Chapter 59: Playoff Round 2 (2)

“They left Aatrox open?”

“K’Sante is open too.”

“What do we want to pick?”

“If we’re taking K’Sante, it would be good to grab Lucian as well.”

As the pick and ban phase began, the opponent left both K’Sante and Aatrox open, both top-tier top lane champions. Their confidence in giving us the first pick on the blue side was apparent; they seemed to believe they could win regardless of what we picked.

“So, should we take K’Sante?”

“Should we?”

“Considering the Rift Herald, that would be easier.”

The final decision rested with Park Jin-hwan, our top laner, and he preferred K’Sante over Aatrox.

“Let’s try K’Sante first and ban Aatrox in Game 2 if needed.”

“Let’s do that.”

After we picked K’Sante, the opponent picked Aatrox and Xin Zhao. They seemed to have judged Lucian-Nami wouldn’t be as effective against K’Sante, so we filled the remaining spots with Lucian and Nami.

“Their mid laner is revealed.”

“Orianna?”

Their mid lane choice was Orianna, a stable pick that was strong in both laning phase and late game.

“We need to be careful of Orianna using her ball to empower Xin Zhao’s engages.”

“We’ll definitely have to play around that.”

In the subsequent picks and bans, our team chose Lee Sin and Taliyah for jungle and mid, respectively, while the opponent chose Varus and Nautilus for their bot lane duo.

“They’re picking Varus here?”

“Seems like they’re prioritizing a safe laning phase, even if it means sacrificing some late-game scaling.”

Among the remaining ADCs, pairing Jhin with a utility support would have been a dominant choice. However, they prioritized laning phase and crowd control, even if it meant giving up some scaling.

‘Are they determined to carry through top?’

Looking at their overall picks, it seemed like they were intent on having their top laner carry, as long as the other lanes didn’t fall too far behind. They had actually carried through top in the first round of the playoffs, but…

“Can we pressure mid?”

Orianna’s Q had longer range than Taliyah’s abilities, and since Taliyah lacked mobility, it wasn’t a favorable matchup for her. However, all of Orianna’s abilities, except for her auto attacks, were skillshots, meaning they could be dodged.

“I’ll try my best.”

“Okay, then I’ll play aggressively, trusting in Seo-ha.”

“Bot lane needs to play it safe, but we’ll try to take control of the lane.”

“What if we get engaged on?”

“Hyung, your Nami is top-tier. Even if we get engaged on, our ADC will tank for us.”

“What’s that even supposed to mean?”

Amidst the team’s playful banter, the coach’s voice cut through.

“Everyone, don’t be too nervous. Let’s play our game.”

TOP: K’Sante
JG: Lee Sin
MID: Taliyah
ADC: Lucian
SUP: Nami

VS

TOP: Aatrox
JG: Xin Zhao
MID: Orianna
ADC: Varus
SUP: Nautilus

“Then, the playoff match between ARK and DH, DH and ARK, begins!”

“The main point of focus in this match is undoubtedly the top lane, wouldn’t you agree?”

“I agree. Caster gave up K’Sante so that Bon could pick Aatrox. I’m looking forward to seeing what he shows us.”

[Is giving up K’Sante the right call?]

[Even if Bon’s raw skill is high, K’Sante is too much.]

[Seriously, Caster isn’t a bad top laner.]

[Caster’s K’Sante is top-tier though.]

“What are your thoughts on the early laning phase between K’Sante and Aatrox?”

“There aren’t any top lane champions that can beat K’Sante in the early game, especially after the buffs to his base Q damage and mana costs.”

[K’Sante wins the laning phase for sure.]

[Once Aatrox gets three points in his Q, he’ll destroy K’Sante.]

[It’s K’Sante favored until level 6, then Aatrox slowly pokes and K’Sante looks for all-in opportunities.]

“And even with a lethality build, he’s not going serrated dirk first, right?”

“Correct. He’s going for the Goredrinker build, so even after the first recall, K’Sante will have more control in the skirmishes for Rift Herald.”

“But honestly, there isn’t a single unimportant lane in this game.”

[We have to keep an eye on mid as well, honestly.]

[Because of Rift Herald control, the mid and jungle matchup is the most crucial.]

[Para wins mid anyway lol…]

“We have Orianna versus Taliyah in mid. What are your thoughts on this matchup?”

“Orianna has the advantage. She’s a frequently picked champion because of her safe and versatile laning phase, aside from her immobility.”

“However, considering Para’s laning performance so far, the story might be different, don’t you think?”

