NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 452
[OLZ / SCV]
Top: Aatrox / Jax
Jungle: Jarvan III / Vayne
Mid: Pizhu / Sandra
Bot Lane: Kalista / Caitlyn
Support: Renata Glasc / Lux
*
The Ban/Pick has been completed.
What the completed Ban/Pick means is truly simple.
A Test.
Yeah, it’s not an exaggeration to say we are being tested right now.
A test from SCV.
[“Wow, we can’t lose this.”]
[“Aren’t they being too cocky? Let’s go teach them a lesson.”]
[“Yeah, let’s go. Give them a good spanking.”]
Normally, Baek Seong-an would have said a word or two about Kim Jae-min’s comment, but instead, he agreed with it.
That’s how arrogant their Ban/Pick seemed to us.
In other words, they were looking down on us.
No matter how OLZ may be seen as the weaker team, based on our current performance and atmosphere, we couldn’t just let it slide.
If we didn’t punishingly respond to this, it was clear future matches would also be affected.
In other words, this match had become one our team and SCV could never back down from.
“Let’s do our best.”
[“Okay!”]
[“Fighting!”]
The game has started.
– Welcome to Summoner’s Rift!
At first, we were in the invade phase, and although the opponents had a stronger composition for invading, since we had Kalista on our side, it flowed through without any trouble.
To be precise, it seemed both teams didn’t want to create unnecessary variables before the laning phase.
Well… our team wasn’t much different, so the early invade phase proceeded with both sides just being defensive.
– Minions have spawned.
The real laning phase has begun.
My first camp is the Red Buff.
Given Jarvan III’s characteristics, his early ganking at low levels is extremely strong, so I aimed to set our bottom lane up for a solid early game.
For Vayne, at level 2, she’s basically useless for ganking or fighting, so naturally, regardless of how robust the opponent’s bottom lane is, they have to be wary of Jarvan’s presence.
[“Mid is trading damage really strong.”]
“Did you level a skill?”
[“Sandra leveled Q, and I haven’t yet.”]
“Okay.”
With Baek Seong-an’s call, my second move was determined.
[Jarvan III – Level 2]
Just hit level 2 after smashing the Red Buff.
I headed straight for mid.
Jarvan III’s level 2 gank used to be a relatively common strategy, but in recent metas, the risks of abandoning camps have become too great, making it not very favored.
However, if the composition can take the lead early like Pizhu’s Sandra, it was worth taking the risk.
[Pizhu – Level 1]
[Sandra – Level 1]
Both Pizhu and Sandra are currently at level 1.
The timing of a level 2 gank is what makes mid laners feel threatened.
“Stay calm.”
[“Oki.”]
If I start using the spear here, Sandra will just easily flash out without spending anything else.
I didn’t want that.
I wanted to completely break this laning phase from the get-go.
“Now.”
As Pizhu subtly encouraged Sandra’s movement, I didn’t miss that gap and immediately flashed in to hit with my red auto-attack.
Now for Sandra, all she could do was engage in an invisible tug-of-war with me.
Use the spear first.
You flash first.
I won’t use mine.
Oh really? Then I won’t either.
The decisive blow was Pizhu using his E skill right in front of Sandra.
Flash mind game.
If Sandra doesn’t flash here, she’ll get hit by Pizhu’s E and suffer from slow and damage.
Even if she flashes, she’d definitely die to the following spear.
However, if Sandra quickly flashes, Pizhu can also E-flash into her, and the result will be the same.
As a result, Sandra was moving as if calculating her flash timing again and again.
And just as Pizhu’s E skill was about to lodge itself above Sandra’s head…
“I’m using my flash.”
Reading Sandra’s mind.
In this position, the place she needs to flash to dodge Pizhu’s skill is…
Flash!
As Sandra used her flash, Jarvan III’s flag descended right above her, and shortly thereafter the spear came rushing in.
Perfect flash prediction.
From the moment the spear hit Sandra directly, her life was practically forfeit.
