[Match Found.]
Seunghoon straightened up in his chair as a crisp chime rang through his headphones.
"Let's go."
His screen faded to black for a second before the Hero Selection interface appeared. Ten circular portraits slowly filled in with their assigned players—five on each side.
His in-game name, Red, glowed faintly in the middle of the blue team list.
[Role: Midlane]
[You are the third pick.]
Seunghoon's screen displayed the draft interface, the music shifting into a low and urgent rhythm. A horizontal bar showed both teams lined up—Blue Team on the left, Red Team on the right.
[30 seconds to Ban.]
As the timer started, the players started to hover around the list of heroes. They thought of whom they wanted to ban.
[Ban Phase – Blue Team's Turn]
It was Seunghoon's team.
Blue Team:
1st Ban: Gorath (Top)
2nd Ban: Revek (Jungle)
3rd Ban: Alrien (Mid)
4th Ban: Yerik (Support)
5th Ban: Orin (Marksman)
The bans came in quickly, one after another. Seunghoon watched the silhouettes of the heroes fade to gray.
Gorath was an obvious first choice. He was an oversized brute who could outdo his opponents easily. He was one of the top heroes on the meta today because of his buffed lifesteal.
Leaving him open was just asking for trouble in the solo lane. He was annoying as hell.
Revek went next. There was no surprise there.
When Seunghoon was reading the comments under the patch notes earlier, he noticed that there were some who were complaining about the hero. It was because, ever since the last patch, his ultimate gives him immunity to every crowd control.
And who would want that?
Then came Alrien. It was a hero that Seunghoon banned. It was not because the hero was strong or a meta, but because he just hates that hero. And if he wanted an easy game, he knew he had to remove her.
For the fourth one, it was Yerik. A support that could put a shield and increase the movement speed of his whole team in or out of fights. A good Orik can make even the worst composition shine.
Finally, Orin was banned. It was the hero that Seunghoon previously fought against in the bottom lane. He didn't know that the hero was actually worth a ban.
[Ban Phase – Red Team's Turn]
Finally, it was the opposing team's turn.
The opposing team started their ban next. Seunghoon leaned slightly closer to his monitor, his eyes flicking to the enemy side of the draft bar.
Red Team:
1st Ban: Nymira (Support)
2nd Ban: Kelvon (Marksman)
3rd Ban: Dravenna (Roam)
4th Ban: Fei (Top)
5th Ban: Juno (Mid/Support)
Nymira was the first to go.
Honestly? It was a solid ban. Seunghoon had seen that hero ruin teamfights more times than he could count. She could heal and protect her carries like some divine elf.
Kelvon followed next. That one made Seunghoon smirk. It was also a hero that used to be banned even in professional league.
Dravenna being banned made him raise an eyebrow. It was not a common pick. Maybe the enemy was just trolling at that point.
Fei came after. That made sense too. A strong top lane bully with oppressive wave control. She wasn't as flashy as others, but she was a nightmare to play against if she got a small lead.
And lastly, Juno. That hero… yeah, that was a good ban. She was a flex pick, either mid or support, and her silences were ridiculously hard to deal with.
One wrong step, and she'd shut you down before you even pressed your ult.
With all ten bans locked in, the draft moved into the next phase.
[Pick Phase]
[Blue Team's Turn]
[Blue Team has first pick.]
Seunghoon's eyes drifted toward the chatbox in the bottom left corner.
[KaiZen]: Jungle here. Can I pick first?
[Tetsu]: go for it
[Luk4]: Make sure you're good at it.
Their first pick hovered over a hero before locking it in:
[Blue Team 1st Pick: Kairo (Jungle)]
Kairo's portrait glowed on the board, his sharp silhouette wielding two hooked blades. Kairo was a high-mobility assassin, considered top-tier in the current patch.
[Red Team's Turn]
The enemy team responded with their back-to-back picks.
Warius (Top)
Maika (Mid)
Warius was tanky and obnoxious in lane. Maika, on the other hand, was a burst mage that could dive deep and get out clean.
[Blue Team's Turn]
Now it was their turn again. The second and third picks.
[Tetsu]: imma go support. Do you want heal or set?
[KaiZen]: set pls. we play front-to-back.
[Luk4]: Red, you can pick.
