Rise

Yang Fan pushed into the river from mid lane. Tonji Affiliated High was trying to take control of the Dragon pit, and he wouldn’t let that happen! He had his Orianna send her Ball into their team with Command: Attack! All it had to do was hit someone and it’d deal damage. If he rinsed and repeated that a few times, he could force them back. He’d help his team push down towards the Dragon pit and take over control of the area! The Ball hit the Syndra and he pressed down on his W key–Command: Dissonance! It erupted with a pulse of energy that dealt a large amount of magic damage!

Tang Bingyao also got the message. If they gave the Dragon to Tonji Affiliated High, that would be it. The fat lady wouldn’t just be singing, she’d be belting out an entire opera. They’d fall too far behind. So she pressed forward. But she had to be careful with that, since her Draven had a short attack range. She targeted and poked and attacked only the enemy champions in the frontline with her Spinning Axe, all while hovering her finger over the D key. Just in case she needed to Flash away. As much as they needed to push for control over the Dragon Pit, she couldn’t let herself be killed. Her team had no hope of getting through the team fight at the Dragon Pit without her damage. 

Tonji Affiliated High wasn’t stupid, nor were they blind. They knew exactly what was going on. This was the fight that could decide the game. If they managed to get a kill and took the Dragon down after that, this game was in the bag. They could push through the advantage to take down towers and eventually the Nexus. So they were looking for the pick. They’d rounded up the players from High School 13 near the mid lane. The Janna threw Howling Gales their way, hoping for that one good knock up that would be the opening salvo to the melody that led to them winning this teamfight. The Caitlyn fired off Piltover Peacemakers every chance she got. Bullets that blossomed open with two blade-like wings and sliced forward through the air. And any enemy champions from High School 13 that happened to be in their path. 

This particular Caitlyn had finally hit her power-spike. The moment where she achieved terminal and deadly velocity. Two items, that’s all she needed. Then for a brief, shining, glorious interval in the game, she was unstoppable. The combination of her long range and high damage proved to be a nightmare for High School 13. They couldn’t get too close, couldn’t poke, and couldn’t engage without stepping into her kill zone. And she would always fire if they entered her attack range. A normal hit wasn’t too bad. Any champion she sniped still had a shot at surviving. But if she happened to get a critical hit off, that would hurt. Just a smidge more than the pain that comes from having your high school crush laugh at you when you finally gathered the courage to ask her to prom. It would hurt enough that any champion from High School 13’s team who took a critical hit to the face would be forced to back away. Maybe even run back to base to heal. 

The Syndra from Tonji Affiliated High’s team, she wasn’t a pushover either. Her skills and attacks also packed a punch, a serious wallop of burst damage. If she managed to get her full combo off, she could instadelete a champion. But that came with its own drawbacks. Every time she used her full combo, she had to back out and wait for her skills to cooldown. But that small handicap was mitigated with the constant damage from the Caitlyn. Essentially, what this boiled down to was that both Caitlyn and Syndra were necessary components for Tonji Affiliated High to win this team fight. They were equally important. But the Caitlyn was flush with power and going a little insane. Her team needed her for this fight, needed her to stay alive. But she started to get a little too aggressive and played a little bit too recklessly. Enough to worry her team, and they didn’t hold back when reminding her how important it was that she stay alive.“Stop being so aggro! You think you’re that Draven or something? Stay back!”“Watch out for J4 and Leona! Seriously, we’re screwed if they get to our backline!”“Stay the fuck back! You idiot! The Riven can just flash engage on you!”

Throughout this teamfight, there was a very real threat that High School 13’s team would go in for a hard engage. If their Leona or Jarvan IV could find a moment to go in on either Caitlyn or the Syndra from Tonji Affiliated High, that would end this fight. With Command: Protect, Orianna could attach her Ball to them and then use her Command: Shockwave to deal a ton of magic damage and push back any enemy champions within reach. The champions from Tonji Affiliated High were all clustered together right now, huddled up. They’d be toast. Beyond the threat from Leona, Jarvan IV, and Orianna, there was also still the Riven to think about. A fed Riven. A Riven who could Flash into their backline and slice through their carries with a single sweep of her blade. They absolutely had to be careful.

“Okay! I got it! I got it!” exclaimed the player who controlled the Caitlyn. He was exhausted. Irritated. Everyone on his team was being too neurotic and worrying too much. He knew why they were worried and what they were worried about. He knew there was a chance that his Caitlyn would get killed if he overextended. But that was the same in every game. This is all because I lost to that Draven early in the game… He walked his Caitlyn back a little, taking cover behind his team’s tanks, the more defensively orientated champions. Look, there’s that Jarvan being an idiot again. And look at that Leona, fronting like she’s hot shit… And that Riven that everyone’s shitting themselves over, she’s probably in that bush... He decided to use his Caitlyn to throw a Yordle Snap Trap in the brush he was looking at to get some quick vision. Huh? Wait. WAIT! SHIT! His eyes rounded, “Guys! The Riven is m–”

A flash of golden light erupted out on top of the Caitlyn. The Riven appeared out of nowhere. She raised her sword and shouted, a shock wave of green energy sweeping out and stunned the Caitlyn and Janna–Ki Burst! Then the Riven followed up with a quick auto attack and then the first strike of three from the skill Broken Wings. Then came the second auto attack and also the second strike from the skill Broken Wings. It all happened so fast. The players from Tonji Affiliated High forgot to react. They only shouted in shock in their voice chat..“Oh shit oh shit! Riven! RIVEN!”“Fuck! How?”“Protect Caitlyn! Peel! Peel! Peel!”“Exhaust! Exhaust the Riven!”“I don’t have Exhaust! I used it already!”

