Chapter 23: VLL final (5)

The Nexus of the blue team was destroyed, and the stadium erupted.

No matter how good Para was, the fact remained that it was an amateur vs. a former pro who, although retired, still showed good form.

That’s why the majority of people here expected a significant skill difference in all lanes, including mid.

However, contrary to everyone’s expectations, the winner of the first set was Team ‘Talent’, with a mid carry, to boot.

But among those who watched the game, there were those who believed in Team ‘Talent”s good fight, in Para’s victory.

‘Nice!’

Choi Eun-seo, who was also one of them, cheered with her fist in the air.

“Miss, did the team you were cheering for just win?”

“The game isn’t over, but they won a set. It’s like scoring a goal in soccer, and my friend scored it!”

“That’s amazing.”

“Yeah, she’s really amazing.”

Choi Eun-seo was a big fan of LOL, watching all the LCK and other leagues, but this was her first time watching a game live.

It was a golden holiday that she barely managed to get by begging her parents, who usually didn’t allow her to go out for personal reasons.

“By the way, miss, how long is this going to last?”

“If it ends early, around 9 or 10, if it ends late, around 1?”

“What?”

“Finals are usually best-of-five, so it ends late.”

“B-but… you told the chairman that you would be home by 8.”

“I know. I can be a little late for one day.”

Choi Eun-seo’s bodyguard, Kim Min-seo, couldn’t hide her embarrassment at her response.

She was certainly Choi Eun-seo’s bodyguard, but technically, her employers were Choi Eun-seo’s parents.

Choi Eun-seo spoke confidently to the bewildered Kim Min-seo.

“My brother said it’s okay for me to go out a little now, so don’t worry too much.”

“If the director said so, I’m relieved, but…”

“Stop worrying and go buy some more popcorn.”

“Okay. What flavor…?”

“Caramel, of course!”

Choi Eun-seo, finally getting rid of the annoying bodyguard, took a deep breath.

Due to her innate illness and weak constitution, her body was feeling quite burdened by this rare outing.

‘But I was invited, after all.’

Originally, she was planning to watch this final at home.

But she couldn’t refuse someone’s first-ever favor without any expectation of reward.

“Excuse me…”

Someone tapped Choi Eun-seo on the shoulder as she was catching her breath, wiping away a cold sweat.

When she turned around, she saw a familiar face.

“Yoon… Seo-ha?”

It was a face she knew, but didn’t know.

The moment she thought that maybe a future Yoon Seo-ha had come through a time machine.

“Are you feeling unwell, student? But do you know Seo-ha?”

Choi Eun-seo was able to deduce the woman’s identity from that short sentence.

“…Seo-ha’s mother?”

“That’s right… are you perhaps Seo-ha’s friend…?”

“Ah… yes! That’s right. I’m Seo-ha’s school friend.”

Choi Eun-seo quickly regained her usual energy and smiled.

“Oh my, I didn’t expect to meet Seo-ha’s friend here. Are you feeling okay?”

“Ah, yes, yes! I just got a little carried away cheering a while ago!”

‘Oh no…’

Having been the center of attention since she was young, meeting a friend’s parents was not a pleasant experience for Choi Eun-seo.

Most parents wanted their children to somehow get involved with Choi Eun-seo, and for her, those were traumatic experiences.

She was a little wary, thinking that something similar might happen.

“Could you tell me how Seo-ha is doing at school?”

But Yoon Seo-ha’s parents didn’t seem to have any particular interest in her, only in their daughter’s school life.

“…At school, Seo-ha is.”

That look was enough to melt Choi Eun-seo’s guard.

****

“Ah~ As expected, they’re strong even after retirement! As the team name suggests, they’re showing us what it means to be truly good at the game!”

“It’s not easy for Team ‘Talent’. Even if LOL is a mid-diff game, it doesn’t mean that each individual isn’t important.”

“After winning the first set so spectacularly, losing the second set and being pushed back in the third set must be disappointing.”

[The top lane is really a liability]

[Zenith’s Jason is a god… Zenith’s Jason is a god… Zenith’s Jason is a god…]

[How many times did Jason’s EQ take away half of Para’s health and just destroy the teamfight?]

[How can you even counter that when everyone else has 3 items and Jason has full build and is spamming EQ?]

[Top gave up all the turret plates, went to the bot lane and got a triple kill, and took Baron. Zenith just sharpened his sword]

[Yeah, yeah, you’re an MSI Finals MVP top laner, you can just beat a Grandmaster who hasn’t even debuted yet]

“Para, who showed a great performance in the first set and did quite well in the second set. But in this third set, she seems to be getting swept away by the team.”

