After the first match, the atmosphere in G2's lounge was still lively.
As the European branch of the Optimistic Family, they felt that entering the MSI semifinals was already an improvement.
After all, they had won 2-8 last year.
Moreover, they had squeezed out TSM this year, temporarily solving the historical problem of EU overtaking NA.
Losing to YM, last year's global finals champion and this year's MSI champion, in the semifinals was not something unacceptable.
"Let's not let him get Galio in the next round." G2's coach rubbed his beard. "The opposing midlaner's support was too frequent this round, and his protection was too strong. We shouldn't have lost so much by crossing the tower."
"That's my problem." Ah P nodded. "Malzahar can't restrict him at all with his laning."
"The key is the early second and first blood." The team analyst beside him was a skinny man with a pair of engineering glasses. He held a thick notebook in his hand. "His equipment level is ahead, and after his laning ability improves, he can roam around to provide support."
"Under normal circumstances, Galio will be suppressed by Malzahar in lane."
On the other side, in YM's lounge, White Crescent only emphasized a few key points.
The atmosphere in the room was pleasant. Lin Weixiang and Liu Qingsong even wore sunglasses and started singing rap.
Phyllostachys Pubescens sat at the side, swaying his head along to the brainless and unhappy music that was out of tune.
Jin Gong and Jack looked at Phyllostachys Pubescens' slender neck, discussing something in low voices.
Not long after, the two of them looked at each other, and Jack revealed his trademark Shiba Inu smile.
Lin Yan flipped through the information prepared by the analyst team.
He was already studying their opponents in the MSI finals.
The five-minute break was over in the blink of an eye. Winston ran over to inform them to prepare for the security check and enter the stage.
On the commentary platform, Remember and Zeyuan turned around and saw the two teams slowly entering the stage from the contestants' passage. They took a deep breath, wiped the sweat off their foreheads, and put on their headphones again.
Just now, in a moment of excitement, they had a few waves of people with tens of thousands of spectators. The scene was spectacular.
At the end of May, the average temperature in Rio was close to 25 ° C. The air was unusually hot and dry, and there was no air conditioning in the stadium. The two commentators were sweating after just a little exercise.
"Welcome back to the live broadcast of the first day of the semifinals of the 2017 season …" Zeyuan glanced at the card in his hand, activated his talent skill, and quickly read out all the sponsors' advertising slogans.
"The last match was very easy." Ze Yuan put down the card in his hand. "YM maintained their strong competitiveness and completely crushed G2."
"But it is worth affirming that G2 is also working hard," Remember said. "Their tactics caused some trouble for YM in the early stages."
As soon as he finished speaking, the second round of BP had already begun!
"G2 has chosen the blue side. They will ban Sindra first!"
G2's coaching team did not ban Lucian first because the Spear Ranger was harder to counter. In the LPL Spring Season, Lin Yan used the Stone Golem to fight Lucian. Although it was effective in the middle and late stages, it was very badly suppressed in the early stages.
Sindra was easier to counter in YM's tactical system. Lin Yan had used the Little Fishman and Ike to beat it up.
They banned Sindra first to force White Crescent to ban Lucian, who was not easy to deal with in YM's system.
Compared to LPL, the coaching team of the European league was undoubtedly the first to take off.
In the dark years of S5 LPL, OG and FNC in the European division both made it to the top four with the help of the coaching team. FNC even defeated EDG in the top eight.
In that year's international tournament, other than the nightmarish top laner in the hearts of the LPL audience, it was more about the strength of the coaching team. LGD's defeat was a classic example.
After S5, the European coaching team rarely made any changes to their BP in the international tournament. Their performance behind the scenes was more stable than the neurotic players in their division.
"YM banned Lucian. It's better to respect G2's mid laner Perkz's carry ability." Remember looked at the BP game between the two sides. "Although we all call him Ah P, based on the data, he should be called GodP in this MSI!"
