On the 18th (KST), Griffin defeated Afreeca Freecs 3:2 and advanced to the 2018 LCK Summer Finals. After the match, we met Griffin’s head coach, cvMAX. He shared some of his thoughts on today’s match and about their finals matchup.

How does it feel about going to the finals?

It’s so happy to win such a tough match.

The team selected Red side. Why?

We chose Red in order to form our champion composition after seeing the opponent pick&bans. When you play in Blue, you can choose an OP champion in the first pick&ban phase. However, in Red side, you have an advantage in the second pick&ban phase.

After losing games 2 and 3, what kind of feedback did you share with the team?

I had to find out whether we lost because of the pick&bans or just because of sheer performance. In game 3, I concluded that our game 1 plans/strategies were on point and if we can stop Kiin, we’ll win. That’s why I tried to maintain our previous plays and focus more on stopping Kiin.

What are your thoughts on Orianna?

Some think that Orianna is not a creative, aggressive champion, so people tend to think she’s not a good pick. However, there are details on how to use Orianna well. I can’t say this in the interview, but I was quite confident about that.

Afreeca seemed to have strengths on split push. Griffin tried to win the game using their teamfight abilities. Were there any other solutions?

That was in game 4. Sword wasn’t feeling confident on aggressive champions. I didn’t trust him that much as well. But, in game 4, I thought that ‘if we think we lose, we lose’, and I tried to give it a try; I let him pick Jayce. As a matter of fact, Sword was remarkable all game and we were able to win.

In game 5, Chovy’s Orianna ultimate ended the game. As a head coach, didn’t you feel a bit pressured a game long?

We were lucky. Still, the opponent was lucky as well. It’s just the part of the game. However, our win wasn't perfect and at times we made mistakes. We will improve and deliver better performance against kt Rolster.

Whom would you choose for the MVP?

I’d choose Lehends. He did better than he did usually. In game 4 and 5, he was the key for our win.

What are your thoughts on your next matcup against kt?

I’m confident since we have a lot of time to prepare. I feel more confident than today's match.

Any last words?

I want to thank our fans. I think I forgot to show gratitude along our way, so I feel sorry as well. I will deliver better performance so keep on rooting on us. Thank you!