“Hello, viewers. It’s been a while since we last greeted you.”
“Caster Kim Dongjin.”
“And I’m commentator Yoo Seunghwan.”
“Isn’t today the long-awaited opening day of the LCK Spring once again?”
“That’s right. The LCK is always described as ‘the best of all time,’ and it seems many people believe this season will be especially different.”
“In that case, let’s take a look at today’s matchups.”
{Match 1: ARK vs AX}
{Match 2: YK vs RG}
[Is this for real? This lineup makes my chest swell with excitement…]
[Para is appearing right from the first game?]
[Is Para starting today?]
[Even though AX has experience, ARK will probably win.]
[RG might win today. YK was playing around in the league and showed their true level in Worlds.]
“Again, many people are looking forward to today!”
“ARK, who has been recently promoted, is ready for their debut in the first game of the day.”
“The players of ARK say this match is their LCK debut.”
“With that, let’s meet the players preparing for the first game!”
[Is Para playing today? (Fifth time asking this)]
[Para’s skill level will be uncovered today.]
[4th division LCK? What kind of opening game is this… They should just decide the champion with rock-paper-scissors.]
[Yea, after MSI loss to LCE and Worlds loss to LPL, just stop the league.]
ARK
Caster, Lesser, para, Plea, KAI
AX
Lena, Gather, Persia, Rex, Symbol
[It’s nice here that there’s no flame war going on.]
[Flame war]
[ARK is only second-tier level, Para is just face-value, what skill is there jjjj]
[AX has filled their roster solidly after going through the promotion/demotion series dddd]
[Yea, this season even bottom-tier teams have invested heavily, it’s really unpredictable.]
“First, we’ll show you AX’s roster. They successfully built their team around Lena and Persia from previous seasons.”
“Indeed, Gather and Rex from LPL, and Symbol, who studied overseas in LCS known as the league of geniuses, are all highly competitive players.”
[Support looks a bit lacking.]
[Are you ignoring Symbol? Symbol was the genius who took LCS to the semi-finals in Worlds.]
[Yea, that really was impressive.]
[ARK’s top-line player has a champion pool issue, right?]
[AX’s top-line player is a monster.]
“Next, ARK!”
“A team that has moved up directly from CK while keeping the same members. All the players are at a competitive level expected in the LCK.”
[Recently, the caster’s solo queue has gone crazy.]
[Plea did show some potential during the promotion matches.]
[Kai is still just second-tier level.]
“Still, there’s one player to watch closely in ARK.”
“Para, the real monster, truly beyond any adjective — incredible.”
[Wow, these stats are insane right?]
[Top-tier KDA with both damage and survivability. Just amazing.]
[He’s insane.]
“Furthermore, Para is the first-ever female player to officially debut in LCK, or even in any international league, so she’s drawing a lot of attention.”
“I imagine many female gamers will support and even aspire to be like Para.”
“With the emergence of Para, I hope there will be more excellent female players in the future.”
“So, let’s meet the players now!”
“Everyone, don’t be nervous. Just do what we’ve been doing.”
“I feel good today.”
“Let’s give it a shot without being tense.”
“I’ll show you the textbook AD Carry play.”
“If we play straightforward, we should win based on our skill levels.”
Finally, it’s the LCK debut game for us today.
More precisely, for me, it’s a comeback game.
‘Let’s make it a game without regrets.’
I persuaded my parents and didn’t attend high school in order to focus on pro gaming.
I’ve bet everything on being a pro in this life, just like last time.
“Seo Ha, are you ready for today?”
Our coach in his suit smiled and asked the question.
I don’t know about CK, but in the LCK, wearing a suit seems standard for coaches. He really looks the part.
“The players are about to enter.”
Upon the staff announcement, we stepped out from the waiting room and into the arena.
Instead of the usual waiting entrance, we were heading to the back seats of the venue.
This was the LCK signature opening game entrance.
“Now we’ll meet the players!”
The commentator’s desk was hyped, and an epic background music began playing.
“AX, here we go!”
The AX players descended first from the opposite side.
“Lena, Gather, Persia, Rex, Symbol!”
Naturally interacting with the fans with high-fives, they threw their memorabilia, proving their veteran status.
