Griffin vs Invictus Gaming

What an insane, action-packed Best of 5 to start out the weekend. Heck, maybe that's even an understatement. Griffin vs. Invictus Gaming has "match of the year" written all over it. A clash between two beastly teams, two line-ups with the most mechanical prowess and talent; ten players looking to skirmish from the moment they step foot on the Summoner's Rift.

What's not to like? Is there even anything missing? Quite frankly -- no. This is as good as it gets. These teams can both play in a more subdued, macro-oriented fashion, but also throw down and trade heavy blows from the very get-go. And we never know what they're aiming for, or what's their overarching game plan coming into the series. Both challengers adapt on the fly and are more than capable of switching things up mid series.

And we didn't even get to the players themselves. That's where the real excitement begins. But before we get to the minute details, however, we should focus on each team and their path towards this point.

Griffin entered Worlds as the second Korean seed. That's quite an accomplishment given that SKT T1 dominated the region throughout the year. After a disappointing run back in 2018, the Griffin five was finally able to leave a mark and punch their ticket for the World Championship. Their patented aggression and sheer mechanical prowess were well-known around the world, even though they never played a game internationally. So coming into this year's Worlds, they were a bit of question mark. We were all aware of their inherent talent, but not having that oh-so-important international experience wasn't a negligible factor. Playing on home soil is one thing -- it's "easy." It's a path that's riddled with familiar challenges and obstacles. Playing against the best teams in the world, however, is a completely different beast. And it is a beast that Griffin never had to face.

Such a challenge requires a different approach. It is often a marathon, rather than a sprint. It requires exceptional mental fortitude, resilience, trust in your teammates and perhaps above all -- the ability to prepare for a five-game series and have deep enough champion pools for any kind of endeavor. That's a tall order, regardless of the way you slice it. Winning a Best of 1 is easy. Heck, you can even brute force your way through a Best of 3 if you're talented enough. But winning a Best of 5 requires a whole lot more.

And it is in these situations that Griffin always faltered. They never won when the pressure was mounting, when everything was on the line. And sure enough, their week one performance didn't impress, to say the least. They were quickly disposed and outclassed by G2 Esports in what was an absolute shellacking. They looked like absolute amateurs, instead of like the second seed from the most dominant region in the game's history.

But week two came along and they were able to make a complete 180. Not only did they win all of their games, but they even took down G2 Esports in two games back-to-back. They avenged their first loss and even went a step further -- it was an absolute masterclass in execution. They made G2 look like a team from a wildcard region, and that's saying something. Everyone on Griffin played better than their counterpart. They were aggressive, in-sync, and they realized every play they went for with staggering ease. There was little that G2 could do, and their struggling jungler and support simply couldn't keep up. Griffin was unwilling to slow down and was constantly forcing G2's hand across the map.

And so the 2019 Mid-Season Invitational champions fell. Twice. In mind-blowing fashion, to boot. One thing became apparent: Griffin was not fooling around.

This means we saw both the good as well as the bad Griffin all in the span on two weeks. That's, at once, both great as well as frightening. It's great because we know they're capable of playing at the highest of levels, so that's a plus. It's also frightening because we can't be sure which type of Griffin will show up on match day, which makes our lives that much more difficult as coming to a safe prediction becomes nearly impossible.

Opposite them stands Invictus Gaming, the defending champions from 2018. Their 2019 season wasn't exactly awe-inspiring. They won the LPL Spring Split and represented their region at the Mid-Season Invitational, but they didn't exactly find any success at the second-biggest international tournament of the year, and that's putting it mildly. Losing to Team Liquid in the semi-finals is rather unacceptable for a team of Invictus' caliber. Such a resounding failure hurt their stock considerably and they never quite recovered as they had to fight tooth and nail come Summer Split. They were ultimately able to lock down a ticket to Worlds but it was too close for comfort. We've all seen their highs and the fact that they struggled so mightily was a rather shocking sight.

Despite this, we were all aware of their inherent potential. Invictus doesn't need a lot to get going, and if the meta favors their two exceptional solo laners then they're bound to find an avenue towards success sooner rather than later. Their group D performance was somewhat of a mixed bag. There was a lot that we liked, and a fair bit that, well, was rather confusing. They were forcing engages too much at times, their individual play was all over the board, and their willingness to skirmish once again functioned as a double-edged sword.

When they get going, when they impose their will, then they're unstoppable. When they're even, however, they're still willing to go for those 20/80 plays and hope for the best. Sometimes it works, but when it doesn't they lost a ton of momentum and often the game entirely. They all want to make the game-winning play and they often take things overboard; they try too hard and often fail miserably. It's as if they don't have the bigger picture in mind and just focus on a single "play" in front of them.

Now, depending on the opponent, that can either be a negligible hiccup, or a game-defining flaw. Such a dangerous playstyle already hindered their chances of attaining success against DAMWON Gaming. They were winning, up until they decided to turn into a ragtag group of solo queue randoms. Everyone was playing on their own accord, and there was no obvious game plan in sight. DAMWON, on the other hand, just focused on the essentials. Even though they got destroyed by TheShy and Rookie, they persevered and waited for the later stages of the game when their stellar teamfighting could turn things around -- which it did.

In the end, no one's too sure what to think of Invictus. They're strong. That's a given. Perhaps even a fair bit stronger than most expected coming into the tournament. Then again, we've kinda seen their biggest, inherent flaws. It feels like that, for all their might, they're just not strong enough to win the whole thing. At least not in the current meta, that is.

That said, they're definitely capable of making things incredibly competitive. They're not the kind of team that'll just roll over and surrender, and most of their players love to play on the razor's edge. Much like Griffin, they've had more than enough time to shore up their weaknesses and get on the same page. They've already won Worlds once, so we know they have what it takes to go all the way.

Despite this, it feels like Griffin simply has more tools to work with. They're hungry for the spotlight, they're incredibly confident and are a momentum-based team, and fortunately for LCK representative, taking G2 Esports down twice in a row does wonders for your confidence. They're playing on an insanely high level as a five-man unit, but it is their individual playmaking ability that'll provide them with a noticeable upper hand over the defending champions. Tarzan is one of the best junglers in the world, and his early game impact should be more than enough to get Griffin ahead.

That said, this is not going to be a one-sided series. Invictus will fight for every inch of the Summoner's Rift and they have all the right tools at their disposal to make this into one insane, back-and-forth Best of 5 that'll be determined by the slimmest of margins.