“Hello! Greetings from the 3rd set analysis desk.”
“Amidst the truly fierce competition, ARK emerged victorious with a 2-1 win.”
[Really, I almost lost my mind watching]
[Honestly, wasn’t this like an early peek at the Finals?]
[Seriously, is this level for real?]
“The last match was so intense that even the ARK players’ final voices conveyed a huge sigh of relief.”
“Early on, ARK had several strong moments in upper lane fights, but YK’s carry machine, the bottom laner, dealt incredible damage, carrying the game to the end.”
[Lu Nyami is seriously a godlike combo]
[Honestly, when a Mid champ uses their ultimate and K’Sante drops to half health, it’s ridiculous]
[But still, he pulled through, right?]
“Should we talk about the ban/pick process?”
“First off, YK executed their strong, conventional bans, while ARK went for a swap pick focusing on K’Sante.”
“Personally, I believe Mid K’Sante played a big role. What are your thoughts?”
“K’Sante is a champion that really requires a lot of skill; it’s not an easy champ to practice, especially in the Mid position, which has to handle a lot of different champions compared to other lanes.”
[Mid should be for mages, not weird joker picks. AD practice is needed, for sure]
[Top doing ranged too?]
[Top is basically just banned or teleport]
[Anyone can do that with fingers alone]
[Our team’s Top Bane is always 0/3/0 though?]
“However, ARK’s Top Akali and Mid showed pretty solid skill levels on K’Sante.”
“Definitely, the Mid had an incredible carry performance. The Top caster player also did well.”
“As it was mentioned before that caster players were playing Akali in scrims or Solo Ranked. But I didn’t expect it in such an important match.”
[Apparently, Caster also does carry champs]
[If he can, he really does]
[Maybe he’s not a sole tank one-tool player after all]
“But the most crucial factor was Para’s K’Sante, I think.”
“Seriously, can this player who debuted a year ago actually be real?”
“He debuted last summer in CK, so he hasn’t even been playing for a full year yet.”
“A rookie doing carry champs, standing mage roles, and even tanks — what can’t this player do?”
[Para’s only flaw >> Stop being beautiful]
[Ban the face-obsessed trolls]
[Still, Para’s pretty much a fact, right?]
[There are none prettier than Para, yeah]
“The 3-1 dribble at the very end was incredible.”
“Even watching the replay gives me chills. Para blocked Lucian’s ultimate with a charged W, cleared the Q stacks, and executed a beautiful ultimate. And then K’Sante’s Showtime happened.”
[How long does he survive with just 10% health?]
[He honestly seems almost impossible to kill]
[Alright, if you’re annoyed, why don’t you use tank items too? Or play champions with fixed damage and max health percentage damage]
“Let’s take a look at the Player of the Game (POG) for today.”
“Not surprisingly, it’s Para’s K’Sante.”
[Big Para]
[Agreed]
[They should make some normal champs]
[Yellow Para]
[Big Seo Ha]
“Everyone’s got regrets from today’s game, I know.”
“Look here – pulling Tekkenchi in Bottom was good, but don’t you think more pressure was needed earlier in the laning phase?”
After finishing the POG interview and returning to the waiting room, I saw the coach and teammates still going over their feedback.
“But against their Lu-Nyami, pushing would have ended the game right there. Check this out.”
On the coach’s mention, the Bot duo grabbed the mouse and rewound the replay 30 seconds.
“Here, Seo Ha saw the enemy’s ward on the enemy Kalista and spotted their jungler coming. If you pushed more, you’d have definitely died on the next line.”
“Still, you should have thought about pulling back while pushing, given the Aphelios Tekkenchi pick.”
“Still…”
“As the opponent had Cleanse on Lucian and Barrier on Aphelios, pushing would ensure survival even if the enemy came.”
“But if we pulled back while using summoner spells, what about the next scenario? If Lucian’s ultimate hits, it’s a one-way ticket to death.”
“That’s true…”
Our feedback was like that.
The coach and players spoke their minds without reservations.
This atmosphere, however, worked because of the team’s respect for boundaries and because their coach, a former player who still climbed hundreds of Solo Ranked games to maintain Grand Master status, set a good example.
“You guys aren’t stopping here, right? To go further, we need to play the bigger picture.”
“That’s correct.”
“This isn’t something the top laner, who felt the wall against the opponent today, should complain about.”
“Carried the 3rd set though?”
“Still, everyone did great. Last move for Aphelios was solid, and Seo Ha’s K’Sante was good too.”
