Chapter 60: “The Line”

Chat Selection vs. Pick Selection.

In normal games, the debate of whether chatting or champion selection should come first has a long and storied history.

If we trace back through the history of League of Legends, ranked games initially didn’t have a position selection system.

The pick order was determined by MMR (Matchmaking Rating), and naturally, priority for roles was assigned from the first pick to the fifth pick.

It was essentially a class-based system based on MMR.

Of course, in higher tiers, there was some unspoken respect for each player’s main position, but in most matches, there was no such courtesy. The fifth pick was always forced to play support.

This practice trickled down to normal games, making pick selection the mainstream approach for a time.

However, as with any system, the issues with pick selection began to surface over time.

• “Hey, I’m the first pick for mid.”
• “I already picked first.”
• “What?? Master Yi is mid??”

Situations like someone picking a clear mid-lane mage and claiming they were playing jungle, or the opposite, became increasingly common.

Because of the inherent flaws of pick selection, the system gradually shifted to a chat-based selection system in ranked games, where players could declare their roles beforehand.

Of course, there are still players who stubbornly stick to pick selection, but the mainstream has undeniably shifted.

Despite this lengthy explanation, the current situation didn’t even warrant such a debate.

[Horororororo: Isn’t that person first?]

[Smurf4Fun: Shut up and just take the bus, you low-rank scrubs.]

Whether chat selection or pick selection was the correct approach didn’t matter here—our opponent was just a lunatic.

[Horororororo: Sigh.]

[Horororororo: Second pick, can you just take top?]

[Horororororo: Please understand.]

Not wanting to waste time arguing in chat, I decided to comply.

[PlaysWell4148: Sure.]

There were a few reasons for my easy compliance, the biggest being a simple one.

‘…I don’t even have Smite.’

It was an embarrassing reality for someone confidently claiming the jungle role.

‘Wait, people still do this?’

Years ago, when League of Legends had a steep learning curve, a major patch was introduced to make the game more accessible. The old, complicated rune system, which required purchasing dozens of runes, was removed entirely, and runes could now be set during champion select.

I had always assumed that this change also eliminated the level restriction on summoner spells.

But apparently, the level restrictions on spells were still in place.

Since I had never leveled a secondary account, I hadn’t considered this limitation.

‘This is a problem.’

Now I understood firsthand why players often leveled secondary accounts through bot matches.

For a Level 1 account, Summoner’s Rift was an exceptionally unforgiving place.

‘A jungler without Smite…’

At the same time, it brought back memories of the past.

‘Come to think of it… I used to jungle with Ignite instead of Smite back in the day.’

It was a ridiculous notion now, but back then, Ignite could be used on jungle monsters, and there was a talent that granted bonus attack and ability power during Ignite’s cooldown.

Of course, that was a story from my early days as a beginner, and by the time I started playing ranked games, I’d long abandoned such practices.

Lost in nostalgia, I checked the available summoner spells.

‘Hmm, there really aren’t many options.’

The only usable spells were Ghost and Heal.

Even being allowed to use Flash would have been nice, but that wasn’t an option either.

‘My position is top, and I only have two spells to choose from…?’

Naturally, two champions came to mind.

‘Olaf and Hecarim.’

Both were champions that performed better with Ghost rather than Flash.

Moreover, as champions commonly played in the jungle, I was confident in my proficiency with them.

‘Olaf is a good choice, but… let’s go with this one for now.’

[Hecarim]

Hecarim had recently been considered an overpowered champion but had become more balanced after receiving timely nerfs.

Even so, he was still viable and one of my go-to champions in ranked games.

[Please select a skin!]

[3]

[2]

[1]

The game began.

[Allied / Enemy Teams]

Top: Hecarim / Teemo
Jungle: Lee Sin / Master Yi
Mid: Zed / Malphite
ADC: Ezreal / Vayne
Support: Nami / Blitzcrank

‘Hmm.’

What could I say? These were some nostalgic picks.

‘It’s been a while.’

While champions like Vayne and Blitzcrank occasionally appeared even in higher ranks, Teemo and Master Yi were niche picks played by only a handful of dedicated enthusiasts.

…Of course, there are more colorful ways to describe them, but using those terms might feel a bit inappropriate.

As the loading screen ended, the game officially began.

Silence.

Even though the game had started, there wasn’t even a single ping, as if early-game invade defense wasn’t a consideration.

At least no one was AFK, which was something to be grateful for.

‘Well, it’s not my problem.’

Early-game invades primarily affect the jungler, who has to defend their camps.

And right now, I was the top laner.

That said, instead of heading straight to my lane, I decided to protect our blue buff—a small act of goodwill for the team.

‘You better appreciate this.’

We were on the blue side, meaning the bottom-left side of the map.

While I hid alone in the upper river bush, the enemy team, led by Blitzcrank, emerged from the mid-lane bush.

This was possible because our mid-lane vision hadn’t been established yet.

‘Hmm.’

In an instant, the enemy Blitzcrank dashed forward and placed a ward in the bush, revealing my position.

-Flash!

Without hesitation, the Blitzcrank used Flash to land a grab.

My summoner spells were Ghost and Heal.

From a logical standpoint, it was impossible to dodge a Blitzcrank grab enhanced by Flash.

However—

-Whoosh.

‘Huh?’

Blitzcrank’s grab sliced through empty air.

It wasn’t because my movement was exceptional.

The enemy Blitzcrank had simply miscalculated and thrown an absurdly off-target prediction shot.

