June 8th, afternoon.
"Team uniform, mouse pad …" Guo Hao stood in the middle of the training room, reminding the team members to check their backpacks. "Jack, tie your shoelaces tight. You'll fall if you go out like this."
It was the first day of the summer tournament. Guo Hao felt the same as the parents who watched their children walk through the school gates on the first day of school.
He inspected every contestant's necessities, and then talked about the things they needed to pay attention to.
"We're not newbies playing LPL. We know the rules." Lin Yan laughed.
Even so, Guo Hao did not find it troublesome. He helped them confirm everything before leading the team out of the base.
Sitting in the BMW-sponsored car, White Crescent pursed his lips and flipped through the information.
Su Cheng had sent him a 20,000-word version analysis report a few days ago. White Crescent's mission was to find the answer to the version, then match it with each player's characteristics and the team's overall style.
Even though the analysis report provided by the analysis team was very detailed, he still felt uneasy.
There were too many changes in the version.
After the break, the results of the mock competition had fluctuated. Their overall win rate had dropped to 60%.
Even though YM's mock competitions were against strong teams like SSG, SKT, KT, RNG, and WE, a 60% win rate was still low for YM.
Between the spring and mid-season competitions, their win rate in mock competitions was close to 85%. Other than SKT, no other team was YM's match.
As Lin Yan had said, the problem lay with Canyon Vanguard.
Originally, it was just a big guy that could buff heroes. Who would have thought that it would become a godly tower pusher?
Now, YM had to make a choice between a 4v2 and Canyon Vanguard.
Operations teams like SKT and Samsung were about to rise again. These teams did not have to focus all their energy on defending against YM's 4v2.
If the bottom lane was surrounded and overrun, the jungler would swap Canyon Vanguard and summon it to push the middle tower.
In this case, Lin Yan would be in a passive position. YM would get the first blood tower, but the middle tower would also be pushed down.
One had to know that his roaming support was built on the foundation that the middle tower could not be destroyed. The middle tower was the team's vision in the early game and the defense of the jungle. If it was destroyed, the consequences would be quite severe.
If they didn't use the four-man pack, their ability to snowball and demolish towers in the early stages of the game would be reduced by a level. This was because the ADC Jack, who was the main force in demolishing towers, would not be able to develop.
YM would not be a match for veteran teams like Samsung and SKT if they were to develop steadily into the later stages.
This was a contradiction.
Until now, White Crescent had not figured out how to solve this problem.
The motorcade slowly drove into the main square. The cameraman, Isimura, was already prepared. He held the single-lens reflex camera hanging in front of his chest and ran over.
The YM members got out of the car and greeted him.
In the past year, they had gone overseas several times for competitions, so they were quite familiar with this official cameraman.
Lin Yan responded to Yicun's request and gave him a thumbs up.
They had arrived at the venue much earlier than the audience. After putting on their makeup, they sat in the lounge and waited for White Crescent to emphasize the tactical arrangements.
"Today's match …" White Crescent frowned. She stood in the middle of the lounge and looked at the players sitting around her. "Lin Yan, you should use the core damage output in the late game. Don't force yourself to use the four-man pack."
White Crescent looked at everyone. "Of course, if there's a good opportunity, you should still grab what you need to grab."
Lin Yan nodded to show that he understood.
"Jin Gong, pay attention to the positioning of the defense in the early game …" White Crescent continued in a low voice.
The conference was about to begin, and the players had a short period of free time.
As long as Lin Weixiang was there, the lounge would not be silent.
Lin Weixiang wore sunglasses and looked like a heavier version of Wu Yifan. He was watching a video of the earthy hornworm with his headphones on. He shook his head and occasionally let out excited squeals.
Liu Qingsong, who was beside him, had a look of disdain. He wanted to slap Lin Weixiang to the ground.
At 4: 30 PM, Lin Yan went to the back of the stage to wait for the opening ceremony under the instructions of the on-site staff.
The representatives of the twelve teams gathered together. Ouze and Guijiao Qi were whispering to each other. Broiler and Doinb, the two fake Koreans, were conversing in Mandarin with the smell of mutton skewers …
Even the top laner of the newly promoted team Suning, Langxing, found Wangzai Xi Ye to chat with.
Only Knight was left alone in the corner, playing with his fingers. He looked lonely and cold.
