Griffin Director Cho resigns while the LCK team is investigation

Griffin’s Director Cho Kyu-nam has resigned, and the decision came after almost two months of public drama.

Griffin is ready to put an end to the internal drama and start focusing on 2020. The team announced that former director Cho Kyu-nam is no longer part of the organization. Cho was part of a public battle with former head coach Kim “cvMax” Dae-ho who was fired back in September.

Griffin’s drama continues as Cho and cvMax leave

cvMax accused director Cho of pitting his players against him and forcing jungler Seo “Kanavi” Jin-hyeok to sign a five-year contract with LPL team JD Gaming. In the face of such worrying allegations, Riot Games Korea launched a full investigation into Griffin and its parent company Still8. According to different sources, director Cho is looking to take legal action against cvMax for defamation of character and slander.

With Cho and cvMax both out of the picture, Still8 and Griffin are looking to rebuild, starting with “the foundation of the team”. A statement from Griffin hinted that the team is looking to change its internal culture, but it could also mean a drastic roster change. The current roster that took part in the 2019 World Championship is under contract through 2021.

Griffin’s roster potentially undergoing big changes

It is possible for the team to transfer some players and negotiate buyouts. Griffin’s players are ranked amongst the best players in Korea at the moment and are some of the youngest in the LCK with an average age of 19. Qualifying to the quarterfinals at Worlds, the team had a strong showing which has certainly raised each player’s individual value on the market.

Ahead of the free agency period that opens on November 18, there are rumors about the possible future of the players at Griffin. One of the strongest rumors is that jungler Lee “Tarzan” Seung-yong will be leaving the team. His destination is unclear, but some rumors indicate that he will be joining Invictus Gaming while others point to him going to the LCS.

While it’s possible that many teams have shown interest in Tarzan, it seems unlikely that Griffin would easily part with its biggest star to date. Tarzan is the backbone of the team and one of the reasons why the former challenger team has made it this far.

Some rumors are going even further than that, as according to a popular Korean message board, Riot Games will expel Griffin from the LCK after the recent internal drama. While this is a long shot, the team could indeed face some kind of penalty if Riot Games finds proof of wrongdoing in Kanavi’s case or related to other allegations made by former coach cvMax after his acrimonious departure from the organization.