"Mid Caitlyn is really unexpected."
"It's Joker. I've decided not to be surprised by anything he brings to mid lane anymore."
"Joker was the first to use mid Braum and mid Raven too. Sure, there are one-tricks who play these champions in solo queue occasionally, but when someone confidently brings it out in a tournament, there must be a reason."
During the loading screen, teammates commented on SKY team's champion selection.
And for good reason—Joker had brought Caitlyn to mid lane.
A ranged marksman with a long sniper rifle.
She excels at harassing opponents with shorter range and can reliably output damage in the late game by utilizing her superior attack range.
Of course, it wasn't unheard of for marksmen to appear in mid lane.
Even Jinseok's Smalldi was originally a marksman.
But Caitlyn in mid?
That was a difficult pick to imagine.
She might appear occasionally in solo queue or normal games.
After all, the counterplay against her is quite straightforward.
Marksmen are inherently vulnerable to assassins.
She might be able to apply pressure with her superior basic attack range early on.
But that's about it.
Once assassins learn their Q, W, and E abilities, they start applying kill pressure.
And when they unlock their ultimates?
Given that marksmen generally rely on sustained basic attacks for damage output, dealing with assassins becomes quite troublesome.
That's why marksmen who frequently appear in mid lane typically have these characteristics:
Either they can burst damage like assassins to counter other assassins,
Or they have mobility skills that let them traverse walls for good roaming potential.
Without these traits, there's little merit compared to other mid lane champions.
They either get devoured by assassins,
Or due to their fragility, they struggle to move first in skirmishes, giving up initiative,
Or they're vulnerable to intervention from other lanes, making it difficult to cross certain thresholds.
That's why mid lane marksmen generally have those characteristics.
Versatile champions like Ezreal, or Lucian who sacrifices some range for stylish play with dual pistols.
Or champions like Corki and Tristana who dominated mid during certain unbalanced patches.
Caitlyn doesn't seem to have particular merits compared to them.
She can burst, but her cooldowns are long.
She has an emergency mobility skill, but it has a long animation delay and doesn't cover much distance.
What remains is her long basic attack range.
But mid lane mages typically have long range, or assassins have skills to overcome range disadvantages and dive in.
That's why Caitlyn is often avoided even in solo queue.
Someone brings a build they saw somewhere, causing suffering for themselves and their teammates.
Of course, like a true sniper, if she scales well, each of her attacks becomes very deadly.
But when Joker plays such a champion?
"I can see it working."
That's how important a player's reputation is.
Plus, it's not a completely baseless pick.
Their bottom lane picked a mage with a bomb concept.
So another lane needs to provide physical damage with a marksman.
They sent Gnar to top lane, but it's very difficult for a warrior to be responsible for the team's physical damage.
Just recall our first round match against them.
SKY team drafted a composition without a basic attack-based marksman, which left them slightly weakened and led to our victory.
That feedback probably led them to deploy Caitlyn as a mid lane marksman.
They could have put a marksman top and a tanky champion mid, but...
The Odin I know is the epitome of a well-rounded warrior.
And using Joker as a tank would be a waste of talent.
Anyway, my teammates will handle those strategic considerations.
The loading has finished, and the game has begun.
I need to focus on my lane.
Until now, I thought I should play with minimal presence since I'm a rookie.
Perhaps their lane swaps to harass me weren't working out as planned.
This match, SKY team isn't doing any lane swaps.
Thanks to that, in our fourth match, I finally get to face Odin's Gnar from the start.
[Shushupana. Heheheh!]
Gnar, a small and cute furry ancient species.
This champion throws boomerangs while saying incomprehensible words, and when his rage builds up during combat, he literally becomes a monster.
His body grows larger, his skills change, and he becomes a powerful melee champion.
[Haha, this is pretty fun! I should remember this and use it sometime.]
Facing this cute—and soon-to-be not-so-cute—monster, Jackson responded to Gnar's unintelligible dialogue with a casual joke.
I'm not sure what the dialogue means, but I suppose champions have their own languages in the lore.
Anyway, until the minions arrive,
I mentally reviewed the simulations I had run during loading time.
Gnar, before transforming into a monster, is a champion who torments enemy melee warriors by throwing boomerangs.
If I just try to last-hit minions, Gnar will harass me with basic attacks.
If I charge in, Gnar will hop backward to escape.
If I try to back off because I can't pursue further, he'll slow me, follow, and poke me with boomerangs.
After gaining an advantage in these trades, once his rage builds up, he transforms into a monster to overwhelm with brute force.
Against such a champion, Jackson is indeed too straightforward.
To catch such a slippery champion,
Jackson needs to play like a madman.
Since Jackson's leap range is longer than Gnar's basic attack range,
I'll dive in with a leap when he tries to harass with basic attacks.
Naturally, Gnar will hop backward to avoid trading damage.
Even if I dodge Gnar's slowing boomerang,
I need to decide whether to block life loss from basic attacks with a counterattack,
Or consider it an even trade and wait for the next opportunity.
The answer changes each time.
