“This AR carry is a bit tough.”
“Still, once K’Sante gets his items, I think we can win.”
“No, we can’t win.”
“Their Varus hasn’t been using his ultimate recently. His pressure has dropped a bit.”
—
We thought we had the upper hand in the early fight, but after giving up three kills in a slightly lax dragon fight, the game’s balance returned to normal.
‘Art ate everything.’
If only there hadn’t been any mistakes, the game could’ve ended long ago. Yet, time had already surpassed 30 minutes.
I pressed the Tab key to check the item windows: most laners had three core items, and I, along with Aatrox, possessed four.
“Are we going to fight this dragon?”
Yuchan, clearing the dragon nest’s vision, asked his teammates as he finished.
“What if we just give this one and take the next one?”
“However, if we drag it out further, Orianna will get too strong.”
“Let Seo Ha cast her wall and soak it up.”
As the game had turned into a prolonged battle, the team members’ calls began to split.
It seemed like someone needed to organize the plan soon. I spoke up as I returned.
“We’re going this round. Since we aren’t winning even if we try to take it from the side.”
“Varus and Orianna’s poking is too strong.”
“Hence, we need to position ourselves properly and push all-in. Don’t think about Aatrox coming from behind. Just break forward.”
“Understood.”
The other team was overall falling behind in growth except for our Aatrox.
We knew they had to carefully watch out for Aatrox, and their team must be aware that their plan would involve peeling for the team to start a big fight centered on him.
It was a play style that valued extreme efficiency—using all teammates as bait to carry the top laner.
It was undoubtedly the best method to maximize the laner’s carry power, yet…
“I see AR dash! Apply E on him!”
Yuseong rushed forward with a hurried call. A high-frequency auto-attack passive followed by an ultimate poke.
Though Nautilus tried to withstand in front, this phase was a timing when even a tank could melt.
“Nautilus broke!”
“Push forward before Art turns around!”
Unfortunately, neither Varus nor Orianna—our core damage dealers—were mobile champions and were subsequently wiped out.
“That Aatrox has activated his ultimate!”
“Peel and fight!”
“Sorry, I’m down.”
But our team still believed they had the advantage. Aatrox had declared his wooden log play and instantly cleaned up Nyami who lingered behind while emanating immense pressure.
“Should we retreat?”
“Nope, there’s vision on the opponents so we need this dragon.”
“Grab Aatrox and take it!”
Though our team’s HP status wasn’t bad, we attempted to eliminate Aatrox and secure the dragon.
“Are you insane?”
Charging into Aatrox, Yuchung was instantly downed with three Q strikes, leading to an awkward situation.
“We should just retreat.”
“If Taliyah and Lucian die, we’ll head toward Baron.”
—
Calls were heard from our teammates suggesting that it was time to disengage.
It was understandable; any mistakes could lead to further losses and possibly turn the game around.
But…
“We’ve already jumped Aatrox!”
Using a W skill, I flipped Aatrox, who was slightly skewed because he wanted to push us away from the dragon nest entirely.
“Aatrox is down!”
Landing a clean kill on Aatrox thanks to Lucian’s coordination.
“Grab Baron’s vision and aim for securing it.”
Though the opponent might have thought the game turned back in his favor with his super play,
Mistakes usually happen when you think you’ve already won.
—
“First, ARK grabs Aatrox and clears the Baron vision.”
“Para’s ultimate didn’t land if it wasn’t for Para, it could’ve been a disaster for ARK.”
“BooN, you need to focus. If you carry the log, you need to swing it. You can’t stay under it.”
—
[The physical carry capabilities of Taliyah are insane, seriously.]
[Every time Para meets a player, other competitors can’t keep up. They usually attach at the range edge.]
[Occasionally, during broadcasts, he checks the range on training mode.]
[Range-cutting grandpa, wow.]
[Good job.]
[Although, isn’t BooN’s Aatrox Q being aimed off?]
[Para just applies it to all champions like that, don’t you think?]
—
“Nautilus is heading out to check the vision now, isn’t it a bit scary?”
“Among others, sending a support who might not matter much if they die, but paradoxically, if the support dies, we just must give up the Baron.”
—
[Observer is tasty.]
[Genuinely, when such vision plays seem possible, they just completely disable the opponent’s vision to hide the view.]
[Watching is making my heart flutter.]
[Support seems to just be walking off alone to die, it’s sad.]
—
“Here comes the ultimate!”
“Attempting to escape with a grab, but K’Sante is blocking the front.”
“ARK cuts away Nautilus while continuously attacking the Baron, can they keep it up?”
