[TS] The Return of The Gamer - Chapter 283

Time flew by breathlessly.

As that happened, before we knew it, the League of Legends Champions Korea Summer Season Finals were right around the corner.

"It's today, right?"

"What?"

"The finals."

"Ah, that's right."

During that time, we spent our time practicing, practicing, and practicing some more.

The Challengers Korea Postseason went as expected, with BLH winning in Postseason Round 2 and advancing to the promotion/relegation matches.

From now on, BLH had also effectively become our competitor.

The date for the finals was September 8th.

The first day of the promotion/relegation matches was September 12th.

In terms of time, you could say that with only 4 days left, we didn't have the luxury to watch other teams' matches, but what was important was that it wasn't just any match, but a place where the two strongest teams in the country were facing off.

The patch version for the LCKR finals and the patch version for our promotion/relegation matches are the same.

In any form, it was a match that would do us no harm to watch.

At that moment, Seo Yeon-woo spoke.

"Sis, let me know when the match starts."

"You want to watch too?"

"Didn't you say it would be good for us to watch?"

"That's true."

The team members were all in an accepting mood regarding my suggestion.

Even for a guy who usually runs wild as he pleases, watching the LCKR finals was a rather meaningful thing to do when facing the major stage of the promotion/relegation matches.

"What about Ji-hoon?"

"He says he'll come after exercising a bit."

"I figured as much."

We deliberately didn't schedule scrims today.

No, to be honest, we tried to schedule them, but it was difficult to get them.

It felt like other teams had also deliberately left the day open to watch these finals.

'It's bound to attract attention.'

Although the international standing slightly dropped with SCV's loss to GRS in the recent MSL, it's still correct to see LCKR's international standing as a top-tier league.

In that situation, the Summer Season Finals could in a way be seen as a preview of the Red Cup, so it would have been stranger not to be interested.

'Especially for the teams participating in the regional qualifiers, they wouldn't know which team will come to the qualifiers, so they're bound to pay attention.'

Adding to that, since it's the stage of the finals, SY and MAX will also likely have to bring out all their hidden picks.

In many ways, for the teams participating in the regional qualifiers, watching these finals was advantageous.

'Is it almost time to start?'

The finals start time was 5 o'clock.

However, there were various things like pre-finals interviews and analysis, so the broadcast itself usually starts about an hour early.

'There's no real need to watch all that.'

Of course, it's not that I have no interest in things like each team's story or analysis at all.

It was true that those things were also one of the fun points of the finals.

But given my or our team's current situation, I felt that playing even one game of solo queue instead of using that time would be more efficient in many ways.

+

[Game Found!]

[Accept / Decline]

+

The queue popped.

Whether there were many people who thought similarly to me, or whether they truly weren't interested in the finals, I couldn't tell, but I saw a few familiar IDs.

The game started.

My pick was Lee Sin.

The opponent's pick was Rek'Sai.

Currently, Rek'Sai is treated completely differently in solo queue and competitive play.

In solo queue, she performs as a counter to Lee Sin and boasts a decent win rate as a solid Tier 1 pick, but in competitive play, even if the opponent first-picks Lee Sin, she was barely being picked.

'The champion itself does have limitations.'

For that reason, it wasn't a pick that seemed likely to appear in these finals either.

Even if she did appear, it would likely only be in very limited situations, when the team compositions of allies and enemies are aligned.

The solo queue result was my victory.

Although Rek'Sai herself is a counter pick to Lee Sin, her inherent weakness eventually showed, and I used that to win.

"Are you done?"

"Ah, yes."

"We can just turn it on right away then."

Before I knew it, the team members had gathered in the practice room.

How long had it been since all of us gathered like this, except for during practice...?

'No, we spend most of our time practicing anyway, so maybe it's irrelevant?'

Amidst unnecessary thoughts, I turned on the broadcast screen.

'Would it be better to turn on a stream?'

Normally, it would be right to turn it on, but somehow I felt it would be better not to today.

It's likely that while watching this match, the team members would talk about various things, and there was a possibility that strategies or similar information could leak.

'That brat "Jam-min" might say something foolish, too.'

For that reason, I decided to watch these finals without turning on a separate broadcast.

『"Finally, that day has come. How many people have been counting down the days to this?"』

『"That's right. SY and MAX, and MAX and SY. Both are traditional powerhouses in LCKR, and especially in the case of SY, as the world champions from the previous year, everyone literally, Legend of League fans worldwide, are watching to see if they can defend their throne again!"』

『"That's right! Of course, in SY's case, their advancement to the Red Cup is already confirmed, but still, while they're going, 1st seed would be better than 2nd seed, right!"』

『"Yes! You might say 'what's important about the first seed, the second seed?', but there's still a symbolic meaning to it!"』

The weight of the League of Legends Champions Korea Summer Season Finals is incomparably heavier than the Spring Season.

