When CNHOOK2 fought his way into the Top 5 on the Korean Challenger Ladder, it caused an uproar in the Chinese League of Legends community. But that uproar wasnt limited to just China. It also sent waves of shock that reverberated through Koreas League of Legends scene.

The fact that a Chinese player made it all the way to the Top 5 on the Korean server was only mildly newsworthy. And that was only because it had not happened in a very, very long time. But CNHOOK2 legendary climb through the night had so many things happening that compounded that single accomplishment into something greater. It wasnt just that a Chinese player made it to the Top 5 on the Korean server, it was that a Chinese player played so many games in the Challenger queue in one night and pulled off multiple multi-game win streaks. And then to top it all off, CNHOOK2s final game of the night and climb was against the 3rd best Midlaner in all of Korea, Orion. Then, in that game, CNHOOK2 had defeated Orion.

All in all, the events of that night forced the League fans in Korea to collectively gasp. It was all they could talk about since it happened. And yet, despite all the discussion, there were still many of them who found all the rumors of what transpired that night difficult to believe. Most of their scepticism revolved around the fact that a nobody from China managed to beat one of the best Midlaners in the OGN. As far as they were concerned, that was impossible. And since that was impossible, there was no way the rest of the rumors could be true.

But all the rumblings from the sceptics were quickly quashed. Recordings and clips of CNHOOK2s games found their way to the Korean League forums, completely crushing any theories about the falsehood of the climb. But the most important clip was that of the game-defining 1v1 that happened between CNHOOK2s Yasuo and Orions Zed at Level 6. That clip managed to render all of the sceptical voices speechless.

That single short clip was watched and rewatched thousands of times. Most people could not get over the epic nature of the duel between Yasuo and Zed. Comments repeatedly spoke of how it looked more like the climax of a martial arts movie than a gameplay clip! The sheer amount of skill displayed by both Midlaners was nothing short of mind-blowing either! For everyone watching the clip, that single duel was just as exciting as an exchange in the OGN Summer Finals.

And at the end of that intense duel, it was CNHOOK2s Yasuo who defeated Orions Zed. There was no way that anyone in the Korean League sphere could refute that fact, and it shocked them damn near senseless. The idea of a Chinese player, one theyd never even heard of before, defeating Orion in terms of pure skill was one that never even crossed their minds until now. Orion was a King, and no one had heard of CNHOOK2. And so, there was a single question that echoed through the Korean League Community. That question happened to be the same one that was being asked in China. Who exactly was the mysterious CNHOOK2, and what was he planning to do next?

And in due course, the news of CNHOOK2s climb and spectacular match against Orion made it all the way to the Warriors Gaming House in Seoul, Korea. Orions teammates read through all the discussion online and watched the clips that were floating around the forums with a little bit more interest than everyone else. One of their own had been involved, and had a first-hand experience playing against the mysterious CNHOOK2. So they gathered as much information as they could online and talked amongst themselves for a while before finally walking over to Orions room to ask him about the game and CNHOOK2.

The first wave of questions revolved around the game itself and that Orion had lost. Orions teammates were concerned that something was going on with one of their star players, or if the defeat caused him to lose confidence in himself. Both outcomes were not good for the team as a whole. But Orion remained calm and steady in the face of those questions, which reassured his teammates. In fact, he was so composed that it was clear that being defeated in CNHOOK2 had no effect on him at all. And since their concerns about Orion were squared away, the rest of the Warriors team started asking him about CNHOOK2. Thats when Orions breezy nonchalance broke and he turned much more serious.

Orion stood up and addressed his teammates, Alright. Heres my read on CNHOOK2 from playing him. Hes really good, that much should already be obvious to you guys. As far as I can tell, hes unquestionably a top level player in terms of both pure skill and mechanics. As far as his play style goes hes aggressive. Super aggressive, to the point where its oppressive. I found myself being pushed down by the amount of pressure from him. But Orion paused to gather his thoughts. What he wanted to say next wasnt based on anything concrete hed analysed or could state based on evidence. It was a feeling, something pure and simple in his bones. He looked his teammates in the eyes and continued, Dont ask me how or why, but I dont think hes one of the Midlaners we know of in the LPL. I dont think hes even in the LPL!

Over in the Fate Gaming House, Moon had gone through all the clips posted online and independently arrived at the same conclusion as Orion. Now, Moon was an Emperor. It was not an exaggeration to state that his perception and insight into the game, as well as his ability to read other players, was at the highest degree possible in Korea. And it was this insight that Moon used to analyse CNHOOK2, despite not playing against him in a game during the climb. Moon had managed to pick up quite a few clues about CNHOOK2 between the steam of the final game and the clips floating around online. And now, he was turning those insights over in his mind to see if he could figure out the bigger picture.

Lets think about this CNHOOK2. I watched how he played against Orion, and his game was unique. First thing to note is that hes from China, which means LPL. Exceptthe play style isnt one thats used by any of the current LPL Midlaners. Or any of the former ones that Ive played against or seen footage from before. That means the only conclusion here is that CNHOOK2 isnt a professional player. Hes not in the LPL. If Im not wrong about Orion, hes figured that much out too.

CNHOOK2 isnt in the LPL and hes currently not a professional player. That thats a problem.

The second Moon pierced through some of the mystery surround CNHOOK2, seeds of caution bloomed in his heart and his thoughts zoomed towards the big picture and the World stage.

CNHOOK2s play style is something we havent seen before, and its one that poses a real threat to the current meta in the professional scene in a global sense. Its got the potential to really shake things up maybe even completely end Korean dominance. That is a problem!

