In Team YM's resting room.
The players had finished putting on their makeup and were waiting for the staff to enter the arena.
"If we play our strategy well, we'll be able to win the finals," White Crescent said before he went on stage. "Don't think about those useless things."
His last sentence was directed at the prophet.
"Okay." The prophet nodded in response.
Winston knocked on the door and entered, asking them to wait outside at the passageway.
There was still a long distance before they reached the stage, but Lin Yan and the others could already hear the thunderous cheers.
"The esports atmosphere here is really outstanding," Winston said as he walked. "The finals are already full an hour in advance. I've never seen such a passionate audience."
Lin Yan could see through the giant screen in the stadium that tens of thousands of spectators were forming a human wave. The scene was spectacular and shocking.
"Indeed, the audience for last year's finals wasn't this exaggerated, right?" Lin Yan mumbled.
He could understand if there were Brazilians in the finals, SKT and YM.
However, this was a battle between two East Asian teams, and yet the Brazilians were equally passionate. It was amazing.
"It's just that LOL esports here started too late." As a staff member of Fist, Winston felt that it was a pity. "If we had started a few years earlier, the scale of this year's event would have been even greater."
"It's already very good." As an ancient professional player, White Crescent looked at the passionate audience around him and could not help but reminisce about the past. "Think about it, back then, where could we find such a stadium to host our matches?"
"There were more staff than audience in the dimly lit stadium, and there weren't many people in the live broadcast room. The commentators were amateurs, and the players were amateurs too …" White Crescent looked at the SKT and YM team flags that were scattered all over the stands and sighed. "Back then, there was a professional champion in his twenties in the next team who came over to play LOL. Would you believe that?
Back then, it couldn't be compared to the formal youth training model now. "
Lin Yan listened to White Crescent and Winston reminiscing about the tough days back then, his eyes filled with desire as he stared at the center of the stage.
The stage was pitch-black, and only a beam of light shone on the trophy stage. The MSI championship trophy lay there quietly, emitting a dazzling light.
This trophy was a crucial part of his path to a grand slam.
If he missed it, he would have to wait another year.
Lin Yan didn't want to wait.
He still remembered what Su Cheng had said after he won the opening match.
You have to cherish your talent.
That was what Lin Yan did, and that was what he thought. He was determined to win all the competitions while he was at the peak of his strength.
"Get on the stage, get on the stage! Follow the rehearsal route!"
Winston informed everyone in YM. Lin Yan and his teammates followed the dim area on the stage and headed to the designated location.
As the ten-second countdown ended, the stage performance officially began.
The spotlights above the stage were suddenly turned on and focused on the corner of the stage.
Ember was wearing a unique mask as she sat in front of the piano, using her fingers to play moving notes.
The big screen behind him flashed rapidly.
YM versus G2, SKT versus Lightning Wolves, and SKT versus Lightning Wolves, the kill and team battle scenes quickly switched. Crystals were destroyed by the two teams one after another.
As Ember tapped out a note, the background music suddenly changed, and the image on the big screen changed as well.
On the screen, SKT held up the S6 MSI trophy amidst a sky full of ribbons and cheers from the audience.
Ember's piano playing became more and more hurried, and the background music became more and more intense.
As SKT held up the trophy, a dark red light shot out from the side, shattering the entire screen!
The big screen purposely created a fragmented special effect, and then two balls of energy appeared on the left and right sides of the stage.
On the left was a dazzling red, and on the right was an ink-like black!
Ember stood up from the piano and left the stage. With one hand behind his back and the other slightly bent in front of him, he bowed to the audience.
The spotlights above his head dimmed until the darkness completely swallowed Ember's figure.
A moment later, the spotlights fell again and focused on the center of the stage!
The local Portuguese emcee extended his hand to the right, and the sound of tongue-flicking was transmitted to every corner of the stadium through the microphone!
"First of all, let us welcome Young Miracles, the champions of the S6 global finals, who are here to fight for the MSI trophy!
"First of all, let us welcome their head coach, Crescent!"
