[TS] The Return of The Gamer - Chapter 207

GKG, the 8th-place team in Challengers Korea.

From now on, they were the opponents we had to face, the final gate to the promotion match.

If we win this multi-game series, we would finally set foot on the professional stage we had always dreamed of.

We would get the seed for the second division league.

To be honest, judging from the scrim results and the current atmosphere of GKG, the truth is that I don't think we can lose.

But, we shouldn't overlook one important fact here.

A best-of-five series.

We've experienced it many times in scrims, but this is the first time we're doing a multi-game series on a real stage.

No… it wasn't just the multi-game series that was new to us.

"Me, am I the only one nervous?"

No audience.

But it's not like there are no people.

Even if they weren't spectators, there were definitely quite a few people watching us.

“…Me too.”

"R-right? I thought it was just me."

"You don't need to be like that. Just do what we practiced. Then we'll win."

Perhaps because of that fact, Kim Jae-min and Seo Yeon-woo, excluding Baek Seong-an who already has years of experience as a pro, looked noticeably nervous.

"……"

Even Kim Ji-hoon, even though he wasn't openly showing it, had a stiff expression.

'Come to think of it…… his nickname was the timid person.'

Looking at his ridiculously bulky muscle armor, that thought disappears, but the personality of Kim Ji-hoon that I've observed so far was actually close to that.

And,

'I'm nervous too.'

I was pretending to be okay since the team members were around, but I was also nervous.

If I'm like this now, what if the stands are filled with people later on…….

"……Ugh."

While everyone couldn't hide their nervousness, as I was running the League of Legends client and adjusting the settings, I felt my heart slowly stabilizing.

["Aaa, mic test. Can everyone hear me?"]

"Yeah, I can hear you."

["Okay."]

Kim Jae-min said, now that his tension seemed to have eased.

["Noona, 1v1 go?"]

"How dare you. Come on in."

The 1v1 started like that.

The game mode was a mid-lane Ezreal mirror match.

["Here!"]

"Nope, doesn't hit."

["Here?"]

"Still doesn't hit."

The champion's motions.

Kim Jae-min's psychology.

I read all of that and gained an advantage in the skill shot battle.

And in a 1v1, where there was no intervention from the jungler or other lanes, that difference was very big.

-First Blood!

-An enemy has been slain!

The result was my victory.

Just like a tiger does its best when hunting a rabbit, there's no way I'd go easy on him just to boost his morale.

["No, let's do it again!"]

Kim Jae-min protested, demanding a rematch, but unfortunately, the match time was already approaching.

"Everyone, please get ready."

Kim Jae-min pouted at the staff's words announcing the start of the match.

["Nooo……."]

"No is no. Just get in."

["…Let's do it again later."]

"Alright, you."

Although I don't intend to go easy on him then either.

["Alright, everyone, do as you usually do."]

["Yesss."]

["Yes."]

OLZ vs GKG.

The first game's full-fledged ban-pick began.

GKG, who had the selection rights for the 1st, 3rd, and 5th sets, chose the blue side in the first game.

In the current meta, the blue side has more advantages than the red side, so it was a very standard choice.

[Graves]

The opponent's first ban was Graves.

We had already shown in scrims and previous matches that we could use Graves in both the top and jungle, so it was a natural choice in a way.

Now that it was our turn to ban, Seo Yeon-woo asked as always.

["What should we ban? Yummi?"]

If there was something different from before, it was that now, after doing so many scrims, he was already offering opinions on the ban-pick patterns first.

It was a positive change.

["That's good."]

"Let's ban Yummi."

["Okay."]

Yummi was practically a fixed ban on the red side, so we just quickly banned her.

And…….

Soon, the bans of both teams were complete.

+

[Ban List]

Graves / Yummi

Galio / Zeri

Malzahar / Lucian

+

If we exclude Graves as the first ban, the opponent's intention was clear.

Mid.

But, I wonder if they're underestimating a veteran who has already been through the pro scene.

"Can we handle it even if the opponent takes Leblanc?"

["Of course."]

In that situation, the opponent took the first pick.

[Aphelios]

It could be considered a reasonable choice where Lucian wasn't available.

'Then…….'

There are quite a few high-tier picks among the remaining picks.

For example, a pick like Lissandra.

"Let's pick Lissandra first."

["Okay."]

If it wasn't available, I wouldn't know, but since it's available, there's no reason not to take it.

[Lissandra]

[Champion Selection in Progress…….]

Seo Yeon-woo said.

["What pick should we do next?"]

Originally, a pick like Twisted Fate was available, so it wouldn't be bad to take him, but the opponent's mid-lane ban was a bit unsettling.

It was like a move to induce Twisted Fate?

"I think we should go down to mid-lane, what do you think?"

["I think so too."]

