Chapter 22: VLL final (4)

Even though Sylas doesn’t have high base stats, the reason he’s often picked against AP mage champions is simple.

Among all the champions in LOL, he has the highest magic resist growth, and the fourth-highest health growth among over 150 champions.

In the mid-game, when it’s not yet full build where everyone one-shots each other, he can withstand a mage’s damage with his body.

So, what if you increase the late-game potential of Sylas, who has high growth potential, with the First Strike rune?

‘Is First Strike and Overgrowth too greedy?’

I had that thought for a moment, but it soon disappeared.

Greed?

That’s what you call the enemy team’s 3 AP composition.

Knowing that Sheen only plays tanks in the top lane and still picking that composition was a sign of disrespect.

It was as if the opponent was saying, “We’ll just crush top anyway,” and “We’ll end the game before Ornn gets his items.”

“What are we going to do about bot?”

“They probably won’t fight us, so we should look for opportunities to engage.”

“Then I’ll split the wave?”

“I’ll try to play safe in the top lane.”

“It doesn’t matter if you give up turret plating, just keep pulling the lane. We should look for a fight when Sylas and I hit level 6.”

As soon as the game started, everyone started briefing urgently.

“They have a ward here.”

“It seems like we took the bot bush.”

“I saw Gragas here.”

“Don’t let the bot lane get pushed into the turret.”

As time passed, both teams’ minions arrived at the lane, and the laning phase began.

As expected, the enemy mid laner started to pressure me from the beginning, using the range advantage between ranged and melee.

The opponent even had the Comet rune.

It’s a rune that’s not great for one-shot burst damage but helps with continuous early-game poke.

So, after enduring for a few minutes.

There was no major fight near mid. To be precise, our team gave up what we had to give up, and both teams recalled.

‘I need Mercury’s Treads this game.’

Since the enemy team had 3 AP champions and a lot of CC, Mercury’s Treads, which reduced magic damage and CC duration, were a must-have item.

When I teleported back to mid after buying the boots.

‘I knew it.’

The enemy Ahri had bought a Lost Chapter, which helped with mana management and early laning.

That meant she didn’t buy any items that reduced healing.

I understood what she was thinking.

She probably thought that since I took First Strike and leveled up Q three times, I didn’t need healing reduction.

“I’m going to look for a fight in mid.”

But skills and item builds should always be flexible.

Currently, both of us were level 9, the level where we would normally max out one skill.

But Sylas’s skills were Q level 3 and W level 4.

[Let’s see what you’ve got.]

When all of Ahri’s skills were used to poke in front of the turret.

I used my ultimate to steal her ultimate and charged forward.

The opponent also tried to escape by using her ultimate, but Ahri’s only mobility skill was her ultimate.

I could close the distance up to three times using Sylas’s W and E.

‘Ahri’s Charm cooldown is fixed at 12 seconds. With the cooldown reduction from runes and items, it should be around 10 seconds.’

Since it was about time for Charm to be off cooldown, I used my remaining ultimate towards the enemy turret as a feint.

The enemy Ahri thought it was an opportunity and used Charm, but of course, it didn’t hit.

[An enemy has been slain.]

Ahri died to my Q, which was back off cooldown.

****

“Wow! A solo kill!”

“After enduring in the tower for nearly 10 minutes, he capitalizes on that one opening and gets a solo kill!”

“Many people might be wondering, ‘Why didn’t she buy healing reduction against Sylas?’ But if you look at Sylas’s skill build, you’ll understand.”

“The observer is showing it to us now. You can see that after leveling up Q three times, he then maxed out W.”

“That’s right. Then, from the opponent’s perspective, they might think, ‘Is it a Q poke Sylas?’ and not buy healing reduction.”

“So, could we say that he was intentionally just farming for 10 minutes?”

“Yes, he didn’t really trade after level 6. I think he was able to deduce it from the damage and healing of his W skill.”

“He’s an amazing player, really. It’s not just his mechanics.”

[That was a sick outplay]

[Wow]

[The fact is, if you don’t buy healing reduction, Sylas is a god…]

[Kya]

[So, who’s making what kind of difference?]

[Seo-ha! Seo-ha! Seo-ha! Seo-ha!]

