A red alert warning has been issued out to the Korean solo ladder. Griffin defeated MVP in a convincing 2-0 match score, showcasing experimental picks such as Teemo AD carry. In the second game of the series, Park “Viper” Do-hyun became the first player to play Teemo in for the first time in two years in the LCK, setting both Korean and global communities on fire.
After the match against MVP, OGN interviewed Viper, the MVP for Game 1 and Chovy, the MVP for Game 2.
Captain Viper, the viewers around the world are shocked and awed. We have to ask you. Why did you pick it?
Viper: Teemo is a pick that we had prepared for, and there was an opportunity to pick it so I locked in Teemo.
What the hell is an “opportunity to pick Teemo?”
Viper: The opponent AD carry should not be an AD carry with a high sustain in lane, in which case you can harass the opponent with the blind.
Also, it depends on the support champion of the other team’s bot lane. Depending on the support of the opponent team, [Teemo] might also be put in danger too often.
So you are saying that by picking Teemo, you managed to draw the attention to the bot lane and allow your top lane to snowball.
Viper: Yeah. Not only is Teemo playable, but is annoying to play against, and I was being targeted more than I should. It’s a champion that can receive extra attention from the opponent team, and we played it back to the opponent team and enabled other solo lanes to open up more.
Chovy, you also carried the series with Yasuo on game two. The young players in LCK are really good at Yasuo. Who’s sword is sharper? Yours or Ucal’s?
Chovy: From what I’ve shown today, I believe that my sword is the sharper one.
Viper, you picked Ezreal in game one and won the MVP with your performance on the champion. However, Tarzan was setting up the teamfights for many of these moments with his performance on Zac. Some people are saying that they awarded Tarzan the MVP instead of you because you guys look alike!
Viper: I personally believe Tarzan could have won the MVP for every single game we’ve ever played. Even today, he played Zac for the first time in a while and made me think “Tarzan is Tarzan after all” with his performance. So I actually thought that Zac should have gotten the MVP.
Can you tell us more about the crucial teamfight in the second game? You dived in with Ezreal and continued chasing down the enemy champions, ultimately winning the fight.
Viper: I had taken Cleanse and Flash as my summoner spells. I thought I would survive even if I went in, as long as I had these two spells. Whenever there was an opening I dived in, applying pressure into the enemy lanes with my Q.
Chovy, you picked Yasuo for the second game. This means that Griffin had both Yasuo and Teemo locked in for the same game. How did your own team react to this?
Chovy: The team was mostly positive about the picks.
I hear that for Griffin, all the team members have had to agree for a draft in order for it to go through. Chovy, what do you personally think about Viper’s Teemo? Did you agree with the decision to pick Teemo?
Chovy: I believe that Viper can play anything so I was not concerned. He could even pick AD carry Yorick and carry with it.
Do you think Viper could play Garen in the bot lane, even?
Chovy: I haven’t seen him play it so I can’t be a judge of it, but I don’t think he’ll be a hinderance to the team at least.
Chovy, can you tell us more about the teamfight when you went 4v1? It was a performance that was at pal with Ucal’s recent performance on Yasuo.
Chovy: I was pushing the lane, and the enemy champions jumped on me. I thought I’d fight rather than run away, and somehow I managed to kill them instead of dying.
Griffin turns up with such off-meta, unconventional picks all the time. You’ll be giving every team you face some headaches. Do you consider this when you attempt such unconventional picks?
Viper: Yes. We play what we believe is good. However, the other team have to put in extra work to decipher what we are doing. We might be experimenting, or we might actually be playing a very good pick. We consider this as a tactic.
Chovy, do you have any pocket pick that you’ve always wanted to try? Something that you’ll play if the coach allows you one day?
Chovy: Never even thought about it…I’m not sure.
According to our statistics, this is not the first win by Teemo that we have had in LCK. Ambition has recorded a win on Teemo on mid lane, and now Viper has also won on Teemo as an AD carry. It’s a record that’s a first of its kind, and probably the last.
Viper, could you give any final words to the Teemo enthusiasts watching this?
Viper: Teemo has gotten better ever since his R changed. He can throw his shrooms. He can at least clear lanes, he’s not a complete burden to the team. If I asked you to love Teemo…Maybe that’ll be going too far. However, do give Teemo a go once in a while if he pops up in your dream.