Chapter 97: Worlds Selection (3)

“Picking Yone here, I think this could be some kind of signal for ARK.”

“For example, the team synergy that’s been slightly off might be coming back.”

“Certainly, during the summer season, ARK’s biggest strength, which was gaining one-sided advantages through mid-jungle skirmishes, was completely absent.”

“We’ll need to keep an eye on… wait! RG, did they prepare this pick here?”

“Even though ARK sealed Yone away during the summer season, are they saying, ‘We were prepared for it’? ARK’s Coach Kim Han-seong must feel betrayed!”

[Wow]
[My heart and sword always for Demacia… My heart and sword always for Demacia… My heart and sword always for Demacia…]
[Garen-lover has entered the chat]
[Wow]

“Picking K’Sante and then Garen means…”
“No matter how you look at it, they intend to use Garen to suppress Yone, right?”
“What are your thoughts?”
“In theory, it’s a perfect counter. Garen can have the upper hand in early to mid-game trades, and while late-game team fights might be tough, the side lane initiative should remain with Garen throughout the matchup.”
“I see.”
“Additionally, although Yone is a champion who kites at close range with his E’s movement speed, the moment he uses Q forward, he’s likely to get silenced and shredded.”

[Why is Mid Garen appearing?]
[It’s good as a Yone counter.]
[But it’s Para’s Yone?]
[The fact is, Para’s Yone has a 20% win rate in summer…]

“ARK’s follow-up bot duo is Varus and Nautilus.”
“Varus. A new card for Plea, who usually prefers hyper-carry ADCs. This summer season, Varus has often been responsible for ARK’s poke damage throughout the early, mid, and late game.”
“Indeed, Plea’s Varus is said to have exceptional Q accuracy! If he shows a good performance today, it would be more than enough for ARK!”
“RG picks Janna for their remaining spot.”
“Varus and Janna, champions often seen in the so-called ‘spoon meta.’ But in a way, they are champions specialized in long-range poke, which can be considered the essence of ADCs.”

[Poke-off ㄷㄷ]
[Plea’s Varus form is insane though]
[If you’re Korean, cheer for ARK…]
[You’re not dissing RG because they received Chinese investment, are you? Where do you live?]

“The remaining picks are comfort picks for both sides, filling out with standard champions we’ve seen so far, aside from mid.”
“Usually, the first set of such an important match has a strong feeling of a scouting phase. It’s surprising to see such extreme picks in mid.”
“Then, let’s get into the game!”

[ARK]
TOP: Gwen
JG: Sejuani
MID: Yone
AD: Varus
SUP: Nautilus

vs

[RG]
TOP: K’Sante
JG: Maokai
MID: Garen
AD: Janna
SUP: Alistar

“Let’s look for a trade in mid!”
Hearing the slightly low, husky voice through the headset, Kim Do-jin felt a sense of relief.

‘She’s back.’
To be precise, it felt more like she had become more talkative rather than just ‘back.’
Before losing in the finals, Yoon Seo-ha’s shot-calling consisted of concise commands made after precise calculations.
But now, she was unreservedly stating the plays she wanted to make, raw and unfiltered.

“Mid’s health is chunked. Let’s just take the 3v3 Grub fight. We win for sure.”
This call to fight for Grubs was a clear example.

Additionally, in the K’Sante versus Gwen matchup, K’Sante had the advantage in the early stages.
Objectively, it made more sense to secure dragon using bot lane priority, but Yoon Seo-ha strongly pushed for a fight.

“Alright, let’s do this. Top, can you come down?”
“It’s even! I might get caught if I come down. If that happens, I’ll just use my ult and try to 1v1.”

Kim Do-jin’s Sejuani would also hit level 6 after killing just one Grub, so he started bursting them down before the enemy jungler arrived.
His plan was to secure one Grub with Smite and then fight even if the enemy came.

“Top, I’m going for a 1v1!”
Just as the call came that Gwen and K’Sante had started fighting in the top lane.

“Maokai and Garen are here!”
The call came that the enemy jungler and mid laner were approaching.
Checking the map, he saw the enemy nearing the Grub pit.

‘What do I do.’
The Grubs still had 1200 health; his Smite couldn’t kill them in one go at this point.

