Chapter 67: LCK Finals (5)

“Now, let’s begin the draft for Game 2.”

“ARK took Game 1 after a chaotic fight. While the flow of the game was a bit messy, YK’s draft itself wasn’t bad.”

“I agree. I’m curious if YK will adjust their draft or stick with it.”

“YK has chosen the blue side this set, so keep an eye on what they first-pick.”

[Let’s ban Aatrox for now.]

[Yeah, they banned him right away.]

[It’s better to just play without Aatrox or K’Sante.]

“I think leaving Aatrox open and countering with Yone wasn’t just about the top lane matchup; it was also about denying Para from playing Yone.”

“Indeed, with mid laners other than Para not favoring Yone much in this meta, using a ban on him is a bit of a waste.”

“YK banned Yone anyway, and ARK’s final ban is Lucian.”

“It seems they banned him because it’s difficult to build a frontline without K’Sante.”

[For the ADC matchup, is that fight happening?]

[The hyper carry battle has to happen.]

[All AD junglers are banned.]

“With Jinx banned, two champions are likely to be highly contested.”

“There’s no reason not to pick them, especially with their respective support partners still available.”

“YK, with first pick, takes Yorick. What will ARK choose?”

“The question is whether ARK will pick Jhin or Aphelios for ADC.”

“ARK picks Aphelios, followed by… Milio! They pick Milio instead of Lulu!”

[Wow, Milio out of nowhere?]
[Wasn’t he nerfed into oblivion?]
[His base stats are lower, but he’s still a tool lol.]
[True, the nerfs were mainly to his early game, so in the late game, he’s as annoying as Yuumi lol.]
[The range increase he provides is pretty significant.]

“It’s like they’re saying, ‘You’re going to pick Jhin anyway, so we’ll prioritize scaling even if it means a slightly weaker laning phase.’”

“Normally, in a Jhin-Yuumi versus Aphelios-Lulu matchup, Jhin-Yuumi has significantly better late-game scaling.”

“But with Milio, the situation changes, doesn’t it?”

“That’s right. He provides bonus damage on auto attacks with his abilities, a shield, and a range increase. And his ultimate is basically a mini-Mikael’s with its cleanse effect.”

“It makes sense that he’s the most popular support among immobile ADCs.”

[What will Para play?]

[I think we’re about to see a weird pick here.]

[Seriously lol.]

“YK picks Udyr! Even though he’s been nerfed several times since the beginning of the season, he still has an incredibly strong laning phase.”

“ARK picks Gwen, and it’s time for bans again.”

[Does Gwen beat Udyr?]

[The early game is tough, but once she gets her first item, she shreds him lol.]

[That early game is the problem lol.]

[Udyr running… Udyr running… Udyr running…]

[ㄴThe Hodur of those days was romantic…]

“At this point, almost all the AD junglers are gone.”

“Lee Sin, Xin Zhao, and Viego are all banned. It’s safe to say most of the viable AD junglers are off the table.”

“So, ARK’s pick is… Diana?”

“No way…”

[Is that coming?]

[That composition?]

[Let’s go lol.]

“YK has completed a standard Ahri-Vi composition.”

“Then the only thing left is Para’s pick. Since top and jungle are AP, she needs to pick an AD champion for mid. Considering Para doesn’t really like playing marksmen…”

“Here it is!”

“Scatter, Para.”

“The reason Yasuo isn’t played in professional matches as much as Yone is due to his lack of reliability in teamfights. But with Diana to enable him, forming the ‘Yai-ena’ combo, we’ll have to see how it plays out.”

[Death is like the wind, always by my side… Death is like the wind, always by my side.]

[Hasegi! Hasegi! Hasegi! Hasegi!]

[Give money to So-ri!] (So-ri is the voice actor for Yasuo)

[How can you resist Yai-ena lol.]

---

TOP: Udyr
JG: Vi
MID: Ahri
ADC: Jhin
SUP: Yuumi

VS

TOP: Gwen
JG: Diana
MID: Yasuo
ADC: Aphelios
SUP: Milio

---

“Please give us your overall assessment of the Game 2 draft!”

“YK picked Udyr to gain priority in the top lane, while ARK picked Gwen for scaling, aiming for a stronger late game.”

“So, is it likely that YK will secure the early Rift Herald?”

“I think so, but I believe it might be difficult for them to maintain that advantage until the second Rift Herald.”

