“Hello everyone, greetings to you as we arrive at the third week of LCK weekend matches!”
“Hello!”
“Today, we have another major match, don’t we?”
“That’s right. It’s the Match of the Week! The day this week’s matches will take place.”
“The very first match is ARK vs YK!”
[Something big is coming! Something big is coming! Something big is coming!]
[Is something big coming today?]
[Go ARK!]
[Yeah, let’s go with this banned pick.]
[YK is just not ready, hahaha.]
“Currently, both ARK and YK have an undefeated record of four wins, sitting at the top position.”
“Nevertheless, ARK has gone through four consecutive Eastern matches, while YK has defeated Western teams twice, proving their mettle.”
“With this match, we might finally see ARK’s true potential.”
[I ordered fried chicken.]
[Para wins on looks alone, let’s go.]
[Are you serious? Don’t you know YK’s boy band? They’re the number one face in the LCK!]
[So what if they’re number one? Overseas, they go all-in and crumble.]
[Please ban Galder’s Cup!]
[Is it really true that we’re already at 100,000 viewers before the game even started?]
[Due to the influx of Para stream raiders, ARK’s game always has a lot of viewers.]
“Even from here, we can feel the anticipation of so many fans.”
“Really high anticipation, and it’s a Saturday too! Everyone should have already eaten lunch and should be sitting down!”
“Let’s then go over both team’s starting rosters.”
ARK
Caster, Lesser, Para, Plea, KAI
YK
Owl, Hunter, Pumpkin, Pair, Rope
“ARK’s roster consists of their caster Lesser, Para, Plea, and KAI. YK’s roster includes Owl, Hunter, Pumpkin, Pair, and Rope.”
“From these rosters, let’s highlight the players to watch out for today—our key players!”
KEY PLAYERS
ARK-Para YK-Pumpkin
KDA 6.5 vs 5.1
DPM 700 vs 640
DMG 1.4 vs 1.63
KP 85% vs 74%
14-minute CS difference +5.1 vs +2
14-minute gold difference +400 vs +150
Solo Kills 11 vs 4
“Just as everyone expected, the two mid laners are the key players: ARK’s Para and YK’s Pumpkin.”
“Both players have just been tearing it up. Para’s stats have always been impressive.”
[Para is insane!]
[Pumpkin’s stats are still pretty good though.]
[Is it real that he’s at 11 solo kills?]
[Whew…DPM at the top, DMG at the top, and solo kills at the top too. He’s doing it all.]
“I’m most impressed by the solo kills.”
“That’s right. Normally, solo kills are mostly achieved by top laners, but currently, Para leads across all lanes.”
“There’s even been talk that ARK’s strategy begins with Para getting solo kills.”
“Still, who is Pumpkin? LCK’s mid-lane matchups are always about Pumpkin.”
“It all comes down to how well Para will perform against Pumpkin! With that, let’s proceed to the ban and pick phase!”
[Let’s gooo!]
[Something big is coming! Something big is coming! Something big is coming!]
[I dunno, good stats mean what? ARK is just second-tier, period.]
[Haha, flex much?]
[Para looks amazing as always.]
“Wow, they didn’t ban K’Sante?”
“With this, should we just give up on the win?”
“Trading Lulu for K’Sante isn’t all that bad.”
This match against YK could be one of the most crucial games of the regular season.
Surprisingly, our opponents didn’t ban K’Sante, and we, playing the blue side, got the first pick.
“Lucian will likely be chosen.”
“Most probably, they will get Gnar on top.”
“If Gnar shows up, can we win?”
“If an AD comes from the opposing jungler, I could have an edge.”
When we picked K’Sante, the opponent counter-picked Lucian and Nyami.
“This round, let’s pick our jungler and mid.”
“In the mid lane, let’s pick Yune, and for the jungle, let’s go with Orianna.”
“Right now, Orianna has great jungle clearing speed.”
“I’m fine with it too. However, if LeBlanc comes out, it will be a little tough, but I’ll try to endure it.”
The opponent in mid, Pumpkin, was a seasoned pro I’ve faced many times in my previous life, and during his amateur days, he was known as a LeBlanc specialist.
Even though LeBlanc isn’t that great in the current meta, if I first pick Yune, there’s a good chance he would counter pick LeBlanc.
“I’ll just go with Yune.”
I recall how his LeBlanc stole countless championship trophies from me in the previous life.
But now, I believe I can overcome him.
“The opposing jungler is Ugong, and LeBlanc has come as well in mid.”
Once the ban and pick phase ended, I surveyed the roster.
TOP: K’Sante
JG: Orianna
MID: Yune
AD: Aphelios
SUP: Lulu
VS
TOP: Gnar
JG: Ugong
MID: LeBlanc
AD: Lucian
SUP: Nyami
“Both sides seem fairly even.”
