Chapter 88: MSI Finals (5)

“Para gets the solo kill!”

“Since the semifinals, the enemy mid laners have been playing overly passively, giving ARK advantages, but the core of ARK’s strategy is solo kills in the mid lane!”

“A refreshing first blood!”

[Wow!]

[What was that?]

[Why did Corki just eat that Q? Yone walked right up to him and used it.]

[The Great Seo-ha!]

“Para perfectly punished Hoon’s favorite play.”

“Favorite play?”

“Hoon often does this against LPL Yone players. If Yone’s Q hits at point-blank range, there’s a delay that creates a small window to dodge his ultimate with a mobility spell.”

“I see.”

“He likes to bait Yone’s Q and then dodge the ult with his mobility spell.”

“How did Para counter that?”

“It looks like she canceled the Q knock-up animation with Flash and immediately followed up with her ultimate.”

[Incredible detail!]

[Para is a renowned Yone god…]

[Instant punishment lol]

[Are they actually going to win?]

“But Corki’s late-game scaling is insane, so we’ll have to see how ARK snowballs this lead.”

“That’s right! We’ve seen Corki destroy teamfights with his Package in the late game countless times!”

[Let’s stay focused!]

[This solo kill is huge.]

[This makes the dragon fight winnable.]

[But top lane is losing pretty hard.]

“Top lane is struggling quite a bit.”

“Normally, the gap wouldn’t be this large in an Aatrox versus Ornn matchup. Spread is just playing incredibly well.”

“As if seeking revenge for Game 1, he’s showing everyone who he is.”

“But Caster, you’ve faced many hardships since CK, won the LCK, and reached the finals. It’s time to show them what you’re made of.”

[Does Ornn usually lose this hard in the early game?]

[He’s just getting hit by everything.]

[Spread’s spacing on Aatrox is insane.]

[Chinese top laners have superior genes.]

[Can these Chinese trolls stop invading Korean channels?]

[That W dodge from Ornn earlier was insane.]

“After the Scuttler, Lesser is attempting to take the dragon while VXG’s bot lane is recalling.”

“Securing this objective would be a huge boon, but…”

“Hoon’s Corki is picking up Package.”

“With this being an Earth Dragon, the fight is dragging on, and VXG’s bot lane is arriving.”

“Can ARK escape? Corki teleports behind them thanks to a ward in the bush.”

“Para pushes the mid wave and rotates immediately.”

“This is going to be a big fight.”

[Corki is fighting with those items?]

[Valkyrie’s raw damage is insane.]

[Are they planning to use Braum as a front line and secure the dragon with Ashe’s damage?]

[Aphelios and Lulu used their ultimates in the 2v2 earlier.]

“Did they plan all of this?”

“In the 2v2 earlier, VXG barely survived but managed to save their ultimates and summoner spells before recalling. It seems they were saving them for this moment.”

“They’re a terrifying team. Picking Corki shows their determination to control the dragon.”

[Wow, there was a reason they held on for dear life in that 2v2. If they had died, the game would have been over.]

[If someone gets hit by Ashe’s ult here, ARK loses the fight.]

[Para has to carry.]

[Incoming Yone highlight reel?]

“Ashe’s Enchanted Crystal Arrow flies towards Lillia, who’s inside the dragon pit! She gets hit since she’s trapped inside.”

“Followed by Braum’s ultimate! She’s unlikely to survive.”

“She flashes out of the pit, but Ignite is applied! Lillia dies.”

“Can ARK still contest? Maybe with Yone? But Maokai is ulting!”

“Aphelios and Lulu engage, but…”

“Valkyrie! Splitting their formation and burning a path through them!”

[The fight is lost.]

[Yone can’t do anything with Valkyrie zoning him.]

[How did this happen?]

[Nerf Corki!]

[Nobody uses Corki in tournaments except for Hoon; what’s there to nerf lol]

“VXG secures a massive advantage by wiping ARK in the dragon fight.”

“Clean execution, and they used Valkyrie to zone out Para, acknowledging her threat. We can win without you, that’s their message.”

“Wasn’t this a fight ARK should have taken? The enemy bot lane had recalled, and their mid and jungle were Corki and Maokai. Wasn’t this a free dragon?”

“That’s true. All we can say is that VXG’s setup was flawless.”

---

“I’ll contest this dragon.”

“Everyone group up. We can’t give them the Hextech Soul.”

“I have four items, so we can win if I survive.”

“I’m 300 gold short of Mikael’s Crucible.”

‘We can still win this.’

VXG, demonstrating why they picked Corki, had secured three dragons.

The laners were approaching four items, meaning we had to be wary of not just Package, but also Corki’s ultimate poke.

If they secured the Hextech Soul, we could lose to their relentless poke, so we prepared for the dragon fight.

“I’ll mark Aatrox if he flanks.”

“That would be helpful.”

The key players in this fight were Corki, who had scaled steadily, and Aatrox, who had become monstrous.

Corki would likely stay hidden until the right moment, but…

‘If it’s Spread…’

…I had a feeling he’d flank us on Aatrox.

Seconds before the dragon spawned, as I walked towards the bush on our side of the pit, I was knocked up.

“Aatrox is here!”

“We’re all grouped near the pit, and Aatrox is alone back there!”

“I’ll take him!”

“Focus him while he’s isolated!”

Even though Aatrox could one-shot squishy champions with his Q3, I was also a fed Yone.

I used the movement speed from my E to dodge Aatrox’s W and kited him with auto-attacks and Q.

He panicked and tried to use his Q3, but I saw the animation and dodged it by canceling my E.

Then, I ulted.

[Let’s finish this!]

Even a fed Aatrox couldn’t withstand Yone’s DPS.

He was building lethality, and once hit by my ult, there was no escape.

“I… killed Aatrox.”

I quickly finished him off and tried to rejoin my team, but…

“Corki is a monster.”

“Maokai flashed and W’d me.”

“How can I lose half my HP to three Corki rockets?”

“I didn’t have Mikael’s.”

All I could hear were the sounds of a devastating teamfight and the frustrated calls of my teammates.

It was a disaster. Everyone but me was dead.

Knowing my position, they chased me down and killed me, securing the ace.

VXG destroyed our Nexus and took Game 2.

“We shouldn’t leave Corki open.”

“We won mid, but we lost to their macro.”

“We should just pick a strong bot lane and fight them head-on.”

“Let’s do that. It’s too risky to pick scaling ADCs.”

---

‘Should we have just banned him?’

Back in the waiting room after Game 2…

…I was plagued by doubts.

Should we have just banned Corki?

Had I repeated the same mistake from my past life?

Just when the thought of being one game away from losing the championship filled me with despair…

“…Whoa!”

Something cold touched my cheek, and I let out an involuntary gasp. I looked up and saw…

“Lighten up. That face is scary.”

“…I’m not scared. I was just thinking.”

Kim Do-jin handed me the cold can he had touched my cheek with.

It was an energy drink from one of the tournament sponsors, probably from the free supply available throughout the venue.

I didn’t usually drink these, but I appreciated the gesture, so I opened it and took a sip.

“…What flavor is this?”

“Mint chocolate.”

“Mint… chocolate…?”

“Yeah, it’s a new flavor. I heard it wasn’t popular, so they’re getting rid of the excess stock at the arena.”

Mint chocolate energy drink? Only a company with that much money to spare could afford such promotional tactics.

I took another sip and confirmed that it was indeed disgusting, placing the can on the table.

Kim Do-jin, unlike me, seemed to enjoy it, finishing the entire can in one go.

Then, he turned to the coach, who was deep in thought about the draft, and said,

“Coach, I want Nidalee in Game 3.”