The spotlights fell on the right side that was occupied by the black energy. White Crescent's figure appeared under the spotlights, wearing a suit and a serious expression.
The audience applauded and cheered very cooperatively!
Then, the emcee introduced the members of YM.
After the spotlights fell on Phyllostachys Pubescens, the stadium was silent for a moment.
"Next, let us welcome the representative of the new era's mid laner — Ran!"
The tongue-flicking sound was purposely dragged out, and the stadium erupted in cheers. Lin Yan's ears were filled with all kinds of noise. He waved his hand in all directions, and the applause from the stands rose again!
Lin Yan closed his eyes slightly and raised his head.
Since his debut, he had gradually enjoyed the feeling of being surrounded by a sea of cheers.
After introducing the members of YM, the Portuguese emcee paused for a moment.
Now, the black energy on the right side of the stage had disappeared following YM's appearance, but the red energy on the left side was still burning like a raging flame.
"Next, let us welcome SKTelecom T1, who has stepped onto the MSI finals for three consecutive years and is the champion of the 2016 MSI!"
The sudden burst of cheers and applause in the stadium even drowned out the emcee's voice.
Enveloped by countless domestic league and world championship trophies, SKT was like the high and mighty king!
This was especially true for Faker. When the spotlights shone on him, the cheers were even louder than when they welcomed Lin Yan.
Even though he had lost in S6, his glorious achievements since his debut had secured him the title of number one in the league. The number of passersby fans from all over the world was extremely exaggerated.
Today's commentators were still Doll, Mille, and Remember. The three of them had a good reputation as commentators. Together, they were the best of the LPL commentators in terms of field control and understanding of the game.
"Welcome everyone to the 2017 MSI finals!" Doll played his role to the fullest, warming up the crowd.
"It's now late at night in China, but I believe there are still many, many viewers watching this highly anticipated final battle in front of their screens." His voice was very powerful. "Because one of them is an LPL team."
"That's right." Remember continued the conversation. "This is also the first time an LPL team has entered the MSI finals after two years. Last time, EDG barely defeated SKT in five games. This time, the younger and more energetic team, YM, will be facing the same opponent!"
"SKT is really a team made of iron." Mille sighed. "They have never missed an MSI finals. This is a very scary thing. It means that they still maintain their dominance in the LCK division, where there are so many strong players."
The three commentators communicated on the stage. In the players' seats, the members of YM and SKT were still communicating with each other in the chat channel.
[Hello, Ran.]
Little Peanut greeted Lin Yan very energetically.
After receiving Lin Yan's response, he showed off the Chinese pinyin that he had learned from Xiao Tian.
[Ranniubiniubi.]
Lin Yan recalled Phyllostachys Pubescens' Chinese teaching to Little Peanut and could not help but laugh.
[Xiexie.]
He typed in response.
"Jin Gong, aren't you going to say a few words to your fellow countryman?" Lin Yan looked at the Siberian.
Jin Gong had been resting with his eyes closed. When he heard Lin Yan's words, he realized that he was also from the same hometown. Not saying a word seemed a little cold.
Thus, he also started typing on the keyboard.
Little Peanut became very excited after seeing Jin Gong's response.
[Nihao, shabigimgoon.]
Jin Gong frowned and looked at the screen. His expression was exactly the same as Ke Jie's when she saw her opponent's cursor (see picture).
After confirming it again, he was sure that Little Peanut had said a vulgar word.
"F * ck …" Jin Gong was so angry that he wanted to smash his keyboard.
In terms of seniority in Korea, he, a Siberian, was Little Peanut's senior, whether it was in terms of honor or time in the industry.
How could a junior talk to him like that?
Jin Gong prepared his words and wanted to fight back.
Phyllostachys Pubescens had been drinking ice water to cool down, but when he saw Little Peanut's "idiot Jin Gong," he laughed so hard that the ice water almost spilled on the keyboard.
The YM players also roared with laughter. The referee behind them had also been sent by LPL and also understood Little Peanut's pinyin attack. For a moment, the atmosphere inside and outside the team was lively.
