[TS] Obsessed Gamer: The Ultimate Return – Chapter 258

The final match day of the first round for the Legends of League Challengers Korea Summer Season is approaching.

This patch, this meta, everything comes to a close today.

‘Though, I doubt there’ll be that many changes.’

The Legends of League tournament is a game about who figures out the answers first after a patch causes the meta to shift.

So right after a patch is made, the champion pool and playstyle usually don’t deviate significantly from the previous version.

It’s just that as the league progresses and time goes on, answers naturally start to emerge through competition, and those answers undergo verification to see if they’re actually correct.

‘Well, for now, I should focus on today’s match.’

The patch hasn’t been applied yet.

The version we have to compete in today is the same one we’ve been playing until now.

“Hey, sis, what are you up to? Nervous?”

Kim Jae-min, who was buzzing around the waiting room as usual, approached me sneakily.

“…Nervous, my foot.”

“Not true. You’re definitely nervous.”

“Shut it. You seem pretty relaxed these days, huh?”

“Of course! Who am I? The proud OLZ bot laner with a top rating of 310 points. Jaem-min Kim!”

“……Ugh.”

Honestly, I almost laughed.

“OLZ, please get ready!”

“Oh, yes!”

Just then, the staff’s voice echoed like a saving grace, and that’s when our team members started to rise one by one.

Today, our opponent is TEAM 5MAN.

In the Challengers Korea last season, they were a mid-tier team, especially strong in the top and mid lanes.

‘Plus, I heard they bolstered their lineup in the jungle this time.’

Looking at previous matches, many games were won with carries from the top, jungle, and mid.

They even secured victories against BLH, last season’s top team, making them one of the teams to watch this season.

‘…Of course, most of the attention is on our team though.’

It’s a bit awkward to say it directly, but honestly, the focus we get is overwhelming compared to the first division teams.

In a popularity poll conducted in a certain community, we even surpassed SY, so there’s really no need to mention that.

“Hey, sis! Aren’t we going?”

“Oh, right.”

We headed toward the arena.

Towards the final match of the first round.

*

-Waaaaah!!!

-Outlaw! Outlaw! Outlaw!

-One, two, three. OLZ fighting!

As soon as we entered the arena, a thunderous roar welcomed us.

I should be used to it by now, but that deafening cheer was something I could never acclimate to.

One noticeable difference was that it seemed not only I had gained fans but that our team members had also attracted quite a few.

-Hey, Honor, look over here!

-Kyaaah!

-Creamy Outlaw!

-Can I get your workout routine, Rotin?

-Protein! Protein! Protein!

Especially for Seo Yeon-woo and Kim Ji-hoon, after a few interviews, their fanbase seemed to have grown, leading to a number of fan banners as well.

[Top, come in 3 minutes! ♥Honor♥]

[This is physique. Protein fighting!]

[Honor, I’m dying!]

[Skills come from muscles. Protein Kim Ji-hoon is so cool!]

Seeing that, Seo Yeon-woo wore a somewhat sour expression, while Kim Ji-hoon maintained his usual poker face, unable to take his eyes off the scene.

Those guys were trying to act nonchalant while secretly enjoying it.

“Wow, what’s so great about that good-for-nothing? Aren’t I better?”

Baek Seong-an chuckled at Kim Jae-min’s comment.

“Wanna know why?”

“What’s that?”

“Face difference.”

“…….”

As we engaged in trivial chatter and set up various things, the match time was upon us in no time.

“OLZ, please get ready to start!”

The staff shouted, and not long after, the ban/pick phase began.

Our side was the red team.

We were the last pick.

[Graves]

The opponent’s first ban was Graves.

Considering it’s a pick that our top player uses well and can also be adapted for jungle, it was a reasonable ban, a classic strategy.

[“What should we ban?”]

“Let’s go with our plan.”

[“Alright, let’s ban Kennen.”]

We were somewhat prepared for the opponent’s first Graves ban, so there was nothing to fear.

[Kennen]

Next was the opponent’s turn to ban.

[Leona]

The support ban.

They seemed to be quite wary of Kim Ji-hoon’s playmaking skills.

This reflected one of the changes in how teams approached us as the season progressed.

In the beginning, teams facing us mostly focused their bans on the jungle. As time went on, they realized that didn’t work, and started targeting other lanes.

[“What should we ban?”]

