The New Star (3)

[If I do this····· if I do this!]

Fiora's super play—cutting down two opponents and forcing the third to retreat. In a single instant, the entire complexion of the game had flipped.

[Let's watch that again.]

The replay screen rolled.

[Whoa, the Riposte right there!]

[And the speed of those Fiora skills was just insane.]

"Woooaaah!"

Even setting aside the weight of a first-place decider, it was pure, beautiful play from a pro gamer worthy of pure admiration. A stir of voices rose from the seats packed with P1 fans.

The broadcast cut to Jimin's personal camera from the play just now. Completely unrelated to the drama of the moment, the player piloting Fiora looked ice-cold.

[Uh—they're hitting Baron!]

The observer hurriedly killed the replay. P1's Baron try had begun.

[Lee Sin still has ult and flash!]

Maehwa Life's remaining champions were no pushovers either. Ornn could still teleport in.

[But look at this.]

Yet P1's vision control on the Baron pit was flawless, and even Kaji—the king of Baron steals—had no choice but to back off.

P1 secured Baron.

Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap!

The applause that always followed an objective. But there was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a real bounce of joy in the P1 fans' hands.

[It was looking rough for sure, but that Fiora play just now changed everything.]

[P1 rolling with the Baron buff now! How much more can they take?]

If you asked any pro team why they put Fiora in their top laner's hands, they would answer that they wanted exactly this kind of situation—and it had been perfect. The sheer destructive power of a single player on the side lane twisting a 5v5 game by himself. P1's top laner Jimin had taken Fiora to the absolute limit and shown it.

[P1 advances after Baron. Plenty of towers left to smash. Plenty of towers means plenty of potential gold!]

P1's champions were dismantling towers one by one. Even Maehwa Life, who had put on a machine-like teamfight earlier, was falling back.

[But P1's main force has to move carefully. Even with flashes up, they can still get blown up in one go.]

[Watch that Lee Sin kick. And Renekton looking to flash-engage too.]

A tense mind game between the two packs. Lee Sin's movement—hovering just on the edge of a sonic wave—had both sets of fans' hearts hammering.

Bot-side second tower: main forces staring each other down. Mid: Fiora versus Ornn. But with the cannon minions riding the Baron's blessing, P1 held the high ground no matter what.

[If P1 just calmly rotates towers and buys items, Maehwa Life's night only gets longer. And Fiora is becoming more of a monster by the second!]

[If they're going to force something, it has to be now! From Maehwa's side!]

Everyone was telling Maehwa Life that this was the window.

[Ornn can't even get there, and if he does, Braum counters him hard, right? Maehwa needs a bold call.]

A moment that could decide the game. Both main forces knew it was the turning point, so they were moving with plenty of noise.

[Uwaaaaagh!]

After a mind-game of movement, Renekton suddenly flashed ult to open the engage. Miss Fortune's ultimate dropped as if on cue. But P1's champions had been ready—none of them got caught by Renekton's dive.

[Shockwave!]

Orianna's shockwave detonated. The teamfight turned into pure chaos in an instant. Both top laners teleported in over the short distance.

[Fiora is a monster right now!]

Ornn strong in teamfights. Fiora weak in teamfights. But the usual champion evaluations meant almost nothing here.

[Double kill!]

Even in a 4v4 the fight had already been good for them. Fiora appeared behind the enemy backline and began carving champions apart.

[Come here!]

Jin stuck to Ornn and launched him skyward with the third hit of Triple Tap; Varus finished it with a piercing arrow.

[Ornn goes down too!]

[ACE!]

"P1! P1! P1!"

P1 fans roaring as their champions marched to smash the Nexus.

[Of course this series wasn't ending in two games!]

[Nexus exploding! GG!]

After Fiora's super play, the rest of the game had been smooth sailing. P1 closed it out without a single mistake.

[Player Jimin picked up the high-difficulty Fiora and showed absolute violence.]

[Today he is carving his name into the minds of every SCK fan.]

The broadcast camera locked onto Jimin. But as if to say it wasn't over yet, the star of the show still looked completely unbothered.

"Jimin was pure Fiora itself."

"Haha."

Jimin gave an awkward smile at Hochang's praise.

"·····"

Then he looked down at his own hands.

They're shaking.

The moment on the side lane when he thought he might get collapsed on. Choosing to challenge instead of running had, luckily, paid off.

"Everyone ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠played really well."

Head coach Yaohwan looked around at his players as he spoke.

If they had lost the second set, they would have lost quite a lot. But they had flipped it and earned the chance of a third set.

Well now.

He glanced sideways at Jimin. He had been certain this kid could become a player who left his mark on history. He just never expected the kid would become a giant capable of swinging a big match this fast.

