Chapter 199
[If Things Go Like This, It’s a Forced Win for Hanipman in the EU]
Even while watching the match, people can't stop talking.
Humans are social animals, and leaving comments is a social activity.
Usually, the chat window satisfies that need.
But some want to talk more deeply about a specific topic of their choice.
And some want their opinions to be acknowledged by others.
A chat window is too difficult to fulfill that demand.
That's why communities exist.
And what people mainly want to be acknowledged for there is how accurate their views are, how well they predict the future.
This is clearly shown in the opening lines of a post.
==
Look, answer’s clear.
Hanipman wins this. At first I was iffy, but after seeing this bastard <-- Geomsin's predictions fall apart, I felt it.
The Wealth Gap will lose later on like this. Because they can't stop a hyper-carry Spoon.
First, let me tell you why it's hard to stop Spoon once he's hyper-carry.
It's because of Hanipman's comp focused on heals and defense.
If you can't kill him in one go, he'll survive and Spoon will deal damage again.
Surviving one more turn and rejoining the teamfight is pretty huge. Even more so if it's the ADC.
On top of that, Wealth Gap doesn't even have an assassin.
In my opinion, Geomsin should've played an assassin hero. Not something like Jhen, but one with good mobility.
But why didn't he?
Isn't it obvious?
You know.
He just crushed them last time, so he thought it'd work again and picked Eric.
If he crushes the laning phase, it'd be comfortable.
But it's not working, is it?
Alright. Let me predict the situation going forward.
Spoon will focus on farming, and they won't be able to completely stop that.
Even if they block his basic attacks now, he can break through using the same method and just eat minions.
Unless Rumi awakens and creates some insane angle, they won't catch Spoon.
Even if they call for a gank, there's a high chance they won't kill Spoon. They might kill Gongbeolle, though.
Trying to use the jungle objectives will be a bit hard too, since Hanipman's jungler is B-tier. He's Master tier.
There's a skill gap with Alpaca who's never jungled before, so he'll probably buy time for Spoon to grow.
If they wanted to weaken that jungler's influence, mid would've been a much better choice lololol
Oh dear, he went bot.
Going ADC was the worst move.
And as Eric, you can't even expect to carry like a late-game ADC.
==
- Yeah, I read your delusional rant thx
- So shallow, right?
└ But seems like it's accurate?
- Felt like they were so arrogant. Didn't even do a single scrim.
- Acting like they prepared perfectly but picking Eric is kinda meh.
└ But if they didn't pick Eric, you'd have nagged about it anyway.
└ True lolol You'd say they chickened out.
- Anyway, his physical is beyond human for sure. Seeing him block basic attacks.
└ What do you all think about the others?
└ I agree with this post.
└ No matter how well you block, there's a limit.
└ Dunno about the teammates either. It's literally dead even.
└ E-tier top lane showdown. Mid and Jungle BC CB So fucking balanced lolololololololol
* * *
"Ah! For the first time in 10 minutes since the game started, First Blood comes out! Its owner is the top laner, Ha Yunho!"
Arin's cheer celebrated the first kill in 10 minutes.
It was a pure 1v1 solo kill by Ha Yunho.
"The E-tier showdown! Unlike the mid and jungle who were fiercely checking each other to seize the lead, neither side touched the top lane!"
"That means there's no need to. There's no reason to invest in an E-tier."
"Caster Penguin, that's too harsh."
"But it's true. Of course, the jungler going top and getting a kill is good, but in that time, if the enemy targets mid and gets a kill, you gain a much bigger advantage."
Simply put, it's a matter of resource allocation.
If you have to funnel kills or lane control, if you have to raise someone up, who should you raise?
An E-tier? Or a B and C-tier mid that heavily influences jungle control right now?
It'd be strange if each jungler wasn't focusing on mid.
"It feels like the game is played separately by each lane. I'm not the only one getting that vibe, right, casters?"
"That impression is exactly right. The jungler has no reason to go top. And as for going bot, Hanipman doesn't want to fight in the first place…."
"Doesn't? Caster Bangju, why aren't you continuing?"
"Um… on the Wealth Gap's side…."