Most of the audience in this MSI had the deepest impression of YM and SKT's invincible slaughter of noobs. Little Peanut had even completed the amazing feat of 80 kills in 7 minutes against the Vietnamese team.
However, Ah P, this hidden carry point, was slowly rising.
Perkz had talked big before the group stage and was taught a lesson by Lin Yan and Faker in the first round. However, from the second round of the group stage, this guy had started to evolve.
Lin Yan and Faker found it difficult to kill Ah P in the second round. Perkz seemed to be getting stronger as he fought.
In a total of ten group stage matches, he was ranked first in terms of damage output, kill rate, average damage, damage conversion rate, and the number of times he inflicted serious injuries.
(See the chart for the 2017 MSI mid laner.)
Although Lin Yan and Faker had picked Karma mid laners, who were not easy to deal damage in the middle and late stages of the game, G2's win rate in the group stage was not high. Ah P did not have many opportunities to deal damage. To be able to produce such numbers, his ability was evident.
G2's second ban was given to Lulu. It seemed like they were still targeting the Prophet.
YM banned Green God.
"The last ban in the first round … G2 still banned Tam." Remember hesitated for a moment. "It seems like G2 felt that the overall strategy in the last round was not too problematic."
White Crescent blocked Kainan again.
G2 instantly chose Galio!
"We'll take Qing Gang Yin first," White Crescent said to Jin Gong. "Then we'll pick Blind Monk."
Since Galio had appeared in the top laner before, YM had chosen him by chance in the last round. The G2 coaching team must have realized that the combination of Galio and Qing Gang Yin's big move was not to be underestimated. White Crescent would not give it to the opponent.
"Nanqiang and Shen!" Ze Yuan was a little surprised. "Is G2 also going to use mid laner Galio?"
"G2 directly chose mid laner, while YM took Verus last in the first round!"
In the second round of bans, G2 banned both Boulogne and Malzahar.
Since Lin Yan had a history of using Qing Gang Yin to walk mid laner, the G2 coaching team was not sure about YM's Qing Gang Yin's lane splitting, so they simply banned Malzahar who swung mid laner.
White Crescent first banned Ice and eliminated the Ice + Gunner bottom laner combination used by G2 in the last round. Then she banned Big Mouth, who had good synergy with Shen and Galio.
"You choose Karma." White Crescent decided on a hero for The Prophet. "Remember to be careful. You died a lot in the last round."
"Hmm …" The Prophet was drinking water. When he heard the coach's words, he immediately put down the paper cup. "I'll try my best."
"G2's last two choices have finalized their bottom laner combination!" Remember to look at the hero selection interface from the OB perspective. "Mouse and Nami!"
The G2 coach smiled crookedly.
This lineup was their change after YM first chose Galio as the mid laner. All five positions were their proudest work.
"It's a very solid lineup," Ze Yuan commented. "They rely on Nanqiang and Mouse's double archers. Nami, Galio, and Shen can all provide good protection. Their mid-laner combat power is quite strong."
Now it was YM's turn to choose the last hero.
"Do you want to use Qing Gang Yin?" White Crescent was still asking.
Lin Yan shook his head without thinking much.
In terms of fighting, Qing Gang Yin could indeed suppress Galio. However, a normal professional player would definitely not use Galio to fight against Qing Gang Yin.
Even if Qing Gang Yin had Tiamat, his pushing speed was not as fast as this version of Galio. He could not catch the opponent's whereabouts at all.
Moreover, Jin Gong used Qing Gang Yin to play well against Shen in the last round. Why would you change to him?
Just continue to use it for Xiba.
"Clockwork?
Ryze? "White Crescent kept giving him options.
"… Rock Sparrow." Lin Yan thought about it and said.
If Ryze did not have the nerf to his big move and Golden Body's brainless escape technique, he could still be used. After being nerfed, Ryze's safety was not guaranteed.
In this case, it was better to choose Rock Sparrow.
Although his solo ability was slightly weaker than Ryze's, his early support ability was much stronger. It was in line with Lin Yan's needs to deal with Galio.
