Chapter 282
The first set was relatively easy.
I guess it was because we had a pretty smooth game right from the early invade stage.
“Good job, everyone.”
“You too, sis. Your early planning was dope.”
“No, it was thanks to you all.”
After winning the first set, we had a brief feedback session before diving straight into the second set.
Since neither side had a lot of time, we felt the need to move quickly.
“Ready to go?”
“Go go.”
“Let’s do it.”
“Okay.”
Our team was on Blue.
Since this game was just the second set, we switched sides to play.
And then,
The ban/pick was completed.
+
[OLZ / YSG]
Top: Gwen / Gragas
Jungle: Viego / Lee Sin
Mid: Viktor / Kuroki
Bot Lane: Aphelios / Jhin
Support: Thresh / Yuumi
+
The ban/pick itself was a typical setup seen in the current meta.
It seemed the opposing team focused their bans mostly on the top and jungle, allowing various picks to come through.
If there was a downside to our combo, it was that our initiation was somewhat weak, so we had to rely on either Aphelios or Thresh for that.
Conditional as it may be, Aphelios was still one of those champions capable of initiating.
“I think I’ll need to mess around with my jungle path early; is it okay if I can’t keep an eye on top at the start?”
“Yeah. A 50/50 approach should be fine.”
“Okay.”
The game began.
-Welcome to Summoner’s Rift!
This game was quite unfavorable in terms of jungle matchups compared to the first.
Of course, I was the one who picked Viego after seeing Lee Sin as a first pick, but I figured if I could just get past the early growth phase, it might work out.
‘So far, our team has focused on top-side play against YSG.’
YSG’s top, Mangki, used to be one of their pillars, but has been deemed to have dropped in form since last year.
Though recently, the shift in meta and a boosted team atmosphere has reportedly helped him regain some form, it still didn’t change the fact that YSG had a weakness.
So originally, when scrimming with YSG, we leaned towards top-side games which often led to good outcomes.
But in this game, I felt like we needed to change things up a bit.
There was no guarantee that the same approach would consistently work against YSG, and solely targeting the enemy’s weakness would dilute the intent of practice.
In other words, I intentionally drafted a disadvantageous combo in the bans/picks against YSG.
To prepare ourselves for the stronger teams ahead.
[⬇] [⬇] [⬇]
[❕] [❕] [❕]
[⨷] [⨷] [⨷]
Ping spammed all over.
We noticed that our team had a slightly better combo for the early invade.
Having a grab champion like Thresh also added variables thanks to Viego.
It was a pretty nerve-wracking combo for the enemy team to engage first.
“Let’s just focus on defending the invade.”
“Got it.”
Just as we expected, when we moved to defend the invade, the enemy didn’t dare to show up.
They would definitely be in for a world of hurt if they came in carelessly.
‘As expected.’
Wasn’t it predictable?
Thanks to the experience from set one, we instilled some caution in the enemy.
Now they had no clue where I was starting.
On the other hand, the enemy’s jungle starting point was honestly kind of obvious.
‘Red, blue buffs, or maybe Blue then five camp crab.’
The reasoning behind their route choice was straightforward.
This time they probably thought they could gain an upper hand in the jungle fight.
‘No need to take unnecessary risks.’
-Minion spawn!
The lanes were officially underway.
*
DieHard Choi Woo-jin focused his mind.
Maybe that’s why the second game started on a slightly better note than the first.
The enemy’s picks weren’t extremely oppressive in lane, and the jungle pick was also a scaling champion.
“I’m gonna check top quickly. Can you manage the lanes?”
[“I’ll try.”]
OLZ’s strongest carry lanes were top and jungle.
Of course, the jungle had more of an overwhelming feel, but OLZ’s top laner, Hana Seo Yeon-woo, was also a rookie top laner receiving a lot of attention.
So Woo-jin followed the buff path to hit the opponent’s strongest carry lane.
The jungle matchup was also in our favor, and Gragas’ gank response was strong.
“I’m heading top right away.”
[“Oh, got it.”]