“Let’s fight!”
His hesitation was brief. Yoon Seo-ha’s voice snapped him back, and he charged towards the Garen in front of him, initiating the fight.
It didn’t matter if he secured the Grubs or killed an enemy; he would hit level 6 either way.
Since Garen, already low on health from mid, was joining the fight, the plan was to burst down one enemy using their close-range synergy and hit level 6.

“Maokai flashed!”
The enemy ignored the Sejuani who had dived in and used Maokai’s Flash to catch Yone who was beside her.
Yone, who had used her E and dashed forward with an airborne, was hit by Maokai’s CC and Garen’s silence, taking significant damage.
The situation became tense; a little more damage and Garen’s ult could finish Yone.

[For Demacia!]

“What just happened!?”
[???]
[Wow]
[Garen-boy…]

“It seems Yone used her E at the exact moment Garen’s ult was about to land, perfectly timing it to negate the damage.”
“Is that even possible?”
“Garen’s ultimate might look like it hits instantly, but there’s actually a subtle cast time.”

[Garen-boy is crying…]
[Since he couldn’t finish him with that, Garen ends up dying instead lol]
[She’s playing so selfishly, damn]

“To elaborate a bit more, Garen’s ultimate voice line is ‘For Demacia!’ If you use stealth or a dash that travels further than Flash during the ‘Dema~’ part, the ultimate is considered interrupted.”
“So there was such a trick.”
“Honestly, this is only theoretically possible. There aren’t many dashes that go further than Flash, and to actually negate it, you have to perfectly calculate your own health and predict it.”
“Prediction, you say?”
“I believe Para’s play just now was based on the prediction that Garen would use his ultimate on her at that specific health threshold.”
“This might spoil the mood a little, but isn’t it possible she just used her E to try and escape?”
“That’s not it. If you look at the replay here, even after the silence ended, she used her auto-Q-auto combo to the very end before reactivating E. If she hadn’t dealt that damage, Sejuani wouldn’t have been able to kill Garen after Yone disengaged.”
“I see. It truly was a play made after meticulous calculation.”

[The Great Seo-ha]
[Seriously, why even play Garen if that happens?]
[That’s why nobody plays him~]
[If she had just picked Orianna, she would have smashed the lane]
[True lol]

“At this rate, Garen is going to have less and less to say.”
“Certainly, the fact that Yone took Grasp instead of Lethal Tempo shows her intention not to fall behind in side lane trades.”
“Doesn’t this negate the reason for picking Garen, RG? They’ll need to find a way to sharply take down Yone at least once.”

[The moment they picked Garen <<< it was natural death]
[Why Garen]
[Maybe they won with it in scrims]
[Seriously, why is Para suddenly so good?]

LOL Gallery

[Title: Set 1 Para Super Play Compilation]
(Yone negating Garen’s ult with E skill)
(Yone cutting off the enemy bot duo at the back during a dragon fight with her ult)
(Yone solo killing K’Sante in the side lane)
She’s back.

–I can’t adapt to her suddenly playing well.
–It’s like she had reverse dementia; all the throwing plays from yesterday are gone lol.
–The Para I saw until yesterday was a 300g vending machine who would suddenly walk into the side lane alone and give up a kill.
–Where did the legendary 3-kill 11-death Para go…

LOL Gallery

[Title: Just… Boong (Garen’s nickname sound effect)]
(Garen running away using Q after encountering Yone in the side lane)
Garen <<< Why on earth did this come out?

–He has to run if there’s a 3-level difference.
–He probably won’t be able to show his face in LCK ever again.
–It was funny though, so let’s upvote.
–Everyone, don’t play Garen. People’s constitutions change. Mid laners should just play AP mages.
–What about Para?
–Para just loves AD…

LOL Gallery

[Title: Set 1 Score]
Turrets) ARK: 8 RG:1
Kills) ARK: 21 RG: 4
And the gold difference was 18,000 at the end.

–Now that the holes in the other lanes besides Para are filled, they’re just stomping.
–The bot lane dominating seems important.
–Seriously, why is Plea so good at Varus?
–Aphelios was actually the limiter.
–He just hits every Q he throws.
–Meanwhile, Para alone has a 6k gold lead in mid.
–With this form, can they get revenge at Worlds?
–Still can’t beat VXG though.
–I’ve noted you down. Just you wait until ARK wins lol.