Streamer Tournament (2)

"If Fiora starts overwhelming Irelia this early already—!"

"Feels like it's already been a while."

Park Jimin's Fiora shoved the teleporting Irelia back once more.

Anyone could see she was going to keep getting rocked.

Haruka's team held the early initiative.

Render's team had once again locked in champions with high late-game potential.

In mid, Viktor kept pulling ahead, while bot lane's Kog'Maw-Lulu held their own.

It was a matchup where the raw power of the ranks was showing.

But the gap in top lane was something else entirely.

"Ugh, Fiora is such a broken champ."

Yu Dahye recoiled in horror.

"Diyul, having already tasted Fiora's power, is playing safe from behind for now. Honestly, this situation isn't great for her."

"Looking at the CS difference, the item lead is going to open up pretty significantly."

A melee-versus-melee matchup.

Closing a gap like that on your own was extremely difficult.

"What? Why isn't she backing off?"

"Huh? Lee Sin was clearly visible in vision, right?"

Their own Rek'Sai had been holding solid vision on the top side.

Even after spotting Lee Sin's position, Fiora was instead stepping forward.

Lee Sin revealed himself in top.

Fiora's ultimate lit up against Irelia.

"No no no—!"

Fiora sprinted straight at Irelia.

Irelia died before Lee Sin could even fire his sonic wave.

"Fiora is a monster right now!"

"Lee Sin too!"

He threw the sonic wave anyway, but there was zero winning angle.

Lee Sin was already fleeing.

"Ah! Ah! So close."

Fiora chased Lee Sin but lost him by a single auto-attack.

Rek'Sai tried to pursue, but once he vanished from vision she settled for invading the jungle instead.

"It's weird."

To Dahye, Jimin was no longer that mysterious eighteen-year-old from before.

Not just the soft way he spoke into the mic—meeting him in person, he was a kind, simple-hearted kid.

But the moment he loaded into SOL, he turned into a merciless machine that ground opponents into dust.

"Ah, Haruka's team is in real trouble."

"If it keeps going like this, Lee Sin's growth gets completely stifled… Render's Rek'Sai hasn't done much early, but when one entire lane explodes like this, the whole story changes."

Dominating lane while simultaneously ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠starving the enemy jungler—Jimin was already exerting massive influence on the game.

"What are you even talking about."

Dahye ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠climbing back to Diamond 2 had taken her less than a week of solo queueing on her own.

"Whoa, he soloed the entire gold."

The top first tower fell.

Fiora monopolized the tower gold by herself.

"Looking at it this way, Render's team drafted really well."

"Exactly. Even if Lissandra falls a bit behind on CS against Viktor, she can just smile knowing Fiora is her bomber. Kog'Maw's just happily farming the wave too."

"They must have a lot of faith in Jimin, heh heh."

Smashing the enemy laner in top and forcing the enemy jungler to answer meant the rest of the team looked incredibly comfortable.

Yeah, I know that feeling.

Dahye grinned.

Duo queueing with Jimin had made every game feel that easy.

"You can do it! Don't give up!"

The casters tried to rally the losing side.

But Fiora's blade remained ice-cold.

The stage shifted from top to bot.

It was another solo kill for the same Fiora.

"Game's over."

A one-sided slaughter. Yet because of how flashy Fiora looked, Dahye was still thoroughly entertained.

"Here he comes!"

The teamfight began.

Render's team poked and repositioned until Lissandra landed the engage.

From behind, Fiora appeared.

"Triple kill! Quadra kill!"

"Whoa, Jimin!"

Fattened on tower gold and endless CS, Fiora had become a monster.

Even the well-fed Viktor melting instantly was almost pitiful.

"Fiora is a god right now!"

"And Render's team is doing an incredible job controlling distance around Kog'Maw!"

"Is that the power of Coach Hwata?"

Fiora's raw destruction.

And the main squad moving with perfect synergy.

Render's team was clearly playing a full step above.

"Another solo kill!"

"Ahhh, this is just cruel."

"Oof."

Render's team took Baron and marched out.

In the ensuing standoff, Fiora sniped Irelia right in front of the top inhibitor tower.