"The opposing team member is suspected of verbally attacking you. Do you want to appeal?"
The female referee asked as she tucked her hair behind her ear. She was following the rules of the competition. "If the penalty is serious, the other party can be fined and suspended for the summer competition."
One of the goals of Fist's alliance strategy was to tear down the stereotypical "internet addict" label of professional e-sports players and establish positive e-sports idols.
Thus, whether it was in the pre-match chat channel or in the public chat after entering the competition, abusive behavior was explicitly prohibited.
As long as the matter was verified, the suspension, fine, and public apology would definitely be carried out. Fist's control in this area was quite strict.
"Don't, don't, don't …" Xiao Tian sensed that the situation was about to escalate and hurriedly tried to smooth things over. "I taught Little Peanut, he doesn't know the true meaning of this phrase."
If looks could attack, Lin Yan believed that Jin Gong would have killed Phyllostachys Pubescens a thousand times over.
Jin Gong felt that a mere glare was not enough to vent his anger and wanted to strangle Xiao Tian's neck.
"Don't move, don't move …" Xiao Tian hurriedly shrunk his neck and activated his defensive mode. "I'll catch him for you in the finals. You can have his head!"
Jin Gong paused and carefully considered whether the deal was fair.
Without waiting for him to speak, Huni, on the other end, started the BP session after the referee gave permission.
"The first round of the finals has begun!"
Remember heard the BP voice and could not help but feel excited. "SKT has won the coin toss and has priority in picking sides for the first, third, and fifth rounds. They have chosen the blue side!"
"SKT has given the first ban position to Lulu, while YM has banned Lucian!"
When kkoma revealed the second ban position, White Crescent had an idea of SKT's main strategy in this round.
"SKT has banned Tam, while YM has banned Kenan."
"SKT is exactly the same as G2 in the semifinals. They have adopted a ban strategy against the Prophet!" Remember looked at the BP panel and felt a little worried.
In the first round, SKT had given the last ban position to Blind Monk, while YM had banned Nanqiang.
"SKT has chosen Malzahar first," Mille said. "He can choose a mid or support hero, and will be effective against Galio, who is still outside."
YM has chosen Spider Queen and Qing Gang Yin.
"SKT has chosen Olaf and Ice as their last two hands!
Little Peanut's Olaf has been at the top since last year, and his proficiency is quite high! "
White Crescent was in a dilemma.
There weren't many excellent bottom lane heroes left outside.
However, he had given the first two heroes to Xiao Tian and Jin Gong, who were the focus of today's strategy. When it came to the bottom lane, he could only choose one of the two.
"Can you take Boulogne?"
White Crescent thought about it. He knew that SKT would definitely target the bottom lane, so he decided to give the hero to the Prophet, who had a lower pool of heroes.
"No problem." The Prophet nodded.
Boulogne was a more fault-tolerant choice for him. The Prophet was prepared to mix in with Jack in the bottom lane, then wait for his teammates to set the pace. When necessary, he would tank the tower to protect his teammates.
That would do.
The second round of BP began. Both sides targeted the two positions that had not been revealed. SKT banned Verus and Spear of Vengeance, while YM banned Titan and Sindra.
"So far, both sides have not chosen Galio, the hot favorite in the semifinals. Why?"
Doll knew that his understanding of the game was not as good as his two partners beside him, so he decided to play the supporting role.
"Because SKT has already chosen the swinging mid lane Malzaha. SKT will not let their opponents know Malzaha's final lane until the second round."
Miller was the first to respond, and Remember, who was at the side, also took over at the right time.
"As for YM, the reason is very simple. As long as they are on the red side, their last choice is basically to find a counter for Ran to open up the game. Naturally, they will not choose Galio first."
On the stage, the YM players were still discussing the hero selection for the second round.
"Ezreal, Ember, or Big Mouth, you choose one." White Crescent tapped on his ballpoint pen again.
Jack glanced at the lineup. "I think EZ is better. Let's go with EZ."