“Still, the other damage dealers and Aatrox are all alive, can they hold out?”
[Can they dare to attempt this?]
[If it gets stolen, we’re done for.]
[Aatrox lack’s Flash.]
—
“This looks like they’re going to go for it.”
“Unexpectedly… Para builds a wall!”
“Aatrox can jump over the wall, but the others are immobile and can’t cross!”
“ARK confirms a satisfying meal.”
—
[They’ve cleaned up really nicely.]
[Game Over.]
[Game Over.]
—
“Players from ARK are regrouping after fixing.”
“The caster in the bottom lane has shoved the inhibitor turret.”
“DH, they need to make a decision now. It’s moving too fast with 6 Yuchung and Baron.”
“Wow, Lucian’s piercing shots hurt.”
“Is there a big decision coming from BooN?”
“Meanwhile, Nautilus gives a great assist!”
—
[Final gamble?]
[Isn’t the game already over with a gamble?]
[If we only take Lucian, Aatrox can probably finish it.]
—
“Wow, Para’s ultimate is insane today! This cracking play where they leap over Orianna and flip Aatrox!”
“Seeing from behind the wall, using it between the second-tier turret and the wall.”
“Lisim’s soundwave was fantastic in peeling Aatrox’s ultimate early!”
“Agreed. Lesser may not have any super plays this game, but they’re doing something every now and then.”
—
[It’s over.]
[It’s just a matter of time.]
[Game Over.]
[Does Para have a fan meeting today?]
—
“Can the core dealers in DH’s team block ARK?”
“Just advancing, and Plea’s frontal dash! They’ve secured another kill!”
“Can Varus just clear minions while cycling his skills?”
“Poking Varus, indeed… but we don’t know.”
“Here comes another Flash into Para’s ultimate!”
“ARK finishes with an ace, taking the first set!”
—
[BooN was great, such a pity.]
[Such a loss.]
[BooN minus the others was too underwhelming.]
[DH mid-jungler’s performance was so close.]
[Para definitely carried it.]
[Killing Aatrox at the dragon was a big moment.]
—
“Should we either have our team do Aatrox or ban it?”
The coach immediately grabbed his head as soon as we returned to the waiting room.
Clearly, giving Aatrox to the top-heavy DH wasn’t a good choice.
“But, BooN’s not bad with K’Sante.”
“Should we ban him?”
“If we ban K’Sante in the first phase, Aphelios or Jinx would open, and that would make things tough.”
“How about you Sungwan, which do you find easier between Art and K’Sante?”
“When Gwen comes out against K’Sante, it looks winnable, but carrying with Aatrox is a bit tough.”
“Are we falling behind early?”
“At this point, BooN isn’t bad with K’Sante, but it seems like his power will diminish significantly during Yuchung.”
“What should we do..”
While pondering, I raised my hand and spoke.
“We should rotate this.”
“Rotate?”
“Yes, anyway, it’d be easier to counter-pick after seeing what they take, right?”
“Will you take mid and play K’Sante?”
“That’s possible.”
“That too?”
Originally, flexible bans and picks based on scenarios were key. In my previous life, although physical issues were a bit concealed, as a mid-laner who could handle the most champions, I was confident in my ability.
“Then would it be okay to rotate Aatrox to mid?”
“I don’t mind.”
“Still, we haven’t tried this in practice…”
“Still, isn’t it said that real matches are the best?”
“…”
Was it because of DH’s competitive performance that the coach was resisting so strongly?
‘That is the coach’s role, after all.’
Since LoL coaches cannot intervene in real-time, their most important job is in the ban-pick phase.
In esports, where the wall between coaches and players isn’t too high, players’ voices often outweigh coaches’, leading to frequent mishaps when players entirely control the bans and picks, and teams frequently collapse in crucial moments.
“Let’s try this match, and if not, we’ll switch it.”
“Then let’s release Aatrox and K’Sante, and rotate based on what the opponent picks.”
In the LCK, after the losing team gets formation selection, it’s natural the opposing team would opt for the blue side to secure the first pick. Teams with ace tops might choose the red side to secure the fifth pick, but DH’s inability to do so was due to the rest of the lines’ limitations.
‘If Aatrox is available… it’s been a while.’
In my previous life, among the nicknames I possessed was ‘The Greatest Swordsman of Joseon.’
Typically, in League of Legends players earning the title ‘The Greatest Swordsman of Joseon’ often excelled at champions like Yasuo or Yune…
But the reason I earned that nickname was thanks to Aatrox.