Of course, charging in with counterattack already activated is out of the question, as Gnar won't fall for the stun.
Jackson might take a slight disadvantage in health or mana,
But Jackson's leap has a slightly shorter cooldown than Gnar's hop.
That's why I need to keep charging in like a madman.
That's the nature of Jackson.
Even though he's strong late game, if I just try to farm passively,
The opponent will beat me up, so I need to keep diving in like a madman to even be able to farm.
So that's what I did.
To the point where I could read confusion in Gnar's movements, wondering if I was in my right mind.
But he shouldn't be surprised yet.
Once I get some farm, I'll keep leaping with cooldown reduction setup.
At the same time, using leap so aggressively will attract the enemy jungler's attention.
I keep an eye on Gnar's movements while checking other lanes on the screen.
If another champion intervenes the moment I leap in,
I'll at least lose my blink, or worse, face death.
With that tightrope-walking feeling, I kept forcing fights between Jackson and Gnar.
As if that were my purpose for existing.
---
[This must be the first time, right? Noel facing Odin in lane from the beginning.]
[That's right. In round 1, SKY team thought that since Noel was a rookie, erasing his presence from the start would make recovery impossible. But surprisingly, Noel fulfilled his role even in that situation.]
[So this setup shows they've acknowledged his skill. There's no point in messy lane swaps anymore—let's have a fair fight! Of course, Joker's Caitlyn is also a notable strategy.]
[There was a time when support Caitlyn was popular, but when Joker plays it, that's a different story. It's definitely a viable pick. Using range to counter Smalldi's Twisted Fate makes sense. But separately, is it time for a solo queue warning?]
[The start looks smooth. Both junglers are clearing their camps. Oh, but HLG's Poppy, going around like that... Is she trying to pull Caitlyn out from the tower?]
[The Bard has joined after eating a chime. Joker is in danger. This is a setup—Poppy using Blink Charge to pull Caitlyn out...]
[Caitlyn, Blink! Wow, razor-sharp reflexes! She wasn't even visible, but he reacted to Poppy's short-distance charge with a Blink!]
[Now that HLG's Poppy has shown herself mid, it's SKY team's Freljord and Sejuani's turn. They're eyeing top lane...]
[Does Noel know? After consistently leaping at Gnar whenever his cooldown was up, Noel is suddenly backing off. Without any vision!]
[Is this a top laner's instinct? Freljord and Sejuani wait a bit longer, but Jackson doesn't come forward. That makes it hard to catch him.]
[There's a reason Noel was suspected of cheating during his unknown period. He just blatantly avoids ganks like this, either predicting or having some other information, even when enemies aren't visible on the minimap.]
[Both junglers return without results and buy items to gain tempo. Poppy tries for the Rift Scuttler while Jackson applies pressure, and Freljord and Sejuani are running toward the dragon since Ziggs teleported back.]
[When Sejuani quickly went for dragon, Leona headed top to cover a potential dive from Poppy, Jackson, and Bard. This gives HLG more flexibility with their personnel since they're not visible.]
[Exactly. That's why the dragon is being delayed... Smalldi is contesting SKY team's dragon attempt. It's awkward to take it but also difficult to abandon!]
[Here comes Poppy with Bard after clearing the Scuttler. Can they overcome the numbers disadvantage?]
[SKY team overthought this. They're retreating after Smalldi's ultimate, and HLG secures both Scuttler and dragon.]
[As you said, investing resources in top lane prevented a dragon burst. If they had trusted Gnar more and confirmed Poppy and Bard at the Scuttler, they could have burst down the dragon.]
[HLG is greedy! They're launching a staggered attack on mid. Caitlyn's Blink is still on cooldown from earlier, so Poppy is approaching from a sharp angle.]
[Freljord and Sejuani are converging to save Joker's Caitlyn, but Poppy charges! It's not a wall stun, but Caitlyn can't escape with her net!]
[Movement abilities get interrupted inside Poppy's field! HLG takes down Joker for first blood!]
[At the same moment, there's a skirmish top! Jackson made a close trade and charged in using his shorter leap cooldown! He activated counterattack early, invested Blink to land it, and boom-boom-boom! Gnar's rage isn't perfectly managed, so if this continues... Oh, he survives with Blink.]
[So HLG scores consecutive points. Jackson clears one more wave before recalling. Cooldown reduction boots and Sheen—he's planning to keep up the aggression.]
[He seems to be maximizing the cooldown advantage Jackson's leap has over Gnar's hop. Meanwhile, Odin purchased Plated Steelcaps. Since Jackson is basic attack-based, it reduces physical damage and basic attack damage. Excellent choice.]
[The bottom lane still maintains a precarious balance. And look, the top laners are fighting like mad again as soon as they return to lane.]
[They're competing for who's the best warrior—neither can back down. But warriors don't always fight alone. Freljord and Sejuani are heading top with Leona, aren't they?]
[Bard, did he notice that? Or is he just collecting chimes? He seems to be joining, but SKY team is moving faster...!]
[Noel, can you handle this dive? That's a big wave—dying would be disastrous!]