interview following Griffin’s sixth consecutive win, he expressed relief and a sense of freedom from the pressure, saying, “I’m not really that sad. Rather, I’m relieved since there’s no more pressure so I can play more comfortably.”
Contrary to his statement, Chovy’s performance during the match appeared anything but uncomfortable. Despite dying twice, he secured multiple solo kills against SANDBOX mid laner Kim “Dove” Jae-yeon, particularly shining in game one as Akali with an MVP performance.
While SANDBOX put up a strong fight and became the first team to win a game against Griffin in 2019, their success could be attributed to one champion—Akali.
In game two, SANDBOX’s top laner Park “Summit” Woo-tae took away Akali from Chovy and had an exceptional splitpushing game as the rogue assassin. Summit gained a significant advantage through well-executed teamfights and easily overpowered Griffin’s top laner Choi “Sword” Sung-won’s Sion, relentlessly splitpushing until Griffin’s inhibitors were at risk.
However, Griffin made a swift comeback in game three. Their jungler Lee “Tarzan” Seung-yong put constant pressure on Summit, preventing him from gaining an advantage through aggressive ganking. As a result, SANDBOX struggled to find favorable teamfights, leading to their defeat and becoming another entry in Griffin’s impressive match history.
Griffin and the rest of the league will now enjoy a well-deserved nine-day break in celebration of the Korean New Year. When they return on February 15th, they will face KT Rolster, the team that ended their 2018 summer royal road in the LCK finals. Griffin’s AD carry Park “Viper” Do-hyeon expressed his desire to move on from that memory, saying, “If I can get rid of that memory, it will be okay.”
Griffin, Chovy, SANDBOX Gaming, LCK, Mid Laner, KDA, deathless streak, Akali, splitpushing, teamfights, match history, KT Rolster.