Seunghoon sighed and moved his mouse toward the middle of the screen. He scrolled quickly through the list of heroes, bypassing all the flashy new picks that he didn't know yet. His cursor stopped at a familiar face.
A pair of glowing eyes.
Seryn.
He clicked on her.
Voidlash (Q) – A glowing orb that deals magical damage to the targeted hero.
Black Bloom (W) – Plants a dark sigil that explodes after a short delay, damaging and silencing enemies caught in its center.
Flicker Step (E) – Blinks a short distance, leaving behind a trail of void energy that damages enemies over time.
Equinox (R) – Seryn dashes forward at a targeted direction. For the next 4, Seryn would be able to use her Voidlash (Q) without any cooldown.
'I'll go with this.'
[You have selected: SERYN]
[Blue Team 2nd Pick: Seryn (Mid)]
Her splash art lit up on his screen. She was wearing a flowing golden robe, her eyes glowing with the magic of chaos.
Seunghoon leaned back slightly in his chair, the corner of his mouth lifting.
Seryn.
It was a hero long past her prime in the meta. Most players had already forgotten about her because of the rise of new meta heroes. But to Seunghoon, she wasn't just a pick. She was his hero.
It was the hero he used to climb the ranks during his early ranked days. It was the hero, he understood better than anyone else.
Seryn was unique. She deals pure magical damage. Her Void Lash could tore through enemy backlines if aimed right, and her Black Bloom was slower to cast, but devastating if timed properly.
[Blue Team 3rd Pick: Mira (Support)]
Right after Seunghoon locked in Seryn, Tetsu followed up with Mira. A control-heavy support with a knock-up and crowd control ultimate. She didn't offer healing, but she was the perfect hero to put in front of fights, She can disrupt dives and keep squishies like Seryn safe.
[Tetsu]: I'll set up so support me later.
[Red Team's Turn]
The enemy didn't hesitate when choosing.
[Red Team 3rd Pick: Savio (Jungle)]
[Red Team 4th Pick: Eline (Support)]
Savio was a deadly bruiser assassin with mobility and resets. If he ever got a kill mid-fight, it'd be a chain reaction. It was dangerous, so they need to be careful.
And Eline… Seunghoon rolled his eyes.
"That's gonna be annoying," he muttered.
Eline wasn't a threat on her own, but with Maika and Warius holding the line on top and mid? She was a problem. The enemy composition was shaping up to be resilient and full of damage.
[Blue Team's Final Pick.]
[Deadbringer]: "Torren top?"
[Luk4]: "yep. and I'll go Velda."
[Blue Team 4th Pick: Torren (Top)]
[Blue Team 5th Pick: Velda (Marksman)]
Torren was a late-game hero. He was a strong warrior who could scale into a teamfighting juggernaut. He was weak early, but with Mira and Kairo to cover the map, he trusted that he could reach his power spike without too much punishment.
On the other hand, Velda was the safe pick for ADC. She was long-range hero with decent mobility, and one of the few marksmen who could kite out both Warius and Savio if played well.
She was practically made for front-to-back fights.
The only thing they need to do now was to feed her with resources so she can carry.
Seunghoon felt a subtle shift in his chest. A Small smile showed to his lips. Their team composition was solid now.
He knew that the game would be winnable… if they played it right.
[Red Team's Final Pick]
[Red Team 4th Pick: Arlyn (Marksman)]
The last enemy lock-in made Seunghoon raise an eyebrow.
Arlyn.
She was rare. A short-range ADC that dealt absurd DPS if she was allowed to free-fire. Her ultimate let her go berserk for five seconds—doubling her attack speed and letting her ignore slows.
It seems like they're going for high risk, high reward.
[Select Your Spell – 0:30]
The timer ticked down, and the screen shifted once more. A familiar grid of Battle Spells filled the screen.
Seunghoon didn't hesitate. He clicked Ignite right after. It was the aggressive choice. He could have gone Guardian Shield or Purify if he wanted to play safe, but that wasn't him.
Not when he was on Seryn.
[You have selected: IGNITE]
The timer ticked down to zero, and the screen began its transition to the loading phase.
Loading Match...
Deadbringer (Torren) | W4RBeast (Warius)
KaiZen (Kairo) | SavioMain (Savio)
Red (Seryn) |miNAO (Maika)
Luk4 (Velda) | PlumTart (Arlyn)
Tetsu (Mira) | Eclipze (Eline)