With Fiora—already one of the strongest tower-demolishers in the game—wearing the Baron buff, the siege speed was otherworldly.

"Kog'Maw! Kog'Maw!"

The moment Fiora joined, the enemy champions began backing off.

Once fully itemized Kog'Maw started spitting, there was nothing they could do.

"It's over."

"GG! Render's team takes their second win of the day!"

"Without question, the most dominant team here is this one."

"Every team they face just has no answer for top lane."

"Ah, ending it this fast is so nice."

Destructive carry power.

The speed to close games when it was time to close them.

Casting the match, Dahye wore a thoroughly satisfied expression.

"Next up… yeah, this one's going to be really important."

Park Gyeoul's team versus Park Donghyun's team.

"Wait, what?"

Dahye, who had been watching with a bored face, jolted at the last second.

Park Gyeoul's team, which had been winning the whole time, had let the game slip away.

Park Donghyun's Master mid and ADC had put on a masterful performance.

"Carrying a game completely alone is always hard, chat."

Park Gyeoul's top laner Crow had shown excellent play, but he couldn't save a team that got swept in the endgame.

"But if it goes like this, three teams could end up at 1-2."

Dahye's face twisted.

She would rather die than do a rematch.

"Oh, really?"

Her face brightened in an instant.

"Watching long games is nice, you know."

Dahye waited for the next match.

"Render's team versus Park Gyeoul's team! Can the 2-0 Render squad lock in the finals?"

A win would send Render's team straight to the finals with nothing more to discuss. A loss would put Park Gyeoul's team in emergency mode.

Ban-pick began.

"Crow's Gangplank earlier was fierce."

"But Render's team isn't banning it!"

"Jimin doesn't play GP, right?"

In Dahye's memory there was no Gangplank from Jimin. Even with his godlike mechanics, Gangplank was a champion that demanded mastery.

"Yes, Crow is locking Gangplank again."

"Is this right?"

The champion selected for Render's top was Vladimir.

Dahye tilted her head in confusion.

"Whoa, Vladimir here?!"

"Vlad isn't exactly a champion that thrives in this kind of late-game composition."

"Hmm…"

"Render's team has been performing well today, but their biggest strength has been Jimin's carry power… this game though? I'm not so sure."

Park Gyeoul's team was stacked with crowd control.

On top of that, Kindred's ultimate, Lamb's Respite, could create a death-free zone for several seconds.

What could a burst-and-AoE specialist like Vladimir even do in this matchup?

"This should be fun, at least."

But Dahye smiled.

Something about the draft felt off-kilter.

A Master-tier opposing top laner.

This level of competition was what made things interesting.

"As expected, right from the start!"

The top-lane fight was intense. Gangplank and Vladimir traded every time their cooldowns came up.

"Oh, but bot is going in hard."

"Nice."

As someone who played ADC the most, Dahye was impressed.

Render's Lucian-Nami had already forced strong trades early.

"Support movement looks good?"

If Leona had landed her skills cleanly they would have been in real trouble, but Nami's positioning was solid.

"Important match. Both teams are locked in."

"Wait a second."

"Oh?"

Vladimir, who hadn't been able to pull ahead of Gangplank in the earliest minutes, was starting to apply real pressure.

"That was a heavy trade."

Gangplank had whiffed his powder kegs while Vladimir landed every skill, walking away with a massive edge in the exchange.

"He has to base after that."

Gangplank headed home—but couldn't buy the items he wanted.

"Ooooh, Nidalee is going."

Dahye held her breath watching.

Vladimir was shoving the wave.

"Ooooooh! The spear!"

"Whoa, they got him."

Gangplank flashed the spear, but he couldn't survive the follow-up dive from Vladimir and Nidalee.

"Vladimir got the kill, heh heh."

"And the wave burned completely… ah, if it goes like this."

The early window where Gangplank should have been stronger—yet Vladimir, through trades and jungle help, was already opening a decisive gap.

"Whoa, so strong!"

Gangplank couldn't keep his head on straight under the damage from itemized Vladimir. Conversely, no matter how hard he hit, Vladimir's sustain simply shrugged it off.

