Team Auction

Two days remained until the team selection broadcast for the Zzzk Cup.

I currently had five supports I could play. Even ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠after expanding from the originals, Thalia and Lena, I was still getting flak for not having enough. Right now, I ranked second among supports, behind Commander Kitty, which was a solid evaluation. But as time passed and more data piled up on opponents, the odds of my plays working perfectly would dwindle.

"A new weapon..."

In the end, five champions weren't enough. So here, I had to make a choice. Hone my existing playstyle to the extreme, pick champions that fit it perfectly, and max out my peaks. Or focus more on laning to patch up my lows.

"Well, it'll depend on who the fellow ADC is, too..."

If I ended up with a high-tier ADC, I'd have to lean into laning depending on the team's direction. But if my team had strong top and mid, I could play to my strengths...

"Hm, strengths..."

AI-level analysis and computation power. How much of that was I even using in-game right now?

The thought hit me out of nowhere. Supports didn't rule games solely through roaming or map leading. While searching for a champion that fit my thinking, I finally found one that could be my crack pick.

Frey. The archer warrior from the frozen northern wastes, one of League of Champions's (RioCham) foundational ADCs.

'These days... she only pops up occasionally in tournaments.'

Her kit was loaded with slows, and her ult was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a global shot that reached across the map. Landing it dealt magic damage scaling with distance traveled and stunned for up to three seconds. Plus, her E summoned an Ice Bird in a straight line for massive vision control.

Sounds great on paper, right? But she had zero survival tools—just a sitting duck. Even with kills, she was too easy to shred physically, so she languished in solo queue's 5th tier.

'So why not run her support?'

Support Frey had been buried in 5th tier since the last patch. Her strengths: dominant early laning, E vision dominance, ult picks across lanes. That ult, if landed, locked enemies for a whopping three seconds to set up kills for teammates.

So why ignore her? Support items didn't suit her. Shadowblade boosted her vision massively, or Empire's Edict amplified team damage under slows. But the last patch hiked both by 200 gold, delaying her item spikes compared to other supports.

Not like she was some unimaginable off-meta pick like Thalia or Screwloose Fate. In Bronze-Silver-Gold, she still hung around 4th tier.

"Okay, this is it."

I dove into analyzing pro matches where support Frey had appeared.

...

Three days later, the long-awaited Zzzk Cup team selection broadcast finally aired. I fired up my stream, subbing the official Zzzk Cup broadcast in the background. My virtual avatar floated in the bottom right.

The selection was a straight auction: each captain had 1000 PT max to buy players. Obviously, that covered all four positions, so strategy mattered. Splash big on one lane and scoop low tiers on the rest? Or balance with 2nd-3rd tiers?

Scrims had shown top and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ADC tiers weren't worlds apart in skill. Top influenced teams less, so even as 1st tier, Kang Hyun went to SenT's team for 440 points.

Tops kept auctioning low after that. Junglers were ex-pros, then came the hot mid lane.

Bids skyrocketed.

"Whoa, how high's this going?"

700 points, 720, 750...

Mids fetched higher than tops. 2nd tier mid went for 510. Oddly, 3rd tier Kurose Ritsu snagged for 360.

"Mids burned a ton of points..."

Mids done, bottom lane. Point-rich captains clashed over high-tier ADCs.

Tier gaps weren't huge, but ADC had RioCham's best carry potential. 1st tier Maple went to Rest for 700. Others pushed prices, desperate Becky snagged 2nd tier Slime for 460.

All captains spent some, leaving points for the second hotspot: supports.

Supports were hot, but points were tight. Riens saved big for 1st tier Commander Kitty. Wook's cheap top/mid/ADC left them with 5th tier support inevitably.

As expected, point-flush Riens took her.

Now Becky had most left, then SenT.

Key here: Would Becky take Kim or me? Low-point Rest tested bids, knowing they couldn't afford me anyway.

Becky held back, then committed to 2nd tier Kim Man-sik.

2nd/3rd tier supports weren't bad at all—higher tier than me, even. Just a risk question.

Now SenT's turn. Most points left: 3rd tier or me at 4th?

Rest dumped all 200 right away. Take him if you want. If you do, Neru's ours.

Wook was out of points. SenT pondered... and passed. Choosing me.

"Gasp."

As predicted, SenT took 4th tier support me for 300 points. Wook defaulted to 5th tier Seoya.

All teams complete.

And just like that, I was teamed with Kurose Ritsu—a senior among seniors.

"Team looks decent overall..."

Barring our 5th tier pass ADC, our balance was solid. Lots of folks pegged us and Riens as favorites.

"Ugh... let's do our best."

After the broadcast, SenT invited me to the Incode server. Six voices: Kang Hyun, SenT, Kurose Ritsu, Strawberry Soda, Hanako Neru, and a tourney staffer.

One by one, voices joined the voice chat. New bonds forming. I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hopped in too.