Chapter 85: MSI Finals (2)

“They’re just letting KSante through.”

“Should we let Aatrox through and play the matchup? Or does Jin-hwan have a specific pick in mind?”

“Should we blind pick it? But then we won’t have a ban for Lucian.”

In Game 1, the enemy team was on blue side, and we were on red.

They were trying to mind-game us by leaving high-tier champions open for their first pick.

Should we ban the high-tier picks, or should we ban the champions they’re comfortable with and have performed well on?

Either way, it was problematic.

“Their Camille is also scary.”

“Oh, right, Spread’s Camille is tough, isn’t he?”

“It’s better to ban it in Game 1. PG let it through and got smashed in lane, and even after getting two items, they couldn’t handle the split push.”

It felt different from a best-of-one.

The draft wasn’t just about winning one game, but also about gaining an advantage for the remaining sets.

A constant back-and-forth of mind games: I can play this pick. You’re letting this through? I can counter that with this.

“Let’s ban Camille and leave KSante open.”

“I can always switch to Ornn if necessary, so that sounds good.”

We decided to ban Camille, a non-meta pick that the enemy favored, and leave KSante open.

Even if they picked KSante, we had the option to counter with Aatrox or Ornn.

“They first-picked Ashe.”

“Are they saying Ashe is the best ADC if Lucian is banned?”

“Should I pick KSante then?”

“Let’s do that. What counters Ashe?”

Contrary to our expectation of them first-picking KSante, they took Ashe.

They probably thought there were no champions that could beat Ashe in lane if Lucian Nami was banned.

“Do you want to just pick Zeri?”

“Ugh… boring.”

A champion with strong scaling thanks to the crit item buffs, capable of holding her own in the early and mid-game laning phase.

It was Zeri, a champion designed around the number four.

The only problem was that Jin Yu-seong didn’t like playing her because she was “boring.” But he was good with her when he had to be.

“Seo-ha, do you want to wait for the fifth pick for mid?”

“I’m fine with anything. They’ll probably wait too, so I’ll wait as well.”

“Sounds good.”

---

“Intense mind games in the draft from the very first set.”

“VXG is giving up KSante, but securing a strong front line with Sejuani, along with Ashe Braum, which has performed well for them.”

“A perfect Freljord comp.”

[VXG is playing Teamfight Tactics?]

[Is it okay to give Ashe to them, though?]

[Seriously, ARK’s bot lane might not be able to breathe.]

[But with Zeri, it should be manageable.]

[A Zeri in the finals? Even Zilean is here.]

“I was wondering why they gave up KSante. They’re picking Gnar.”

“I consider the Gnar versus KSante matchup a skill matchup.”

“Why is that?”

“It’s fundamentally a melee versus ranged matchup, but Mini Gnar has to play perfectly against any champion. And KSante is excellent at punishing mistakes.”

[True, if Mini Gnar gets cocky, he’s an easy solo kill target.]

[KSante is surprisingly good at chasing down Mini Gnar with his ult.]

[Mini Gnar can’t even survive a fully charged KSante Q combo.]

[Mini Gnar with 540 base HP, 400 range, 40 armor, and 42 magic resistance… Care for a serving?]

“But ultimately, the most important factor is…”

“…the mid lane.”

“Just like Hoon said, they want a direct carry-versus-carry matchup. We still haven’t seen their mid lane picks.”

“Hoon’s choice is…”

“Akali?!”

[Whoa!]

[Is it okay to blind pick Akali?]

[Hoon is an Akali god. He carried the LPL finals with four Akalis in a row.]

[Isn’t this just asking to get countered by Orianna?]

“What are your thoughts on the Akali pick?”

“I think there’s a good reason for this pick. Akali’s weakness is her weak early game, but they have Sejuani to cover for her.”

“The so-called melee synergy. Once they hit level 6, Sejuani can engage with Q-W-auto, and Akali can follow up with her ultimate and auto-attacks for a guaranteed stun.”

