October 29th, American time.
The YM players woke up early in the morning and took the bus to the finals venue near noon.
Lin Yan wore his headphones and looked at the Staples Center not far away through the window of the bus. The gray and white magnificent building sat there quietly as the Los Angeles noon sun poured down.
There were already many spectators outside the venue waiting to enter. They whistled excitedly when they saw the YM bus. Many of them waved YM support items in their hands to cheer them on.
Lin Yan and his teammates carried their backpacks and got off the bus with cheers. They were the first to enter through the passage arranged by the staff.
"You guys have practiced this countless times." In the spacious and bright team lounge, Han Yi looked around. "I want to emphasize the bottom lane." "What I want to emphasize is the bottom lane."
"Jack and Lil 'Ming, don't push too far without support from your teammates. Try not to clash with your opponents. Don't go overboard with your HP."
"You two are under the most pressure in this BO5." Han Yi's expression was solemn.
Jack and Xiao Ming nodded.
The bottom lane advantage was very important in this version, second only to Nakano. Hanyi had no choice but to do this because their bottom lane was really inferior to their opponents in terms of raw strength.
Bang's strength had reached its peak this year. From the bottom lane to the team battle to the execution of decisions throughout the game, Bang was perfect in every aspect of a professional ADC.
His opponent's economy was 2065 points, his damage per point was 725 points, he only needed 22.8% of the team's economy to deal 30.7% damage, and his damage conversion rate was 167%. Bang was at the top of all the key statistics to measure an ADC.
His current strength was comparable to the AlphaGo of the Go world. He was simply a humanoid machine.
Hanyi saw the nervous look on the bottom lane players' faces and relaxed her tone. "But don't be afraid. They are still playing the traditional Korean bottom lane. Their suppression of the bottom lane is not very exaggerated. They prefer to stabilize the bottom lane and wait for their teammates to support them."
"Just don't expose too many flaws and give them an opportunity," Hanyi emphasized. "Today's focus is on Nakano."
The analyst team repeated some of the key points of the field layout. At this time, it was only 3: 30 in the afternoon. There was still some time before the start of the finals.
Lin Yan scrolled through his phone, which was full of unread messages from his classmates and friends. He scrolled through them twice, but he couldn't find the one from his father, Lin Mingdong.
At this moment, the backstage officials informed them to enter. Lin Yan stuffed his phone back into his backpack, rolled up his peripheral with a mouse pad, and followed Xiao Tian out of the lounge.
The Staples Center was a famous sports building in the Los Angeles area. It could accommodate up to 20,000 people. At that moment, there were no empty seats. The black and red team flag of YM and the red flag of SKT fluttered in the air.
From a bird's eye view, the number of spectators supporting the defending champion, SKT, was clearly superior.
A few years ago, SKT, the Double Champion, had accumulated a large number of die-hard fans based on their excellent results. Coupled with a large number of rational passersby, they were certain that SKT would pick up their third championship trophy today.
The electronic screen above the center stage showed the countdown to the start of the finals.
As the audience counted down in unison, the entire arena fell into darkness.
Then, the lights in the arena suddenly lit up. A huge Hex Technology Treasure Chest appeared in the middle of the arena. Then, a key pierced into the treasure chest like a sharp sword!
Various heroes, such as the Spider Queen and the Ice Shooter, appeared on stage with the help of projection technology.
Finally, the DJ stage rose slowly, and the theme song of the international tournament, Ignite, was played live.
Under the restless and rhythmic electronic music, the promotional videos of the two teams in the finals were played on the big screen above the stage. They were mixed with the highlights of the two teams' performances in the international tournament.
Jin Gong's Kenji's sneak attack from the dead, Xiao Tian's ghostly Spider Queen, Lin Yan's prediction flash kill of Little Fishman Ximen's card master, JKL's soul harvest Draven, Xiao Ming's Infernal Inferno against a three-star player …
After the promotional videos finished playing, the arena fell into darkness again.
Suddenly, a beam of light hit the floor of the stage. The light quickly spread around, and then the lights came on. The members of the two teams stood on both sides of the stage, and in the middle of the stage was the Summoner's Trophy that countless professional players dreamed of!