A balanced ban and pick phase emerged, where neither side felt pressured.
One thing we need to be cautious about is this:
“Watching YK’s playstyle, they don’t just buff Lucian; LeBlanc also gets buffs and performs poking.”
YK frequently uses LeBlanc with buffs for poking play, finding success through such strategies.
Of course, during critical junctures—like when they have a burst of high-frequency attacks or ultimates—it goes to Lucian, but LeBlanc often tilts the balance in important moments.
“Am I getting the early buff?”
“I think this can benefit us as long as there’s no bottom lane intervention.”
“What if the opposing Lucian brings Ignite? It could be tough.”
“Hey, don’t worry about that—Lulu here can apply some strong pressure.”
“Alright, let’s begin the game.”
“I feel the mid-lane battle will define how this set progresses.”
“Is that so?”
“Look, LeBlanc is carrying the Conqueror rune.”
“Is there any difference between that and Electrocute?”
“That’s a newly emerged build. LeBlanc goes Conqueror while prioritizing her Q skill mastery, making an oppressive build that doesn’t give Yune a moment to breathe.”
[Pumpkin on LeBlanc, wow!]
[Yeah, but Para also plays LeBlanc well~]
[Mid lane is just about to crush it.]
[ARK’s ban and pick was so bad though, with Lulu facing Pumpkin’s LeBlanc and Gnar on top.]
[Haha, if they’re going with Lucian, they should’ve banned tank champs. They’re going to have a taste of that long stick.]
[Anyway, with Para as Yune out there, ARK can’t lose even if they wanted to.]
“As soon as lanes hit, it’s already focusing on mid.”
“The observer knows its importance.”
[Wow, Para’s focused expression is stunning!]
[It’s tough to concentrate when the camera keeps focusing!]
[Stop spamming and watch the game!]
“LeBlanc is likely to reach level two first.”
“And LeBlanc is engaging in a trade!”
“Having taken the chain, her health takes a significant hit!”
[?]
[They said Para is good, why is he getting beaten up?]
[I guess LeBlanc’s physical stats are pretty good.]
[If he pulls back now, he’ll secure experience but this might turn into a gank-heavy lane.]
[People who don’t know League of Legends, please get out!]
“Truly, Pumpkins’ favored champions have strong reasons behind them.”
“But Para is avoiding most of the attacks and continuing to farm.”
“This seems to be going smoothly until the Yune’s ultimate emerges…oh no!”
“Didn’t we need to avoid giving them kills in the bottom lane?”
[Wow]
[How did they kill Aphelios and Lulu?]
[Did they win early game?]
“Lucian scoring first blood is a miscalculation, wouldn’t you say? Let’s check the replay.”
“Ah, Lucian’s Manamune provided a very tight control. This slight misstep cost him.”
“This is why Lucian-Nyami is so scary. Thinking that they can’t use Electrocute and thus do less damage is dangerous—you die instantly.”
“Wow…the damage is mind-blowing even as a spectator.”
[GG]
[BOTTOM LANERS BLEW UP]
[With Lulu on this team, how do they lose early game?]
[Haha, Nyami’s attacks deal insane damage.]
[Yeah, if you lose early game, it’s basically infinite solo deaths.]
“A…ARK… is crumbling.”
“YK is still YK, huh? Extremely clean gameplay.”
“Even though Para showed some good moments in mid lane, it wasn’t enough to turn the game around.”
“The single kill from the bottom lane became the snowball effect that dried up the jungle, then proceeded upward to mine top lane. This is a perfect example of what proper operation looks like.”
[Why is YK so good?]
[ARK CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT! CUT!]
[Sigh… Why do people who love influencers talk about women who play well? Or why do they obsess about how attractive someone is?]
[What should we praise when the mid laner is securing solo kills and winning teamfights anyway?]
[But bottom lane was terrible though, it didn’t have any answers.]
[Sigh…]
“ARK, surrendering the 4th dragon already? This game must be really tough.”
“Now is the time to act. Though Aphelios is having a tough time, after hitting 3-core, his damage output should suffice.”
“Ah! LeBlanc’s poking took out Aphelios!”
“Is that really a 2-death LeBlanc? He’s been appearing everywhere since game start, truly unpredictable!”
“Para grabbed Gnar from the side, but it’s lonely! They gave up the dragon, and now YK is advancing to mid. Can Para stop them?”
“Para is taken out too, and YK wins the first set!”
[GG]
[Para did well, though?]
[If we lose, is there still any chance to win?]
[If mid does all the work, at least someone needs to receive it effectively.]
[Lucian-Nyami are brutal when fully stacked.]