[Ah! Blocked again! God! Seojun, just you wait when I get big.]
[Yes. Eat a lot and grow big.]
[You have to stop throwing the chain for me to eat, you know! With three, it really is hell.]
Bangju felt like Seojun might be enjoying this right now.
Spoon, completely losing his mind and just chatting with Seojun.
And Seojun, relentlessly alternating his chains between Spoon and the bullet every second without change.
In Bangju's eyes, Seojun seemed to have no intention of calling the jungler at all.
'Did he get hooked on tormenting him?'
Having co-streamed with Seojun in "For the Cooperation," Bangju knew him well.
He's not a pervert. But he's definitely a bit of a bastard.
You think he'd be careless and enjoying himself in a tournament like this?
It's more that he knows a way to win no matter what, so he's pulling some bastard moves.
A guy who thinks he can do anything with sheer physical ability.
"Seems like he thinks blocking CS is enough. I'm curious what the other casters think."
Bangju just moved on.
Because if he said here that Seojun was simply not calling the jungler because he wanted to torment Spoon longer, they wouldn't buy it, would they?
- Thinking about it, isn't that villainous bastard just doing it to crush Spoon for longer?
- LMAOO
- No way, it's a tournament.
- It's possible.
'No? Someone's having the same thought as me.'
The image already planted in the viewers' minds was probably close to deducing the correct answer.
Anyway.
"Um… on the Wealth Gap side, they could attempt a dive or something. But Eric is an extremely risky hero for dives."
Ah.
Bangju admired.
Indeed, pros see many things at once.
"When attacking an enemy under their tower, the most important things are aggro management and speed."
Each shot from a turret packs enormous damage.
So you need to kill the enemy under the turret as quickly as possible to take fewer hits.
Or you have to go out of range and come back in to split the turret aggro among teammates.
"Usually, speed is the most crucial. And for Eric, if even a single skill misses during a dive, that risk multiplies. Unless you can hit it 100% for sure…."
- I see.
- True, never seen anyone dive as Eric lololololol
- How can a guy praying 'please let the chain hit' dive lololololololololol
- But if Rumi lands a grab, who knows, they have a jungler too.
- They have Lea's heal, so if you can't finish in one combo, you'll need two, heck, three combos. But diving like that?
It's definitely the best for now.
[Geomsin – CS 108]
[FrustratedTopCheck – CS 64]
But Bangju thought things couldn't go on like this.
'I can't tell. In a few minutes it'll be time to buy runes first, what is he planning then?'
Seojun is definitely not someone who does nothing.
Because he's someone who predicts every single move, down to the smallest detail, in his head.
All the personality-driven antics and the comments he made while streaming could have been designed as well.
'Though looking at his real personality, he might just be a bastard.'
Anyway.
"Ah! Top lane again! Ha Yunho is unleashing a fierce assault!"
- Lol, don't care about that low-elo showdown.
- Bot and mid are what matters.
- Is Wealth Gap really going to lose? They need to do something.
- 100% lol
"Ah! This time mid! Mid lane finally seizes control! As expected of former A-tier Baramgeom!"
The game wasn't tilted yet, but it had become favorable for Wealth Gap.
"And now Seojun! He's recalling! The gold from last-hitting minions has piled up! He's going to buy runes!"
- Still, if Spoon goes hyper-carry you never know.
- They need to do something here to win.
- That's why you went bot lol should've gone mid and saved the ADC.
- What runes is he buying?
"What will he buy?"
"It seems like he'll find a way to break through the situation with runes… but I can't get a read. Um…?"
Without a single moment of hesitation, Seojun bought the runes and ran back to the lane.
"He added one more magic circle! Ah! Seojun! Does having four make a difference? Caster Bangju? Caster Taeyang? Caster Penguin?"
"Um…."
- Simply a bastard lololol
- Break through? Looks like he just wants to torment more.
- What about the match, seriously.
But thankfully, contrary to Bangju's thoughts, Seojun seemed to be preparing something.
"Huh? Why is Seojun only using three magic circles?"
"That's strange. Using only three doesn't increase the damage? And with no mana issues, why would he save them…."
"Seojun is throwing chains every second just like before. This has to be intentional!"