“We can ban Yuumi too. For now, let’s cut Yuumi.”

“Sure.”

[Yuumi]

It was the opponent’s third ban now.

What they chose to ban here would pretty much set the direction for our ban/pick phase.

A brief silence.

It indicated that the opponent was thinking pretty deeply.

And then it came,

[Lee Sin]

The opponent banned Lee Sin.

I felt a bit recognized after so long, which wasn’t a bad feeling.

Now it was our third ban.

[“Should we ban Lucian or Nami? Or is there something else we should ban?”]

“Nami and Lucian can stay. I’m carrying. Why? Because I’m Master 310 points, Kim Jae-min.”

“Shut up, Jaem-min.”

[“Okay.”]

[Lucian]

The ban/pick phase proceeded normally.

Perhaps because the meta is nearing its peak, the ban/pick process felt somewhat standardized.

Now, it was the opponent’s turn to pick.

[Miss Fortune]

A pick that’s definitely standard but feels a bit unfamiliar since we haven’t seen her much on the live server lately.

[“Let’s get the mid lane first. Get Raise.”]

“Alright.”

[Raise]

Baek Seong-an led the ban/pick as always.

[“What do you want for the next pick? I don’t think it’s bad to get a jungler.”]

“Um. I’ll take Xin Zhao then.”

Today felt like a day I wanted to play Xin Zhao.

[Xin Zhao]

It was a solid start.

Soon enough it was the opponent’s turn for their 2nd and 3rd picks.

The opponent seemed to think for quite a while, but then they made their picks.

[Rakan]


[Jarvan III]

Definitely safe picks.

[“What do you want? The opposing bot lane is fully revealed, so we should grab something from the bot side.”]

At Baek Seong-an’s suggestion, Kim Jae-min confidently stated,

[“Naturally, I’ll go with Jinx─”]

[“I’ll take Jhin.”]

Of course, there was no chance of that actually flying.

[“…….”]

So far, the picks are as follows:

+


[TEAM 5MAN / OLZ]


Top: ─ / ─


Jungle: Jarvan III / Xin Zhao


Mid: ─ / Raise


Bot: Miss Fortune / Jhin


Support: Rakan / ─

+


[“Hmm, I think we should focus around the mid for the draft.”]

“What should we take out?”

[“That opponent’s mid player plays a mean SANDRA. Let’s ban Sandra.”]

“Let’s do it.”

[Sandra]

The opponent’s fourth ban.

[Tresh]

It seemed like both teams were avoiding top lane picks altogether, leading them to focus on support bans.

“I think we should ban something towards mid again—Orianna? Or maybe LeBlanc or Twisted Fate?”

[“Hmm, I think it’s better to ban Twisted Fate.”]

“Okay.”

[Twisted Fate]

The opponent’s last ban came out.

[Morgana]

A full-on support ban.

[“Since we’re last pick, let’s have the top go down. What support do you want, Ji-hoon?”]

“Hmm, I’ll play Sett.”

[“…Sett?”]

“Yes.”

[“Alright.”]

While Sett isn’t exactly a top-tier support pick in the current meta, since Ji-hoon usually doesn’t say anything absurd, I had no issues letting it slide.

[Sett]

Now it was the opponent’s pick phase.

[LeBlanc]


[Jason]

Having picked Jarvan III as their jungler, the opponent went for strong early game picks for the top lane.

[“Jason’s up, what do you want for top?”]

“Give me Viktor.”

Huh?

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

Seo Yeon-woo’s answer was confident.

Sure, Viktor isn’t a bad pick against Jason, but the real issue was that we were still in the previous patch.

‘Hmm…’

That kind of situation happens.

When the new meta becomes too familiar, players might end up getting too used to new champions.

Whether that’s the case right now or whether they genuinely believe Viktor is a sound pick against Jason is uncertain, but either way, the die was cast.

[Viktor]

Finally, the bans and picks were complete.

+


[TEAM 5MAN / OLZ]


Top: Jason / Viktor


Jungle: Jarvan III / Xin Zhao


Mid: LeBlanc / Raise


Bot: Miss Fortune / Jhin


Support: Rakan / Sett

+


“Let’s all do our best.”

[“Fighting!”]

[“Let’s do well.”]

[“Let’s carry!”]

[“Fighting!”]

A short cheer from my teammates rang out, and the game officially began.