Chapter 69: LCK Finals (7)

“Let’s begin Game 3.”

“The main point of focus seems to be the mid lane. We’ll have to see how much of an advantage Pumpkin can create in the Azir versus Sylas matchup.”

“Is the Azir versus Sylas matchup that one-sided?”

“Since it’s a ranged versus melee matchup, Azir can gain control from the start. He also scales better.”

“However, Sylas’s strength lies in his explosive power in teamfights.”

“That’s right. It will be interesting to see how well Para can withstand the laning phase and what she shows us in teamfights.”

[Pumpkin playing Azir? Seriously? My heart aches for him…]

[Making a prediction here. YK wins with a reverse sweep.]

[Go to sleep lol.]

[Is it real that the finals venue is completely full?]

[Seriously, there aren’t even fan meetings or anything at the finals, so why go?]

[If you’ve never experienced the sound echoing in a concert hall like this, don’t even talk lol.]

[Seriously, insane super plays and hyped-up commentary in an arena like this? That’s the good stuff.]

“Both teams have opted for standard, stable compositions. Both junglers start with their own buffs, and the laners play safely without trading at level 1.”

“It seems Azir will reach level 2 first in the mid lane.”

“As soon as he gets that last minion… Pumpkin’s Azir aggressively pokes Sylas right after hitting level 2!”

[Wow, wasn’t Azir’s laning nerfed?]

[He still crushes Sylas.]

[If Sylas misses his chain, he just gets poked all day.]

“We can expect to see this kind of scene repeatedly in the early mid lane.”

“So, the key moment is the level 6 timing, right before Rift Herald spawns, when Sylas needs to look for an all-in.”

“What happens if that fails?”

“Well, the game basically ends… They both hit level 6, but Sylas chooses to recall.”

“It seems they’ve decided to give up Rift Herald. YK cleanly secures the objective.”

[But Sylas’s skill order is weird.]

[Why does he only have one point in Q?]

[Isn’t maxing Q standard against ranged matchups?]

“Sylas’s skill order is a bit strange.”

“Usually, players max Q first to increase trading potential and waveclear, but Para is maxing W, the standard skill order.”

“This will make his early laning phase incredibly difficult.”

“It seems Para is prioritizing mid-game potential, maxing W first to focus on sustaining through fights.”

[Is this for real?]

[ARK is just giving everything up?]

[YK’s top laner being on Gnar, which is inherently a losing matchup, is a big factor.]

[If they picked Ornn, they should just accept their fate.]

“It’s the 11-minute mark, and the second Rift Herald will be spawning soon.”

“I’m curious about ARK’s decision. Will they give up the second Rift Herald as well?”

“Sylas is starting to power up, so wouldn’t they try to contest it?”

“But Azir has his first core item, while Sylas only has tier 2 boots and no core items yet.”

“Para catches Azir with her chain as he was moving towards Rift Herald through the mid lane bush!”

[Wow, was that really a chain?]

[Gum-Gum whip ㄷㄷ]

[Won’t Sylas lose the fight if they engage?]

“That chain’s hitbox is something else.”

“The question is, can she win a 1v1 against a Lethal Tempo Azir with his first core item?”

“Both junglers are somewhat far away, so it’s a duel situation!”

[Sylas used all his abilities.]

[Azir will poke him to death now.]

[Wow, Lethal Tempo Nashor’s Tooth’s damage is insane.]

[Huh? Sylas’s W is back up?]

“Wait, what?”

“Lethal Tempo Azir is poking aggressively, but it seems Sylas’s W will be back up soon!?”

“Solo kill!”

“A perfectly timed solo kill.”

“We all thought Sylas, who had used all his abilities, was going to lose, but did he demonstrate the reason for maxing W here?”

“That’s right. Azir rushed his first core item without buying Grievous Wounds, and it backfired.”

“The lack of Grievous Wounds, Conqueror, and maxing W. A perfectly calculated play by Para!”

[Wow.]

[She dragged him back and solo killed him.]

[Why didn’t Azir buy Grievous Wounds?]

[It made sense to rush Nashor’s Tooth for the faster Lethal Tempo power spike.]

[But he got solo killed, right?]

[Para played it smart, since the enemy jungler, Ashe, and Milio were checking the Rift Herald with Hawkshot, she immediately landed her chain.]