“I see. So, are they challenging ARK to pick a mage?”

“Exactly.”

[That makes sense.]

[If they pick Orianna, they might not even be able to walk up to the wave.]

[What can Para even pick then?]

[Isn’t Yone a bad pick into Akali because of her shroud?]

[Para’s options are limited.]

“What will Para pick in response…?”

“ARK picked Xin Zhao jungle, an AD champion, so they need an AP mid.”

“They’re picking Sylas?!”

[A skill matchup for one of them.]

[Intense!]

[Is Para good at Sylas?]

[He was her signature pick during her CK domination.]

“Akali versus Sylas. We haven’t seen this matchup recently, but it was common last season.”

“This matchup shows that both ARK and VXG are wary of each other. They both know that picking an immobile mage mid is suicide.”

“What are your thoughts on this matchup?”

“Akali has the advantage in the early game with her Q poke and ability to avoid ganks with her shroud, but Sylas scales better.”

“I see.”

“Also, depending on Sylas’ chain accuracy, he could take an early lead.”

“Skillshot accuracy… That’s something Para excels at!”

[ARK fighting!]

[Let’s win and take the championship!]

[Nah, ARK is destined to be trophyless lol]

[They already won the LCK lol]

[LCK is just a playground.]

[ARK]

TOP: KSante
JG: Xin Zhao
MID: Sylas
AD: Zeri
SUP: Zilean

VS

[VXG]

TOP: Gnar
JG: Sejuani
MID: Akali
AD: Ashe
SUP: Braum

---

“Bot lane, play safe.”

“We’ll focus on scaling.”

“Late game Zeri Zilean? The gods of movement speed.”

“I’ll leave top lane alone and look for solo kill opportunities.”

“I’ll play safe in mid and look for picks.”

Their favorite strategy was to pick a strong bot lane, have their jungler camp bot, and completely destroy it.

It was a strategy that had brought them decent success even with ADCs that didn’t scale well, so we needed to be careful.

‘Sylas versus Akali…’

One of us was about to have a terrible time.

While Sylas was versatile, both were fundamentally melee assassins who weren’t great at waveclearing.

Whoever lost lane would be stuck last-hitting with abilities for the rest of the game.

‘She’s pressuring hard from the start.’

Akali started poking me with her Q as soon as the minions arrived.

After her recent buff, she could Q-auto-Q at level 1, so I opted to take Q and just farm.

I was confident she wouldn’t let me hit my E since she was a top-tier mid laner.

“Both their bot laners started bot, right?”

“Yeah, I saw them after they recalled. They’re probably in the bush.”

“Then we’ll contest the Scuttler.”

After farming safely and reaching level 6, I followed Kim Do-jin’s call and moved towards the Scuttler.

The enemy team, unwilling to give it up, also moved towards the pit with Sejuani and Akali.

‘Not yet.’

Normally, I would try to steal Akali’s ultimate and look for a fight, but not now.

Kim Do-jin started taking the Scuttler, relying on Xin Zhao’s sustain.

“I’ll poke them and we’ll fight as soon as they engage.”

“Gnar is coming down! I’m on my way too!”

As we killed one Scuttler, we heard a frantic call about Gnar rotating.

I checked the map and saw him moving down from top lane.

Fortunately, his rage bar was depleting.

Then, my job was to…

“I’ll bait Sejuani’s ult!”

I intentionally walked out of the pit and stood in front of the bush where I was certain Sejuani and Akali were hiding.

As expected, Sejuani’s ult came flying towards me.

“Sejuani ult is down!”

I had anticipated it and dodged it by standing on my pre-placed E.

Akali, assuming the ult would hit, used her shroud and moved to the other side of me.

[I’ll become the monster you want me to be!]

I stole Gnar’s ultimate. The special voice line played, and Gnar’s ult replaced mine.

“Focus Gnar and Akali!”

My ultimate, GNAR!, slammed both Akali, who hadn’t used her shroud immediately, and the now-Mega Gnar against the wall.