"Talia!" Ze Yuan shouted. "This is the first time Ran used this hero!"
The Brazilian audience rarely watched LPL games, so they did not have a clear understanding of Lin Yan's style.
However, the domestic audience who stayed up late to watch the game was quite familiar with this trick.
[Go to G2's jungle is empty. There is no Nanqiang to farm!]
[Then I suggest you go to Phyllostachys Pubescens for 20 minutes. Lin Yan never goes easy on junglers.]
[Didn't Ah P like to play the late game core damage hero?
Why didn't he use it in the semi-finals?
Galio and Malzahar. Does he want to be a slacker?]
[Ho ho ho, Ah P dares to take it?
Is he waiting for his jungler's mentality to explode when he gets the late game core from Ran?]
"Quickly clear the line. You take Shen with you. It's better than Rock Sparrow alone." The G2 coach patted Ah P's shoulder.
Perkz, a European, always had his emotions written on his face. He was not smiling now.
Using Galio was undoubtedly a challenge for him. Ah P had practiced before when it had just been revised, but in terms of proficiency, it was definitely incomparable to his best hero.
Just as the domestic comments said, Ah P did not dare to use a late game core like Clockwork to play Lin Yan.
Using a mid to late game team battle damage hero was equivalent to transferring all the defensive pressure in the early game to the jungler and support.
Ah P had seen the YM video and knew that in this version, facing Lin Yan's team with a late game core, the junglers were all rotten. No one could withstand the pressure of his support.
They could only try to tie Lin Yan to the mid lane or roam with him.
The lineups of both sides were confirmed.
Blue side G2: Top laner Shen, jungler Nanqiang, mid laner Galio, bottom laner Mouse + Nami.
Red side YM: Top laner Qing Gang Yin, jungler Blind Monk, mid laner Rock Sparrow, bottom laner Verus + Karma.
The Brazilian audience applauded thunderously. Summoner's Canyon quickly appeared on the big screen!
Lin Yan, who had brought Flash Purification, hesitated on the choice of outfit and chose Corruption Potion.
He felt that in the early game, he and Ah P would definitely fight for the lead. It was inevitable that they would have to use skills frequently to exchange health. The recovery effect provided by Corruption Potion was much stronger than Doran Ring.
"We can invade. Our first team is very strong."
Lin Yan went out with Scan and led his teammates to invade the bottom half of the blue side G2's junglers. He wanted to replicate the opening of the previous game and eat the experience of an eye accessory to complete the second place.
However, their first team was very strong. G2 did not even have the intention to touch them. Nanqiang directly prepared to change junglers to start the game.
Lin Yan opened Scan in the G2's red zone, where they were most likely to lower their vision, but did not find anything.
"I'll go back and change my accessory. Xiao Tian, do you still want to eat his health?" Lin Yan asked.
"No, let's go after the eye." Xiao Tian thought for a moment and gave up the idea of going against the junglers.
In this game, the opponent's bottom lane was Mouse and Nami. In the early game, Nanqiang's ability to cooperate with the junglers was poor. Even if Nanqiang went to the bottom lane, he would not be able to get a kill. He did not need to use the red buff of anti-G2 to protect his own bottom lane.
It was safer to use the normal red side to farm to protect Jin Gong in the top lane.
Lin Yan went back to the city to change his yellow eye accessory and began to push the soldiers as soon as he went online.
Before Ah P could react, the three melee soldiers' health was already more than half.
In terms of extreme early game pushing, Rock Sparrow was definitely at the top level.
In the current version of Rock Sparrow Q's [Stone Piercing], each stone also had an area of effect damage. When clearing the soldiers, a stone may touch two or three soldiers at the same time.
(Rock Sparrow Q's area of effect damage was cut in the 8.11 change in June 2018. See the picture in this chapter.)
A total of five stones were thrown out. How could the soldiers resist it?