Honestly, I was a little taken aback, but thanks to their mistake, I escaped smoothly without using any spells.

When it was time for the minions to reach the lane, I slowly moved toward the top lane with them.

Since it was a melee vs. ranged matchup, I felt it was risky to overextend early on.

‘Hmm. I don’t see him.’

Teemo wasn’t visible.

Based on the usual patterns I’d seen from Teemo players, he was likely using his passive to hide somewhere.

‘Hide well.’

Let’s see if I can find you.

I stepped into the bush and used my Q toward a spot where I suspected Teemo might be hiding.

At that moment—

-Swoosh!

As if he hadn’t anticipated I’d use Q in the bush, Teemo was revealed from his passive camouflage.

It was a puzzling decision on his part.

‘Uh… are you sure about this, buddy?’

My summoner spells were Ghost and Heal.

Teemo had Flash and Ignite.

At first glance, Teemo’s spells seemed to give him a clear advantage, but the problem was that I was playing Hecarim.

Hecarim’s passive grants bonus attack damage based on movement speed.

Both Ghost and Heal increase movement speed.

Moreover, in a melee vs. ranged matchup, the melee champion typically has the upper hand once they close the gap.

‘Guess that kind of logic doesn’t apply at this level.’

To avoid the healing reduction effect of Ignite, I boldly used Heal first.

In lower tiers, players tend to save Ignite for the last moment, focusing on securing the kill rather than countering healing.

And then it was simple.

If Teemo had just stayed hidden, it might have been fine, but revealing himself sealed his fate.

-First Blood!

Afterward, Teemo, who didn’t have Teleport, rushed back to the lane. But by then, there was already a level difference.

[Teemo – Level 1]

[Hecarim – Level 2]

‘Trying to push the wave? Not happening.’

As Teemo timidly approached to farm CS, I immediately charged at him.

‘Blinding Dart… wait for it to wear off… Q, Q—perfect, now!’

As soon as the blind effect ended, Hecarim’s vicious hoof stomped down on Teemo’s small head.

-You have slain an enemy!

Just like that, it was 2 kills.

Effectively, the top lane matchup was already over.

‘Will he quit?’

The wave was frozen, and Teemo’s wave-clear ability wasn’t great compared to other top lane champions.

Unless someone from another lane intervened, there was no way for him to escape this nightmare.

‘I feel kind of bad.’

In a game with few new players, Teemo seemed to be one of the rare, pure beginners.

While I was crushing the top lane—

The junglers, Lee Sin and Master Yi, met near the top-side Rift Scuttler, as if by some unspoken agreement.

[Lee Sin – Level 3]

[Master Yi – Level 3]

Then, as if rehearsed, a fight broke out.

One common misconception people have is that Master Yi is a late-game scaling champion and is weak early on.

While this is generally true, it overlooks one critical fact: Master Yi is by no means weak in the early game.

‘His escape and chase abilities might not be great, but in a straight 1v1 fight, he’s one of the strongest.’

Of course, even at Level 3, Lee Sin usually wins against Master Yi, but that depends on the situation.

For example, if Lee Sin foolishly throws his Q first, like now.

‘He’s lost this.’

Master Yi dodged Lee Sin’s Q with his own Q and timed his Meditate perfectly to absorb damage and cancel an auto attack during Lee Sin’s E.

It wasn’t just that Lee Sin underperformed—Master Yi executed his moves skillfully.

‘This guy’s at least Diamond level.’

Using Q to avoid the incoming Sonic Wave and then timing Meditate to block Lee Sin’s E while canceling auto attacks isn’t something you’d see in a mediocre tier.

‘Well, it could just be luck.’

[0][0]

[Smurf4Fun (Lee Sin) pings MasterYiGod4787 (Master Yi)]

[Smurf4Fun (Lee Sin) pings MasterYiGod4787 (Master Yi)]

Having missed all his abilities, Lee Sin, who had been brimming with confidence moments earlier, now began frantically spamming pings, sensing danger.

‘Hmm.’

I hesitated.

If I went to help, I could save Lee Sin, but it would mean abandoning an entire wave and breaking the frozen lane that I’d worked so hard to create in top lane.

If this were one of my usual games, there wouldn’t even be a need to think about it.

No matter how important the lane was, it couldn’t compare to getting kills and securing fight dominance.

But here’s the thing.

‘I’m not sure Lee Sin is worth it.’

It wasn’t because of personal feelings stemming from what happened during the pick phase.

I swear.

While I was deliberating, Lee Sin, who had been losing the fight, burned Flash in desperation but still couldn’t escape Master Yi.

-An ally has been slain!

As soon as Lee Sin was solo-killed by Master Yi, he started spamming chat.

[Smurf4Fun (Lee Sin) to Hecarim]

[Smurf4Fun (Lee Sin) to Hecarim]

[Smurf4Fun (Lee Sin): Hey]

[Smurf4Fun (Lee Sin): Why didn’t you come?]

[Smurf4Fun (Lee Sin): We could’ve killed him if you came.]

[Smurf4Fun (Lee Sin): Seriously, WTF.]

‘So, this is what they mean.’

Is it that people who go top become isolated in their thinking?

Or is it that those with such tendencies naturally gravitate toward top lane?

This is one of the longest-standing mysteries in League of Legends.

Somehow, at this moment, I felt like I understood the answer.

Instead of responding in chat, I sent a cute penguin emote as my reply.

Lord, please forgive me for becoming a beast today.