“It’s absurd for a player to consistently win lane regardless of the matchup. And we have two such players in this game.”

“Bon and Para… it will be interesting to see who performs better. Everyone can look forward to it.”

[Para wins in carry potential, hands down.]

[What lol? It’s Taliyah, not Yone.]

[There’s no champion better at roaming than Taliyah after winning lane in mid lol.]

[Few mages can force fights by setting up dives like her.]

[The fact is, Blade of the Ruined King Aatrox can 1v5.]

[Three-item Aatrox is a god! ADCs get one-shot!]

“Just as we were talking about that! A fierce fight breaks out in the bot lane as soon as the minions arrive!”

“We were focused on the other lanes, but neither side wants to give an inch here!”

“Usually, when Lucian-Nami is picked, the standard is to pick a crit ADC with a utility support that has shields or heals for scaling. But here, we have Varus.”

[Level 1 trades are intense.]

[He got hit by the hook ;;]

[It’s okay~ Nami’s heal will top him off~]

[Nami will use her W on the enemy, the heal argument is Bronze-Silver-Gold.]

“Both sides used heal, resulting in a very intense trade.”

“But thankfully, no one died, so I think both sides will consider it fortunate.”

[Is there a chance Para will play Yone today?]

[Para’s hype will die down today.]

[This game is boring. When will the teamfights start?]

[It’s only 4 minutes in, and he’s asking about teamfights lol.]

“I think it’ll proceed smoothly until Rift Herald spawns.”

“The first game will likely be a…”

“Not Para!”

“What just happened in mid lane?”

[?????]

[Why is Xin Zhao dead in front of the mid tower?]

[What?]

“We’ll have to watch the replay.”

“Maybe she tried to gank early and failed?”

“Here it is.”

“Ah… it seems she tried to gank and push the wave to deny Orianna’s recall timing, but she got dived under tower and died.”

[Wow, she hit him right at the edge.]

[Amazing]

[Didn’t Xin Zhao just int?]

[If she had just let him push, Orianna would have come back with an Amplifying Tome and the game would’ve exploded.]

[For real, Para played that well.]

“This destabilizes the mid lane and allows Lee Sin to comfortably secure Rift Herald.”

“The pressure on Bon’s shoulders is starting to mount.”

“Huh? Aatrox is moving towards Rift Herald?”

“Is he going to try and contest it with Orianna, who’s teleporting in, since he already pushed the wave?”

“Xin Zhao is also respawning and running there.”

[Is this fight winnable?]

[It’s possible if K’Sante zones him out.]

[Only Aatrox has items though.]

“It seems DH is willing to gamble, judging that the game will become difficult if they give up Rift Herald.”

“Aatrox uses World Ender! But Lee Sin uses Safeguard to avoid it!”

“Followed by Taliyah’s Weaver’s Wall! Blocking Orianna from joining the fight!”

“Ultimately, Bon, whose ultimate duration has ended, has no choice but to retreat. DH gives up Rift Herald without gaining anything.”

[That wall was insane.]

[If she hadn’t used the wall, Xin Zhao and Orianna would have arrived, right?]
[They gave it up too easily;;]

LoL Gallery

Title: Para’s level 6 counter-gank

(Taliyah using her W to pull Xin Zhao, who was pushing the minion wave towards the enemy tower, and killing him)

Taliyah was also low on health, so she could have just backed off, but it’s amazing that she went for the play.

This kill seems to have led to the Rift Herald. How are they going to stop ARK’s control with a 6-minute Rift Herald?

ㄴ This was huge.
ㄴ ARK will probably win easily.
ㄴ Bot lane is also applying good pressure for once.
ㄴ Nautilus can’t land his hooks;; If he could land them, they could win.
ㄴ They’re playing poke Varus, what are they supposed to do if they can’t land their skillshots?
ㄴ Just FF.

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LoL Gallery

Title: Bon’s real-time triple kill ㄷㄷㄷㄷ

(Aatrox flanking behind the enemy team during the dragon fight, starting the fight by bursting Lucian and getting a triple kill)

He’s truly wielding the log.

With these kills, he can carry, right?

ㄴ Now we really don’t know who’s going to win.

ㄴ Aatrox is already at 2.5 items lol.

ㄴ The game is over.

ㄴ Taliyah can’t side lane because she’s scared. If Aatrox ults and runs at her, she just dies.

ㄴ K’Sante is behind too, so he’s still weak.

ㄴ What was Para doing during that dragon fight? (Genuinely curious)

ㄴ The support placed wards poorly; why blame Para lol

ㄴ These guys are starting flame wars before the game is even over.