---

“Retreat!”

“Can we save Ornn?”

“Damn it, I’m getting pulled in too.”

“I think I’m dead.”

A dragon fight broke out past the 30-minute mark.

“I’ll sacrifice myself!”

Ornn tried to absorb the enemy’s focus, but a tank at this stage of the game was nothing but a punching bag. The enemy team quickly stepped over Ornn’s corpse and chased down the remaining team members.

‘My teleport is still three seconds away.’

Seeing that, I judged it was too late and hurriedly ran towards the dragon pit.

“We should have engaged when we saw Seo-ha’s teleport.”

“Azir dodged the chain with his flash, there was nothing I could do.”

In the end, only Ezreal and I survived. Fortunately, Ezreal was in decent condition, so he poked and looked for opportunities.

“My ultimate is up in 5 seconds!”

Hearing Ezreal’s briefing, I reassessed the situation.

‘Ashe is dead, and there are four enemies remaining. All of them are low on health.’

I stole Gnar’s ultimate, and at the same time, Jin Yu-seong yelled urgently.

“I landed my ultimate!”

He had hit all the remaining enemy champions with his Curtain Call inside the dragon pit. There was no reason not to engage now.

“I’m going in! Cover me!”

“If you die, they’ll get Baron.”

“If we don’t fight now, we’ll lose anyway!”

“Yu-seong, cover Seo-ha! This is a chance to ace them!”

My eyes darted back and forth, tracking the enemy champions’ movements. The abilities I had to dodge were Mega Gnar’s W stun and Rakan’s W knock-up. The ability I had to land was Gnar’s ultimate that I had stolen.

‘How do I hit them?’

I had flash, but initiating with flash wasn’t a good option. Then…

‘I have to engage with my chain.’

It was the fourth dragon, and an Earth Dragon at that, so the enemy team was distracted by the highly contested objective. I faked an engage by using my E forward and then moving back, then cast E again. I hit the enemy Gnar. He was a top-level pro player, so he preemptively used his W stun as soon as he got hit by the chain, but I flashed over it and used Gnar’s ultimate.

“I hit them all!”

Since the entire enemy team was grouped in front of the dragon pit, my ultimate landed perfectly.

“We aced them.”

“Para, you’re insane.”

“Teleport bot lane!”

The enemy team melted on the spot, unable to resist the combination of a three-item Sylas with a stolen ultimate and Ezreal’s poke.

“Let’s end this.”

“Bot, bot! This is over!”

“We can even slow push at the inhibitor and then end.”

“No, push now!”

The team urged me to end the game. Ashe would respawn soon, but the other four champions had about 40 seconds left on their death timers.

‘We already destroyed the bottom inhibitor earlier.’

---

“Sylas and Ezreal teleport to the bottom lane.”

“Have they decided to end the game?”

“They did destroy the bottom lane inhibitor earlier, so they can push with super minions.”

“Ornn can also teleport after he respawns.”

“But we have to consider Ashe with Runaan’s Hurricane. YK’s guardian angel, Pair, can he take them all down? No, he has to!”

[GG.]

[Ashe can defend against two people.]

[Para is at full health, how is he supposed to defend lol.]

[Para’s ultimate angles are insane! She’s the goddess of teamfights.]

[This is probably over.]

“Kite! Kite! Ashe needs to attack non-stop! Dodge the chain! Again!”

“…Ah, Ezreal got hit by one, just one, Trueshot Barrage, and he’s lost the will to fight. How did he lose half his health?!”

[Trueshot Barrage damage lol.]

[He’s a 3.5 item Ezreal, what do you expect?]

[GG.]

[Good work.]

“ARK is on the verge of another achievement!”

“ARK, and Para! From winning VLL, to an undefeated championship in CK, to 1st place in the LCK regular season, and now, LCK champions!”

“They’re almost there. Just take it!”

“Seriously, who would have thought this team would represent the LCK and compete against the best from other regions?”

“That’s right! The LCK Spring champions will advance to the international tournament, MSI!”

[Para will be scary at international events.]

[Why would she be scary? LPL will win anyway.]

[Seriously, this season is LCE’s grand slam.]

[Did you forget LPL’s stomp last year?]

“They take down Ashe…”

“And destroy the Nexus!”

“ARK wins the championship in their first split after promotion!”