In terms of proficiency, his EZ was at the bottom of the three heroes. Little Yellow Hair was more functional than Ember, but in terms of damage output, Big Core was not as good as Big Mouth.
However, Little Yellow Hair's ability to escape was on a completely different level from Ember and Big Mouth.
Jack's mission for this BO5 was very simple.
The first round of SKT's BP was very obviously centered around the bottom lane. He just had to maintain his position and provide damage output for his teammates in the team battle.
"SKT has chosen Shen and Clockwork. Faker is backing up the team's late game ability!
Malzaha will swing to the support position. "
Classic Clockwork.
This was what Lin Yan had been preparing for.
This was Faker's habit.
When he saw that there were no heroes suitable for him and his team's system, he would choose Clockwork.
After all, this hero was a jack of all trades.
YM locked onto their Counter player two seconds after Li Xianghe revealed his hero.
"Card Master!
There's actually Fox outside that can be used! "
Mille frowned. "I can understand YM's thinking. They want to use Card Master and Camille to attack from the sides."
"But Huni has chosen Shen this round. This hero's W Sword Formation is very effective against Yellow Cards. Hitting it won't even cause a stun effect!"
Mille was anxious for YM. In his opinion, Kkoma's Shen for Huni perfectly countered YM's soloing system this round!
It was early in the morning, and the Chinese live streaming channels were overcrowded. The platform had no choice but to allocate more bandwidth to the live streaming channels.
Before the match, both midlaners had issued their challenge letters, which attracted a lot of viewers. In addition, this was a rematch of the S6 global finals. Many viewers had stayed up late to watch this match.
Although YM had won last year's global finals, most LPL viewers did not have high hopes for YM this year.
Last year's final score of 3: 2 had proven that both sides were similar in strength. SKT's recruitment during the winter transfer period was seen as a great improvement by many onlookers.
The aggressive Huni replaced Duke, nicknamed Du Buchuan. Peanut Butter, one of the pinnacle of carnivorous junglers, replaced the old Dumb Chicken, who mainly controlled maps and crouched in the middle.
In addition, the original three SKT members had preserved the team's late-game strength. This SKT team was simply the perfect team in the eyes of many.
SKT's excellent performance in the Spring Season had also proven their strength.
What about YM?
Although they had retained four former champions, the new support was obviously not very useful. They were invisible when they had the advantage, but they were always sent out when they were at a disadvantage.
No matter how they thought about it, YM's strength was declining.
As for their previous results in the group stage?
Did that count?
Many LPL viewers still remembered last year's MSI. SKT had struggled to qualify for fourth place in the group stage. In the semifinals, they had defeated RNG, who had been in good condition.
In addition, the old viewers' fear of Korea had been buried deep in their hearts since S3. Although they supported YM emotionally, most of them felt that YM's strength was not as good as SKT's.
However, there were always exceptions.
In the Chinese Fighting Shark live streaming channel 13703, a pig's head popped up in the lower right corner of the screen.
Mountain Mud is streaming in the early hours of the morning. The name of the live streaming channel — May Is No More Classic!
Watching the Match
As he did not have the authority, he could only black the screen and set up a camera to watch the match himself.
As for the viewers in the live streaming channel, they could only turn off the volume of the live streaming channel and watch the match in real time with the sound of Mountain Mud's live streaming channel.
Even so, it could not stop the millions of viewers in his live streaming channel. The bullet screen was full of comments.
Mountain Mud looked at the lineups of both teams.
The blue team SKT: top laner Shen, jungler Olaf, mid laner Clockwork, bottom laner Ice + Malzahar.
The red team YM: top laner Qing Gang Yin, jungler Spider Queen, mid laner Card Master, bottom laner Azreal + Boulogne.
"Actually, to be honest …" Mountain Mud thought for a while. "I think SKT's lineups are better this round."
The bullet screen was immediately energized after hearing this.
[Sure enough, Fishball was right!]
[Brother Flame still cares about his old teammates. SKT will always be your home!]