The male host stood next to the Summoner's Trophy and introduced the two teams and their members in English.
"First, let us welcome the first seed from the LPL division, the 2016 LPL Summer Champion, Young Miracles!"
The cheers in the Staples Center were majestic and shocking.
When it came to Lin Yan's introduction, the cheers in the stadium went up another level!
In the month-long international tournament, Lin Yan's performance was unquestionable. He was definitely at the top of the world. The only person standing in front of him now was the devil king Faker!
"Next," the male host increased his volume. "Let us warmly welcome the champion of the S3 and S5 global finals, the 2016 MSI champion, SKTelecom T1!"
When Faker was introduced, the cheers in the stadium reached the peak and almost broke through the dome!
Li Xianghe was expressionless. He put his hands in his pockets and started to act cool.
For him, who had entered the S League three times, the international finals stage was not a rare sight.
His teammates had changed again and again, and the only ones standing on the stage were him, Dumb Chicken, and Coach Kkoma.
He only had one goal in participating in S6, and that was to win his third Summoner's Trophy!
Three years ago, in S3, Faker was also at the Staples Center. He and his teammates picked up the first international championship trophy in team history.
Three years later, it was still the same place. Li Xianghe was sure that this was God's will for him to achieve three championships!
…
After a week of preparation, the annual LOL competition was here again. The LPL division had entered the finals again after two years, and the attention in China was exploding.
The last time the LPL team entered the finals, the influence of eSports in society was not as strong as it was now. Today, two years later, with Tengjing's continuous deepening of the Alliance, the formal eSports competition gradually entered the public's eyes.
University dormitories, subway buses, internet cafes … Millions of viewers turned on the live broadcast of the competition, eagerly waiting for the competition to officially begin!
It was seven o 'clock in the morning in China. Lin Mingdong sat in the back of the car, ready to rush to the airport.
He suddenly thought of something. After turning on his phone, the live broadcast software that he had specially installed before popped up with the slogan for the S6 finals.
Lin Mingdong put on his Bluetooth headset and clicked into the live broadcast room. He happened to see Lin Yan with a smile on his face, waving his hand and accepting the loud cheers of the audience.
Lin Mingdong's finger gently touched his son on the screen. His mind was filled with thoughts, and the corner of his mouth, which was usually serious, was slightly raised.
The assistant in the front row was about to turn around to deliver the documents when he looked up and saw the image on Lin Mingdong's phone.
"You watch eSports too?
I really like the mid laner from YM. His skills are really good … "The assistant did not expect a forty-year-old leader to watch eSports." Boss Lin, who do you support? "
After asking this question, the rookie, who had just graduated and joined the company for less than half a year, immediately shut up. He realized that his words had crossed the line.
"… YM." Lin Mingdong took one last look at the screen and put it in his bag.
At the Staples Center.
Both teams put on their headsets and sat on their chairs to adjust the equipment.
"Are you guys nervous?" Xiao Ming asked while chewing gum.
"I'm always nervous." JKL turned on his customization and used Draven to catch axes. "I can't get any feedback. My hands are shaking."
"Anyway, if we lose today, Hanyi will take the blame. It has nothing to do with me, Gao Tianliang." Phyllostachys Pubescens squinted his eyes. "He lost the coin toss again."
"If it's not you, then why do you always lose?"
In the finals, Xiao Tian was sure that Hanyi would not dare to scold him, so he spoke without restraint. "Can't you do something, Hanyi?"
"Jin Gong, when the finals are over, Xiao Tian's neck will be yours." Hanyi was expressionless.
"Woah woah woah …" Jin Gong rubbed his hands with a fierce look on his face.
Perhaps it was because of the heat and throbbing before the finals, Lin Yan felt a little hot in his team uniform jacket. Beads of sweat were seeping out of his forehead.
He pulled his collar, then leaned over and combed the hair in front of his forehead to the back of his head. His hairline was exposed and he wiped the sweat off.
Countless viewers in the stadium and in front of the live stream saw this scene through the big screen.
Without the cover of his hair, Lin Yan's handsome facial features were fully displayed in front of the audience.
"Ran Bao, handsome, handsome!"
"I'm so envious of his hairline that I'm drooling."