Since there was a possibility that they would skip jungling and go top like last game, Woo-jin took the Red-Buff path.
However, after eating the red, the top lane was set up for a dive or even a gank.
“…I don’t think we can.”
“Yeah.”
This situation meant that Woo-jin’s early plans had been thrown off.
Gwen versus Gragas usually favored the Gwen pick.
While that meant Gragas could farm CS comfortably, that wasn’t really the aim…
‘Wait.’
After finishing the Golems, Woo-jin reluctantly checked the enemy’s blue jungle, but there was no blue to be found, not even the frogs.
Outlaw’s Viego had started on blue.
‘…I got played.’
From the beginning, OLZ intended this lane setup and jungle path.
Jungler’s early planning enabling laners to adjust their lane situations was a huge advantage.
This meant they could potentially win if they played it right.
And that was quite clear.
“Watch out for bottom.”
But it was already way too late.
Viego had arrived at bottom, showing up alongside Thresh’s lantern.
[❕] [❕] [❕]
The retreat pings went wild.
As Thresh’s death sentence flew, Yuumi, riding with Jhin, jumped off to take the hit for him.
The idea was to take the hit and hop back on, but sadly, they underestimated the enemy.
Just as Yuumi tried to hop back on, Thresh used his E to cancel it.
-First Blood!
-Our ally has fallen.
Yuumi was dead.
Unfortunately, the trouble that started down bottom didn’t end there.
Jhin, left alone, had no way to withstand the pressure from the enemy’s three champions.
[“I’m gonna back out.”]
[“Sounds right.”]
Despite the huge wave approaching, Jhin had no choice but to give it up.
Bottom lane’s minions were arriving.
The turret had already lost a full chunk.
This all happened just after the lanes had barely begun.
‘…Tsk.’
But I had nothing to do on the other side either.
‘I have to do something.’
Feeling the pressure, DieHard Choi Woo-jin pivoted to mid instead of top.
However, the mid matchup was Viktor against Kuroki.
Ganking was nearly impossible unless he found a really good angle.
“Mid is… no good?”
[“Uh, it’s not. I’ll just farm.”]
“…Got it.”
He sustained losses in his jungle path.
Not just any losses, but while allies also suffered losses.
‘…This can’t go on.’
DieHard Lee Sin, after a trip home, calmly scoured the lower jungle.
He even went to the riverside, just in case anything happened at bottom.
‘The crab has already been taken.’
Then, at that moment.
[“Ah, I’m dead. Sorry.”]
A soft murmur from top reached his ears.
-Our ally has fallen!
Gragas was killed by Gwen.
A solo kill.
Heading top means bottom is lost.
Heading bottom means top is lost.
The game that started smoothly had begun to unravel due to the jungle’s early design differences.
‘Ah…’
Woo-jin felt the wall.
More than anything, it felt like a massive wall.
At the same time, he could affirm something.
Who would rise in this promotion match.
*
Clearly, YSG had depth.
As the game moved into the mid-game, the well-farmed Kuroki led the team in a tenacious defense.
“Ji-hoon, can you catch him?”
[“Yep.”]
But with Thresh’s initiation, that quickly came to a conclusion.
The second game, while taking longer than the first, ended in victory once more.
[Victory]
The gap created early in the game was too much for the enemy to overcome.
“Good job, everyone.”
“Thanks.”
“Carry.”
We had tried to play a bottom-centric game while intentionally sidelining the top, but ending up with a solo kill on top resulted in us taking down all lanes.
Well, it was a good thing nonetheless.
“Nice work.”
“Uh, yeah.”
I left the flustered Seo Yeon-woo behind and gathered in front of the sofa for feedback on this game.
‘In the grand scheme, it was an easy win but…’
Was there really no crisis during the game? Not really.
It just didn’t stand out because we had such an early advantage.
‘Hmm.’
I shook my head.
There was no need to demoralize my teammates by pointing out things that couldn’t be changed right now.
‘First and foremost, I need to suggest that we all watch the finals together.’
Watching a strong team play will surely give my teammates some enlightening moments.
The finals of LCKR were just around the corner.
