The recent series between Jin Air Green Wings and Griffin in the 2019 LCK Summer Season wound up being a surprisingly important one.
On one hand, the victory puts Griffin fingertips away from finishing the regular season in first place and qualifying for the 2019 League of Legends World Championship. On the other, the defeat put Jin Air in the LoL history books as the first team to end a regular season in the LCK with 18 losses.
This devastatingly bad performance drops them into the 2020 Spring Promotion Tournament.
A new dawn in the LCK
The series between Jin Air and Griffin is the perfect example of the current state of the LCK, which has young organizations challenging old legacies. Sandbox Gaming, Damwon Gaming, and Griffin were unknown before 2018, but now seem poised to dominate for years to come.
Their success hasn’t been exclusive to the standings and rankings, either. These young organizations are driving the entire region to change its mentality and play style. Teams like Griffin are creative and inventive in the drafting process, and play an aggressive style.
Jin Air is one of the teams that has failed to adapt to the changes these newcomers have brought, and is facing relegation as a result.
Even if they are demoted, Challengers Korea will not be much easier for Jin Air. MVP and bbq Olivers, two former LCK teams, finished the 2019 Challengers Korea Summer in seventh and eighth place, respectively.
Hanwha Life Esports and KT Rolster are still in the fight to avoid relegation. These teams are in a different position than Jin Air. Hanwha’s most recent victory was against none other than SK Telecom T1, while KT Rolster managed to get at least one game from every opponent they faced in the season.
The 2020 Spring Promotion Tournament dates are yet to be announced.