These days, the entire professional esports industry around League of Legends had embraced a sort of global meta. The various regions all practised a particular style of game play, and the World stage was built around countering the region-specific play style. The Koreans embraced a style that was best described as controlled aggression. North America and Europe leaned into a much more conservative game that was heavily dependent on scaling and reaching end-game builds. China had originally started out with an aggressive style of play. But over the last few years, theyd pivoted to a more conservative and defensive style of play. One that dulled the original aggression considerably, and imitated the NA and EU flow.

This shift towards conservative, low risk gameplay was what led to the current dominance of the Korean region in League of Legends. It was absurdly easy for the Korean teams to deal with that overarching strategy, and theyd perfected the counter-plays during the previous seasons. It was this global meta that CNHOOK2 had the potential to disrupt, as far as Moon saw things. And that was what dominated his thoughts.

This all comes down to China. The current set of teams at the top of the LPL all abandoned an aggressive play style that could topple any of the Korean teams for whatever reason. If I had to guess, its because they gave up hope that someone could beat Rake and decided to focus more on profits for now. Not the most far-sighted plan, but one thats been working towards Koreas benefit.

But if more players like CNHOOK2 start popping up thats going to be a problem. The LPL is going to become significantly more difficult to deal with. No. Thats wrong. Theyre going to become exponentially more difficult to beat

Right now, I havent even played against CNHOOK2 in a game, but I already know that I dont want to go up against him. Or another player like him. The silver lining here is where all of this started. At least CNHOOK2 isnt a professional player, which means theres currently no chance of running into him in a game that matters. Nor is there any chance of his play style changing the current meta. But it is something that I need to keep an eye on.

And theres still one more question that needs to be figured out in all of this. How it is even possible for someone like CNHOOK2 to exist in this era of esports? Someone that good, yet completely unknown? This wasnt a slowly gathering storm. There were no warning signs on the horizon. There was no CNHOOK2 until he suddenly showed up. Who exactly is CNHOOK2 and where did he come from?

The identity of CNHOOK2 was the question at the heart of it all. For all his thoughts, Moon ended up joining the scores of people in the League of Legends community across Korea in China as he pondered the answer to that question. Unlike China, where a few knew the identity of CNHOOK2, there was no one in Korea who could penetrate that mystery. With one notable exception.

And that single notable exception was currently sitting in the training room at the SSK Gaming House. It was late into the night, but there was still one man seated in front of a computer, alone in that training room. There was no tension in his shoulders or anxiety in his eyes. He wasnt in the training room late at night because he needed to be there. He was there because he wanted to be there, and he radiated a calm confidence. Every cell and pore in his body oozed the supreme surety that came with being at the very peak.

His demeanour was the natural state of the strong, the aura that came with being an apex predator. He needed no acknowledgment from anyone else to tell him that he was at the very peak, nor did he need to bleat his achievements out in order to be recognized. The relaxed arrogance that permeated every fiber of his being was one that was both earned and universally acknowledged as correct.

This man, who sat alone in that training room, wore a metaphorically grand cape woven with awards, accolades, and accomplishments. He was hailed as the unquestionably best Midlaner in the entire world, known far and wide as the team captain of SSK, and revered as the God Emperor of the Four Emperors.

He stood at the very apex of global esports as the conqueror who carved the bloody path to the current era of Korean dominance in Esports. And his name was Han Rake Seho.

Right now, Rake was at a computer in the training room. His face was completely expressionless, an impenetrable fortress that betrayed none of his thoughts. The only thing that offered some clue as to what was going on in his mind was the video playing on the screen in front of him. A replay of a game from the Korean Challenger queue. More specifically, a replay of the game between CNHOOK2 and Orion.

This was not a game that held any real significance. It wasnt a match between two professional teams at the top of any league, it had no bearing on the World Championships, and ultimately affected nothing beyond some silly regional rivalry. There was nothing in this game that should have been of value or interest to Han Rake Seho. Doing something like this was a complete waste of time for him, especially considering the level hed reached in League of Legends. On any other day, Rake would have played a ranked game of his own or gone to bed early instead of watching such a trivial game. And yet, Han Seho watched the game between CNHOOK2 and Orion from start to finish.

This game stood out to Rakes eyes for a simple reason. CNHOOK2. It was a name rang with familiarity, and dredged up a memory from deep inside Rakes mind. CNHOOK2 was a handle that his mentor, and the first player who wore the mantle of Rake, Lee Dojae had spoken to him about.

And now, because of that conversation, Rake knew who was playing behind CNHOOK2. Another legend from the same era as Lee Dojae. Rake was curious about this player from a time before him, simply because this rival of his mentor had managed to attain even greater status and acclaim in global esports than he currently had.

But Rake wasnt interested in what the legend behind CNHOOK2 achieved in the previous era of esports. His interest was in seeing how a titan of that era played today. More than that, Rake wanted to measure himself against the top of the previous generation. So he clicked on the replay and watched with razor sharp eyes, taking in everything about the player behind CNHOOK2.

And as he watched, his reason for watching changed. Something about the way that CNHOOK2 played felt familiar to Rake. In his mind, he could see himself remembering counter-moves to CNHOOK2s Yasuo, like hed played against CNHOOK2 before. Somewhere deep in his mind, Rake knew that hed seen this player before and that hed played against him.

By the time the game ended, Rake knew that the identity of CNHOOK2 was not his mentors rival from a previous age. But his soul continued to scream out that he knew CNHOOK2. Rake dug deep into his memories, through years and thousands of games, trying to find the answer that his heart told him was there.

Then, all of a sudden and with no warning at all, Rakes eyes widened! The normally tranquil waters of his emotions rippled with surprise. Its him ?