On the 10th of March (KST), Griffin shutout SANDBOX Gaming in the second match of 2019 LCK Spring Split Day 33. In the match, Park “Viper” Do-hyeon had a deathless performance on both Lucian and Kalista to lead the team to victory.

The following is our interview with Viper.

How do you feel about today’s victory?

I thought it would be hard because the two matches after the two-week break were against SKT and SANDBOX. I think it went fairly well. It’s a relief that today’s game against SANDBOX was quite clean. We would now need to prepare for our next match well.

Compared to last time, how was playing against SANDBOX? They gave you the first set loss of the season.

Games like our first game today could have been lost. There were a few things that didn’t go as we thought in the picks and bans or our plays. I thought that we need to prepare better. Even if we won Game 1, I personally think it’s a loss.

What was the biggest thing that didn’t go as thought?

We were less aware of the fact that we would be pressured more when we try to light up the river near the dragon or Baron. It was really hard to get vision on the river. We always needed to be careful when we go in the river, but they had several champions that can catch us whenever we do. The fact that we weren’t able to have vision on the river conveniently could have had us concede the game.

Can you explain a bit about the Baron steal?

We knew that they were hitting Baron. We were conscious of them starting to attempt Baron; as soon as they started hitting Baron, we designed the fight. The steal was purely Tarzan’s individual ability as a jungler. (Laughs) After the steal, the opponent seemed a bit frustrated so the fight started with a few more advantages for us.

Do you think you still would’ve won that fight even if Baron went to them?

I think we would have. We had better positions when we engaged and the fight went well.

Did that Baron steal make the team sure of victory?

Yes. Right after we stole Baron, we thought that if we don’t make any mistakes, we would win.

I heard your head coach cvMax tell Sword that the MVP of Game 1 was Sword. Why do you think he said that?

When it’s Jayce vs Gnar, Jayce has a favorable matchup and can pressure more. Gnar has to endure. Gnar endured well despite the fact that the opponent put in a lot of resources in top. He also widened a gap in the difficult game. I think that’s why cvMax said that.

What was the feedback after Game 1?

We thought that we lost from the picks and bans. We decided to change how we pick and ban.

Galio seems scarier especially when Griffin picks him. Is Lehends’ Galio comfortable to play alongside?

I think it’s similar to all other champions. It depends on the situation, but I’m happy that he’s always doing his best. (Laughs)

Chovy vs Lehends on Galio. Who’s better?

Obviously, I think Chovy is better. (Laughs) As you know, Galio hasn’t been used as a support for long. I think that would be the biggest difference.

Looking at your records, it seems that you seldom play crit-based ADCs. What’s the reason?

I always think about which champion is the best in the meta. There are good ADCs, but I pick the champion that I think is best, favorable in the meta, and goes well with the team comp/color. I always do my best to pick the best champion in that situation.

Also, in the current meta, the crit-based ADCs like Jinx or Caitlyn aren’t champions that can push hard from early in the game.

After the match against SKT, you were overly excited, high-fiving others with great joy.

Everybody thought that we lost, but we won so dramatically. That moment felt extremely happy. All the relief of winning such a match rushed in so suddenly, so I expressed how I felt with my actions.

You were comparably calm today.

(Laughs) It was a bit hard in Game 1, but we won by overcoming the difficulties. I wasn’t that excited thinking we would be able to prepare and adapt well to similar situations in the next games to come.

How much do you want to have an undefeated season? When we asked Tarzan the same question, he said that he’s not greedy for that record and that it wouldn’t matter much even if you lost a game because you’re so far ahead.

We do have quite a big lead. I think we don’t need to look that far ahead. We can just focus on one game at a time. If we do well with that, an undefeated record may tally along us on the side. I’m not being too conscious of that record.

Lastly a word to your fans and teammates?

I’m always thankful to those who always watch us and cheer for us. We’ll do our best to deliver more fun matches so keep watching us.

To my teammates: I’m really happy that we’re all always doing our best. We’ll be able to get good results if we’re able to finish the regular season just like how we’ve been doing.