Chapter 65: Reunion

Where is the strongest team in the world?

When you ask people about the best laner in the world, it usually sparks countless debates, but the best team in the world is a different matter.

There’s no need for any debate because the answer is clear, especially since it has been proven on the stage of the Red Cup.

The team that wins the Red Cup is the strongest team of the year.

So, who is the team that won the Red Cup this year?

I already knew the answer all too well.

It wasn’t hard to figure out since they were right in front of me now.

(C1) SY TheOne – Yasuo
(C1) SY YunGi – Ezreal
(C1) SY Rainbow – Sylas
(C1) SY Longbow – Yone
(C1) SY GuineaPig – Jarvan III

SY.

An undeniably world-class team.

Hmm…?

Of course, it wasn’t the first time I’d encountered the SY players.

TheOne, YunGi, Rainbow, Longbow, and GuineaPig.

I had faced them countless times in solo queue as a Prisoner.

But is this the first time I’ve met all five SY players at once?

Not exactly.

Most professional players, after their team schedules, still queue for solo queue.

Since they usually play around the same time, it’s not unusual for them to meet each other.

Considering their position as top-tier solo queue players, it was only natural that I would often face them.

Though I’m not one to boast, I’ve always been among the top-tier solo queue players myself.

So, encountering all five SY players at once wasn’t a first for me.

But, seeing all of them together, not as enemies or allies, but as the full SY team?

That was a first.

But meeting them in a normal game?

Not even just any normal game, but a low-level match with players who haven’t even reached level 30.

This was something that just didn’t make sense.

“Is this a bug?”

No matter how many winning streaks I’ve had or how high my win rate was, this felt wrong.

At least they’re not in their usual roles…

At least from their champion picks and spells, it didn’t look like they were all playing their usual positions.

Hmm…

After all, this was just a normal game.

Usually, in a five-player normal game, the goal is to have fun with friends or play casually, so even pro players don’t take it too seriously.

Especially when it’s the world’s best team, SY.

Still, I had to check.

I immediately searched for their records to see what roles they were taking.

‘They might be playing different roles… but information is always useful.’

Even though it was a normal game, I felt my heart racing a little when I saw them.

SY, the full team, facing me in this game.

Even though they seemed to be playing casually, I couldn’t help but feel the rush.

“If I can, I’d love to keep my 100% win rate.”

Honestly, when I first made this smurf account, I didn’t expect to have such an extreme win rate.

But now that it had happened, maintaining that win rate seemed like a good goal.

Hmm, GuineaPig is definitely going jungle with Smite.

YunGi and Rainbow are probably bot duo, and TheOne and Longbow seem to be going top and mid, respectively.

Yasuo and Yone.

Normally, TheOne, as a top laner, would likely play Yasuo in the top lane, but given how the positions were shuffled, I couldn’t be sure.

Wait.

TheOne was mid last game, so it seems my opponent is likely TheOne’s Yasuo.

Not great.

Yasuo vs. Ryze is a matchup that statistically has a significant counter relationship.

Yasuo is strong in lane, and his skill kit counters Ryze very well.

Well, Yone is also tough for Ryze.

Both Yasuo and Yone are difficult champions for Ryze to face.

Though Yone might be slightly easier than Yasuo, it’s still a bad matchup.

No need to ask for a lane swap with the Chinese pro player.

Since Jarvan is a ganking jungler, playing Ryze in the top lane wouldn’t be a good choice.

The current Ryze isn’t the tanky, cheesy version from long ago; he’s more fragile now.

A fragile mage like Ryze isn’t fit to face off in the top lane.

To win against Yone with Ryze, I would have to push the lane, but pushing would expose me to ganks and possibly result in a solo kill.

If I’m going anywhere, mid is definitely the safer choice.

– Welcome to Summoner’s Rift.

As I pondered over champion matchups, my eyes darted around, and the game officially started.

The theory of relativity was correct.

Time seemed to move faster for me.

As expected, there were no unusual pings typical of a normal game.

It was just a little bit of commotion.