Despite having pride as a pro, Baek Seong-an didn't insist on anything unnecessary.

Lack of confidence is a problem, but a chilling level of self-objectification was also a good weapon for a pro.

["Um, since the opponent picked the ADC first, let's take the ADC first too."]

Among the remaining ADC picks, the good ones are Miss Fortune, Jinx, and Xayah.

"Jae-min, what do you want to do?"

["Umm… I'll do Miss Fortune."]

[Miss Fortune]

The second pick of our team was completed.

[Opponent Champion Selection in Progress.]

[Selection in the next turn.]

The opponent's 2nd and 3rd pick turns.

We could know the opponent's overall team composition concept from here.

[Leona]

[Syndra]

Hoho…….

Look at that?

"The opponent's mid-lane is out, do you want to pick mid-lane?"

["Syndra……."]

The opponent's ban and Syndra's first pick.

What this meant was clear.

They were saying they were confident in suppressing our mid-laner, GetBack, with power.

GetBack's choice here was roughly two.

To play a defensive champion and endure smoothly, then aim for the late game,

Or to face them head-on.

GetBack, until now, had chosen the former as a matter of course.

But this was the second division league promotion match.

GetBack didn't need to do that, even against the team that had been pushed out of the second division.

["I'll do Leblanc."]

["…Uh, are you sure, hyung?"]

Even Kim Jae-min, a symbol of lightheartedness, was worried, as Baek Seong-an's Leblanc pick was quite radical.

["You, what do you take me for?"]

["Th, that, you know, you got beaten up by All Day before……."]

Baek Seong-an, with the fact revealed in the open, cleared his throat.

["……Hmm hmm, that was when the opponent was All Day. Just watch."]

["Umm. Yes, well. If we lose, it's hyung's fault."]

Of course, even if he faced them head-on, the line-up advantage of Syndra and Leblanc in the lane phase was with Syndra.

However, even so, the reason for picking Leblanc was, after all, the thought of a mid and jungle 2:2 fight.

No matter what, when it came to a mid and jungle battle, Leblanc's combat ability was the very best.

And, the 4th and 5th bans were in progress.

["What should we ban?"]

["Just a moment."]

The current ban-pick situation is like this.

[GKG / OLZ]

1 : Aphelios / Lissandra

2 : Leona / Miss Fortune

3 : Syndra / Leblanc

Mid and ADC came out against each other, and the opponent picked the support and we picked the jungler.

In other words, if we're going to ban, it's right to invest in the jungle and top lanes.

["Yeon-woo, is there anything you want to ban?"]

["Not particularly."]

["Yeah. Let's just go down to the top as a last pick."]

The advantage of the blue side is the first pick, and the advantage of the red side is the last pick.

Naturally, it's better to make use of that advantage.

"How about Poppy? I think it would be annoying to face our team composition."

The ban-pick of picking Poppy against the Lissandra and Leblanc composition is something we've already shown before.

There was no need to get caught even when we knew it.

["Right. Let's do that."]

[Poppy]

And the opponent's ban that followed.

From the opponent's point of view, it's right to put checks on the support and top lanes, unlike us.

[Rakan]

As expected, they cut Rakan, who boasts a pretty good composition with Miss Fortune.

The fact was that Kim Ji-hoon's Rakan had shown threatening performances from the start of the engage in various places.

["What do you want to do? Should we cut the jungler more?"]

"Um. Top?"

["I don't care since I'm the second pick anyway."]

"Then…… Jarvan, cut him."

["Okay."]

[Jarvan IV]

The opponent's last ban that followed.

[Rumble]

It had a very standard feel.

["We have to pick the support now. Ji-hoon, what do you want?"]

["Trash, please."]

["Really? Jae-min, what about you?"]

["I, well… It's okay as long as hyung Ji-hoon likes it."]

["Okay."]

The fourth pick of our team was completed.

[Thresh]

Now it's the opponent's 4th and 5th pick turns.

The remaining ones are jungle and top.

[Rek'Sai]

[Kennen]

Should I say as expected?

Or should I say unexpectedly?

Rek'Sai and Kennen came out.

Kennen is a pick that's consistently active, but Rek'Sai… This made me think of the MSL from a while ago.

'Of course, we only won that game.'

Our last pick turn was approaching.

The 5th pick, Top.

As much as this is a position that gives a lot of picks, it was a core position for the red side.

"Yeon-woo, what do you want to do? I think a Sylas would be good."

The Kennen versus Sylas setup is a matchup where Sylas, a relatively weak champion in the lane phase, can win the lane phase, and also a matchup where the late-game potential doesn't fall behind Kennen.

In many ways, it's a pick that's perfectly suited as a counter to Kennen.

Whether he thought my words were reasonable, or whether it was because of my words, Seo Yeon-woo responded immediately.

["Give me Sylas."]