LPL didn't want me? I joined SKT instead!

Countless posts emerged like snowflakes, but all the discussions eventually converged into a despairing consensus.

[Damn... this isn't a match, it's a one-sided massacre! KT didn't even have a chance to fight back!]

[The first game's macro-management, the second game's execution, and the third game's perfect combination. SKT is telling the world: We didn't use macro-management before because we thought it was unnecessary. Now that we're serious, you don't even deserve to look at our taillights.]

[Was Xiao Yan using a script for his Draven's positioning? How did TheShy manage to land four attacks in one second with his Fiora? Why is Faker's LeBlanc always in a blind spot? With these five monsters teamed up, who could possibly beat them?]

[Dragon Ball? KSV? Don't be ridiculous. Khan said before the match he'd try his best not to get crushed, but now I think he'd be lucky to last fifteen minutes.]

As night fell in Seoul, SKT's team bus slowly drove away from the venue.

Inside the train carriage, the team members were still chatting casually, as if they had just played an ordinary qualifying match.

kkOma sat in the front row, watching the neon lights rushing past the window, a confident smile playing on his lips.

The fourth-ranked challenger has been crushed to dust.

Next, it's the turn of the two teams at the front of the line.

In the playoff semifinals, SKT will face KSV, who finished second in the regular season.

The first game started just three minutes in.

Xiao Yan's cool voice rang out in SKT's voice chat: "Peanut, go and ambush in the bush behind the enemy's red buff. After Ambition finishes clearing the F6 camp, he'll pull the red buff into the bush to save a Smite. TheShy, push the minion wave in and get ready to gank."

Little Peanut, the blind monk, did as instructed.

Ten seconds later, as expected, Ambition's Sejuani, like a puppet on a string, pulled the half-killed Red Buff into the bush.

He was met with Lee Sin's precise Sonic Wave and Camille's tactical sweep from the sky.

The first blood was born.

Sitting in front of his computer, Master An broke out in a cold sweat. He felt like he wasn't playing a match, but rather being sniped from the shadows with a sniper rifle aimed at his head. Every habit he had, every subtle decision he made, had been calculated by his opponent.

This is just a microcosm of the entire BO5 series.

Under Xiao Yan's command, SKT displayed a suffocating "map-wide domination".

They no longer blindly tower dive and kill like in the regular season, but instead use an extremely precise and ruthless method to gradually strangle KSV's living space.

"Faker, move down, the enemy mid laner went for the blue buff, we can dive the bot lane, Wolf, just flash in."

"TheShy, control the lane. The enemy jungler is at the Krugs, he won't dare to gank you. Block his top lane experience. If he dares to take the cannon minion, then solo kill him."

"Little Peanut, no need to farm the jungle anymore, go straight into the enemy's bottom half of the map. Ambition is only level three right now, he's afraid to look at you."

Xiao Yan's instructions were brief, ruthless, and left no room for doubt.

Under his direction, the five members of SKT seemed to become one. Every lane switch, every invasion, every tower dive was executed with perfect precision, as if calculated millions of times by a supercomputer.

KSV's prized vision network was rendered useless against Xiao Yan. He could always find blind spots in their vision or use the minion waves to forcefully tear apart KSV's defenses.

In the first game, at 21 minutes, SKT destroyed KSV's base.

In the second game, at the 19-minute mark, SKT spawn-camped KSV on their high ground, achieving a 0-for-5 exchange.

In the third game, KSV's entire team suffered a mental breakdown. CuVee's top lane Maokai was solo killed four times by TheShy's Jayce within fifteen minutes. Ruler didn't even dare to leave the turret in the bottom lane and was out-farmed by Xiao Yan's Kalista by a full 100 CS.

The match ended after eighteen minutes.

Another clean and decisive 3-0!

The three games combined lasted less than an hour!

After the match, Ambition slumped into a chair, staring blankly at the ceiling. As the most senior jungler in the LCK, this was the first time he had felt "fear" in a game.