"Don't all eSports players stay up late?
How can his hair be so thick?
Don't tell me he's wearing a wig like Jay Chou? "
"Jay Chou: How can he hit me with his waist?"
"Good morning to our local viewers. Welcome to the finals of the S6 International Finals. I'm Doll."
"Hello, everyone. I'm Mille."
As usual, the Haier brothers were the commentators for today's finals. However, they could only enjoy half of the screen because the other half was blocked by a mountain of flesh.
"Hello, everyone. I'm PDD." Chubby waved his hand to greet the local viewers.
"PDD is our old friend and one of YM's bosses." Seeing that the BP had not started yet, Doll was ready to warm up the scene. "Let me interview you first. How did you feel when you watched your own team members play below the stage today?"
"I'm very happy." PDD smiled like Pot of Greed in Yu-Gi-Oh. "I didn't expect them to make it this far."
"Out of the five starting members, four of them are playing professionally for the first time, and the average age of the team is only 17 years old." PDD recalled the past. "Back then, when I found them, all of them were young and inexperienced lads. In less than a year's time, their achievements in their professional careers are higher than mine."
"Ran was the first person I recruited into the team. I told him back then." PDD's nasal voice was thick and emotional. "I wanted to be the first champion of the league and the first champion of an international competition. I wanted to carve the club's name in the history of League of Legends' development.
"It's only been a year, and we're about to do it."
Mille nodded. "Whether YM wins or loses in the finals, this year is a year full of miracles for them. From the secondary league, they jumped three levels and made it all the way to the finals of the global finals. It's an unprecedented great performance."
"Now, let's see if YM can continue their young miracles!" Doll shouted.
"YM, go, go!"
"It's not a loss if we lose, it's a bloody profit if we win, let's just do it!"
"They're willing to sacrifice themselves to drag the emperor down from his horse. Let's see if YM can withstand it today!"
"They won't be scolded when they come back anyway. There's no need for YM to panic during this year's spicy dance."
Although most of the viewers in the live streaming channel did not think that YM could win, they still gave their most sincere blessings to the YM members on the other side of the ocean.
"SKT has won the coin toss round and has the priority to pick sides in the first, third, and fifth round. YM has two rounds, two rounds, and four rounds." Doll received the information provided by the caster. "This isn't good news. Everyone knows that the blue side has too much of a BP advantage in this version."
At this time, the big screen in the stadium entered the BP segment. The crowd cheered loudly as the highly anticipated S6 finals began!
"As expected, SKT chose the blue side. The first ban was given to Ella." Doll clicked his tongue.
"YM's first ban was given to the Panther Lady as usual." Mille frowned. "Looks like Nidri is going to sit firmly on the throne of S6's 100% BP."
SKT continued to ban the Spider, and YM could only choose to ban Sindra. From hero strength to version compatibility, Sindra, the ball-playing woman, was firmly in the top spot of the mid lane.
"The last ban was given to Olaf by SKT!"
Mille exclaimed. "This ban was unexpected. Stupid Chicken's Olaf performed very well. They could have snatched it from him."
On the stage, YM was still thinking of a countermeasure. SKT's last ban put them in a difficult position.
Hanyi had originally planned to ban Victor, but now that Olaf, the Panther Lady, and the Spider had all been sent to the ban position, the only strong jungler left was Blind Monk.
If they did not ban him, Stupid Chicken would definitely snatch him. If they banned Blind Monk, Victor would be released.
Hanyi was still hesitating.
"Let's ban Blind Monk. Excavator's strength is low, but it can still be used." Xiao Tian took the initiative to speak. After playing ROX, he was now very confident.
"How about we use our big moves in the first round?" Lin Yan suggested.
"Aren't we going to hold back?" Xiao Ming asked.
"Don't tell me you want to copy those teams and hide their big moves until next year?"
Lin Yan laughed. "After we lose the competition, we'll return home and say that our big moves were useless, and we'll be invincible instantly?"
"How many teams have you started this time?" JKL's hand trembled.
"If we take them out, we'll know what to do if we lose. It's just that we can't beat them in terms of raw strength. If we win, SKT will face difficulties. Either way, it's not a loss."
Lin Yan analyzed.