The Korean team Griffin was among the top 8 teams at the LoL Worlds 2019 in League of Legends. Now all professional players have been released from their contracts. They could either sign new contracts with the team or switch. Team Griffin was involved in a scandal and is now drawing the consequences.
This is the announcement: The parent company of Team Griffin is Still8. They have terminated all player contracts in League of Legends.
They say:
- They had made unfair contracts with the players and made the players vulnerable
- The press and fans criticized Still8 for these contracts – This can be seen in
- They apologize to the fans, players, and Riot Games officials – it is said “They bow their heads in apology”
- Still8 dissolves all existing contracts.
- In recent days, all players have been offered new contracts without these unfair clauses
- However, those who want to leave the team as free agents are respected
- Still8 promises to take the right path, accept responsibility for the mistakes, and be a better partner for their players in the future
3 of the best players are leaving
Who is leaving? Three players have already announced their departure from Team Griffin. They have not signed the new contracts and are now free agents:
- Jeon “Chovy” Ji-hoon (18) – he was actually the strongest player of Team Griffin in the mid-lane
- Choi “Doran” Hyeon-joon (19) – he is a top laner who was not used at the LoL Worlds 2019. Doran was actually considered the hope of the team
- Son “Lehends” Si-woo (20), the starting supporter of Team Griffin
The bitter part is that all the players are still young. In 2019, Team Griffin dominated the Korean league – but it was not enough for the championship title. These are top-tier talents.
?Farewell Lehends-Chovy-Doran
We are here to convey a piece of upsetting news. Our contract with Lehends, Doran and Chovy was ended after mutual consent. Sincerely thank you for bringing precious memories and spectacular games to Griffin and Ourfin. Best wishes. Thank you. pic.twitter.com/wi1bxu7tKk
— Team Griffin LoL (@TeamGriffinLoL) November 25, 2019
Team Griffin draws consequences from the scandal surrounding the former manager
What was that scandal? A few days ago, the former manager of the team and the former coach were banned from all eSport events operated by Riot for life.
Team Griffin received a hefty fine – about $85,000.
The manager is alleged to have made contracts with a minor player without informing the parents, and to have included clauses in a player’s contract that restricted their rights.
The former coach of Team Griffin is said to have insulted and threatened players. There are even talks of physical abuse.
It is now assumed that the decision to release players will bring some movement to the League of Legends transfer market. Here are some high-profile and young LoL players suddenly available, whom no one expected.
Maybe one of the players will end up with SKT1, the team of Faker. They currently have an open position in the top lane.
At the LoL Worlds, Team Griffin played a strong group stage but then had to surrender in the quarterfinals to the Chinese team Invictus Gaming.