The rest of the team tried to save Caitlyn. They needed her! But the Riven was too strong and none of them had the right abilities off cooldown. The only thing that could stop the Riven right now, or slow her down, was Janna’s Exhaust. But unfortunately for her and the rest of her team, she’d used that two minutes earlier in bot lane against the Draven. It was still on cooldown. And they didn’t know that. The card that the rest of the team thought they had up their sleeves, it didn’t exist.

The Caitlyn smashed down on his keyboard. 90 Caliber Net! Flash! One of them had to work! Maybe then he could still get out, somehow. But the Ki Burst’s stun didn’t break. His Caitlyn just stood there, immobile, while he smashed down on his keyboard, frantic. Then as her health dropped down below a quarter, she moved. Finally. The Flash worked. She followed it up with a 90 Caliber Net. And then a wave of runic sword energy! But that wasn’t Caitlyn’s skill. It was the Riven’s. It was the second part of her ultimate–Wind Slash! The green runic sword energy sliced through the Caitlyn and killed her.

《Rampage!》

The crowd burst into cheers. This was a beautiful play! This was exactly what they were watching the game for! But above all the excitement, three voices were louder than any other. They belonged, of course, to Ouyang, Ren Rou and Chen Ze.“NICE, BRO! HELL YEAH! KILL ‘EM ALL!”“HAHA! THAT WAS BRILLIANT! YOU’RE THE BEST LIN FENG!”“HE CAN REALLY DO THIS! HE REALLY CAN!”

The players from High School 13 stared at the Riven. They turned into spectators as they didn’t even chase after the players from Tonji Affiliated High as they moved to kill Lin Feng. “GO GO GO GO! What are you waiting for!” Lin Feng’s voice sounded in the voice chat. It was enough to snap them out of it. They weren’t spectating this game. They were playing in it!

“COMING IN HOT!” Liu Yue cried out. He was the first to react. He had his Jarvan IV dash into the heart of Tonji Aff. High’s team with his flag toss combo. The Syndra was right in front of him. “DEMACIA!” He jumped up in the air and then came crashing down on her, knocking her into the ground with such force that the terrain around them transformed into an arena–Cataclysm!

✹

Legend had caught out KG’s Midlaner and Jungler! The Midlaner was already dead. Right now, they were chasing the Rek’Sai through KG’s top side jungle. Sejuani led the charge, with Yasuo and Morgana right behind her. The Yasuo was the only one with real damage. If he was out of the picture, Rek’Sai might still survive! Konjac, KG’s ad-carry, knew this. He sneaked into his jungle and hid in the Wolf Camp, waiting for Rek’Sai to pass by above him. Then he had his Tristana load a massive cannonball into her weapon and fired it at the Yasuo as he passed by–Buster Shot! The magic damage didn’t threaten the Yasuo, but the knockback was enough to get him away from the Rek’Sai.

Konjac smiled. A job well done. His screen flashed red. Huh? He’d been moving his screen to follow his Rek’Sai to see if she could make it out alive. Shit! This distraction had left his Tristana undefended. He’d forgotten there were five players on Legend for a second. Demon was one of those five. Legend’s Toplaner. He Lunged onto Konjac’s Tristana with his Fiora! The Fiora then erupted forth with a tempest of slashes–Bladework! She slowed the Tristana down with the first attack and critically hit her with the second! A third and fourth and the Tristana had less than half of her health remaining.

The European fans in the Wembley Arena had forgotten all about whatever it was that’d happened before the game had started. Right now, they only wanted to see Legend win. And that was what they were seeing! Their team was about to break open a lead so big that they’d all but won the game. Just a few more kills and a Dragon. It was within reach. They stamped their feet on the ground in an even rhythm, building up the hype. This was the moment that Legend would win their hardest game in the group stage yet!

KG had to defeat Legend if they wanted to make it out of the group stage without playing a tiebreaker. But the openings to mount a comeback were quickly becoming smaller. Legend was pulling ahead, and fast. It was so bad even that if KG didn’t turn this fight around, then they could just as well surrender. That was how poorly it looked for them. Yet on the flip side, if they won this match, then they'd be as good as qualified for the next round! The Chinese fans forgot to breathe, shackled to their TVs. This was the moment. Make or break.