Upon seeing this, Ah P immediately began to fan the soldiers and also tried to push the line quickly.
Lin Yan looked at Galio, who entered his attack range in order to hammer out the passive. He did not even have the thought of using a normal attack to exhaust him.
He just pushed the soldiers on his own.
After clearing the three melee soldiers, Rock Sparrow's second [Stone Piercing] turned good again.
Due to the existence of the skill mechanism [Quarry], repeatedly casting [Stone Piercing] in the quarry for a period of time would only throw out one stone.
Lin Yan naturally could not do this in order to push the line.
He took two steps to the side and left the quarry range, and then threw out another [Stone Piercing].
Five stones reduced the health of the three ranged soldiers, and Lin Yan once again used a normal attack.
At this time, Ah P's next [Righteous Wind] finally turned good and cleared the three melee soldiers.
"There is still a gap in the speed of pushing the line in the early stage." He remembered seeing Lin Yan push the first wave of soldiers, and seeing that there were still three half-health ranged soldiers left in front of Ah P, he could not help but feel happy. "Ran can use the remaining time to move up and down."
Lin Yan ran against the wall of the jungle, using the passive [Floating Stone Rush] to increase his movement speed by stepping on a rock made of skateboard, and plunged into the bottom half of G2.
"You guys push the line in the bottom lane, don't be afraid." Lin Yan commanded his own bottom lane.
When Jack heard this, he immediately showed his true colors.
Originally, he was playing more conservatively because the bottom half of his jungle was open, and the first three levels could not take care of the bottom lane. Now, he controlled Verus to directly cross the line of soldiers and exchange health with the rats.
Lin Yan walked around the Beaked Bird and the red buff camp, and confirmed that the Nanqiang had not cleared these two groups of monsters, and that the second wave of soldiers in the middle lane was about to converge. Only then did he rush back.
"He placed an eye in the jungle, be careful," Ah P reminded. He saw Rock Sparrow appear in the middle lane again, and according to the time he disappeared, he estimated Lin Yan's distance in his mind. "The eye should be in the bush of the red buff."
Because the G2 level one team did not set up an eye, the five people also avoided YM, and Ah P did not know that Lin Yan had changed his accessory.
The 120-second cooldown after changing accessories did not allow Lin Yan to set up an eye in the G2 jungle!
The Nanqiang of G2 saw that the enemy's bottom lane was constantly pushing the line. Originally, he wanted to finish clearing the red zone, then take a detour to catch the bottom lane. It was definitely impossible to kill, and it was not bad to be able to hit the bottom lane duo of YM with one or two summoner skills.
However, when he heard that Lin Yan had set up an eye in his own jungle, he immediately shelved this plan.
He felt that if he went to catch someone in YM's eye, he would definitely not get anything. He simply planned to go back to the city to replenish his green jungler after clearing the bottom half of the jungle, then come out to continue farming.
However, this way, he would be fooled by Lin Yan's illusion of an eye.
Remember and Ze Yuan stood on the God's view of the entire situation, and naturally did not know the details of Lin Yan's handling.
"Verus has already pushed the minions to the bottom of the tower, and Nanqiang is still not coming?" Remember saw Nanqiang peacefully clearing the Gargoyle camp, and he was worried about the rats in G2.
However, Nanqiang was not in a hurry.
Rock Sparrow had clearly set an eye in his own jungle, and YM still dared to push the minions in the bottom lane. Why?
It was obvious that Blind Monk was doing the opposite.
After all, Blind Monk normally started with a red start speed of three, and YM happened to be on the red side. From the red buff in the top half of the jungle all the way down, they could just do the opposite.
You want me to fall for such a fake act?
No way.
After clearing the bottom half of the jungle, he would go back to the city to replenish, and then steal a group of big birds. Wouldn't that be perfect?
You blind man, you can just squat in the bottom lane.
Nanqiang's calculations were very shrewd. After eating the Gargoyle camp and returning to the city to replenish, he would not dare to snatch the River Crab in the bottom half of the jungle.