“Why is that?”

“While Ahri-Vi is a decent combo with good ultimate synergy, fights near the river or in narrow chokepoints are ideal for Yai-ena.”

[Seriously.]

[If you get hit by Diana’s ultimate while contesting Rift Herald or other objectives, it’s GG.]

[Would pros really get hit by that lol?]

[Did you know there’s an LPL #1 seed and Worlds champion team that threw a pentakill because they got hit by that?]

[Yikes.]

“Furthermore, Caster’s Gwen has often shown he can win even unfavorable matchups from the start, so we’ll have to wait and see.”

“I see. Then, let’s begin Game 2. Let’s see the match!”

[Something big is coming.]

[No, it’s not~]

[Para is really pretty.]

---

“Let’s begin Game 2.”

“We can see both junglers pathing towards the bottom lane.”

“It seems YK’s thinking is, ‘We picked Udyr, so top lane should win on its own,’ while ARK’s thinking is, ‘Caster is on Gwen, so he should be able to hold his own.’”

“With both teams picking champions considered the epitome of hyper carries, the dream of every ADC, attention will naturally be focused on the bottom lane.”

[Which has better late game scaling, Aphelios-Milio or Jhin-Yuumi?]

[Jhin-Yuumi, no contest.]

[Does an Aphelios with increased range and a cleanse look like a joke to you?]

[Seriously, the thought of him shooting his flamespitter with 600 range makes me sick.]

“Para usually takes Fleet Footwork against ranged champions in mid lane to focus on sustain, but she took Lethal Tempo?”

“Perhaps she’s confident. It seems she’s planning to win lane through mechanics and prioritize scaling for the mid-to-late game.”

“With Diana on their team, it would be good to increase her teamfight potential.”

“Ahri took Electrocute. It seems she’s planning to snowball through picks rather than aggressively dominating the lane.”

[Didn’t she used to play Comet LeBlanc?]

[She probably learned from that time she couldn’t pressure Para with Comet LeBlanc.]

[Para probably isn’t even thinking about winning lane.]

.

.

.

“So far, it’s been a very standard game.”

“Both teams are farming without taking any risks, but I’m curious how long this will last.”

“They’ve traded Rift Heralds and dragons. Now ARK has to make a decision. Do they give up the second Rift Herald, or do they contest it?”

“Judging by Diana’s movement towards the top side, it seems they’ll contest Rift Herald.”

“Milio follows without hesitation. But YK is sending Vi along with Yuumi to contest as well.”

“The second Rift Herald can drastically snowball the game for whoever secures it. They must either take it or prevent the enemy from taking it.”

[Are they finally fighting?]

[I almost fell asleep.]

[Seriously, I barely managed to keep my eyes open.]

[Let’s fight~]

“Top laners meet as they rotate!”

“It seems Caster isn’t willing to let him pass without a fight.”

“Gwen uses her ultimate, but Aoul easily dodges the final needle.”

“It’s difficult to beat Udyr at this stage of the game.”

“He’s forced to retreat after using his ultimate.”

[Top always loses.]

[Early game Udyr is a god lol.]

[Seriously, why even play Renekton? Just pick Udyr, press R, and auto-pilot to victory.]

“With Gwen retreating like that, doesn’t the advantage shift to YK?”

“YK starts attacking Rift Herald with Udyr, but Diana and Yasuo join from behind.”

“Can Lesser pull it off? He’s waiting in front with Rocket Jump!”

“He jumps in!”

“Lesser’s three-man ultimate! Followed by Para’s Last Breath!”

[Wow.]

[Emperor Lesser.]

[Amazing.]

[He knocked everyone up without even using flash.]

“This is the Yai-ena combo! The fight ends in an instant with their ultimate combo!”

“Udyr tries to fight back, but against a Yasuo with full Lethal Tempo stacks, he’s just getting shredded.”

“They take down Udyr, and Para finishes the fight with a triple kill!”

[Ahri’s charm was too predictable;;]

[What can she do when Para blocks it with Wind Wall right in front of her lol?]

[Vi needs to ult Para directly. Like when she ulted Diana, if she ults anyone else, Para will pop off.]

[Even if she ults, Para will block the charm with Wind Wall?]

[She’ll get knocked up when Vi uses her ultimate.]

[She input buffers it in front of her, didn’t you see it last time?]