In the bustling lounge, Lin Yan could tell what was on everyone's mind at a glance.
Those whose hands were trembling and faces were pale, hugging their backpacks and sitting in a remote corner were basically rookies like him. Those who sat with their legs crossed, laughing and joking around on the chairs, were mostly old foxes from the secondary league.
"Don't just stand there. Go get your makeup done. Our game is starting soon."
Brother Hao took paper cups to get water for the players. He was also an old fox. He had been in the LSPL for two years. Although he didn't have any big achievements, he was very familiar with the facilities in the stadium and the pre-match preparations.
Nowadays, professional competitions were becoming more and more formal. Makeup was essential for offline competitions. Fist and Teng Jing strived to separate these professional players from the general perception of internet addicts and create a positive image.
"Your skin is good. You don't need concealer." The makeup artist looked at Lin Yan's face with some envy. "You guys stay up all night playing esports. How can your skin be so good?"
Lin Yan didn't directly answer the makeup artist's question. In fact, he didn't stay up all night. The latest he went to bed was one o 'clock in the morning. He was no different from an ordinary college student. With the skincare products Su Cheng chose, it wasn't a big problem to keep his skin smooth.
"It's time to go on stage!"
Hao walked in. "I took a look below the stage. There are less than 50 spectators in total. You guys don't have to be nervous. Just bring out your state for the mock competition."
The five team members followed Brother Hao out of the dressing room. Coach Han Yi accompanied them on both sides. They spent two minutes walking through the long, narrow, and dim passageway. At the end of the passageway were spotlights that were sometimes scattered and sometimes concentrated, shining like a dream.
"Our opponent is Team ZTR. Because their two Korean reinforcements encountered some visa issues, they only came back two days ago. Therefore, we didn't arrange for a mock competition. However, their strength is not to be underestimated."
As they walked forward, the coach explained the team to them. In fact, YM had already studied this information on the day they received the competition schedule. The coach repeated it again just to ease the tension of the players.
"Speaking of which, I also know the two Korean players." As a veteran in the team, Jin Gong could understand the intentions of the management. He took the initiative to speak in half-baked Mandarin, "The jungler is WATCH. He's the Najin White Shield jungler that was swept by OMG in S4."
"It's him …" Xiao Tian sighed. "He's pretty strong."
Even though Watchwatch had been swept out of the S4 competition by OMG, Xiao Tian felt even more pressure. It was a fact that they had been swept out of the competition, but how could they be useless if they were able to make it to the S competition from the Korean competition where there were so many strong players?
The World Finals was still out of reach for a young player like him who had just entered the secondary league.
"Their mid laner is also Najin's white shield, Ggoong …" Before Jin Gong could finish his sentence, Ning interrupted.
"You're the second brother of Korea, right? I know!" Then, he chuckled.
Ggoong's ID was similar to OMG's top laner, Gogoing. He was jokingly called the second brother of Korea by the Chinese netizens. In the S4 quarterfinals, he played like an international friend who had submitted his application to join the party. He was loved by the Chinese audience.
With this interruption, the tension among the five YM players dissipated. They stood at the innermost part of the tunnel waiting for their turn.
The hosting skills of the LSPL were quite average. It was incomparable to the handsome men and beautiful women of the top leagues. Fortunately, the introduction before the competition was smooth. Otherwise, Lin Yan would have been embarrassed.
"Next, let's welcome the new powerhouse, YM, onto the stage!"
As soon as the host finished speaking, the staff at the side directed them onto the stage.
The five YM players and ZTR team were separated by the host. There were very few audience members below the stage. The spotlight was too bright. Lin Yan couldn't get used to it. He didn't look below the stage. He squinted his eyes and glanced at Xiao Tian beside him.
"Is that RanBao in the middle of YM?
He's so cute when he squints his eyes! "
A girl below the stage exclaimed. She looked at Lin Yan's handsome figure under the spotlight and couldn't help but sigh.
"That little boy?
He's quite handsome, "said her best friend." He's much taller than Watch. "
The girl sitting in the front row looked back at the two girls. Then, she turned back to look at Lin Yan. She took out her phone from her bag and took a close-up of Lin Yan on the stage.
At this time, the phone's pixels weren't that good. The photo was a little blurry. Lin Yan squinted slightly. The light above his head shone on his fair skin.
After the introduction of the team members, Lin Yan finally sat down. He logged into his account and looked at YMRan's ID. He took a deep breath and started to customize the key settings.
The keyboard and mouse were prepared by Teng Jing Sports. They copied the peripherals that the players were used to to ensure the fairness of the competition.
After a while, Lin Yan leaned on the gaming chair and closed his eyes to rest.
"Don't be arrogant." The coach stood behind them and reminded them. "Being invincible in the mock competition doesn't mean that you'll be good in the official competition. I've seen many players who killed and screwed up in mock competitions …"
He nagged. Lin Yan listened to him and felt more at ease.
On the other side, the coach of ZTR team was repeating similar words. There was a translator beside him who was responsible for translating for the two Korean players.
"Their mid laner is very strong." The translator listened to the coach and repeated to Watch and Ggoong. "They just reached the top of the domestic server two months ago. They're very good at roaming and providing support."
"Oh, is that so?"
Ggoong did not take it to heart. From his point of view, he and watch were from the first division of LCK to help the poor with their skills. If ZTR had not given them so much money, he would not have swallowed his pride and come to this mediocre second-tier league.
"It doesn't matter."
He didn't care about these rookies in the secondary league. He and Watch were the mid laner team that entered the S Tournament. Wouldn't it take them 20 minutes to play LSPL?
"This game will end in at most 25 minutes."
In order to show his modesty and stability, Ggoong purposely spoke for another five minutes.
Both players didn't type or chat. The room was silent.
Lin Yan only opened his eyes when the BP music started.
"Ban Ryze first," Hanyi said to Jin Gong on the first floor after seeing the opponent ban Eternal Hunt's Twin Jade.
Lin Yan had never won a single mock competition or ranked match. Although this hero was strong, it had followed SKT's Faker to shine in the S5 finals. It didn't fit Lin Yan's roaming style.
ZTR banned Ice Maiden and Lisandro. Obviously, they had checked Lin Yan's ranking records. This was the hero he used the most in ranked matches. It had three functions: pushing, roaming, and controlling. It was impossible for them to give it to Lin Yan.
"Captain Lulu, don't release these two." Hanyi was a competent coach. He had done a lot of preparation work these days. "These two heroes will slow down our progress and increase the risk of overtaking the tower."
ZTR finally sealed Lady Gunner. Lady Gunner had received a wave of enhancements in the S6 pre-season. She was considered a version hero.