READ NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 446
The season continued.
Week 3, Day 5, first match.
MYE vs OLZ.
OLZ won 2:0.
Week 4, Day 2, first match.
OLZ vs BAN.
OLZ won 2:0.
Week 4, Day 5, first match.
OLZ vs GTD.
OLZ won 2:0.
As OLZ kept racking up victories, it’s no surprise that the community’s reactions were explosive.
– “OLZ is different OLZ is different OLZ is different OLZ is different OLZ is different OLZ is different OLZ is different OLZ is different OLZ is different OLZ is different”
– “LOL, they’re on a crazy win streak, it’s legit insane.”
– “(Data warning) Outlaw’s highlight reel.GIF”
– “Doesn’t Jaem-min seem to be stepping up lately?”
– “Jaem-min dude… just go for it.”
– “??: Hey, Rainbow.”
– “Outlaw, she’s a goddess. Outlaw, she’s a goddess. Outlaw, she’s a goddess. Outlaw, she’s a goddess.”
– “Are we really not going to lose a game?”
As if to prove the community’s interest, the requests for scrims from overseas teams, along with various interview and advertising proposals, were flooding in.
Ding-ding, ding-ding!
To confirm this fact, Baek Seong-an’s phone was ringing non-stop.
“…Shouldn’t we get a manager? I can’t even solo queue with all these calls.”
Baek Seong-an even grumbled after finishing yet another phone call.
“A manager?”
“Hmm… nah, it doesn’t seem to fit our team situation yet. I’ll handle it for now.”
“Are you sure?”
“Is there a manager who can handle us?”
Well… thinking about it, that seems accurate.
“Still, we might really need to get one later. The calls are coming in a lot.”
“Yeah, I’ll think about it.”
“Oh, and.”
“Yeah?”
“You know our next match is against SCV, right?”
“Ah, yeah.”
“They’re not an easy opponent. While ads and sponsorships are good for team operations, we’re still a new team, so we need to focus more on our results. Got it?”
“Of course.”
Honestly, I was already tired of thinking about ads, so they weren’t on my mind for now.
As for sponsorships, there was a possibility that they might interfere with team operations, so I needed to approach that carefully.
Of course, all of that would ultimately be necessary for team operations, but our team hadn’t fully established itself in LCKR yet.
‘SCV…’
SCV.
One of the top teams in LCKR and the defending champion.
We had scrimmed with SCV quite a bit before, and our win rate wasn’t bad, but that was just scrims.
In the history of LCKR, there had been numerous cases where scrims and matches were different, so let’s not get complacent.
“Ah, we have a scrim with SY today.”
“Again? It feels like we do it a lot.”
“They requested it. It’s a good opportunity, and we can’t just turn it down.”
“That’s true.”
If it were any other team, if a scrim schedule with SY was arranged, we would put everything aside to play that scrim.
Of course, scrimming against a strong team isn’t solely beneficial, but it’s still a good opportunity.
Should I say it’s a chance to broaden our perspectives?
“Alright, everyone, get ready for the scrim. It’s with SY today.”
“Again?”
“Stop asking again and just get ready.”
“Neigh~”
*
Scrimming against a strong team like SY always makes me nervous.
Baek Seong-an felt the same way.
Especially for Baek Seong-an, the pressure of facing Rainbow made him lose a bit of sleep the night before.
Because Rainbow was a nightmare for every mid laner and a wall that had to be overcome.
‘And it’s not just that.’
Due to the recent patch, from the upcoming round two, the game patch version would change.
As a result, champions that hadn’t seen much action in the mid lane were now surging, specifically the so-called melee trio: Sylas, Yune, and Akali.
Of course, alongside that, the tier for picks like Irelia, which could gain an advantage over those three champions, would rise too. But in reality, it was a pick that was hard to use in a tournament.
Anyway, seeing those patch notes, Baek Seong-an felt his heart drop.
Excluding Orianna, who is practically a must-ban card, those champions effectively forced a true showdown among mid laners.
Teams facing OLZ wouldn’t be unaware of that, meaning Baek Seong-an would have to use those picks too.
‘If I can manage with Azir, I might be okay…’
Even though Azir’s tier isn’t high, aside from Orianna, there’s no other champion in the current mid lane as versatile and dependable as Azir.
But unfortunately, Baek Seong-an wasn’t skilled enough to use Azir against a strong team like SY.