The Chinese casters were just as nervous as their viewers. They were fans of the game, and they wanted to see the teams from their region do well! The three of them leaned forward, their arms on the caster desk, as they watched the game as closely as they could. If anything happened, they wanted to be the first to see it. Stone did. His face started shining as he stood up straight and looked into the camera, “YES! KG still has a chance! It’s not all over! IT’S NOT OVER! RIVEN IS COMING!”

Tian Tian had his Riven run down the river and into his own top side Jungle. He walked past the Blue Buff Camp and into the brush. The Rek’Sai had already run past. The Sejuani and Yasuo were still chasing her. But the Morgana sat back. Her health was low and she was recalling back to base. She had no clue he was there, because the Rek’Sai had swept for wards a minute earlier and cleared all of them in the top half of the river. I-i can do this! I-i can! Yes! Tian Tian’s breaths became short and loud. Then he clicked on the Morgana and then pressed on the R key–Blade of the Exile!

A green energy lit up around the edges of Riven’s reforged sword. She dashed towards the Morgana–Valor! The Morgana didn’t have her Dark Binding. It was still on cooldown. She was defenseless. The Riven lashed out with a series of strikes, three of them in total–Broken Wings! She didn’t even pause in between for auto attacks. That would take more time and Morgana’s health was already so low that it wasn’t necessary. She smashed her sword down onto the Morgana for the third strike and killed her.

《Rampage!》

“GOD ROUNDY HAS DONE IT AGAIN!” Stone screamed on the caster desk. The chat was lighting up. The fans all across the world agreed. God Roundy was back! Last week was forgotten. This game and a win was all that mattered now!

「666666666666」

「GOD ROUNDY IS DA FRIGGIN BESTTTT!!!!!1!!」

「ROUNDY ROLLS OVER THEM!!!」

「GOOOOOO ROUNDY!!!!! NICE PLAY MY BROOO!!!!!!!!」

「OMGOMGOGMOGMGOMG IT WORKED!!!! WALKING TO THE FRIDGE GETS ROUNDY A KILL!!! IMA WALK TO THE FRIDGE AGAIN BRB!!!!!」

「SSIICCKKK PLLAAYYY GO GET EM TIGER!」

Tian Tian quickly fled back into the brush near Blue Buff Camp after killing the Morgana. The other four players from Legend stopped what they were doing. Their chase of the other members from KG seemed pointless. Even if they got the kills, they weren’t worth as much as Tian Tian’s Riven. And the Riven was in the middle of the jungle. There was no easy escape. They turned around and collapsed on her.

On the caster desk, Qinghe put his hand down on a sheet of paper. He crumpled it and said, “Can he escape? Can God Roundy do it again and escape?” He turned his eyes away from the monitor and looked into the camera. “God Roundy killed the Morgana in an ambush. That’s a good play. He bought his teammates some time to escape. But it’ll only be worth it if he can stay alive. Because if he dies, he’ll give away the bounty on his head as well as the Dragon. It’s now all on his shoulders! Let’s see what he does!”

Phoenix was the closest to the Blue Buff Camp. He was just left of it, towards KG’s base. He had his Yasuo turn around and flashed forward. Gimme that shutdown gold! He grinned. This would be an easy kill. There was plenty of space to chase after the Riven, and his Yasuo was great at chasing. He pressed down on his E key–Sweeping Blade! This was a gap closer from Yasuo that also dealt a little bit of magic damage. He used it to catch up to the Riven and then auto attacked with his katana.

The other three players from Legend stopped chasing whoever they were chasing and redirected their focus on the Riven. She wasn’t far away. Really close, even. They were all only a few steps away from the Blue Buff Camp. All that separated them was a funnel. They moved towards it without thinking. The Riven was running away and they wanted to catch up. It never crossed their minds that the Riven could turn around. A 1v4 sounded suicidal in a normal game, let alone at Worlds! But that was exactly what Tian Tian did on his Riven. He flashed towards the three players from Legend when they pushed through the funnel and then pressed on the W key–Ki Burst! A shockwave of green energy swept out from the Riven, stunning the three players from Legend!

Stone jumped up and down behind the caster desk. He looked at the camera, then at Qinghe. “WOOOOOO!” he yelled before running at the camera and grabbing it with both hands. He pushed his face into the camera and shouted, “A FLASH INTO THE ENEMY TEAM! GOD ROUNDY! GOD ROUNDY! HE, HE, HE…”

Everyone, from the other professional players in the VIP viewing area to the casual League of Legends fan back at home sat up in their chairs. They stopped everything else they were doing and focused their full attention on the game. Something special was happening. Something unique. Something everyone would be talking about for years to come!

「HOLYSHIT! HOLYSHIT! HOLYSHIT!」

「HE’S GOING IN FOR THe 1V4 CLUTCH PLAY!」

「GOD ROUNDY IS DOING IT!!!!!」

「666666」

「AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH I CANT BELIEVE THIS OMGGGGG THIS IS INSANE!!!」

「DO IT ROUNDY! I BELLIIEEEBBBBBBBBBBB!!!!!!」