[I thought YM would be difficult when I saw their lineups. White Crescent is an idiot. Can he beat Kkoma?
Don't make me laugh.]
[Picking a card on the fifth hand and trying to catch Shen on the other side. I'm dying of laughter.]
Mountain Mud glanced at the bullet screen.
"I'm not done yet," he said in a hoarse voice. "Even though SKT's lineups are good, I still think YM can win this round."
After he finished speaking, the bullet screen was full of question marks.
"I always feel that Huni is a troublemaker." Mountain Mud frowned. "He's not reliable. Really."
"Everyone, trust me, trust me. This round of Fishball Shuffle is YM!" He suggested loudly before the Summoner's Canyon appeared.
【？？？
Pushing the Yin-Yang Singles, right?]
[I'm betting on SKT. They can't lose this round!]
[Brother Flame changed his mind so quickly. Weren't you optimistic about SKT in last year's finals?]
Mountain Mud found this comment in the boundless bullet screen and immediately replied.
"Don't shout if you don't understand." He assumed the attitude of an old man and shouted, "This is the pure patriotism of the older generation of esports players!
Ran is the pride of China. Everyone, believe in him! "
Following the question marks in Mountain Mud's live streaming channel, the Summoner's Canyon appeared on the big screen in the competition venue. Ten heroes appeared in the spring!
When the Brazilian audience saw this, they immediately responded. Wild applause and screams filled the huge stadium!
Lin Yan bought a decaying potion and left the house. He then marked his position on the map.
"I brought a scanner. Let's continue into the jungle and catch Olaf's position!" Lin Yan was very decisive.
With cards, Qing Gang Yin, and Boulogne, it would be a waste if they did not invade the first level of this lineup!
Lin Ran did not believe that Kkoma had not done anything to counter this before the match. Lin Ran did not believe that Kkoma had not done something to counter this before the match.
However, in this round, even if SKT prepared for this, it was useless.
Olaf had been farming for the first six levels. The best time to gank was after clearing the first six groups of monsters and reaching level 4.
At this time, Lin Yan's yellow accessory had already gone off cooldown. He was not afraid of Little Peanut coming to catch him.
"Malzahar is taking advantage of his passive position. He's standing closer to the front. He has already seen YM's movement. He should be retreating."
Bang's Ice shot W [Ten Thousand Arrows] to help Wolf retreat.
"YM still wants to forcefully invade SKT's jungle to get rid of the red buff. However, Little Peanut is Olaf. It's reasonable for him to be blue in the top half. He can eat his own team's top half to level up three before eating YM's red zone."
Kkoma's BP thinking was very clear. He had also done a thorough research on YM.
After YM took down Spider, he immediately picked Olaf for Little Peanut. Whether it was a solo fight in the jungle or a mid-top crouch, Olaf was not afraid of Spider.
After Qing Gang Yin had been weakened several times, he was not as good at fighting Warriors like Shen in the early stages.
Jin Gong did not have an advantage over Huni in a situation where he did not freeload for EXP. After all, not everyone was G2's top laner. At this time, Huni was acting strong, but he was still good at fighting the lane.
Little Peanut quickly planned his route in the early stages of the jungle and prepared to kill all the monsters in his team's top half.
"Little Peanut is using the fastest way to get three." Doll saw that the caster's camera was focused on Little Peanut.
"He's going solo with his mana, and when he's halfway through, he'll pull the monsters over to the Magical Swamp Frog. He'll be attacked by two monsters at the same time, and he'll use his passive's attack speed to quickly clear the jungle."
Little Peanut was watching the minions while he was killing the monsters. This was his outstanding skill as a jungler.
A jungler who knew how to watch the minions was not necessarily very strong, but a jungler who did not know how to watch the minions was definitely very bad.
Huni, who was in the top lane, used his hero's characteristics to snatch some of the minions in the early stages. It looked like he would have no problem getting two and continuing to push the minions.
The minions in the middle lane were still in the center. If there were no major problems, he would not lose his lane.
Little Peanut was at ease as he prepared to enter the top half of YM's jungle later.
