Placement Exam (2) [Roro and Yeti: Mid, We're Roaming Elsewhere This Game, Hold the Line]
Our team's jungler, Roro and Yeti, declared a mid roam abandon. Honestly, I would've done the same. If Teez brings starting items like that, it's better not to come at all.
Instead of sticking to a lane that's already doomed, it's smarter to head to a still-even matchup and blow it up. On the flip side, the enemy jungler would probably gank mid hard. I'd go for sure. With a snowball forming in mid, not rolling it would just be braindead. Plus, even with that item build, Teez can't push against Raizir. Excluding Tricker, their survival and damage tool, Teez has no real way to shove the wave. This was inevitable.
And a pushed-in lane is prime bait for any jungler. Sure, you can still gank a shoved lane, but most players wait for it to freeze up first. When it's pushed, the enemy is farther from their tower. So, as the mid laner in this spot, what do you do? First, check the enemy jungler champ.
Their jungler was Yun Zhao. Manageable. Not like Lee Sin or Nocturne who can gap over walls. Sure, their targeting E dash clips walls, but keep distance and it's fine.
The wave arrived, and Teez showed up. I poked with minion autos and advanced like usual. Was Teez cocky from their items? They didn't back off. Instead, they hung back like, Come at me if you dare, waiting for last hits.
Fine, you want it? Here you go. Without hesitation, I summoned Sand Soldiers and started stabbing at Teez. Their health dropped less than expected—probably the HP stats from Moran's Ring. But I'd faced this crap tons of times. After years scrapping with rune-disadvantaged opponents in Go, this imbalance didn't faze me.
Teez got greedy, snagging three melee minions with Abyssal Trident. In return, they coughed up a quarter of their HP. Verdict: This Teez sucks. They freaked at my item slot earlier, but they're greedy as hell and can't manage spacing. Health regen meant they popped a potion. Item window showed one health pot used. Even if I smack them three more times to burn their pots, they've got Tri-Pot too.
I sighed involuntarily.
"Hoo..."
Expected. That mountain of pots screamed "shop vacuumed"—insane sustain. Still, they couldn't mess with me now. Force more pots, and they'd waste their first-blood gold lead. Skip pots, though, and they're kill range. I rallied my remaining enemy caster minions with Sand Soldiers and cleared fast. Smart enough, Teez fell back further, joining the second wave.
I stepped off lane, went past the lower mid bush, and into the river bush between mid and bot—ward down.
Now I was fully immune to Yun Zhao ganks. Here's why: Positioned low in that warded bush for lane, they'd come from below. But my ward spots it. See Zhao? Bail opposite and resume farming. If they push anyway? Just kite back—they gain nothing. If they come topside? I'm low already—run. Wall flash? Flash out too. Our team plays safe till their next gank cooldown.
Right after warding, back to lane: Teez struggling to shove, one hit at a time. Yeah, good job farming—now back off? Unless you wanna hide, I poked harder over time, choking them out completely. Their pots? Long gone. Tri-Pot? Drained.
Meanwhile, Yun Zhao ganked twice. Predictably, a slight reposition wasted their time.
[Enemy Eliminated!]
[Enemy Eliminated!]
And naturally, our jungler double-ganked top successfully. Enemy top was Timmy, a tiny hornet firing poison stings with a creepy ^o^ grin. So punchable. They even waited for Timmy's recall, then smashed on respawn.
Back to mid: Ramp up pressure, and Teez flashes Tricker to survive. That's kill window. Once they flash it pre-6, tower-dive with God's Encampment to yank 'em out.
Another Sand Soldier charged. Teez, dodging summons while farming? Merciless combo: Sand Soldier—auto—Desert Tempest—auto. Final auto, they Tricker back under tower—but HP chunked.
New wave incoming. Two minions to 6. Lane split right at their tower—perfect false security. Teez glued to tower, fearing poke-death.
I counted while clearing.
"Two..."
"One!"
Minions down, level 6—Sand Soldier—Mirage—flash beside Teez. My Desert Tempest off CD meant theirs too. Raizir maxes it first; Teez maxes Tricker—longer CD. Mid-flight, hotkey ult. Landed beside—ignite—God's Encampment yanks 'em out. They airball during pushback; I Desert Tempest—auto—auto finish. Stacked Sand Soldier auto clinched it barely. Second stacks 25% damage—enough. Raizir strolls out casually. My HP under 100. No enemy jungler intel—base recall under tower.
Then question-mark pings exploded on Raizir.
From experience, this meant...
Praise. Epic praise. But honestly? Teez misplayed; I didn't outplay. They stayed at 1/3-1/4 HP, got greedy. Their dumb bravado widened my CS gap to double. First-blood items? Moran's Ring resells cheap, pots consumed—I'm way ahead.
*
Back to lane: Teez shoves hard to 6. Now I play safe. Teez Jaws full combo? Even full HP, deadly. Dodge well...?
Teez ult voice—fish flies. Whiffs right beside me.
......Tilted hard. Fair. Shop-vacced items, still suffocated by Raizir, then 6-dive'd. Mental gone.
But that...
"Game thrown."
If Teez played safe with Jaws for all-in threat, I'd ease off shove. But whiffing ult changes everything. They backed hard post-ult; I shoved aggressively. Poked while they ate lane under tower. At ~15s ult CD, shove deep—roam bot.
Bot was the last even lane. Top? Olof's axe splitting Timmy's skull live. Enemy Yun Zhao wasted time on me—growth gap to our Roro and Yeti after double top ganks. Bot: Enemy Lucian flashed heal early invade death, so despite strong champ, pulled wave—but solid farm kept pace with our Azriel.
Pop bot, game over.
Deep enemy jungle detour—circle to bot. Spotted their Zhao top vs. Roro and Yeti—safe roam. Teez zoned on shoving—perfect.
They MIA-pinged? Enemy bot eased shove to lane half. But my spot...
"Right above their tower."
Wall behind tower—I stepped at minion timing, walked enemy bot duo. Confirmed Azriel spell missing from trades. They spotted late. Sand Soldier—Mirage—Desert Tempest behind. Key: Don't full commit. God's Encampment range—just enough gap. They'd flash back to dodge. Predicted right—they ate it. Lucian and Luxia cleaned up.
[Enemy Eliminated!]
[Double Kill!]
I stole kills—no biggie. At this level...
"I can carry."
Solo'd Teez twice more, caught their Zhao too. Bot popped whenever angle—Lucian fed. Top? Timmy's skull probably axe-cleaved. No need—Roro and Yeti babysat. Game snowballed smooth.
Result? Win, obviously. Their no-surrender spam screamed "ranked game," but pointless thrashing.
Nexus pops—quick end chat. "Carry thx" tickles nice. Am I praise-weak? Most spam gg, but I always "Good games." Habit now. Friends call it extra—I think it's right. Teammates for that game, after all. Courtesy matters. That's me.
Post-game screen. First match shows placement, they said. Silver'd be bless...
Rumors say even Silver start's lucky.
Screen shifts—popup:
......Gold 4? Not Silver 4...?
Hyeon-su, time to pay up 50k.