[TS] Obsessed Gamer: The Ultimate Return – Chapter 243

Welcome to Summoner’s Rift!

The game has begun.

[“Fighting!”]

“Fighting.”

[“Let’s do our best.”]

The game situation overall felt a lot like solo rank.

A clash of blades at top.

A shield and sword at mid.

Another clash of blades at bot.

It was a scenario in which both junglers would definitely become busy.

Still, if there was a place that needed a bit more attention, it would be top and bot.

With Galion picked in mid, it seemed like he could hold on for a while, but in top and bot, whoever’s jungler arrived first had a high chance of winning.

‘And if the jungler is Elise…’

Naturally, Elise’s jungle starting position became crucial.

The opponents’ base was in the upper area.

From here, Elise had about two routes to choose from.

Either start red and go for a bird-to-bird route to bolster the bottom, or start blue and similarly go for the bird-to-bird route to strengthen the top.

Of course, depending on the situation, there was a possibility of eating three camps in the blue jungle and then pressuring mid or bot, but planning a route that ignores the red buff early on was a gamble in many ways.

Especially for a pick like Elise, which needed to gain a lot early on.

[⬇] [⬇] [⬇]

[OLZ Outlaw (Talon) is on the way]

[OLZ Outlaw (Talon) is on the way]

[OLZ Outlaw (Talon) is on the way]

“Let’s check for an invade.”

[“Okay.”]

Early invades are a great way to figure out the opponent’s starting position in the jungle.

If we gain an advantage during the invade, we can force the opponent’s jungle route, making it even more worthwhile.

‘Our composition is a bit stronger for the early invade.’

Of course, due to the nature of early invade skirmishes, no matter how good the composition is, the outcome can be wildly different depending on the fight, but having a relative advantage in composition was good news.

‘If there are variables, maybe it’s Pyke’s grab.’

Grab-type champions, represented by Blitzcrank, are strong during invades.

Although Pyke’s effectiveness isn’t as powerful as traditional grab champions, grab champions are still grab champions.

Underestimating them can lead to disastrous consequences, so we remained cautious from the very start of the invade position.

[“I’ll take the lead.”]

Seo Yeon-woo’s Jax took the lead.

Since basic attacks were the main weapons during the early invade timing, Jax’s counter was akin to an invincibility ability rather than just a wide-area stun.

[“Oh, look at Seo Yeon-woo being reliable.”]

[“…Focus.”]

[“I am focusing.”]

Kim Jae-min was chattering away as usual.

Truly a consistent guy.

The invade route we chose was through the top linear bush and then into the intersection.

The moment we entered the intersection bush with Jax leading the way—

[⨷]

[OLZ Outlaw (Talon) targets FFF Oghyth (Fiona)]

The opposing Fiona leveled up Q and smoothly jumped the wall.

[“The opponent Fiona leveled Q.”]

[“Confirmed.”]

Most Fionas level Q at level 1, but knowing what skill the opponent picked is quite significant in the early laning phase.

[“Wow, we forced the opponent’s skill. Looks like we’re set up to carry in top.”]

[“Agreed.”]

[“……”]

Kim Jae-min and Baek Seong-an exchanged banter.

I’ve felt this before; those two surprisingly click well together.

Fiona noticed our position, but we did not halt our advance.

Fiona headed upward, and considering how long it would take for the other four to join from red, we calculated that giving up the initiative was acceptable.

“Let’s go.”

[⬇]

[OLZ Outlaw (Talon) is on the way]

[“Follow the leader!”]

[“Go go!”]

…Why is their energy so high today?

Is something good happening?

After Fiona saw us go for the invade, the enemy’s red had only one ward placed, and there were no champion shadows to be found.

“Ji-hoon, lens.”

[“Yes.”]

Our Leona had already switched her item to a lens, so we quickly took down two wards.

[“What should we do? Start at red?”]

It was currently 1 minute and 1 second.

Starting at the enemy red would be a bit awkward timing.

“No, let’s just head to my red.”

There was no battle.

However, there were results.

Two wards taken out and clear vision of the opponent’s red.

This kind of result means we had gained an edge in the early jungle fights.

Of course, there was still a possibility that the opponents had gained vision on our red.