"Think they'll give us red side?"

"Doesn't seem like it."

"If we go red again·····"

Sides still weren't locked, but while they had even a little breathing room they put their heads together and started thinking.

"But Varus didn't die much and still put out damage."

"No mobility, so he was probably more tense and just didn't die," Kang Jun answered Jimin, having regained a bit of composure.

"Ah, and Sangjin hyung kept me safe."

"·····Thanks."

Knowing it was half a throwaway line, Sangjin laughed like he couldn't believe it.

"Somehow it feels like we're playing better now that it's the last set. I don't get this feeling often."

"Hm?"

The team's jungler Minhyeok spoke with a faintly excited look.

"If we go red·····"

And Junyeong looked at his teammates.

"Today, we're the ones with the advantage."

"Man, people are really watching a lot."

Jijijik streamer Yu Dahye was staring at the viewer counts on other broadcasts. The official Jijijik stream, the YouTube stream, plus every streamer who was casting—right now the entire live ranking on Jijijik was blanketed by the P1 versus Maehwa Life SCK big match.

"Yes, thank you for the 10,000-won donation. I play Sol with pure brain power, you know."

Dahye said it with a bright smile.

"It's starting."

The moment banpick began she straightened up in her seat. She never said it out loud, but Dahye had been cheering for P1 on stream. Between the mega-content duo queue with Jimin and the fact that she had promoted his streaming debut, the hardcore fans found it more than understandable. And anyway, her chat was already packed with more P1 fans than anyone else.

[Aatrox is open, and Maehwa takes it.]

[Player Hwasan has a real pedigree on Aatrox.]

[Maehwa Life ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠first-picks Aatrox on blue side!]

"Hmm."

Dahye watched the banpick with a tense face. She didn't think it was a terrible look, but P1's coach seemed like the type who always made banpick deliciously stressful.

[Ooooh, Caitlyn Lux!]

And there it was—Caitlyn-Lux. P1 completing a bottom lane with extremely strong 2v2 power.

[Orianna, and Rakan who can take responsibility for engages. Looks like Maehwa is building another strong teamfight comp.]

"Hmm."

The champions the other side was grabbing looked scary.

[Hehehehehehe.]

"Oh come on."

Dahye let out a little laugh. Maehwa Life had just banned Fiora. With Aatrox having a high chance of getting hard-countered by Fiora, it was a rational choice.

[Maehwa never lets their guard down. And when the opponent is strong, they acknowledge it.]

[Curious what P1 will lock.]

The banpick was heading into highlight territory.

[Yone!]

[They saw the enemy Orianna and picked it, right? Caitlyn-Lux pressure bot, Sejuani and Yone gank pressure mid—P1 wants the side-lane advantage again this game.]

[Luca is so good on mid Yone that this pick becomes possible.]

[Beep-boop, and the last pick is!]

[Ezreal! A safe choice. P1 has Sejuani but you can't really call her a hard tank, so top needs a champion who can cover damage too, right?]

[As expected, Coach Jang Yaohwan wants to leave the last pick to player Jimin. What will the choice be!]

"Huh? Isn't this supposed to be top Yone?"

Waiting for the tenth champion to appear, Dahye—who had been tilting her head for a while—spoke up.

[Neeko?]

[If Neeko comes out, then this.]

[Top Yone, mid Neeko.]

[Yes, they locked Neeko.]

A murmur—not cheers, just a low buzzing—ran through the arena.

[I was about to say Maehwa's Jayce ban earlier was pretty sharp. But Yone has come out as the answer to top Aatrox.]

[This is player Jimin's first Yone pick in SCK, not Challengers.]

[Fiora and now Yone—first time on both. Was he really P1's secret weapon all along?]

The casters who had been reminiscing about Luca enjoying mid Yone into standing AP mages had to adapt fast to the sudden swap.

[All ten champions locked in.]

[How do you see this banpick?]

[Yone coming out changes the geometry a lot. Mid and bot lane need Maehwa to survive really well, and top will swing hard depending on champion mastery and the two top laners' pure skill.]

[If Maehwa can get through cleanly they'll have more to say in the late game, but if Kaji's Poppy can't help much and Jimin's overwhelming force explodes again in set three, Maehwa's shield is going to get pierced by P1's spear.]

[Spear and shield. Which team will prove they deserve first place? Set three, let's begin!]

"P1! One! Two! Three!"

"P1 fighting!"

"Maehwa Life! One! Two! Three!"

"Maehwa fighting!"

Fans roaring. The third set had begun.

[Oh dear, oh dear.]

[I did say before the game that mid Neeko is terrifying.]

Neeko landing skill after skill. Orianna's HP melted while she was rooted and getting pummeled.