"Xiao Tian, come back after you get rid of the red buff. Olaf will definitely enter our jungle." Lin Yan was quite certain.
Why had Olaf gone from being the number one jungler in the S6 finals to a second-rate jungler in the S7 spring competition without being nerfed?
It was because the respawn rate of monsters had increased from 100 seconds to 150 seconds, and the current jungle wasn't enough for a hero like Olaf to kill monsters at an extremely fast speed.
As mentioned before, the game in the early stages of the jungle was very important in this situation.
That was because the loser in the jungle would have to pay an extra 50 seconds to wait for the next set of monsters to respawn, while the winner would be able to take down all the monsters and widen the experience gap in advance.
In Lin Yan's opinion, Little Peanut's Olaf definitely wouldn't let the monsters enter the jungle, and was very likely to invade the jungle.
Thus, he planned to get Xiao Tian to forcefully come back and defend.
At the same time, Lin Yan was still dealing with Faker in the middle lane.
Cards with average fighting ability preferred to play against heroes like Clockwork. Even if they couldn't win in a head-on fight, it wasn't a problem for them to push and develop.
In two minutes and thirty-five seconds, Little Peanut had successfully cleared the top half of his own jungle.
He looked at the minions again.
Huni in the top lane had already pushed the minions to the front of Qinggang Shadow Tower, and the minions in the middle lane were still in the center. Little Peanut could go ahead without worry.
"Little Peanut is about to enter the top half of YM's jungle. He wants to get rid of YM's red buff!"
Remember glanced at the minimap. "Xiao Tian is still killing Three Wolves at the moment, so he's a little slow!"
"Is there still time to go back to the jungle?"
It couldn't be helped. Xiao Tian had gone red on the other side, and then crossed the river to return to his own jungle.
Plus, Spider definitely couldn't keep up with Olaf's speed in the early stages, so it was natural for him to be a little slower.
Doll couldn't help but exclaim when she saw Little Peanut cross the river and enter YM's red zone.
"Little Peanut is really gutsy!
He dares to go straight into YM's jungle with such little HP? "
Little Peanut only had 260 HP left. In order to maximize his passive attack speed, he didn't have much HP left, but he had deliberately kept a Retribution in his hand to counter the buff.
However, he still went straight into YM's red zone and saw a fresh red buff!
"Olaf is about to get rid of the red buff. Xiao Tian is already at level three, and he's rushing here!"
"What's the situation in the middle lane?" Doll suddenly realized that something was wrong. "The card is also running toward the jungle after reaching level three!"
The third wave of artillery reached the middle lane in two minutes and thirty-eight seconds. Lin Yan quickly cleared out three close-range minions and reached level three. Without stopping, he ran toward the jungle!
In SKT's team voice chat, the conversation was non-stop.
"The card is gone, the card is gone!" Li Xianghe gave a signal. He had also reached level three after killing the minions, and he controlled Clockwork to follow.
"Hurry up with the jungle. He can't be going alone. Spider should be there too!"
At this time, SKT, who had reached level two in the bottom lane, began to expand their vision.
Wolf entered the bottom half of YM's jungle and saw that the blue buff and the three wolves had all disappeared. He roughly guessed Spider's early movement and hurriedly communicated with Little Peanut.
"The middle lane card is relying on the movement rune and is very close to his own jungle. He's about to reach the red zone!"
"Clockwork's position is a little further from YM's jungle. Faker is also rushing, but the card master still managed to pull away!"
"After stealing the red buff, hurry up and leave. He's using Sprint!"
Li Xianghe hurriedly reminded when he saw the wind under the card master's feet. His movement speed increased again, increasing the distance between the two of them!
"No problem, no problem …" Little Peanut waved his sharp axe and hacked at the monsters. As his HP decreased, his attack speed increased.
Finally, he used Retribution to finish off the red buff before Lin Yan arrived!
Then, he immediately used Sprint and ran around the jungle!
Even with the same level three Sprint, Lin Yan couldn't catch up to him, let alone Spider!