Wrapping Up the Scrims

SenT. Three years ago, he retired from the pro League of Champions scene, then launched into his second life as a streamer thanks to his signature sly personality and sharp tongue. On top of that, his looks ranked high even among pro gamers, earning him tons of fans. Back in his pro days, he'd mained support before switching to jungle toward the end of his career. He'd built a solid resume before hanging it up.

When he first got the invite to the Zzzk Cup, he was equal parts worried and excited. He'd joined with a firm resolve to lead the team as its core. And he could confidently say his teammates were pretty damn good. Kang Hyun was a Tier 1 top laner, holding lines solidly and shining in teamfights. Kurose Ritsu delivered stable play that exceeded expectations for the investment. Neru? Honestly, he couldn't fathom why she was in that tier—she had skills way beyond it. Exaggerating a bit, her brain-over-brawn mechanics were nearly pro-level.

The team's weak link was the ADC, Dalgisoda, but SenT figured she was about average Bronze. They'd taken 1-2 on day two scrims, but he'd messed up a few calls himself. Still, if he led right, they had the firepower to snatch the whole thing.

"Dalso, let's go!!"

"Yeah!!!"

But what the hell was this?

"Naaaisu!!! "

"That's it! Nice one, Neru!"

Dalgisoda and Neru turning a 2v3 bottom gank into a triple kill. From SenT's view, it was downright baffling. He'd been a little worried about bottom, sure. What if Dalgisoda choked hard and Neru snapped with double curses, tanking the vibe? ...Yeah, that kind of worry. Of course, he knew Neru wouldn't actually do it, but as the support calling all the shots, it was frustrating enough to burst a gut.

But that worry was for nothing. They'd whipped out this Vine-Melio combo he'd never seen in his life and were exploding the bottom lane. Against the Rest team, no less—the ones who'd crushed them yesterday on bottom diff.

"What does RioCham say?!"

"Momentum!"

He vaguely remembered hearing they'd duo queued some practice before scrims, but this felt like it went both right and wrong somehow. If it'd been streamed, he'd rewind the VOD, but private queues? No clue what went down. Eh, if their momentum was rolling like they said, who cared.

Unlike the chaotic bottom, a faint groan came from Ritsu.

"...Ritsu, what's up?"

"Not Neru... Where'd my mid roam go..."

SenT decided to just do his job. Neru was focusing more on peeling for the ADC, so his calls dropped off, but he could handle orders anyway. Good was good.

"Heading mid, folks~ Ritsu sis."

"Uh, uhn. I'll rotate bottom."

Vayne already snagging five kills in laning phase? Game over, basically. They forced the surrender at 21 minutes—the fastest scrim yet.

. . .

Day three scrims ended 2-1. The loss was to Liens team with that Sarlingnyang player, as expected. Man, if just swapping bottom combos jacked their skill that much... But Vayne had clear limits, massive risks if she didn't scale. Other ADCs could clear waves fast to keep up in XP, but Vayne's clear was slow, lagging her growth.

Still, Dalgisoda looked thrilled. First win carried by bottom, after all.

"Neru, we're duoing tomorrow too, right? Yeah? Let's try other champs!"

"Sure, works for me."

Bottom carrying opened up way more than it seemed. More strategies, harder for enemies to tunnel one lane. SenT saw it as a huge plus. They'd mostly played top-side before, but now bottom carries were viable too. Main strat would still be top-side, though.

"Neru."

"Yeah?"

"Don't let her go full maniac, okay? You get me?"

"Oh, yeah. I'll keep her leashed tight."

SenT worried Dalgisoda might get cocky and throw. But a few stern words from me had her in check—I was confident on the leash.

"Tomorrow's the last scrim day, so practice today's feedback hard."

"Got it~"

"Yep~"

Day three wrapped in a way better vibe than day two.

. . .

Next day, I hopped into voice chat to duo with Dalgisoda again. She'd clearly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠mulled it over all night and started unloading ideas.

"Vayne-Milio's best for limited spots! Like when enemy bottom's weak in lane or they've got two tanks."

"Oh, and I was thinking last night? What if you practice Lulu? It's meta right now, and you can counterpick too!"

"Ah! I made a champ list to practice. Check it out?"

She was so proactive, it threw me off a bit. But good's good. Lulu practice? Solid idea. Better than perma-banning it—gave us more options.

Next up: her new champ picks. Vayne was niche, clear pros and cons. Her list? All in-fight capable with survival tools. I recommended Kalista.

Spear-throwing ADC with sustained DPS and strong laning. Autos and Q plant spears, E detonates them for big damage based on count. Passive dashes short-range after AA/skill for kiting. Ult makes support invincible, pulls them in, then launches them to airborne enemies for ages. Survival for your support or CC stun. Pairs best with ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠utility ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠like Lunata, but no time for that. Synergizes great with my go-to Frey too.

ADCs stronger in lane than Kalista? Count 'em on one hand. Downsides? Plenty.

TL;DR:

1. High support dependency

2. Tough champ overall

3. No late carry

4. Forces in-fights

1, 3, 4? Fine, we account for that. Issue was 2. Kalista needs mastery, and we had like four days to quals. Could Dalgisoda hit tournament-ready?

Her mechanics were solid for Bronze—SenT said Gold-level raw.

"Don't worry! I'll grind RioCham non-stop till eve of quals. I got this!"

"...O-okay."

Her fire was inspiring. Tons of NewTube guides anyway. How long to one-trick a champ? Start today.

"Theory's down from vids, no sweat. Queue up?"

"Yeah, go!"

I hadn't watched Lulu guides either. Skills were simple-ish. Passive: Ally buff/shield boosts their AA for bonus damage. Q: Damage + slow. W: Attack speed buff. E: Shield. Ult: Enlarge ally, max HP up, knockup nearby foes.

Three hours ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to scrims. We duoed to grind new champs. First three? Her fumbling Kalista passive = 3L. But we adapted quick after.

Eight duo queues pre-scrim: 3-5 record.

"We're both getting 'not local' reports, so MMR won't climb, right?"

Dalgisoda asked innocently.

"Guess duoing you drags me..."

...I almost said, but just nodded. Team RNG bad or whatever. Her Kalista KDA averaged 1.42 across eight, mine 2.08. Decent for quals prep. Synergy clicking more too.

Then day four scrims: 2-1. Loss to Liens again, but 43-minute slugfest? Progress. Three meetings, three Ls, but we were closing the gap. Prelims round-robin? Win possible.

"Hit me for feedback anytime. I'll call meetings here if needed."

"Okay~"

"Yup."

"Great scrimming today! Let's crush prelims!"

Four days, twelve scrims. Final standings:

Prelim league was four days out.