When he saw Lin Yan arrive, his eyes lit up.
It was as if he had seen his savior.
Knight waved his hand and grinned.
Lin Yan first chatted with the players who came over to greet him. Then, he sat down beside Golden Left Hand.
"No one wants to chat with you?
Do you need me to introduce you? "
Thanks to his outstanding EQ, excellent results, and explosive popularity, Lin Yan was very popular in the LPL circle.
If he introduced him, the LPL stars would definitely accept Golden Left Hand as a member of their team.
Knight quickly waved his hand. His voice was still unclear as he said, "No … I don't know what to talk about."
Seeing that he did not agree, Lin Yan nodded and did not force him. Instead, he asked, "How are you adapting to the new team?"
"Everyone is very friendly," Golden Left Hand smiled shyly. "They all take good care of me."
Lin Yan was relieved.
With Golden Left Hand's personality, if he did not play esports and directly entered society, he would definitely be beaten up and suffer a lot.
At 5 PM, the twelve team representatives lined up to go on stage under the guidance of the staff.
Every time Ren Dong called out the name of a team, the representative player would appear and welcome the cheers of the audience.
Golden Left Hand was the first to be called out. Lin Yan sat there and waited silently.
In fact, Knight's popularity was not low.
YM's mid laner had brought him a lot of popularity. Coupled with his crushing performance in the secondary league, many fans of YM saw him as Lin Yan's successor.
Today, YM was leading the opening match. There were naturally many YM fans in the audience. They were not stingy with their applause and welcomed the future star of LPL.
The cheers in the stadium reached a peak when Factory Director and Ouze went on stage. Both of them were considered the faces of LPL since the establishment of LPL. The audience gave them full respect.
After the Factory Director left, Lin Yan was the only one left in the room.
"The room is not good," Lin Yan said to the staff before he went on stage. "The temperature of the air conditioner is too high."
…
Ren Dong waved his hand fiercely, dragging out his tone and shouting loudly, "Finally, let us welcome the representative of Team YM — Ran!"
The audience was already in an uproar. Lin Yan went on stage and looked around. The audience was filled with his supporters. The fans were holding light signs and support banners. They were shouting non-stop.
If Ouze and Ghost Foot Seven were the flickering flames in the dark era of LPL, then Lin Yan was the light that tore through the darkness and brought hope to LPL!
Bobby, who was standing backstage, applauded and celebrated Lin Yan's appearance.
Whether it was in terms of glory or personal image, Lin Yan was the iconic figure he wanted to create in LPL.
Bobby never minded using media resources to promote esports stars.
According to the forums, this was called creating a god.
In fact, it was very normal in the esports industry.
With so many media resources in hand, if they did not promote Lin Yan, who had results and a positive image, were they going to promote players with no results and no ability?
It was not realistic.
For example, marketing accounts would definitely want to ride on Ouze's popularity. They would still want to ride on the popularity of players like Rain Emperor, Ding Huang, Xuan Xuan Pi, who were in the lower echelons of LPL.
Moreover, people like Lin Yan and Li Xianghe were not considered gods in the true sense. At most, they were just using resources to push their already stable positions higher.
Lin Yan stood in the middle of the stage according to the rehearsal director's request. YM's group photo flashed on the big screen behind him.
In the photo, Lin Yan was in the center. Xiao Tian and Jin Gong stood on both sides of Lin Yan with their arms crossed. Jack, Prophet, and Lin Weixiang and Liu Qingsong were facing each other at the back of the photo.
Everyone's expressions were cold. In the photo, Lin Yan stretched out his right arm. The forearm exposed outside the uniform was well-proportioned, and the muscles were slightly prominent. Other than the thumb, the other four fingers were closed together and pointed up. Coupled with his slightly raised chin, he looked like a high and mighty king waiting for a challenger to appear below.
In addition, YM fans also found that their home team had changed into a new uniform.
It was still the classic black and red elements, but this version of the uniform had a bit of a torn feeling.
Three deep red claw marks spread from the left rib to the right waist. The space around the three claw marks was filled with black, looking mysterious and deep.
Above the left rib, from the chest to the shoulder, there was a large white space. The left chest was inlaid with YM's black and red logo.
In the center of the uniform, there was a round blue and white BMW logo.