In other words, this meta was practically a counter for Baek Seong-an and OLZ.
“Phew…”
His worries deepened, but there was no way to avoid the upcoming patch.
The reason for scrimming with SCV soon in the next patch version was precisely that.
Both OLZ and SY now had to slowly start preparing for the next round.
[“Aah, can you hear me? Mic test. Mic test.”]
[“I can hear you, so shut up.”]
[“Kiiing.”]
While Kim Jae-min and Yujin were quarreling as usual on the voice messenger, Baek Seong-an finished his preparations.
“Are you all set? Shall I tell them?”
[“Yeah.”]
[“Okay.”]
[“We’re ready.”]
[“Me too.”]
“Confirmation.”
Having finished all his preparations, Baek Seong-an notified SY of the start of the scrim.
[“Fighting, everyone!”]
[“Let’s do well.”]
[“Everyone, do your best.”]
OLZ took the blue side.
That means we get to pick first.
“Let’s force them to ban Orianna and if we can snag Jarvan III, we should go for it.”
[“Yes.”]
Jarvan III’s tier has been really high lately, but unfortunately, a pick like Jarvan III is like a poisoned chalice for OLZ.
That’s because the limitations of the champion Jarvan III itself could potentially restrict the value of OLZ’s strongest asset, the jungler.
In OLZ, the jungler has to secure kills.
That’s the general consensus and the winning pattern we’ve had so far.
Baek Seong-an’s intention was aligned with that.
When OLZ secures the blue side, the opponent would likely choose between Orianna and Jarvan III, and they’d want to give Jarvan III.
That would be rational on many levels.
That’s why, reverse it and we’ll think about taking Jarvan III since it’s a top pick in this meta.
Moreover, if by chance they leave Orianna open, then we can just take Orianna.
For OLZ, that would be the ultimate scenario.
‘Although it would be a burden to give them Jarvan III and then take Orianna… but if we fail to do this, it will be impossible to do ban/pick in the second round.’
It’s acceptable to endure some degree of imbalance in ban/pick, but it’s unacceptable for problems to arise in ban/pick due to personal skill issues.
That would severely bruise his pride as a professional gamer.
And…..
The ban/pick was finally completed.
+
[OLZ / SY]
Top: Rumble / Jason
Jungle: Jarvan III / Vayne
Mid: Nikon / Akali
ADC: Senna / Kai’Sa
Support: Tahm Kench / Rill
+
Overall, the ban/pick situation looked quite good for OLZ.
They secured both the currently OP-rated Jarvan III and Rumble, and took Nikon to ensure a strong laning phase, along with Tahm Kench for added stability even if Akali grows.
– Welcome to Summoner’s Rift!
Finally, the game began.
As it was a scrim, the early invade phase went smoothly, with both sides maintaining their vision.
After all, scrims are more about seeing the lane matchup rather than creating early incidents to win.
– Minions have spawned!
The lane phase officially began.
It’s Nikon vs. Akali.
In this matchup, it was unlikely for Nikon to lose unless there was a significant skill gap, but after level 6, he could give a kill to Akali if he was complacent with skill shots.
“Stay calm. I’ve got the advantageous matchup.”
So, Baek Seong-an tried to approach the lane phase with his usual focus on stability.
After all, with Outlaw on his team, the opponents wouldn’t be able to do much in the lane either, that’s the pressure all teams facing OLZ have felt so far.
But for some reason.
‘…It’s different from usual.’
The reason Baek Seong-an felt this way was simple.
Even though going up against Rainbow in lane was never easy, the presence of Outlaw, the jungler, had always kept Rainbow’s aggression in check.
But now, it felt like Rainbow wasn’t the least bit concerned about Outlaw’s presence, continuously pressuring Baek Seong-an.
As if they knew Outlaw wasn’t next to Baek Seong-an at all.
‘Did Jarvan III get spotted? …No. There’s no way they could ward during the early invade phase. This means they’re predicting our jungler’s movement.’
Baek Seong-an felt it.
Rainbow no longer feared the imagined Outlaw in their minds.
Every movement Baek Seong-an made was being read by Rainbow, and before he knew it, Rainbow’s fangs were right at his throat.
“Ah.”
The moment Akali’s E-skill struck Nikon’s head, Baek Seong-an sensed his impending doom.