‘That’s a risk worth taking.’

All four allies except top returned home.

In early invades, it’s always better to recall collectively.

“Hey, can someone support me at red?”

[“Okay.”]

After returning home, we soon started heading toward the enemy red with our bot and mid.

We had already forced the opponent’s red vision by exposing our positions during the early invade.

Naturally, the opponents also had to have established vision around our red.

In that scenario, we had to consider the chance of being ambushed while they waited.

‘After recall, it takes us about 30 seconds to reach our red.’

On the other hand, a champion who has placed a ward at the enemy red would arrive by around 27 seconds.

This meant a potential 4v4 skirmish, depending on the situation.

‘Both tops are down.’

Jax was one of the key elements in our invade composition, and the opponent’s key was not Fiona.

With both of us down, it was only natural that the opponents would feel better about themselves.

“Yeon-woo, don’t show yourself to the opponents.”

[“Okay.”]

It didn’t matter how beneficial this was, but it was better than blatantly revealing ourselves.

As we cautiously moved toward the enemy red’s vision, thankfully, there were no opponent champions in sight.

Then Elise showed up at the enemy red.

Looks like she planned to start with red.

“The enemy Elise is starting red.”

We had confirmed the opponent’s position.

The early game start was looking pretty good.

*

After the early invade by OLZ, various discussions began to flow among the commentators.

“Looks like the early vision battle is going OLZ’s way, huh?”

“Yes! Especially for Elise, who relies heavily on a 3-level gank to make her mark; now the opponent is forced to reveal their route.”

“That’s why we haven’t seen Elise much in the pro scene recently.”

“Although FFF also gained some vision of the enemy red, it seems like the impact is different, doesn’t it?”

“Given that Talon is currently a strong champion, and he can disrupt jungle routes, it wouldn’t be a heavy blow for him to reveal his jungle starting position… but Elise’s situation is certainly different.”

“Absolutely. The OLZ bottom side will definitely be wary of Elise starting red.”

Elise has many restrictions when she clears jungle camps early on.

While she handles single monsters quite well, camps like Raptors, Wolves, and Golems require more time than other champions.

Thus, in the early game, Elise typically follows a bird-to-bird route.

In a crucial early game timing where every second counts, if her clearing is delayed, it means losing tempo to the opponent.

That’s how it should be…

However, a red-Raptors-Golems route?

Illucia from FFF chose a route nearly unheard of for Elise.

“Oh, is that the route she’s taking? This delays Elise’s jungle clear quite a bit. Is FFF banking on this to strengthen top?!”

“I guess we’ll have to see.”

A gamble.

Illucia’s route choice is indeed a gamble.

Thanks to the delay in Elise’s jungle timing, OLZ’s top was completely unaware of her component’s activities.

For now, FFF succeeded in catching OLZ off guard.

“Top, top! Elise is suffering a loss in her route! We have to capitalize on this. We need to be aggressive!”

“Right. What reason would Illucia have to choose this route? They must not think they can easily beat OLZ, right? We absolutely have to capitalize on this!”

Desperation doesn’t always lead to positive outcomes.

Jax was already well-known for his excellent survival skills.

If they haphazardly tried to take him down, they might just lose their jungler’s turn unnecessarily, so Illucia wisely chose the timing when the opponent’s minions weren’t approaching to go for the gank.

But just because there were no minions didn’t mean Jax’s Q skill was off-limits. Hana’s Jax smoothly retreated with a ward he had saved.

What was meant to be a spectacular gank from Elise turned into an embarrassing near-failure.

“Not yet, not yet! I haven’t used Cocoon yet!”

After Elise latched onto Jax with her web, the mind games of the Cocoon began.

Left, right, stop.

Jax’s calm movements caused Elise’s Cocoon to miss its mark.

Top gank failure.

“Oh, no! The Cocoon missed!”

“There’s a saying that skill shots don’t get feedback, but still, that’s such a shame! That was a gank that absolutely had to succeed!”

“This pattern feels familiar. The top side dodged the gank, and in the meantime, OLZ’s jungle is making significant gains. This has been OLZ’s winning pattern so far!”

FFF’s gamble, which depended on a lot, began to crumble.