LOL: My talent is top-tier, my professional skills are unparalleled.

Chapter 352 Top Lane Karma! Unwavering!

The Korean team is now in a dilemma; they will suffer a loss no matter which one they ban!

If Akali is banned.

Then the CN team can pick Irelia and then switch to other champions. Aatrox can't beat Irelia in lane, and for the Korean team, Lee Sang-hyeok has never played Aatrox before.

Lee Sang-hyeok last used Aatrox in June, before the rework.

It's the old version of Aatrox who built Guinsoo's Rageblade and relied on auto-attacks to constantly switch W for lifesteal and extra damage.

So far, the new version of Aatrox has never been picked in a single match.

Even if Lee Sang-hyeok were to play the game, it wouldn't make a difference.

Because the CN team can play Irelia in both the mid and top lanes, it means they can be flexible. No matter which lane Aatrox goes to, he will be matched up against Irelia!
For the Korean team, there's no question of each team taking one; they can only release all of them. The Chinese team takes Akali, while the Korean team counters by taking Aatrox and Irelia.

You take one T0, I'll take two T0.5s.

It seems like the CN team gave them a choice, but in reality, they didn't give them one at all.

After a moment's thought, KkOma decided to ban Camille.

"Wow! Akali, Aatrox, and Irelia have all been released! Both sides are playing this aggressively in the first game?!" Wawa exclaimed. "We'll lock in Akali without hesitation!"

Team CN secured Akali first!

It's worth mentioning that this is Akali's first appearance at this Asian Games!
"Akali should be given to Kshine, the absolute core player to handle this most unsolvable bug in the current version!"

As expected, the Korean team secured both Aatrox and Irelia in consecutive matches.

This is also their only choice.

"We've chosen Xin Zhao + Kai'Sa, here we come! CN team's signature charge composition!!" Wawa shouted excitedly.

The Korean team has no chance of pulling off a drawn-out battle. With Aatrox and Irelia chosen, it means they can only fight the Chinese team to the bitter end.

"Our training team's draft picks in this match were pretty good. We are indeed a bit lacking in macro-management compared to the Korean team. By limiting the opponent's hero selection, we managed to steer the game into the fighting rhythm that we excel at!"

The South Korean team's last pick was Ezreal, the blonde-haired player.

The two sides entered the second round of ban/pick, with the Korean side banning Captain and Rakan.

The CN team banned Sejuani and Tahm Kench, since Sejuani and Irelia are a perfect match.

Tahm Kench is a champion that hard counters aggressive playstyles, as he hard counters dive-in strategies. Even with champions like Tahm Kench and Camus, the game becomes unplayable, given that Tahm Kench already has strong self-preservation abilities.

"Both sides entered the second round of player selection, and the Korean team chose Morgana! Actually, that's fine, Morgana also has the ability to help the marksman secure lane control, and most importantly, Morgana's Black Shield can block magic damage."

"Perhaps in crucial team fights later on, Morgana's Black Shield's magic damage reduction can prevent her teammates from being killed by Akali. Moreover, Morgana's ultimate and Q skill's extremely long control time can also limit Akali's ability to dive in."

"call……"

Abu breathed a sigh of relief. He had been feeling a bit scared, especially when he saw the Korean team pick the blond guy. He was afraid that they would immediately choose the best partner for the blond guy.

Fortunately, the South Korean team didn't choose that option.

The CN team then selected Karma + Shen!
"Karma support, Shen top lane? That's possible, Shen can engage with teammates, but Shen can't lane against Irelia and Aatrox, right?"

Miller frowned and began to analyze seriously, "But there really aren't many good options."

"The South Korean team also picked Trundle as their last pick to counter Shen, the frontliner. The lineups for both sides should now be finalized."

Yes, everyone thought the lineups for both sides were set and couldn't be changed. But just half a minute later, Wawa and Miller exclaimed in unison, and the audience around them also gasped in surprise. This piqued the curiosity of the domestic audience. What exactly happened on the scene?

"Huh? You can split the routes like that?"

After the players switched their heroes, the final lane assignments were as follows:
The blue team, CN, consists of Karma in the top lane, Xin Zhao in the jungle, Akali in the mid lane, and Kai'Sa and Shen in the bot lane.

The red team, representing South Korea, consists of a top laner (Aatrox), a jungler (Trundle), a mid laner (Irelia), and a bot lane duo of Ezreal and Morgana.

On the Korean team's bench, they were all stunned. Khan, looking displeased, exclaimed, "Holy crap... what the hell is this? Top lane Karma?!"

KkOma is also having a headache. Since the importance of 'flexibility' became apparent in the draft phase this season, various unconventional hero choices and lane assignments have become unpredictable.

But looking at it this way...

The CN team's lineup is quite reasonable. Although Shen is under some pressure in the bottom lane, Kai'Sa has a certain wave clear ability, so the pressure in the bottom lane is not too great.

The main issue is Morgana, who is a rather neutral champion, capable of both offense and defense, but naturally not excelling in either aspect.

Hit the road.

Karma is ultimately a long-range champion; against Aatrox, she might not be able to suppress him, but at least she won't be suppressed.

Support Karma can easily become invisible in the mid-to-late game, but solo Karma with items is extremely strong in team fights, whether it's coordinating to charge in or retreat!

The lineup may seem like a joke, but upon closer inspection, it makes perfect sense.

"Don't worry about their strange lineup. Just play to your strengths, communicate more, and exchange ideas. They get anxious easily, so take advantage of their anxiety and capitalize on their mistakes!"

KkOma finally stood behind his prized disciple, patting Lee Sang-hyeok on the shoulder to encourage him.

Miller is also analyzing:

"Top lane Karma? I've never seen that before. I wonder what kind of surprise Flandre will bring us. In terms of team composition, both sides are similar, both using a dive-in strategy. This is a duel that will test the players' individual skills and team fight abilities!"

"Huh? No wonder he came from Snake Team, his hero pick is really outrageous."

"Seriously? They're using some kind of high-tech trick in the very first game?"

"Any experts out there? How strong is Karma in the top lane? Can she play against Aatrox?"

"Believe first, then question. Brothers, charge! Kill those Koreans! Win this gold medal, and I'll brag about it for a year!"

"..."

The two teams quickly entered Summoner's Rift. Judging from their level 1 combat strength, the two sides were evenly matched, with neither having a clear advantage.

Fortunately, it was a normal start. In order to prevent the bottom lane from losing lane control, Spicy Pot sent his bottom laner to the lane early and started farming the jungle alone.

Because of his innate regeneration ability, Xin Zhao doesn't suffer too much damage while farming jungle camps, and it doesn't matter if his teammates don't help him.

Meanwhile, on the middle lane...

Wang Yao chose Doran's Shield as his starting item and Fleet Footwork as his rune.

Akali, who has just been reworked, has ridiculously high stats. She doesn't need talents to supplement her damage. She just needs to farm normally to level 6, and she's already at the kill threshold at full health!
However, as a melee hero, it's not easy to comfortably reach level 6, so you'll need to invest in [Swift Steps] to cope with the pressure.

Furthermore, the speed boost provided by Fleet Footwork helps Akali kite more effectively.

(End of this chapter)