Chapter 90

〈 Chapter 90 〉 First Blood (2)

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The ban and pick phase was now complete.

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[Allies / Enemies]

Top: Jason / Orun

Jungle: Ellison / Naliri

Mid: Renekton / Sett

ADC: Ashe / Ezreal

Support: Braum / Morgannan

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The enemy composition was a typical poke and Ezreal solo carry composition, a ban and pick possible due to SCV's destructive bot duo, BlackDog and WhiteCat.

‘Morgannan is quite annoying.’

Our composition was a typical hard CC composition, and it would be a lie to say that Morgannan, who directly counters this, wasn’t bothersome.

‘Moreover, Braum has a very good matchup against Morgannan.’

Of course, Braum’s pick is good in itself.

Not only can he counter Orun’s ultimate, but he can also counter the enemy poke composition.

However, the enemy also brought out Morgannan to counter this.

In this sense, SCV took the lead in the ban and pick phase, while YSG followed a step behind.

‘But there are definitely advantageous points.’

Especially, the top and mid lanes, consisting of Jason and Ellison, and Ellison and Renekton, respectively.

The key to our victory will be the top lane fights where we can exploit the matchup advantages.

‘If we lose in the top lane as well… it will be a very tough game.’

[Please select your champion!]

[Please select your skin!]

With the ban and pick phase complete, Coach Park Tae-hyung took off his headset and quietly stepped back.

[“...Everyone, do your best.”]

Now that the game had officially started, the coaches’ role was simply to trust and watch the players.

───────────────

SCV KING - Orun

SCV Vendetta - Naliri

SCV AllDay - Sett

SCV BlackDog - Ezreal

SCV WhiteCat - Morgannan

───────────────

As the loading screen appeared, seeing the complete lineup of SCV players made my heart race.

‘This is really happening.’

I have faced professional teams before.

In the past, I, along with Nightmare, won against the complete SY team in a regular game.

However,

That was only possible because SY didn’t have their main carry, and they even threw the game under the guise of a fun match.

If I were to face the serious SY complete lineup with those teammates again? I would lose a hundred times out of a hundred.

‘This time is different.’

The enemy isn’t SY, and my teammates are not regular game players but active professional players.

Objectively, our chances of winning are much higher than when I faced the complete SY lineup.

‘I won then, and I will win now.’

With a small resolve, I focused on the game.

- Welcome to the Summoner's Rift.

The game officially began.

[ ] [ ] [ ]

[ ] [ ] [ ]

As usual, pings were marked.

However, what was annoying was that the pings were a bit chaotic.

[ ] [ ] [ ]

[ ] [ ] [ ]

It didn’t take long for me to notice something odd amidst the chaotic pings.

‘Is this a solo queue or a team game?’

I’m not the type to talk much even in team games.

There’s no special reason; I just find the act of talking a bit awkward.

‘It’s unusually quiet.’

Indeed, the YSG team members, including me, were not making any calls at all.

A typical sign of a bad team.

‘...I knew the atmosphere was bad, but to this extent.’

This isn’t because the YSG members are particularly unsociable.

It’s a natural atmosphere that arises when a team is on a losing streak.

Even in a good team, this is inevitable, and in a team that’s already in a bad state, it’s even more so.

‘Still, in such situations, usually the team’s oldest member or the coaches would try to lighten the mood, right?’

I glanced to the left, but the team captain and oldest member, Kim Man-gi, had a calm expression.

It was as if the outcome of this game didn’t matter to him at all.

‘Not good.’

Unfortunately, there’s no time to fix the rotten parts of the team right now.

‘Let’s focus on this game first.’

Fortunately, even if voice chat calls weren’t being made, the pings within the game weren’t being ignored.

We gathered at the bottom lane tri-bush led by Braum, preparing for an invade.

A level 1 Braum is a god of destruction, and with his powerful early game presence, it was natural for our team to attempt an invade.

[ ] [ ] [ ]

Pings were marked, and as we boldly entered the enemy blue side, Morgannan’s Q skill bound the leading Braum’s feet.

The enemy then retreated smoothly.

At least, making Morgannan use Q instead of W was a small achievement.

[ ] [ ] [ ]

After placing a ward in the enemy blue jungle, we retreated.