[Wait a second!]

Rakan caught by Lux's root. Followed immediately by Caitlyn headshot autos.

[Whoa, almost a kill already.]

Rakan burned flash in a hurry.

[But now Ezreal can't even stand properly in the lane either.]

A champion who doesn't need much support influence—that was the usual tagline for Ezreal. In front of the destructive lane power of Caitlyn-Lux, the words meant nothing.

[Oz took both scuttle crabs, Luca diligently setting vision. Ah, Maehwa is already struggling.]

[Up top I just made a noise of admiration a second ago—Jimin's movement was incredible.]

Even Aatrox, whose matchup was supposed to be playable, was suffering early against Yone.

[It's dark, and if it keeps going like this!]

"Waaaaaah!"

P1 fans who had been watching with eyes full of anticipation exploded into cheers. The moment Sejuani left Orianna's vision she flashed in, and Orianna died to Neeko's skills.

[They take Orianna for first blood!]

[The lane disadvantage is already massive.]

[Emergency!]

Tower gold being shaved under pressure. The word "emergency" was coming out fast.

[Poppy gets spotted again! Whoa, you can see all of Kaji's pathing.]

Leaks were springing in the iron wall that was Maehwa Life. Too heavy a burden for one jungler to carry alone.

[Yone already has the lifesteal item comfortably, and once he finishes first item Aatrox is in trouble.]

[That movement though.]

Yone dancing around Aatrox's greatsword with elegant sidesteps.

[He's taking a lot of hits here.]

[Sejuani's coming!]

Sejuani ganking over the wall. Aatrox hugging the tower.

"Waaaaaah!"

The moment she appeared from the darkness, Sejuani and Yone threw their ultimates at the same time.

[Fate Sealed!]

Aatrox could not live.

[P1 scores again!]

[Player Jimin—how do you even lane like this!]

[You just can't shut him down.]

While bot-side Poppy was somehow trying to keep Ezreal's lane alive, a huge scream rose from the top side. Plug one hole and the other side shatters—P1's barrage of punches.

[Top is just over.]

[Mid Orianna just burned flash again!]

[The raw force of P1's laners is beyond imagination. Maehwa never thought they'd be getting hit this hard!]

"P1! P1! P1!"

Even without a single teamfight yet, the fans' chants of P1 filled the arena.

[Right now if Sejuani ganks any lane, and if Poppy doesn't get there first to cover, you just die. When they say "you die," you die. The tower won't save you.]

Maehwa Life stuck in an unfair laning phase. A massive gold gap already open from laning. One-sided objective control. And still the game kept moving forward.

[They have to force a fight here.]

Borrowing the power of Poppy who could launch enemy champions, Maehwa Life raised their heads.

[Full Bloom!]

[Uwaaaaagh!]

But four of Maehwa's champions got hit by Neeko's flash ultimate. Ezreal tried to react with Arcane Shift, but·····

[It hit!]

Ezreal caught by Sejuani's ult. And what made Neeko's Full Bloom even more beautiful was the Yone ultimate that followed immediately after. A fully grown Yone's ultimate entry shredded Orianna. Ezreal had nowhere left to run. With almost no HP ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠left he fell into Caitlyn's superior range.

[P1 takes the ACE for a teamfight stomping!]

Wanting to snowball the advantageous game all the way, P1 took the win in front of Herald.

[Shockwave comes out but!]

Orianna meeting Yone on a side lane.

[Solo kill!]

[Player Jimin is not playing around today!]

A Yone who had properly farmed kills in the teamfight and was sitting on over ten CS per minute—there was nothing she could do against that power.

[They can't break Caitlyn's traps!]

[Too fast. Maehwa can't keep up with P1's tempo.]

P1's players doing everything they wanted. Every minion walking up made the enemy wonder if it might be a Neeko with a bomb hidden inside, and they trembled.

[Rakan gets rooted! Aaaagh!]

P1 advancing after Baron. After laning ended and the spotlight had briefly been stolen by the top side, Caitlyn's gun started spitting fire again. While they hunted the helpless enemies in front of the bot inhibitor tower, the game clock had only just passed twenty-two minutes.

[Is this P1's game?]

Kill score 16 to 2. Every Maehwa champion's KDA was catastrophic. Especially the mid Orianna sitting on 0/7/1. She was having an unbelievably cruel game.

"P1! P1! P1!"

Some of the fans in the P1 section were even tearing up.

[Quadra kill!]

[Give him the penta!]

[Uh?]

The teamfight right in front of the enemy Nexus. Another Full Bloom, then Yone's slash layered on top. For a moment Yone had four kills, but the one that punched through Poppy's head last wasn't Yone's blade—it was Caitlyn's sniper rifle.