G2's bottom lane was miserably suppressed in order to make up for the tower kills. They still wanted to resist, but the rats + Nami's early combat power was not on the same level as Verus + Karma's, and they lost half of their HP when they went forward.
At this moment, it was nearly four minutes. Lin Yan was happily pushing the minions in the middle lane. He saw that Xiao Tian had also finished clearing his own six groups of monsters and was planning to return to the city, so he immediately reminded him,
"When you go back later, you'll squat here. Nanqiang will definitely come."
Lin Yan was very sure.
He marked the grass above the Dragon pit and the red buff camp.
From here, he could clearly see if his own F6 had been hacked.
With the 150 second jungle refresh time, with Nanqiang's farming speed, there were no monsters at home to farm at this time. As long as this group of F6 was a normal Nanqiang, they would come back.
Xiao Tian knew what Lin Yan was planning, so he decisively listened to his advice and squatted in the grass to wait quietly.
"Huh?
What is Xiao Tian doing? "Seeing the caster's camera aimed at Xiao Tian in the grass, Ze Yuan's brain didn't react for a moment.
Ten seconds later, Xiao Tian was still squatting there.
There were no battles on the other three lanes, and the caster was also competing with him, the camera fixed on Phyllostachys Pubescens.
The Brazilian audience in the stadium booed in confusion.
The bullet screen in the Chinese livestream was no longer harmonious.
[Did he disconnect?]
[He hung up for more than ten seconds. That's awesome.]
[Don't embarrass him. Xiao Tian is inevitably a little sleepy after fighting in the early morning, Sister Li … What?
It's afternoon in Brazil?
Then it's fine.]
[As expected of YM's jungler, even his posture when playing chess is exactly the same as King Ning's!]
But in the next second, the gang's godfather, Graves, appeared in Xiao Tian's vision with a shotgun!
Normally, Blind Monk wouldn't be able to farm Razorbeak Birds with speed three. He would be faster at killing three wolves or Magical Swamp Frogs.
In Nanqiang's opinion, this group of Razorbeak Birds must still be alive.
"Get ready to move!" Lin Yan urged. He cleared the minions as before and then retreated.
Nanqiang wasn't vigilant at all. As he entered YM's jungle, he called for the mid laner to pay attention to him.
In his opinion, after Blind Monk's failed attempt at ganking the bottom lane, he was now either farming crabs in the bottom half of the jungle or had just returned to the city and walked out of the spring.
There was no way he would stop him from ganking the jungle.
A mere Rock Sparrow dared to challenge Nanqiang?
Don't make me laugh.
He swaggered into the wilderness, and after taking two steps, he saw the empty camp of the Beak Birds.
Sh * t!
Nanqiang immediately reacted and wanted to retreat, but it was too late.
In the bushes above, Blind Monk touched Nanqiang's eyes and used a normal attack on him. He then used a Heaven Sonic Wave!
This was a level four Blind Monk with a red buff after killing six groups of minions!
"Save me!" Nanqiang hurriedly shouted.
Rock Sparrow was running along the wall and was rushing over on his surfboard!
"YM's jungler planned this a long time ago. He squatted down Nanqiang!" Ze Yuan shouted in surprise.
Blind Monk used his E skill to slow down Nanqiang. He kicked again and used Echo Strike to reduce Nanqiang's health to less than half.
Nanqiang immediately used Slide Step to move backward, wanting to find mid laner Galio for protection. However, Ah P had just finished dealing with the minions in the middle lane and was still a distance away from his jungler.
Lin Yan used his Q [Stone Piercing] and used the acceleration effect to throw five stones at Nanqiang!
"Nanqiang used Blink and wanted to run … but Ran used Blink to follow and pushed him back with a precise W [Rock Spike]!"
Nanqiang couldn't escape this calamity!
Lin Yan's last normal attack took the first blood in his bag!
All of this was because of Lin Yan's accessory change!