[All] [山山 (Lee Sin): ???]
[All] [Il (Lee Sin): Why are you here…?]
[All] [눈나헤으으응응 (Jhinx): ????? For real?]
[All] [눈나헤으으응응 (Jhinx): What? They have a Grandmaster on their team and the enemy team… LOL, what’s going on?]
[All] [눈나헤으으응응 (Jhinx): Wow… I’m really a fan. This is an honor. Rainbow! Rainbow! Rainbow!]
[All] [냐미장인 오다혜 (Nami): Whoa;;]
[All] [냐미장인 오다혜 (Nami): Nice to meet you.]

Regardless, I didn’t mind and continued to review the invasion comp as usual.

[Allied Team / Enemy Team]
Top: Kamal / Yone (?)
Jungle: Lee Sin / Jarvan III
Mid: Ryze / Yasuo (?)
ADC: Jhinx / Ezreal
Support: Nami / Sylas

Hmm.

Looking purely at the invasion composition, there wasn’t much advantage, but there was also no real risk of losing.

However, I thought it was better not to create any unnecessary opportunities for fights.

‘Aside from top and mid, the tier differences are clear.’

Starting a 5v5 battle could only bring about a bloody mess, and a very one-sided bloody mess at that.

‘At least there’s Nightmare on our team…’

Having someone to rely on was a blessing in itself.

Then, first things first.

As I moved toward mid to light up the vision, just as expected, Rainbow’s Sylas met me.

Rainbow.

I never imagined I’d meet them like this again…

It was truly an unexpected meeting.

Rainbow didn’t seem to recognize me, but greeted me in the same playful way they always did.

Even after some time, Sylas had no intention of leaving mid.

As if they were the mid laner themselves.

‘I know you’re not mid, buddy.’

After all, Sylas’ item build was clearly that of a support.

Though, in normal games, it wasn’t unheard of for a support item user to go mid with an ADC, but I didn’t think that was the case here.

‘Anyway, looks like they’re doing well.’

Seeing Rainbow again brought up some mixed feelings.

When I had to say goodbye to Rainbow as Prisoner, I regretted my choice for quite a while, though I wasn’t sure why I did it.

To this day, I still don’t know the reason.

It felt like I had placed an unnecessary burden on Rainbow by saying that.

‘But I think I’ve shaken it off now.’

As a Prisoner, letting go felt strangely sad, but considering we didn’t even know each other personally, I couldn’t really complain.

Standing face-to-face with Rainbow in mid, I couldn’t help but recall some awkward moments from the past.

“Hey.”

“…Me?”

“Yeah, you.”

“Drink this.”

“Huh?”

“You look like you’re dehydrated.”

‘…Let’s forget about it.’

The memories after that conversation just make me feel embarrassed.

“Is a bottle of water really 1,000 won now?”

“Eh?”

“I saw it cost 1,000.”

“Ah…”

“I bought gum with it.”

“Really?”

Why did I come up with such a dumb excuse?

I still get cringed thinking about that day.

The weird smile my mom gave me still haunts me.

Ugh, I don’t even want to think about it.

…Breathe in, breathe out. Inner peace.

– 30 seconds until minion spawn.

As time passed while standing in mid with Rainbow, Sylas naturally moved down to bot lane.

As I had predicted, it was a support Sylas.

Soon after, a champion I definitely didn’t want to see appeared on mid lane.

Yasuo.

And it was TheOne’s Yasuo.

TheOne.

SY’s top laner, known for the nickname “The Ultimate Shield.”

As expected, TheOne was an exceptional player who excelled at the sturdy and solid playstyle typical of top laners.

In fact, one of the reasons GRS quickly crumbled in the second match of the Red Cup was because of a reckless top dive leading to a reverse snowball.

‘Let’s see how the distance control goes.’

Most Yasuo players take Q at level 1, meaning they don’t have an engagement tool.

Thus, despite being at a disadvantage, a ranged champion like Ryze could at least leverage that advantage at level 1.

Basic attack, W, basic attack, basic attack.

Even though it was a one-sided trade, it wasn’t a huge gain.

I ended up getting hit a lot by minions as I tried to chase and attack Yasuo.

Still, there was some progress.

TheOne, who had been aggressive and pushing the lane from the start, had become noticeably more passive.

‘Seems like they’re rattled.’

TheOne had been caught off guard in the early game because this was just a normal game.

They likely didn’t expect me to play so seriously.

‘But now they know.’

They probably realized their shield might just break.

Now, it’s time to break SY’s shield.