TL;DR
- Griffin’s victory positioned them for LCK first place and Worlds qualification
- Jin Air made history as the first LCK team to complete a winless 18-loss season
- New organizations are revolutionizing LCK’s strategic approach and team dynamics
- The relegation battle extends beyond Jin Air to include former LCK teams in Challengers Korea
- LCK’s competitive landscape shows permanent structural changes with lasting implications
The 2019 LCK Summer Season clash between Jin Air Green Wings and Griffin represented far more than a routine competitive match—it signaled a fundamental shift in Korea’s premier League of Legends landscape.
Griffin’s decisive triumph placed them within striking distance of securing the regular season’s top position, simultaneously earning them direct qualification to the prestigious 2019 League of Legends World Championship. Conversely, Jin Air’s defeat cemented their place in esports history as the inaugural LCK squad to complete an entire regular season without a single victory across 18 matches.
This historically poor performance automatically relegates Jin Air to the 2020 Spring Promotion Tournament, where they must fight for their LCK survival.
A new dawn in the LCK
The Jin Air versus Griffin series perfectly encapsulates the LCK’s current transformative phase, where emerging organizations systematically challenge established legacy teams. Sandbox Gaming, Damwon Gaming, and Griffin—all virtually unknown before 2018—now demonstrate the potential to dominate the competitive scene for the foreseeable future.
These rising teams’ impact extends well beyond mere standings and rankings. They’re compelling the entire region to overhaul traditional mental approaches and gameplay methodologies. Organizations like Griffin exhibit remarkable creativity during champion selection phases and execute consistently aggressive in-game strategies.
Jin Air represents one of several established teams that failed to adjust to the meta-shifts these newcomers introduced, consequently facing almost certain relegation. Teams struggling with adaptation often share common pitfalls: reluctance to abandon comfort picks, inflexible macro strategies, and slow adaptation to evolving objective control priorities.
Even if demoted, Challengers Korea presents no straightforward path for Jin Air’s redemption. MVP and bbq Olivers—both former LCK competitors—finished the 2019 Challengers Korea Summer season in seventh and eighth positions respectively, demonstrating the secondary league’s competitive intensity.
Hanwha Life Esports and KT Rolster continue battling to avoid similar relegation fates. These organizations occupy distinctly different competitive positions compared to Jin Air. Hanwha’s most significant recent achievement came against legendary opponents SK Telecom T1, while KT Rolster secured at least one game victory from every seasonal opponent they encountered.
The 2020 Spring Promotion Tournament schedule remains unannounced, though historical patterns suggest a 2-3 month preparation window for participating teams. Organizations facing relegation should prioritize scrimmage partnerships with diverse playstyle teams, analyze VODs of successful meta-transitions, and develop flexible draft strategies that accommodate multiple win conditions.
Action Checklist
- Analyze rising teams’ draft patterns and identify counter-strategies
- Review VODs of successful meta-transitions from other regions
- Develop flexible champion pools that adapt to multiple strategic approaches
- Study relegation tournament formats and prepare for high-pressure scenarios
No reproduction without permission：Games Guides Website » Jin Air Green Wings becomes first LCK team to post a winless split Analyzing the LCK's historic 2019 season shift where new teams challenged established legacies and records were broken