As Sandra was knocked airborne by the spear, Pizhu’s E flash combo followed up, causing Sandra’s health to plummet in an instant.
– First Blood!
– Enemy slain!
[“Nice!”]
[“What’s happening mid!”]
Level 2 gank success.
This was truly a gamble determining the future of the game that paid off.
*
With the outstanding success of the level 2 gank, the commentators’ voices surged with excitement.
[“OUTLAW!”]
[“Outlaw and Getback’s amazing combo play just came out!”]
[“When Jarvan aimed for the mid level 2 gank, it didn’t look easy, right? But with the bold flash, he closed the gap and hit with his red, which left Sandra with no escape.”]
[“Absolutely! In fact, personally, I think Sandra should have flashed a bit quicker, but given that Jarvan had the spear, it wasn’t easy.”]
[“Looking back, I think Sandra should have been a bit more cautious of Jarvan’s level 2 gank, but there was likely an immense pressure to win the early laning phase.”]
[“Yes. If she didn’t burst early, she had learned harsh lessons from the previous matches!”]
The viewers’ reactions were equally heated.
-Wow, lol
-Level 2 gank was insane
-Outlaw! Outlaw! Outlaw! Outlaw! Outlaw! Outlaw! Outlaw! Outlaw! Outlaw! Outlaw!
-They actually pulled it off
-Wow, if that failed, Jarvan’s career would be over
Often, people confuse a skilled player with a star player, but these two are clearly different.
In fact, players like SCV’s AllDay are among the best mid laners in the world, but due to their solid playstyle, they tend to have fewer fans and less hype.
But Outlaw was different.
With his explosive charisma and playstyle, he was clearly imprinting the essence of stardom in the minds of viewers.
-OLZ games are just fun lol
-Getback is also really stepping up, he used to be such a bus passenger back in the day
-For real lol
The early atmosphere started off rather well for OLZ, but not all lanes were shining.
After all, Jarvan III turning mid at level 2 demanded a lot of resources.
As a result, SCV’s retaliation began from the top lane.
[“Oh, Jax over at top just traded pretty strongly!”]
[“This puts Aatrox under heavy health pressure! Given Vayne’s position, a dive could follow!”]
[“King! Top is helping during this critical stage for the team!”]
[“Exactly! If King doesn’t step up now, who will? He’s not just any King!”]
[“That’s right!”]
King’s Jax desperately struggled to break through the top lane.
Because of this, Aatrox from Honor faced significant health and dive pressure, eventually having to give up one wave to find time to go home.
It was truly a massive loss.
On top of that, in the bottom lane, the beast duo of Caitlyn and Lux from SCV took advantage of Jarvan III’s absence and showed their teeth during the laning phase.
No matter how strong Kalista was in the laning phase, the combination of the beast duo with Caitlyn and Lux was undeniably different.
[“Looks like OLZ’s bottom lane is lagging behind in the trade, suffering quite a loss in cs?”]
[“SCV is indeed rock-solid! They’re not backing down easily!”]
[“Yes! Of course, Pizhu, who has secured lane control, is always a variable to watch out for.”]
[“Seems like Getback has struggled quite a bit in the previous set too!”]
[“Can we expect echoes of the incredible hard carry from the first set? Really looking forward to it!”]
*
SY Practice Room.
Usually, Ryu Jin-hyuk would be practicing during the usual team match times, but today, he was sitting in front of the TV in the feedback room instead of practicing.
“…..”
Have we already come this far?
Watching the dazzling combo plays from Getback and Outlaw, Ryu Jin-hyuk felt that OLZ’s sharpened edge had really come up to SY’s throat.
Until now, SY’s strongest competitor and rival had been SCV, but now that very SCV was slowly tightening the noose on a league-newcomer team.
Although it seemed they were currently trying to play the game based on an advantageous position with the top and bottom lanes, Ryu Jin-hyuk could already see it.
He saw how the top and bottom lanes, which had been somewhat stable thanks to Outlaw, were shattering into pieces.