It was then that the coach called me, and the team’s eyes turned to me.
Were they so caught up in the victory that they didn’t notice me come in?
That’s a bit disappointing…
As if understanding my thoughts, Kim Dojin walked over and extended a fist.
“I never thought we’d have a chance to beat YK during my pro career. Thanks.”
“Nope. The team played well, and we won.”
I responded by extending my fist.
Then the other team members gathered around to talk about today’s game.
“Someone said they got a 50 CS lead on Owl in the laning phase? Is that true?”
“To be honest, the 3rd set wasn’t great, but the 2nd set combo was insane, right?”
“Admit it, the Tekkenchi pick was pure genius?”
‘Honestly, it wasn’t a perfect game, but…’
Still, the win itself was something.
Right now, it was time to revel in the joy of victory.
“Did everyone see my double kill earlier in Top?”
.
.
.
“Para, we really support you! Please make it all the way to the championship!”
“Thank you for the support. We’ll show good results, so keep cheering for us to the end.”
Today’s victory led to a fan meeting.
Excluding the female fans, only one fan, the last, remained.
‘When will I be able to stand throughout?’
There were chairs for the players during fan meetings, but most stood while signing autographs or taking pictures because it was more convenient for the fans.
But for me…
‘Perhaps I need to grow to about 165 cm for that…’
The desk used for fan meetings was far too high for me, still at around 155 cm at the age of 17, even though it was probably designed for players around 160 cm.
I aimlessly kicked my feet.
‘…Let’s just stay still.’
Since my feet didn’t touch the ground no matter how much I kicked, I stopped.
While pondering whether I could reach 165 cm in height, the final fan finished greeting Kim Dojin and approached me.
“Hi… uh?”
“Is this the point where you don’t even greet me because you’re so famous now?”
The face in front of me was Choi Eunseo, whom I hadn’t seen in a while.
I didn’t know she’d be coming today, as we hadn’t been in contact lately.
“You should have told me. I could’ve gotten you tickets.”
“One purpose was to surprise you!”
“Huh? Since you haven’t been contacting lately.”
“Ah, I’ve just been a little busy.”
Her energy was slightly lower than usual, and she didn’t look too well.
Worried, I asked if she was feeling unwell, but she said it was nothing serious.
“I want my autograph here!”
“Huh? Isn’t this…?”
“Auctioned-off uniform!”
“You mean this was bought at the auction? Wasn’t that expensive?”
“I couldn’t let someone else wear a fan-made uniform!”
Choi Eunseo insisted on getting the autograph while spouting strange things.
“But the uniform already has signatures everywhere.”
“Not there, but below the markings inside!”
“Inside the uniform?”
“Yes, that’d be cooler!”
I don’t fully understand the sentiment, but I honored her request.
“I’m kinda busy, so I won’t be able to attend the playoffs. But I miss you.”
“High schoolers are busy, aren’t they?”
“I’m not like someone who dropped out; I’m a real high school girl.”
While making silly jokes, the time to wrap up our meeting was slowly approaching.
Choi Eunseo seemed to sense it too, showing a somewhat apologetic expression.
“Uh, have I taken up too much time?”
“Not really.”
“Still, I’ll come to the finals, so please make it there.”
“Make sure to book your ticket in advance.”
LCK Finals tickets famously go on sale before the final brackets are even set.
Honestly, I’m not sure why they do it that way, but it’s a long-standing LCK tradition.
Perhaps it’s about expecting teams with sufficient fan bases to at least make it, allowing for cancellation fees if they don’t.
“Don’t worry about that.”
“Why?”
“I’ve got a separate place to get the ticket.”
“Is that so?”
I didn’t know about an event giving out Finals tickets before the playoffs even start.
Guess we’ll see.
LOL Gallery
Title: ARK Secures 1st Place in Regular Season
(As of Week 9 in the LCK Spring Season Results)
Ultimately, with their final match against RG, they secured first place.
ARK automatically advances to Round 2 of the Playoffs.
15-1 wins. Isn’t that crazy?
In the middle of the season, getting a lucky punch from a relegation-threatened team was legendary lmao
Back then, QG’s ban/pick choices were insane. The bans were divine, and the players’ performances were all top-notch
Let’s go!
Do you feel the difference in skill?
I attended the first round of matches and met fans… From the third week onwards, it was packed!
My high school girl, top in Solo Queue, VLL winner, CK winner, LCK regular season 1st place. No hate allowed.