We gained some vision and a slight advantage, but pushing further would have been risky.

[ ] [ ] [ ]

[YSG Outlaw (Ellison): Need a leash]

I, too, had become accustomed to the silence and used my fingers instead of my voice.

The bottom lane complied without a word and followed the standard procedure to leash the red Lizard.

There were roughly two reasons for me to request a leash from the bottom lane.

The first was to speed up my tempo,

The second was because I expected our bottom lane to be pushed back, so I wanted to make it clear from the start.

Even if the lane is pushed back, it’s better to do something.

‘Moreover, with Ashe, the lane clear isn’t bad, so even if we give up lane control, it won’t be easy for them to dive.’

In this game, our bottom lane will play a defensive role.

By the time I requested the leash, the role of the bottom lane was already set, whether they liked it or not.

‘Let’s see...’

After eating the red, I headed straight to our blue and checked the other lanes.

The first lane I checked was mid, the eternal partner of the jungler.

The Renekton vs. Sett matchup is generally slightly in favor of Renekton.

However, it’s not a matchup where Sett can’t do anything.

If Renekton makes a small mistake, Sett can easily get a kill.

If I had to put it in numbers, it would be 5.2 to 4.8 in favor of Renekton.

In professional matches, even when Renekton is picked to counter Sett, it often fails to live up to its pick, so this matchup is more about skill.

‘He’s being pushed back.’

While the Renekton vs. Sett matchup isn’t one where Renekton wins from the very beginning, it seems that our Renekton has already taken significant damage in the trade.

‘There’s no good gank opportunity.’

The synergy between Renekton and Ellison isn’t being utilized because Renekton’s condition is poor from the start.

If Naliri were to counter-gank, the game could easily spiral out of control.

‘Let’s think.’

I know the enemy.

Although this is the first time facing the complete SCV lineup, I’ve met each individual many times.

‘First, SCV’s jungler, Vendetta.’

Vendetta’s playstyle is extremely simple.

‘Revenge.’

There’s a rumor that Vendetta named himself after his playstyle.

For example, if the enemy invades his jungle, Vendetta will counter-invade the enemy jungle at all costs.

If the enemy levels up faster, he focuses on leveling up.

While some might say this is obvious, Vendetta’s playstyle has a fatal flaw.

‘The jungler, who should be the most proactive, is reactive.’

Revenge can only be formed if someone has been wronged.

In other words, Vendetta won’t move unless the enemy makes the first move.

‘The problem is that this flaw usually doesn’t show.’

Being reactive as a jungler isn’t always a disadvantage.

By observing the enemy’s movements, you can make the best decision for the situation, even if it’s a step behind in tempo.

SCV’s overwhelming power as a team perfectly covers the flaws of a reactive jungler.

‘I need to use this as an opportunity. I must take the first turn.’

While eating the red, blue, and the last level 3 offering, the Golem, I carefully observed the health of my allied champions on the minimap.

‘There’s a fight at top.’

I glanced at the top lane and saw that our Jason was being hit by Orun.

Jason was losing the trade against Orun even before the level 6 timing.

‘This is...’

I immediately headed to the top lane.

Although Jason was losing the trade, I noticed something.

‘It’s clear. The enemy top is completely ignoring our top.’

There could be several reasons for this.

A miserable solo queue score of Diamond 1.

A poor physical condition for handling the difficult champion, Jason.

And the lack of pressure felt in the lane.

All these reasons pushed Orun past a certain ‘line.’

Because Jason was so clumsy, Orun, who would never have been so greedy, was now trying to get a kill.

‘Can I get this?’

I could read Orun’s thoughts from his now aggressive movements.

‘Come in.’

If Orun hadn’t come forward, I would have wasted time and failed.

Orun, despite being a tank, has excellent survival skills, and Jason, who lost the trade, couldn’t create a dive opportunity.

However, Orun crossed the line.

The line he should never have crossed if the enemy jungler was Ellison.

[ ]

[YSG Outlaw (Ellison) has targeted SCV KING (champion)]

Jason’s response was clumsy.

However, ironically, this clumsy gank response planted another misconception in the enemy Orun.

‘You don’t have a jungler, right?’

But Orun was wrong.

Because right beside the battered Jason was me.

‘First Blood!’

The show of the giant spider was about to begin.

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