As the AX players all took their seats, it was our turn.
“Next, let’s see ARK!”
“Really, so much interest is focused on what this team has to offer.”
“Caster, Lesser, Para, Plea, Kai!”
Led by Park Jinhwan, the team members descended the stairs.
There was loud cheering from the fans as this spot was our team’s designated section.
With a completely different vibe from CK, you could feel the tension building within the team.
‘They’re doing well.’
I could see the team’s growth through their efforts not to forget high-fiving fans.
After coming down to the center of the stage to greet the fans, we walked to our positions to prepare for the game.
As I put on the headset set on the desk, I heard the familiar voice of our coach who had already opened his notebook to prepare the ban/pick strategy.
“Can everyone hear me?”
As we tuned in, the coach, in his usual self-deprecating tone, said:
“But Coach, aren’t we hiring one?”
“What coach? We don’t have the funds.”
“But we’re now a team sponsored by a big company. How do we have no money?”
Lee Yuchan pointed to the sponsor patch from this season, which was added recently.
Hansan Foods, as described by our coach, had agreed to sponsor us on favorable terms. This sponsor was new to me in this life.
“Sorry everyone, but I lost the coin toss.”
“Since when have you ever won, Coach?”
“Instead, let’s take advantage of the red side and have Brother Jin-Hwan carry the game by drawing it out for him.”
Because of the coin toss loss, AX had chosen the blue side and left us with the red side.
However, for a team like ours that had overcome the champion pool issue in top lane, the red side was rather advantageous.
“Can we get Yune in mid and force Yuchung with no cost?”
“That would be great.”
Coach’s AD carry, Yune, was chosen as the strategy to secure Yuchung at the six-minute mark. This was quite viable.
Managing mana efficiently, Yune could outperform mages without books in early fights. Pairing with a strong jungler, we had a winning chance early on.
“Their first pick was K’Sante.”
“But if they didn’t ban Gwen, is it okay to take K’Sante?”
“Now, I think we can win even with these insane picks, because we have no ban spot left for Gwen.”
The patch version of K’Sante currently had a skin sale and was insanely strong.
Even in a pro scene that favors versatile K’Sante, this further advantage made him a constant first pick.
Nevertheless, despite the strength, he was still a tank and a counterable champion.
“Let’s pick Gwen.”
If this scenario had happened back when we were in CK, we would have opted for a tank for balanced farming. But Park Jinhwan was different now.
ARK
TOP: Gwen
JG: Xin Zhao
MID: Yune
AD: Zeri
SUP: Lulu
VS
AX
TOP: K’Sante
JG: Biwago
MID: Arin
AD: Lucian
SUP: Nyami
“Please summarize the overall ban/pick.”
“From the early stage, both teams selected good picks for team fights.”
“Is that so? The picks for AX don’t seem as powerful in the early game as ARK’s.”
“That’s true. However, once K’Sante and Arin hit their ultimates, they have strong burst potential.”
“Then, how do you see the bottom lane?”
“In AX, we have the re-buffed Ruya Nyami duo this season; ARK counters with Zeri and Lulu. It will depend on which pair makes better moves in-game.”
[Lunya Nyami combo appeared again?]
[Riot has given another buff this season.]
[Man, they keep knocking you back with ultimates!]
[Critical strike items were buffed, so why buff Lucian when it’s only Yasuo and Jinx that keep showing up?]
“And the key pick to watch out for is Yune, right?”
“Exactly. Especially since Para, who’s known for playing Yasuo and Yune with exceptional skill, is now making his LCK debut.”
[Now that Para has made an LCK debut, we need to issue a solo queue warning.]
[Yep, if you play Yune or Yasuo on solo queue on game day, you’re essentially committing suicide.]
[Also, no top-tier players play Yune, making it worse.]
[Indeed, thinking back, that promotion match ultimate was ridiculous.]
“Then, let’s see the game now!”
[ARK Fight!]
[Para’s mismatch in play and skill will all be revealed today ㄹㅇ]
[Enough of the silver cup!]
[Plea for AX to win today!!]
[If Para doesn’t play heart ball after winning today, he will make an extreme choice.]
[Para playing heart ball is justified lol]