“Ah, I have some good news for you, viewers. As I mentioned earlier, this tournament is with the LCK.”

“That’s why caster Kim Dong-jin and I are commentating. Of course, the observers and camera directors are also here.”

“Thanks to that, in the finals, we can even see the players’ individual screens.”

[?????]

[Something big is coming?]

[A current middle school girl’s individual screen]

[I’m ready to clip]

[Let’s give Riot some credit for having good sense]

[Like]

[Isn’t the LCK Riot Korea, not Riot?]

[Like]

“Let’s take a look at the solo kill that just happened on the individual screen!”

[I’m going to look for a fight in mid]

[The jungle is marked on top, right? Both bot laners are visible too, I’ll look for a dive]

[We got him. Mid is tilted, so let’s look for an objective fight]

“As he always shows, he creates results with calculated plays. Isn’t this the play of a seasoned veteran?”

“He’s truly an amazing player. He shows restrained play, but he also delivers when he needs to. This is the play of a so-called S-class player.”

[New technology]

[Her face is so small, it doesn’t even fill the screen]

[Her sleeves are so cute, flapping around]

[Where can I buy that uniform?]

[I was annoyed that she kept saying it was a skill stream with that face, but the gameplay is actually delicious LOL]

[What else is a skill stream if not rank 1 in solo queue LOL]

“Still, Team ‘Talent,’ it’s not time to relax yet.”

“That’s right. They can say they’ve just taken the lead in mid, but top and jungle are collapsing a bit too hard.”

“Of course, considering the skill difference and the champions, you could say they’re holding on well. But it’s not good if the balance breaks somewhere.”

“How will they solve this game, how will they solidify their lead? Let’s continue watching the match.”

****

“Are we going to fight for this dragon?”

The game had been going on for over 25 minutes.

Fortunately, the bot lane won in the early game, so the dragon tempo wasn’t too fast.

The opponent had taken 2 dragons, and our team had one.

“It’s the third dragon, so we can give it up.”

In LOL, the reason for taking dragons was to gain permanent buffs, but ultimately, it was to complete the dragon soul by taking 4 dragons.

Regardless of the type of dragon soul, it was an incredibly powerful buff that could be obtained permanently after taking 4 dragons.

It was a buff strong enough to change the course of the game, so taking 4 dragons was quite meaningful.

‘In other words, it’s okay to give up to 3 dragons.’

Of course, if you gave up 3 dragons, you had no choice but to fight when the next dragon spawned.

However, if you could win at the 4-dragon timing, giving up the third one was even considered a strategy.

“So, what do you all want to do?”

It was time to make a decision, and Pressure asked the team members.

“If we leave top alone now, Gragas will create a highway, but if we play carefully and bait out their teleports, it might not be bad to fight.”

“I think we should fight before Jinx gets more items.”

“I can probably tank it if I press W now?”

“I can eat Ahri or Maokai’s ultimate, so it’s good to fight.”

Most of us, including me, thought it wouldn’t be bad to fight.

Ornn was behind in growth compared to Gragas, but he had some magic resistance items.

And with a well-fed Sylas, it was time to start a fight.

“Engage before Ahri’s Charm or Jinx’s poke hit us any more!”

“Make sure to burst Viego first.”

“I’m using my ultimate?”

Wooosh!

While the two teams were poking each other with skills in front of the dragon pit, the sound of a horn echoed through the battlefield.

Kaang!

Sheen’s initiation, combining his ultimate with flash, signaled the start of the battle, and everyone started throwing their skills without hesitation.

My role in this chaos was.

“I bursted Viego. Jinx first. Gragas’s teleport is coming in from behind!”

Since it was a messy teamfight, I had to use Ahri’s ultimate to disrupt the enemy backline.

“Can Leona hold Gragas for a bit? Try to die after holding him for a while!”

“What the, why is Gragas’s 3-item power spike so strong!”

“I have flash, let me do the damage!”

We managed to take down Viego, who was hit by CC, and I persistently chased after Jinx, who kept throwing bombs.

Jinx tried to escape by using flash and W backwards, but there was no way to escape from Sylas, who had Ahri’s ultimate.

In the end, Jinx died where the enemy team’s jungle monster spawned.

And the result.

(01921!)

It was the moment the winner of the first set was decided.