Our First Plan: Jungle Staff Sorcerer and Mid Puppeteer Duo
Our first prepared plan was the jungle Staff Sorcerer and mid Puppeteer duo. The Staff Sorcerer was a jungler specialized in aggro ping-pong, wide-area CC, and burst damage, while the Puppeteer was a mid laner focused on powerful initiating through equally devastating AoE CC.
The Puppeteer manipulated puppets to fight 2v1 on her own, making her incredibly versatile and strong—but just as hard to control. Even at the pro level, there were players who couldn't handle her, and she wasn't one of my specialty picks either.
After banning out Aion's main mid picks with our first three bans, we immediately grabbed the Staff Sorcerer.
They probably never expected us to take the Puppeteer, so the enemy locked in the currently OP-rated Lawless and Forest Warden duo for bot.
Thanks to that, we got our desired comp intact without needing to pull out our second plan.
"Alright, we got the comp we wanted. But watch out for crumbling early."
"We gotta end it on the mid-game timing. If it drags to late, we're screwed."
We brought a jungle carry comp with strong mid-jungle synergy that needed a bit of time for the jungler, while they countered with a double-carry comp featuring the overwhelming carry power of a mid Gunner and ADC Lawless—but with sky-high macro difficulty.
It was a jungle carry comp, sure, but with mid synergy as the core, which meant my responsibility was massive. My heart was starting to pound a little harder.
"Okay, let's all do our best... Wait, Yeonwoo. You okay?"
...Was it that obvious on my face? The director, about to head out, paused to check on me. Truth was, something had felt off since just before. Not bad, exactly. Just... weird.
He looked a bit worried, but we couldn't just halt the game now. It didn't feel really bad. My heart was beating a tad fast, but otherwise, no issues.
"I'm fine."
Everyone was giving me concerned looks, but I had zero intention of stopping here. Even if we lost, I didn't want to halt. This feeling, this pulse, this anxiety, this anticipation, this strangeness—all of it was exactly what I'd craved.
The game started.
And...
Everything began.
"Alert!!! Dice's Puppeteer crushes the Gunner in the laning phase right from the get-go and snags First Blood!"
"This is huge trouble if it plays out like this. The Gunner isn't weak early, but Aion got a bit greedy and pushed up, and Dice hounded him relentlessly for the kill!"
"Dice doesn't waste a second—immediate back. She's grabbing items and planning to pressure right away. Even without the kill, this pulls the wave super favorable for her."
"She can pressure hard, but that exposes the Puppeteer to ganks. Brawler's weak to ganks pre-6, but you can't ignore a Puppeteer pushed that far up! He adjusts pathing to swing mid from behind."
"But the Staff Sorcerer won't sit idle! Early 2v2 skirmish... With both mids burning spells, it's all about who lands first. Oh! Puppeteer! Right where the Brawler's coming—puppets slammed down! How'd she know?!"
"This is Dice magic! The player with the sharpest vision in the canyon. Staff Sorcerer follows up, and they turn the gank around instead!"
"Replay incoming."
"Whoa, does Dice have clairvoyance? Perfect read on Brawler's pathing—spot-on callout."
"This is what we saw in their Miracle Run four years ago. Dice reads the enemy perfectly, and Jesus follows without a shred of doubt."
"Three Worlds runner-ups aren't a fluke, huh?"
"Oliverz is in deep trouble now. Enemy mid-jungle carries exploded early. Bot's favorable for them, but E Rev's bot's fine too—no deaths needed. Play safe, and you're halfway there!"
"While eyes were on mid-jungle's massive lead, top's gap is huge too. Sharpness on tanky Guardian still outplaying Shelby."
"Oliverz alert. They took Lancer as counter to Sharpness's Guardian, but no suppression at all. Top, mid, jungle all pushed in—their only hope is bot."
"CS gap's meaningful. E Rev's Sniper-Sentinel bot lacks laning synergy—teamfight picks. Oliverz shoves hard with Lawless-Forest Warden... Oh, Staff Sorcerer hits 6 and dives bot. Oliverz oblivious?! Sentinel flashes late to wallbang the fleeing Lawless! Sniper ults, Staff Sorcerer follows up! Oliverz in crisis—whole map collapsing!"
"Dice's calls don't stop. Coordinating the whole canyon."
"Enemy jungler's pathing read like a lighthouse—pinpoint accurate."
"Sentinel's not even staying bot now? Crisu's Sentinel roams with Staff Sorcerer for vision."
"Oliverz's frontlines crumbling everywhere. Puppeteer solo pressuring Aion out of CS after first blood is massive."
"15 minutes! Puppeteer solos the Gunner's mid tower!"
"Dice in her prime?! Carrying solo."
"Oliverz all-in at Gravekeeper's Vanguard? Desperate gamble—win this and flip! That's the vibe."
"But not that easy...! E Rev shuts it down like twisting a kid's arm and aces them."
"28 minutes—E Rev sinks Oliverz! GG!"
"Game 2! E Revolution Gaming dominates! 28 minutes? No—silenced Oliverz at 24 before major objective. Ruthless performance!"
"Dice blew up mid? Banned Puppeteer, so she drops two solo kills on Elementalist. Death-tele-death, no TP recovery."
"Oliverz fought back—swapped top-mid desperation. But Dice calls Jesus to pick off Shelby!"
"Dice proves no rust. GG!!!"
The game ended. Right after, Seohee rushed over, making a huge fuss. You'd think we won finals from this.
"Insane! Sis, what got into you today?!"
Uh... yeah?
"Yo, she's lost it."
"Uh, huh? Yeah."
"You good? You flew in-game, now this."
"No, it's... um."
No, I don't get it either. Why am I like this?
"Snap out of it—interview time."
"Interview?"
"You're MVP, duh."
"Oh, right."
Yeah. I did great, me.
"You sure you're okay? Can you handle the interview?"
"...Yeah, I think so."
I still didn't quite get my condition, but boycotting the first-day interview? No way.
Soon the director and Arang burst in, hyped. Casters analyzed the game, then the interview linked to me.
"Hello! Caster Kim Yurin here. Interview with Dice, grabbing MVP on return debut. Dice~ you connected?"
"..."
"Huh? Can't hear!"
"Ah, hello..."
"Gotcha! Hi, Dice! Caster Kim Yurin—great to see you."
"N-nice to meet you."
Why's she so hyped? Or is my state off? Something's massively wrong, but I can't pinpoint it.
"You've been the hot topic lately. MVP on comeback game with insane play—what's the mood?"
"Mood... mood... mood..."
"Pardon?"
Ah, ah, got it. I figured it out. Why my mood's like this.
How to describe it?
Ah.
"Dunno how to put it, but like... um."
"Yes! Go on."
"I'm freaking out."