Chapter 233: The Truth Comes Out

The commentators let out a mocking laugh.

All the live broadcast rooms were filled with question-mark bullet comments, doubting G2's pick of a solo Titan.

SKT's coach Kkoma, however, couldn't muster any interest in mocking; if it weren't for the cool temperature, his forehead would probably be sweating—his brain was burning, he unconsciously started biting his nails, and in the limited time he forced his mind to work at full speed.

The 6.16 patch strengthened Titan's crowd control. Therefore, G2 suddenly bringing it back must be because they value its control, not anything else.

Titan, Viktor, Jinx, Janna…

They left a jungler.

Without a doubt, this jungler pick is extremely crucial, and it's very likely another champion they hadn't expected; otherwise G2 wouldn't have hidden it until the end.

Firrrrrre remains G2's soul figure; the importance of this pick is beyond doubt.

Kkoma knows very well that if he guesses wrong, it will surely be disastrous.

But if he could guess correctly, even just figuring out what kind of play G2 is running, and then making a little preparation in the last two picks, SKT would have a much easier time.

"Could it be NOC?"

Faker suddenly spoke up.

Kkoma slightly frowned: "NOC? Why would it be NOC?"

Faker watched the pick‑by‑pick time tick away, choosing to express his idea in the simplest language:

"Double lockdown, one‑for‑one, given Fire's mechanics and farming ability, I have no doubt they can pull this off—unless we have Tahm Kench."

Kkoma froze, then his gaze swept over their own lineup.

SKT's three cores are: Ezreal, Zilean, and the top lane to be decided.

If G2 really were going for NOC, and in a team fight they managed to land an early kill on Faker's Zilean, then SKT would surely find itself lacking firepower.

Moreover, Titan's lockdown doesn't require diving in; there's a good chance it survives the first skirmish, and in a cleanup situation it's obvious G2's lineup is easier to handle—the poke potential of Viktor and Jinx plus Janna has been proven in countless games.

With hardly any time left in the pick phase, Kkoma couldn't think of anything else, so he decided to trust Faker's judgment.

He immediately gave the order:

"Junshik, grab Tahm Kench first!"

Bang on the fourth floor instantly locked Tahm Kench.

With this pick, SKT refreshed the pick progress bar that had hit rock bottom.

Afterwards Kkoma chatted with Faker and the top laner, eventually letting Wolf on the fifth floor give Duke a Nautilus.

"Wow!"

The commentators exclaimed in surprise,

"Not even Karma?"

Liang Yan watched SKT's two picks and also felt a sense of awe.

Even the patch's top‑tier support was abandoned.

The opposing team apparently guessed something, so they gave up picking the fan‑mom and instead chose Tahm Kench as a safety pick—this really shows guts.

But…

This actually makes them easier to deal with.

Even if the duo has a skill gap, at least from a lane perspective Ezreal plus Tahm Kench is absolutely at a disadvantage against Jinx and Janna.

SKT only thought about how to play safe.

But they forgot the more important issue of bottom lane priority.

That's putting the cart before the horse.

G2 locked in their final pick:

"Vi!!!"

"OH! MY! GOD!"

"Jeez!"

"Good heavens, this isn't a throwback to S5—it's a throwback to S4!"

All the live broadcast rooms rang with the commentators' exclamations, and the venue burst into bursts of astonishment.

In the season when it was first released (S3), Vi still had some pick rate, but at its peak during the S4 spring split it basically reached around 30% presence—meaning you could see it in about one out of three games, which is fairly common.

But since last summer, this champion has basically vanished from the competitive scene; after being nerfed, its damage is merely average, its tankiness is out of the question, and its role becomes awkward—you don't know what to label it as—

Warrior? Not tanky enough.

Assassin? Not enough damage.

Teamfight initiator? Although its ultimate is a lockdown, it has delay and insufficient crowd‑control duration.

But when G2's fifth‑lane player locked it in, Kkoma instantly realized what kind of composition this was.

Faker's judgment was correct; he just guessed the wrong champion.

This is a double‑lockdown, instant‑core‑kill composition!

Titan plus Vi provide steady crowd control, while Viktor and Janna add damage, basically securing a reliable takedown of any non‑tank champion.

Fortunately, SKT finally picked Nautilus, making them a three‑core lineup; even if they get blown up in a team fight, as long as they can trade one‑for‑one with G2, the remaining two cores are enough to sustain SKT in the ensuing cleanup.

Kkoma felt relieved about this.

But his mind was not at ease.

Because the opponents have a higher margin for error while SKT's is very low—once one of the three cores falls, the three‑core formation instantly shrinks to a duo…

Then, how to play this game becomes crystal clear.

Stabilize farming, counter‑attack defensively, a three‑core lineup becomes stronger in the late game!

Unfortunately, this blind monk pick was a bit irrational; if they had swapped it for NOC or Rek'Sai, it would have been a death sentence for G2, since both champions possess long‑range global support abilities—they don't need to engage actively, just holding their ultimates can deter Firrrrrre from acting rashly, and their mere presence exerts tremendous pressure, which would further aid SKT in dragging the game into the late stage.

Everything has now come to light.

Kkoma took a deep breath, cleared his mind, and began to use the last moments of hero pick‑phase to devise the team's overall strategy.

Steady, steady, steady!

Running a three‑core plus Tam lineup in the late game guarantees a steady win!

"All right! Both sides' lineups are now completely locked; G2's pick‑phase is once again eye‑opening. No one expected that, with the match having progressed this far, they could still reveal such a novel lineup. One can only say this lives up to being the strongest team from Europe—their creativity is truly outstanding! But will a stranger lineup bring quicker victories, or will SKT's steady, conservative, preserve‑the‑pick lineup endure the test better? We'll see!"

"You really are something, G2."

"Indeed, to hold something like this until the semifinals—you're really good at hiding it."

The match entered the map loading stage.

At that moment, the arena rang with a unified chant:

"Faker!"

"Faker!"

"Faker!"

The double‑crown champion's popularity needs no further explanation.

His legendary career began with the slaying of Master An, rose to fame through the Double Calamity battle, peaked at the summit in S3, and achieved legend anew by winning again in S5...

He is Faker, and also a towering peak in the hearts of League of Legends players worldwide.