The reason is simple.

League of Legends World Championship.

Because it's a match where the direct seed right to the so-called Red Cup is on the line.

Especially in MAX's case, if they lose in these finals, they would be pushed back in circuit points by the Spring Season winning team SCV and have to go to the regional qualifiers, so it was bound to be an even more desperate final match for them.

In the worst-case scenario, a misfortune could occur where the team that went all the way to the Summer Season finals might not be able to participate in the Red Cup.

"Oh, looks like the ban/pick phase will start soon."

As Kim Jae-min said, perhaps the timing of turning on the broadcast was quite good, as both teams' players were already sitting in their booths, having finished their preparations.

『"Alright then... the ban/pick phase will now begin!"』

SY's side is blue.

MAX's side is red.

[Aphelios]

SY's first ban was Aphelios.

『"Yes, they're banning Aphelios first!"』

『"Certainly, there are many evaluations saying that KingGodEmperor's recent form is extraordinary. Some are even frequently talking about whether he's the best AD carry in Korea, or the best in the world."』

『"Yes, this match today will be a very good opportunity for KingGodEmperor to prove that fact, won't it?!"』

『"That's right."』

As the commentators said, it seemed they chose this ban because MAX's strongest carry line was the bottom lane, particularly the AD carry.

Soon after, it became MAX's turn to ban.

[Twisted Fate]

『"Twisted Fate ban. You could see this as a standard flow."』

『"Certainly, champions with reliable crowd control like Twisted Fate and Renekton have very high value these days, don't they?"』

『"Yes. The ability to land reliable crowd control with targeting... there surprisingly aren't many champions like that."』

『"That's right. In the past, there were far more skills of this type than now, but it seems to be something that arose because the patch direction itself emphasizes 'room for counterplay' even for the receiving side."』

『"Alright, then... what will SY's choice be?"』

[Caitlyn]

Caitlyn ban.

Baek Seong-an saw that and said.

"Hmm, looks like they're trying to completely shut down the AD carry side."

"Right?"

"KingGodEmperor certainly has been playing well lately. We met him as opponents, and our bottom lane couldn't even breathe."

"That's because the AD carry wasn't me. If it were me, I would've held our ground. Right?"

Kim Jae-min said that, but everyone lightly ignored him.

While confidence is good, arrogance and cockiness were another matter.

『"Two AD carry bans have already come out. Even though Aphelios and Caitlyn are considered good picks in the bottom lane right now... there will be quite a few picks that are left open like this, right?"』

[Corki]

『"Ah, as expected, they are mainly banning champions for the mid lane."』

『"Don't give Rainbow carry picks, that strategy was ardently apparent throughout the regular season!"』

『"Yes. But how many carry picks are there? Can they ban them all? MAX also needs to choose and focus."』

At last, it was SY's turn for their 3rd ban.

[Jinx]

A clear declaration.

Your AD carry, do not carry.

MAX, in response, also made a swift ban.

[Akali]

『"With this, Renekton is left open... Will SY take him? In the current situation, they could potentially swap lanes if needed, and there seems to be no reason not to take him."』

It was a reasonable point.

As he said, SY also didn't hesitate to first-pick Renekton.

[Renekton]

Next, it was MAX's turn to pick.

"What do you think they'll pick?"

"Well? Since Karma is open, completing the bottom lane doesn't seem like a bad idea."

"Hmm, I suppose."

Karma is currently a pick that boasts Tier 1 status among supports.

Of course, Yuumi was also open, but given MAX's characteristic of playing strong bottom lane matchups, the possibility of them taking Karma seemed greater.

[Karma]

Up to this point, it was as everyone expected.

But among the remaining AD carry champions that MAX might pick...

『"Surely they won't bring out something like Draven, right?"』

『"Suddenly?"』

『"Of course, it doesn't look likely based on data... but KingGodEmperor has brought him out occasionally specifically in times like this."』

Of course, it was an unnecessary worry.

[Ezreal]

Although Jhin was still open, it seemed MAX picked Ezreal because they relied on their AD carry for carry potential.

"With this, I think SY will just go for Jhin Yuumi in the bottom lane?"

"Looks like it."

Perhaps because it was the first game, the ban/pick phase seemed to be flowing smoothly.