SEOUL, South Korea -- Griffin crushed Gen.G 3-0 at at the KeSPA Cup finals, rewriting history as the first team to win the KeSPA Cup without dropping a single game throughout the tournament. At the center of this victory was Griffin's AD carry Park "Viper" Do-hyeon, who is heralded as the best non-marksman AD carry in the world. Viper's large champion pool meant that Griffin always had an upper hand in the drafting stage, and his Cassiopeia and Jayce picks overpowered former world champion Park "Ruler" Jae-hyuk in all three games of the series.
ESPN caught up with Viper after the match. The interview was conducted in English.
ESPN: Viper, how does it feel to win the KeSPA Cup and finish 2018 on such a high note?
Viper: Actually, I'm very confused now because I wanted to play some AD carry champions [like] Lucian and Ezreal. I wanted to win this finals as an AD carry [player]. But I played Cassiopeia and Jayce [today]. So I'm happy but it's...I don't know what to say.
ESPN: So perhaps you don't feel proud as an AD carry?
Viper: Yeah, yeah.
ESPN: In the first two games [against Gen.G], you picked Cassiopeia as soon as she was available. Why was the decision made? Do you think Cassiopeia is strong as an AD carry at the moment?
Viper: Yeah, I think Cassiopeia is a very strong champion [at the moment in the bot lane]. When we chose her, we won many games. She's good. I think Cassiopeia is OP. Comet makes her [even] stronger. So I chose her.
ESPN: Also on the third game against Gen.G, you played Jayce. There are a lot of talks about how proficient you are on non-marksman champions and your champion pool. Can you tell us more about this?
Viper: I don't know, I just played League of Legends many times and played many champions. Cause I'm actually...I don't know. I'm talented, that's my power.
ESPN: You defeated Gen.G 3-0. Did you think you will win against Gen.G in such an overwhelming performance?
Viper: Yeah. I think that. I predicted that we can show guys that we are very strong. Gen.G is also a strong team, but our power is very, very, very, very overwhelming.
ESPN: Gen.G, as we all know, is the team that prevented Griffin from qualifying from Worlds in 2018. How did that feel? Was there maybe a sense of revenge?
Viper: Ah...because today is the last day of 2018. So I think we are the winner.
ESPN: So you are the ultimate winner of 2018.
Viper: Yeah.
ESPN: After the match, you mentioned Kim "cvMax" Dae-ho a few times on the on-stage victory interview. Who is cvMax for you? What kind of position does he hold within the team?
Viper: His passion is very, very hot. What to say...passionate. When we hear the feedback [from] him, we can [learn and get a] lot of confidence. cvMax as a coach is a very important person on our team so I mentioned him on the stage.
ESPN: Again, congratulation on winning KeSPA Cup. What's next for you? What is the goal of 2019 for you, for Griffin?
Viper: It's making our own skin next year.
ESPN: What champion do you want?
Viper: If I want to sell a lot of skins...Vayne? I don't know. [I'm not] prepared.
ESPN: Thank you for the interview once again. There are many global fans [reading] this interview. Could you maybe say a New Year's greeting to the international fans?
Viper: Happy New Year guys, thank you for watching our games. We're gonna play a lot of funny [games]. So please watch us more. Thank you very much, Happy New Year.