A.N.: Two chapters for one, to make up for the long wait.
The champions waited in the lobby, eyes fastened on the huge screen while the teams chose picks and bans. The most likely picks gathered in the front, exited to get their turn in the championship.
The bans rolled in: Irelia, Jayce, Corki, Zed, Nunu and Warwick. Zed and Corki was quiet used to being a pick or ban choice and took it in stride, Irelia expected it because of the summoner's efficiency with her, but Nunu and Warwick had little chance to shine in a long time, so their disappointment hung heavy in the air.
Then came the picks, Pantheon locked in right away as first. The warrior's face was invisible in the shadow of his helmet, but he seemed eager enough, hurrying to the blue team's podium with confident steps. That was one happy Rakkor right there.
The other team countered with Gnar and Lucian. The little fuzzball practically bounced his way to the red team's podium, chattering a mile a minute in a language nobody understood. The whole high-end championship gig was still new to him and the freshness of it has yet to pass. Lucian followed with the calm demeanor of a veteran who did this a dozen times already.
Rumble followed on blue team, as it could be expected. He had bragged about holding his own against Gnar, mini or mega, and the summoners seemed to agree. Sivir came as third, which slightly surprised the mercenary, but she didn't complain. She pushed her way to the front and walked to her place with the confidence of someone who came to win.
Thresh crackled manically when he was chosen to support Lucian, but nobody was really surprised by that pick. There was a very tense moment when he offered his hand to his laning partner – a usual ritual between the two of them, an agreement to put aside their grievances for the match –, but Lucian caught it in a crushing grip and shook it with enough vigor that it seemed he wanted to tear off the specter's arm. Thresh didn't seem to mind, but he flexed his fingers to make sure everything was still in working order when nobody was looking.
There was some holdup while the other pick showed up, grumbling under his breath about the chances that he will get countered as he pushed his way to the front.
"I thought you liked gambles," commented Lucian when Twisted Fate finally made his way up the podium.
"Sure thing I do. But I hate when the odds are stacked against me," answered the Card Master, pulling his hat deep into his eyes.
Last picks for the blues were Xerath and the obligatory Janna, both of them floating up the podium to joint their team – though it was quite comic how the Magus Ascendant shied away from Sivir's murderous glare. The midlaner, while officially a member of the Shuriman National Team, had put his foot down, strictly figuratively of course, against cooperating with Azir on the battlefield, which had earned him the ire of the rest of the Shurimans.
Fate was so immersed in trying to figure out his angles against Xerath – a rough matchup because of the Mage's insane range – that he almost missed the collective grasp of surprise when LeBlanc got locked in last.
LeBlanc was mid, no doubt about it and she will eat Xerath for breakfast. That made Twisted Fate the jungler.
Fate just stared, trying to process the news. Him. Jungler. He could count on one hand how many times he'd been in the reworked jungle – it was a nasty and dangerous place even if he got lucky enough that Pantheon didn't set up camp in his jungle and wreck him every time he tried to farm.
On the other hand, this was exactly the kind of curved ball that can tip the odds in their favor.
A slow, dark smile found its way to his face. A team crazy enough to pick him as a jungler must have an ace or two up their sleeve, and he knew the best that fortune favors the brave.
He smirked across the room, taking in the bewildered faces of the enemy team.
Time to defy the odds.
A.N.: If anyone follows the pro tournaments, the UOL are personal favourites of mine, partially because of their toplaner is from the same country as I am and mostly because of their unusual picks - the best teams are better mechanically, in their shotcalling and gameplay, but I find it very repetitive that they are always picking the same champions.
It's personal preference, but I had more fun watching Unicorns of Love with their TF jungle or Course Academy in the NA expansion tournament with their mid Hecarim than Samsung White's games during Worlds.
Fun question if anyone follows the pros and feels like sharing: which one's your favorite team and why?