"They... can see what we're thinking..." Sect Leader An murmured to himself, his voice trembling.

……

Two days later, the LCK Spring Split Finals will begin.

Seoul Olympic Gymnastics Arena.

SKT will face off against KZ, the regular season champions and ranked number one.

This super team, boasting Khan, Bdd, Pray, and Gorilla, practically swept the entire LCK during the regular season. Khan, in particular, is hailed as the "world's best top laner" in the current meta.

During the pre-match trash talk, Khan maintained his arrogant demeanor: "TheShy is indeed very strong, but I will show him who the true top lane king is. As for SKT's winning streak, we, KZ, will end it today!"

However, when the match actually began, Khan realized just how much of a monster he was facing.

In the first game, Khan confidently locked in his signature champion Jayce, aiming to dominate the laning phase. TheShy, on the other hand, countered by picking Lucian for top lane.

As soon as the game started, Xiao Yan gave the order: "TheShy, go straight over the minion wave at level one and pressure him. Ignore the jungler. The enemy jungler started with red buff and is farming downhill. If he dares to fight back, you solo kill him."

TheShy's lips curled into a bloodthirsty smile.

At level one, Lucian crossed the minion wave and activated his E skill "Relentless Pursuit," relentlessly attacking Khan's Jayce. Khan attempted to counter-attack but found TheShy's movement to be ghost-like, perfectly dodging one of his Q skills, followed by two precise passive auto-attacks.

At level one, Khan's Jayce lost half his health and was forced to use Flash to escape back to his tower.

"What... what kind of suppression is this?!" Jeon Yong-jun exclaimed in the commentary booth, "Khan was flashed at level one?!"

And this was just the beginning of KZ's nightmare.

Under Xiao Yan's command, SKT took the concept of "snowballing" to its extreme.

In the bottom lane, Xiao Yan's Draven, in coordination with Wolf's Thresh, secured a lane kill at the three-minute mark, pinning Pray's Ashe to the wall.

In the mid lane, Faker's Syndra, at the six-minute mark, used a perfect minion wave push back, combined with Peanut's gank, to kill Bdd's Zoe under the tower.

Ten minutes later, SKT had a 5,000-point lead in gold.

Fifteen minutes in, SKT had a 10,000 gold lead.

The KZ players felt like they had fallen into an invisible giant net, and no matter how much they struggled or tried to find their rhythm, they would be mercilessly crushed by SKT.

Xiao Yan's command was like a Damocles' sword hanging over their heads.

"Force a team fight at Baron, Wolf holds vision above the Baron pit. TheShy applies pressure on the flank, no need to engage. If the enemy dares to come over, Faker pushes the ball, and I'll clean up."

At seventeen minutes, SKT capitalized on the vision around Baron Nashor.

As KZ cautiously approached the dragon pit, Faker's Syndra emerged from the shadows with an extremely tricky weakling retreat, instantly stunning KZ's mid, jungle, and support!

The next second, Xiao Yan's Draven descended like a god, activating his W skill and charging into the crowd. His two spinning axes dealt devastating damage, each strike a critical hit!

"Quadra Kill!!"

"Penta Kill!!!"

"Pentakill!! Xiao Yan's Draven got a pentakill!! My God!!" Jeon Yongjun went completely wild, even standing on the commentary stage and roaring, "This isn't the finals! This is SKT's one-sided slaughter show!!"

In the first game, at the 20-minute mark, the KZ base exploded.

In the second game, Khan lost his composure and picked Fiora in an attempt to prove himself, but he was killed three times under the tower by TheShy's Camille, resulting in a score of 0-5.

In the third game, KZ gave up and chose a completely illogical lineup, which led to SKT pushing down their high ground at the 18-minute mark.

3: 0.

Another 3-0 score.

Throughout the playoffs, SKT achieved a terrifying nine-game winning streak against the top four teams from the LCK, remaining undefeated in individual games.