"What is he aiming for!"
* * *
More time passed. In-game time, 29 minutes.
Until Spoon bought two runes, he focused solely on farming without even joining teamfights, as if he had no intention of touching a fight.
Taking advantage of that, Wealth Gap secured two dragon objectives.
But they couldn't take down the uninvited Crash, which gives a stronger and bigger buff than dragons.
Because-
Scrrrrtch! Thwack!
"Come on, why are you coming all the way to top and doing this!"
Seojun, not caring about that, was just following Spoon wherever he went.
Bang!
[Ankle, left.]
Bang!
Spoon, hearing Gongbeolle's transmitted sound, instantly twisted his second foot's angle.
But it didn't end there.
'Shit.'
The chains fly at him.
Fortunately, he dodged by moving non-stop to the location Gongbeolle said.
'Thankfully, I succeeded in gambling this time.'
When he looked up, the next chain was already flying. But it was to the right of where he stood.
He had lost the gamble.
'Each hit hurts. Since he invested the runes into chain damage enhancement.'
The problem was the identity of the second rune.
Spoon didn't know.
The opponent was hiding it.
'Skill damage enhancement for sure. And then two spells? Or an ultimate enhancement rune?'
Whatever it was, it didn't matter.
"Hahahaha! It's over now!"
Because just moments ago, while eating a minion, he had collected all the money.
He could now buy his second rune, and the opponent, trying to use the growth difference, had failed to stop him.
"Too bad."
Spoon's body shivered.
The relentless harassment chaining every second was certainly hell.
But he endured it in the end.
Leaving Seojun behind, Spoon recalled, then bought his rune.
The one he bought earlier increased critical hit chance on attacks.
And the one he was buying now.
[Quick Shot: After moving, if an attack is successful, cooldown is drastically reduced.]
With this, the foundation of carrying was laid. Even if he couldn't widen the level gap, he had reached the level he wanted.
[Everyone? Thank you for your hard work so far.]
[I believed in you, Spoon!]
[Now we just go aggressive, right?]
[Defense was so frustrating.]
Spoon finally smiled in triumph.
[Alright. Let's go.]
* * *
Meanwhile.
Seojun also recalled to buy runes.
- Why are you only buying runes now, you psycho.
- You earned the money ages ago, dammit lolololol
- You bought the first rune too but didn't even use the fourth magic circle, so.
- Are you a crazy nutcase? Shouldn't you be widening the gap by having runes while the enemy doesn't?
"Everyone, don't you know about method acting? There's a reason I'm buying it now."
- Method acting or whatever, if we lose this game, it's your fault.
- So what second rune are you buying?
- Spoon's turned into a hyper-carry!
"What rune am I buying?"
- Why's he having a conversation lololol
- Twitch chats so simple-minded.
- So what is it.
"I'm buying this."
Seojun put his hand on a rune in the shop window.
- ???
- Stop.
- Not this lololololol
- He's throwing the game.
- How do you plan to hit that?
* * *
[Looks like a teamfight will finally happen. Yunho, get ready to join.]
[They might be the ones to engage first. Please be careful.]
[We should have pushed to the inhibitor. What a shame.]
From the conversation, it's clear the teammates' tension had all melted away.
Far from being tense, they were actually looking forward to a 5v5 teamfight.
Knowing that the previous fights had been easy because the opponent was passive and didn't even have their A-tier joining, their tension had dissolved, which was a good thing.
The enemy team, gathering at mid, was the same.
With the stable growth of their ace, they had conviction of victory in their eyes.
"No, everyone. Don't worry. Because it'll end in one go."
Watching the enemies at a slightly distant range, Seojun told his viewers.
- LMAOO
- If you hit it, I'll acknowledge 100%
- Yeah, sure Gongbeolle.
- So you laid all that groundwork to end it in one go? lolol Think it'll work?
- You can't even hit 100% right now in 3 seconds.
The ADC's strength is sustained damage.
The enemy's comp maximizes that sustain.
In that case.
[Chains of Destruction: The cooldown of the magic circle increases up to 20 seconds. Damage increases proportionally.]
I'll send them off in one shot.
One way or another.