"Ah, Kindred coming late isn't going to solve this."

"And Ahri in mid is hard to catch, while bot isn't getting as much value out of Leona as expected."

Park Gyeoul's team had pulled Master cards for top and mid.

Top was already broken, and mid's champion identity made it hard to create a big gap at this timing.

"This means Kindred has to be careful on the top side, so stacking marks gets harder."

"It's going to take a while for that Kindred-Galio combo to really come online."

Nidalee's growth. Constant disadvantage in top.

An uncomfortable bot lane that just wouldn't let up—Park Gyeoul's team was in a tough spot.

"Whoa!"

"Wooooooah! Solo kill!"

"Is Jimin out of his mind?"

Vladimir's ultimate, Hemoplague, detonated. He sniped Gangplank clean and walked away.

"The only place Park Gyeoul's team can maybe find an answer is through bot-lane coordination, but Render's bot is playing really carefully in these moments."

When top was running rampant, the rest of the team stayed quiet—as if balancing the scales.

Render's team was already twisting the game out of shape.

"Whoa, again and again."

Laning phase ended and the side-lane standoff began.

Vladimir sniped Gangplank yet again.

"How is he even playing Vladimir like that."

Jimin was piloting Vladimir as if it were Fiora.

"Crow played well last game and always shows great form whenever he enters a tournament, but this game is truly shocking."

"Jimin, the streamer with the shortest career among everyone gathered today—and the youngest, right? He's burning his name into everyone's memory."

Vladimir's level and items were enough to make the enemy team lose the will to fight.

On top of that, Nidalee had grown massively off the top-lane advantage.

A bot lane that was in excellent form today.

Even a mid laner minimizing the mid gap through pure mobility.

As Lucian-Nami's power started to come online, Park Gyeoul's team was driven into a corner.

Lamb's Respite had to come out before Vladimir even arrived.

"Here he comes!"

Vladimir entered late.

"Quadra kill!"

"Penta! Penta! Penta!"

This was the moment Dahye had been most locked in on all day.

"Penta kill!"

"Nice!"

She shot up from her chair and clapped.

After Hemoplague, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a few skill rotations later, Park Gyeoul's champions simply vanished.

From there the game was nothing but a one-sided massacre.

"GG! Render's team takes their third win!"

"Jimin, you are the best today."

"The new king of top lane!"

A performance that left no choice but to praise it.

"Ah, that's my boy."

Dahye smiled with pure fondness.

With three wins secured, Render's team went straight into the interview.

The most spotlighted player of the day couldn't hide his shyness.

An awkward delivery. Textbook lines for the sake of form.

"Ah, what is this."

Where had the terrifying gamer who dominated all three matches gone?

Dahye snickered.

"Any final words?"

"Yes, Haruka's team finishes with dignity. See you tomorrow."

Everyone had expected Park Donghyun's team to beat Haruka's, but Diyul—who had looked shaky against Render—fought well, and jungler Daruma's Lee Sin ran wild, toppling the pre-scrim favorites Park Donghyun's squad.

Aside from Render's team, everyone sat at 1-2.

By kill-score difference, Park Gyeoul's team advanced to the finals.

"Yes, tomorrow's finals will be Render's team versus Park Gyeoul's team! Third-place match is Hirose Haruka's team versus Park Donghyun's team! Please look forward to it."

"Oppa, you're popular, huh?"

"What are you talking about."

"That last game was fun."

"Jimin's popular too, you know?"

"I'm not teaming with him next time."

"No way, heh heh."

After several conversations, Jimin had gotten pretty good at handling the noonas' jokes.

Huh?

A text came in.

"…"

Jimin's reply came late.

"Ah…"

Of course, telling when this nuna was joking was hard. That had nothing to do with how long you'd known her.

"…"

"Tomorrow, we definitely win."

Jimin, who had barely spoken until now, suddenly made the declaration.

"Huh?"

"Out of nowhere?"

"Yeah, fighting!"

"That's romantic."

"Winning is only natural."

I have to play even better tomorrow.

Jimin made a firm resolution.