Chapter 18: The reason for the pick

The situation, objectively speaking, was the worst.

[Sylas – Level 2]
[Lee Sin – Level 4]

After a successful bot lane gank, Lee Sin pushed the lane together and reached level 4, creating a two-level gap between the junglers.

If this were a typical game with evenly matched tiers, an open surrender would have been called already, and it wouldn’t have been surprising.

Of course, I didn’t sit idle.

I skipped my blue buff and went straight to the enemy raptors, successfully counter-jungling.

Still, I had only cleared two camps, which meant I was far from reaching level 3.

“I’ve fallen quite far behind.”

If I were using another champion, I could have already counter-jungled the enemy’s red-side camps and started recovering.

However, after a series of nerfs, Sylas had essentially become an unviable jungler, and the primary reason was his weak jungle capabilities.

Currently, Sylas lacks speed and sustain in the jungle, making him highly ineffective in this role.

“If things continue like this, there’s no chance to win.”

Even if Sylas has strong late-game potential and my tier is significantly higher than the enemy’s, that won’t compensate for the massive gap in growth at this point.

This means now, while Lee Sin is recalling, is practically my only chance to turn the game around.

I began to strategize.

The strengths of Sylas.

The reason for picking Sylas.

“Sylas’s strengths aren’t limited to his late-game carry potential. Sylas also excels in skirmishes.”

Finally, I reached a conclusion.

“As expected, ganking is the only option.”

A champion weak in the early game doesn’t have many choices.

Especially when it’s a Sylas who has fallen this far behind in the early game.

I had only cleared two camps, and even stealing lane experience wouldn’t get me to level 3. I needed to succeed in a gank at level 2.

“Hm.”

I quickly scanned the minimap.

The status of each lane was clear.

The bot lane, which had given away a double kill, was just now respawning and returning to the lane.

Even if I rushed to the bot lane now, the wave was already pushing, making a successful gank unlikely. Worse, we could lose a 2v3 fight.

The top lane was quietly farming under the turret against Renekton’s early aggression.

Even if I ganked, unless Renekton overextended, Sion’s follow-up wouldn’t be enough to secure a kill.

And mid lane…

“As expected, mid lane it is.”

There’s a term, “blade-on-blade matchup.”

This refers to two aggressive champions facing off in the same lane. In such cases, the first to suffer a gank often faces irreversible consequences.

Talon and Yuri Lee.

Both were assassin-type mid-lane champions and prime examples of “blade champions.”

I pinged Yuri Lee.

However, in a broken situation, Yuri Lee seemed to think that as long as he didn’t die, the game would stabilize. Thus, he stayed under the turret and refused to come out.

It was a wise decision.

If the opponent wasn’t me.

Compared to top or bot lane dives, mid lane dives are often said to be much more difficult.

There are several reasons for this.

The enemy jungler is more likely to be nearby, and unlike the top or bot lanes, which are partially blocked, the mid lane has multiple escape routes. Additionally, champions typically played in the mid lane often have strong wave-clearing abilities, making it rare for a proper dive line to form.

But what about the current situation?

The matchup between Talon and Yuri Lee was a blade-on-blade duel, where both champions are highly aggressive.

In such cases, even a minor mistake can lead to a kill, and minimal jungler involvement can easily secure one.

Perhaps that was why Yuri Lee made a critical misjudgment here.

In an attempt to deny me a gank opportunity, he chose to step entirely back from the lane.

As a result, an enormous dive opportunity was forming on the mid lane.

[Talon – Level 4]
[Yuri Lee – Level 3]

On top of that, the difference in minion count had already created a level gap between the two mid laners.

If Yuri Lee had been a challenger-tier player like those I usually play with, they wouldn’t have allowed such a massive dive line to form, even with an enemy jungler nearby.

However, in Diamond tier, mid-lane dives were quite rare, and Yuri Lee’s thought process hadn’t accounted for this scenario.

“Let’s see what we’ve got.”

As Talon pushed the mid turret with a huge wave of minions, Yuri Lee used his shadow forward to clear the wave.

As expected.

I immediately flashed over the raptor wall and used E and W to close the gap with Yuri Lee.

It might be boastful to say, but it was a lightning-fast dive.

However, Yuri Lee wasn’t just any player—he was Diamond tier.

He quickly used the forward shadow he had placed to reposition, evading my follow-up E skill.

But this was exactly the situation I had set up.

It wasn’t difficult.

From the beginning, I had thrown my chains precisely where Yuri Lee’s shadow was located.

This is what’s called a predictive shot.

• Clink!

The moment Yuri Lee was struck by the chain, Talon, who had been waiting for the right moment, unleashed his full combo along with Ignite.

• Flash!

Yuri Lee, hit by all of Talon’s skills, desperately tried to escape by using his Flash. But he eventually succumbed to Talon’s bleed damage and Ignite.

• “Enemy slain!”

Our team claimed its first victory announcement.

If Yuri Lee had abandoned unnecessary greed and simply flashed backward when I initially jumped the wall, he might have escaped.

The wave of minions stacked on the lane and the characteristic overconfidence of Diamond players became Yuri Lee’s undoing.

“Well, I expected this outcome when I decided to attempt a mid-lane dive.”

In the end, the opposing mid-laner was completely ruined.

Not only did they miss out on the large wave of minions that would have bridged the level gap, but they also died, giving away a kill.

In a blade-on-blade matchup, the defeated champion often becomes irrelevant for the rest of the game.

[All Chat][YuriLeeMaster Kim (Yuri Lee): Wow, I can’t believe you found a dive angle there;;;]
[All Chat][TriangleMidlaner (Talon): ㄹ]

It seemed both Talon and Yuri Lee, still in the Diamond tier, were stunned by the mid-lane dive they had just witnessed.

I get it; I’d feel the same way.

By now, the enemy team chat was likely filled with phrases like “Let’s not throw now” and “Mid, please play safer,” as if the entire incident had been solely Yuri Lee’s fault.

Although I didn’t secure the kill, the assist, combined with the hefty lane experience I collected, finally got me to level 3.

Judging by Lee Sin’s absence, he was probably level 5 by now.

Still, there was no need to be anxious.

As long as I was playing jungle Sylas, a champion notorious for its weak early-game farming, falling behind the enemy jungler in levels was inevitable.

After recalling, I headed straight for the top lane.

Considering the current lane state and Lee Sin’s likely path, it was clear that a dive opportunity was about to unfold.

Just as I reached the area between the second and first top towers, it happened.

Lee Sin and Renekton attempted a top-lane dive, as if they had been waiting for this moment.

“Exactly as expected.”

A level 6 Renekton and a level 5 Lee Sin.

Even though Sion was a tank, without proper defensive items, surviving their brutal dive attempts seemed impossible.

Of course, Sion didn’t go down without a fight.

Using his Q skill for crowd control, his W skill for a shield, and even his ultimate, he hung on as tenaciously as possible.

He managed to hold out for over four seconds, which, in this scenario, was significant.

Although Sion ultimately died, the situation turned out better than expected.

Sion’s passive allows him to briefly resurrect after death—often referred to as the “annoyance passive.”

Ordinarily, this passive would just be a minor nuisance, but as Sion fell, I arrived at the scene, turning it into something entirely different.