[TS] Obsessed Gamer: The Ultimate Return – Chapter 389

The Korean team is in the blue.

The Chinese team is in the red.

Thus, the Korean team gets to pick first.

[“What should we ban first?”]

[“Let’s go with the plan.”]

[“Alright, I’ll ban Annie first.”]

The Chinese team’s representative mid laner, Nightmare, is good with physical champions, but he’s way better with champions like Annie or Galion that have simple skill sets and can paint a big picture.

That’s why they cut Annie, who’s capable of creating countless variables in the current meta.

[Kha’Zix]

Next, the opponent’s first ban was revealed.

[“As expected, here it comes.”]

[“I’d probably ban Jungle too.”]

It seemed they thought there was no reason not to ban Kha’Zix since he’s such a great pick and highly tiered.

[“I think it’s better to cut from the bottom. What do you think?”]

“How about banning Yuumi?”

[“Ah, that sounds good.”]

Even though a massive nerf for Yuumi was announced for the next patch, right now, Yuumi is basically the definition of an OP champion in this All-Star event.

Especially considering MobyDick’s carry potential, cutting Yuumi was definitely a smart move.

[Yuumi]

And then, another ban from the opponents.

[Viego]

At this point, I could see the opponent’s intentions.

No, there was no way I couldn’t see them.

[“Hmm, they’re cutting Viego too. Looks like they’re a bit scared of Outlaw.”]

[“True.”]

[“Wow, that’s impressive. By the way, they haven’t banned a single support? Huh… I should teach them a lesson.”]

[“Sang-hyun, come on.”]

[“Oh, right. We’re in the middle of recording. Sorry!”]

…The more I watched, the more I thought that GuineaPig Yoo Sang-hyun would get along well with Jaem-min.

Oh, they are actually pretty close in real life.

‘That aside….’

The biggest thought I had seeing their bans was one thing.

‘Seriously?’

Even though OLZ and I crushed the 2nd league undefeated and successfully promoted to the 1st league, that was merely a local story from the domestic 2nd league.

From the Chinese team’s perspective, there was no need to worry about players just barely coming up from another country’s 2nd league.

Especially since this was a gathering of world-class players, and my skills had yet to be validated.

‘Is this something coming from the GRS players?’

I knew that GRS acknowledged me quite a bit.

So, if GRS players or coaching staff had indeed influenced the ban/pick, then this result would be understandable.

[“What should we ban last?”]

[“Let’s go for the bottom.”]

[“The AD carry?”]

[“I think it’d be wise to ban someone like Jinx. Giving her to MobyDick would be a headache.”]

[“Alright.”]

Our last ban ended up being Jinx.

[Jinx]

The opponents also went for their last ban.

[Wukong]

From the moment they went for two jungle bans, it felt predictable.

They even went for an outright three jungle bans, clearly targeting the jungle.

Once the first three bans were done, our team’s reactions varied.

[“Wow… they’re really going for three jungle bans.”]

[“I know right.”]

[“That opens up so many picks. Do we have anything available to take?”]

The opponent’s intention was blatant.

All the champions they banned were high-value junglers.

Of course, this wasn’t a bad thing for me.

This merely meant that I had gained enough recognition from them.

Actually, to be honest, I felt a little good about it.

[“What should we pick first?”]

At Honor’s suggestion, Rainbow spoke.

[“Since they banned a lot of junglers, we have many picks available… cutting junglers wouldn’t be bad either.”]

“I don’t mind. I think it’s better to grab something we can use first.”

[“Wow… looks like you’re confident in your champion pool.”]

GuineaPig said.

[“Then, since we can split AD carries with Aphelios and Zeri, how about we take K’Sante or Ruler?”]

[“Ruler seems good. Given the importance of the bottom lane.”]

[“Are you okay with that, Honor?”]

[“Yes. I don’t mind.”]

Our first pick was set.

The AD carry champions, Aphelios and Zeri, were both available for splitting, so we decided to take Ruler first.

[Ruler]

It became the opponent’s turn to pick.

[Lucian]

[Nami]

The Chinese team swiftly picked Lucian and completed their bottom duo combo.

Even though the tier for the Lucian-Nami combo isn’t that high right now, their choice was like a declaration to run the game tightly right from the start.