“On the other hand, Zenith picked his main champion and just crushed the top lane.”

[What’s the point of feeding the jungler by dribbling 2v1 in mid when the rest of the team is getting destroyed LOL]

[If you avoid carry champions, you lose]

[But is Pressure really a Worlds winner?]

[He won during the water-rocket era, so what do you expect LOL]

[It’s just shocking how the jungle has been completely outplayed in all three games]

“They gave up the fourth dragon, and the game has been dragged out to 40 minutes. Now is really the time to go out.”

“Jason’s poke is painful, but look at Malphite. His armor is 670, 670. He just needs to take it and push forward.”

“It was difficult in the laning phase, but what is Malphite? You just need to make up for it! If he lands his ultimate well just once, it could be a game-changer.”

[But it would be strong to attach Ornn’s ult to Malphite’s ult]

[Are you saying flash is just for show?]

[Ornn’s ult will still hit even if you use flash]

[It’s a viable teamfight comp, Ornn is also well-fed]

“As expected, Team ‘Talent’ starts hitting the Elder Dragon first. The top inhibitor is down, so the lane is pushing in, they’re in a hurry!”

“They need to make a decision quickly! Either fight, or take it and defend the base!”

[The base is on fire, are they not going to defend it?]

[If they give it up and go back, they’ll take Elder and Baron, so they can’t defend]

[The fact is, the game was already over 20 minutes ago LOL]

[Yeah]

“Ah~ They managed to take down the ADC, but Jason is too strong.”

“And with that ace, ‘We’re Good at LOL Even When We’re Retired’! If they push forward like this, it seems like the winner of the third set will be decided.”

“Team ‘Talent,’ they’ve been looking too nervous since the second set. They need to calm down. Even if the opponent is strong, they made it to the finals, so they’re still opponents.”

“And with that, the Nexus is destroyed. GG~”

[Look at the Para fans getting quiet LOL]

[Yeah, we won mid]

[So did you win the game?]

[I think the fourth set will be an even bigger mid diff loss]

[What’s the point of a woman going pro LOL She can’t even beat ex-pros]

[It’s funny that she’s not picking Yone and Akali, which she always used to pick in the finals]

****

The waiting room was filled with silence after the end of the third set.

When the first set ended, there were jokes about making it 3-0 and going to a team dinner.

Losing two sets in a row seemed to have a big impact on the team members.

‘I don’t really mind since we won a set.’

In my past life, I had experienced reverse sweeps, going from down 0-2 to winning 3-2, several times.

In fact, we only needed to win two sets now, so it was an easier situation.

I decided to speak up to boost the atmosphere.

“Let’s just win one set.”

At my words, the team members, who had all been hanging their heads, looked at me.

“If we make it to the fifth set, I’ll definitely carry. So let’s just do well together in the fourth set.”

“Of course, Seo-ha, you’re good… but the opponent’s top and bot are just too strong.”

Sheen spoke in a voice that lacked confidence.

It was understandable since he had been pushed around by the opponent’s top laner since the preliminaries and was completely crushed in the finals.

Even so, Sheen had to carry in the fourth set.

“So, if Sheen is unbanned, can you win against the opponent’s top?”

“Probably…”

“That kind of attitude won’t do. Can you win no matter what pick the opponent chooses?”

Pressure and the bot duo spoke up from the side.

“Who is the best Sheen player in the world? That kind of attitude is a bit disappointing.”

“Who was the one who always said that he’s pro-level when he plays Sheen?”

“Seo-ha has carried several games, you should say you’ll do it at least once like a man.”

Hearing those words, Sheen clenched his fist as if he had made up his mind.

“If Sheen is unbanned, I’ll show you. But the opponent keeps banning him, so there’s no way…”

“I guarantee he’ll be unbanned this set.”

Based on the opponent’s tendencies and draft, they would probably try the best draft to win without being careless.

‘But that’s the poison.’

The opponent would probably try to use 3 bans on mid to ban all the champions I could carry with.

Sheen had shown a disastrously low point in the previous three sets, so they would probably unban Sheen for one game.

[A prime example of excellent judgment.]

As expected, Sheen was unbanned, and since we were on the blue side, we picked Sheen as the first pick.

“Did I not tell you?”

“…I’ll carry this game as an apology.”

There was a saying that Sheen players who picked Sheen were close to pro level.

I really liked this saying.