[“Hmm… so this is how they’re playing it. Should we take K’Sante now?”]

[“Yes. I’m fine with that.”]

“Then I’ll grab K’Sante.”

[K’Sante]

K’Sante is a pick that can be used both top and mid, and it’s a ridiculously high-tier pick, so there was no reason not to take him.

[“I think it’d be good to take the last one as either AD carry or jungle…”]

“I think it’s better to take the AD carry. If the AD carries die down there, we might not be able to respond.”

[“Are you really okay, Outlaw? If so, I think the jungle might have a tougher time.”]

“I’m fine. I know a lot of things.”

[“Okay… then let’s do it that way. Let’s grab an AD carry.”]

As we decided what to pick, Rainbow suggested.

[“BlackDog, what are you going to take? You could take either Aphelios or Zeri.”]

[“I think Zeri would be good.”]

[“Then I’ll take Zeri.”]

[“Yes.”]

[Zeri]

And so, our Zeri-Ruler bottom duo was completed.

[Vayne]

The opponent seemed to ponder several champions for a moment before they finally settled on Vayne.

────────────

Blue (our team) / Red (opponents)

1st pick: Ruler / Lucian

2nd pick: K’Sante / Nami

3rd pick: Zeri / Vayne

────────────

Here’s how the ban/pick situation looks.

[Kindred]

The opponent’s fourth ban was Kindred.

I already sensed this, but they weren’t just banning jungle picks.

They were banning high-value picks among the jungle champions, probably wanting to block my carry potential.

However, the longer the ban/pick continued, the more I felt there was another intention behind this.

It was as if…

[“Do they think they can just win if they shut down the jungle?”]

[“Yeah.”]

[“Hmm… this feels a bit off.”]

That’s right.

The Chinese team felt like they were completely disregarding our team because they were too focused on controlling me.

It was evident in the way they casually let a pick like K’Sante slip by, and the relentless jungle bans in the subsequent four bans.

[“Should we not ban anything?”]

GuineaPig suggested.

[“Go for it. Sang-hyun.”]

[“Got it.”]

Of course, that attempt was immediately suppressed by Rainbow.

I also wanted to show my revenge on the Chinese team’s strategy emotionally, but that could come in the game itself.

With that arrogant ban/pick, they couldn’t stop not just me but our entire team.

[ Gwen]

So, our fourth ban was set to Gwen.

It was a ban aimed at securing a flawless victory without a hint of hesitation.

[Graves]

The opponent’s fifth ban, arguably a foregone conclusion.

Jungle ban five.

Rather than awkwardly doing four bans, their strategy was to completely suffocate the picks.

With that, it would be no exaggeration to say there were practically no high-value champions left who could carry individually in the current meta.

Of course, there are champions that can carry alone, but those champions were of a slightly lower tier in this meta.

[“Hmm… as expected. So, what should we ban? I guess it’s better to ban top lane picks.”]

[“Yeah, we might want to focus on top lane more. What do you think we should cut, Honor?”]

[“Malphite.”]

“Then let’s ban Malphite.”

Our last ban was decided.

[Malphite]

Considering the teamfight value that Malphite brings, giving him alongside Vayne would be a bit troublesome.

Finally, after all the bans were wrapped up, it was the opponent’s fourth pick turn.

[Arin]

The opponent completed the Arin-Vayne combo, picking mid first.

It was a logical choice.

Typically, the blue side takes advantage of the first pick, while the red side benefits from the last pick.

In that sense, giving the fifth pick to the top lane when they’re red is quite a sound choice.

Above all, since it was still undecided whether K’Sante would go mid or top, it made even more sense.

Now it was our turn for picks 4 and 5.

We could move K’Sante to mid, but with Arin already picked, we didn’t need to force it.

[“Facing Arin, I feel like I could just go for LeBlanc or Riven… what do you think, Jinhyuk?”]

[“I think we should match the jungle pick with one of those. Outlaw, what will you choose?”]

“I am….”

As I said the champion’s name, my teammates’ voices were filled with reluctance.

[“Uh… are you sure?”]

[“Of course, it’s a good champion in solo queue but…”]

[“…Sister?”]

I confidently responded.

“Don’t worry. This is right.”

It’s time to show the Chinese team just how meaningless their five jungle bans were.