The audience watching the live broadcast in front of the screen was abnormally excited.
[Who knows how much better than the uniforms of other teams!]
[The quality of this photo is not bad. As expected of LPL's biggest brand.]
[Secretly, it's mainly because the person is handsome, especially the guy standing in the center position.]
[Is the uniform sold in the store?
YM eSports Club, I want to give you money!]
[Buy, buy, buy. If I wear YM's uniform, I'll be someone with a BMW too!]
After the representatives of all 12 teams appeared on the stage, the 2017 LPL Summer Season began!
"Good afternoon, everyone present and Summoners in front of the screen!"
The opening match was the same as before. Doll opened the match with a loud voice. "Welcome to the 2017 LPL Summer Season …"
After an entire advertisement, Mille took over the topic. "I haven't seen you for two weeks, and in the blink of an eye, we've gone from the mid-season championship to the summer season."
"There will definitely be new changes in the new version. The summer season of the other four divisions has already started two days ago. I can only say that this is a completely different environment from the mid-season competition!"
Doll nodded in agreement. "Today's opening match is also the highlight. The previous LPL champion, EDG, will be challenging YM, who has just won the mid-season championship!"
"More importantly," Mille crossed his arms and smiled. "The hot man is back."
The caster switched the camera in real time and pointed it at Factory Director, who was in the EDG player seat.
He was joking with his junior beside him. His dead fish eyes shone with a unique charm.
"Let's see how Factory Director has adjusted his condition after returning from his absence for most of the spring season!"
As soon as Doll finished speaking, the opening match officially began!
"YM, who has the priority to pick sides, has chosen the blue side. They've taken the lead to ban Shen!"
EDG, on the other hand, had put Camille on the bench.
"Banning Camille … YM's dual-card and dual-belt system in the mid-season competition is very strong. It looks like EDG hasn't found a solution!"
YM's second ban was given to Zach. This hero's max level E skill could provide a super long-distance displacement of 1,800 yards. Together with his R [Dynamic Pinball], he could brainlessly create a team that was impossible to defend against.
EDG had backhandedly banned Spider, Xiao Tian's unique skill.
"Now there are only two T1-level junglers left outside, Piggy and Wine Barrel," Mille said as he adjusted his glasses. "It looks like both sides have one each."
"I have to say that Blind Monk's nerf is great news for Factory Director," Doll said with a hint of ridicule. "EDG can save one ban slot to do other things."
For the last ban, YM banned Sindra. EDG hesitated for a moment, but still did not dare to release Lucian.
Although the price of Broken Blade had increased by 100 gold in this version, and the armor-piercing effect of Black Slice had been weakened (as seen in the previous chapter), it did not affect Lucian's strength in lane.
EDG now knew very well that they could only rely on their mid laner to beat YM.
Ah Guang in the top lane was a miniature version of Jin Gong. Whether it was his ability to withstand pressure or carry, he was much weaker.
Emperor Z's strength in the bottom lane was also extraordinary. He often made EDG's fans cry. Meiko was still strong in lane after losing Mr. Dai, but she began to get lost from time to time in the middle of the game.
If they did not rely on their juniors to force their way out of this situation, there was basically no chance of winning.
"YM snatched Piggy. This way, Factory Director should be going for Wine Barrel!"
EDG's first and second picks were Princes and Dusk.
It was worth mentioning that Princes was not used as a jungler.
Instead, he walked into the unit, which was quite retro.
The reason was simple. The environment in the version had changed.
First, there was a direct buff.
W's [Golden Holy Shield] increased the shield value in the early game, and the ability to exchange health in lane battles increased. The additional shield value was also changed from the original fixed value to a percentage of Princes's maximum health, with the lowest being 2% and the highest being 4%.
(Update: As shown in the picture, this buff was really ridiculous. In the current version, W's shield value was only 1.5% of his maximum health. You can see how strong it was at that time.)
Next, there was the change of heroes in the version.
Originally, only the top laner Fantasy God was a tank in the spring competition. Now, the tank heroes had also begun to rise in the jungler position. There was the big meatball Galio in the middle lane, and Tam Boulogne in the bottom lane also had the tendency to become a tank.
This version of the game where everyone was a tank was too comfortable for Princes.
Q's [Giant Dragon Strike] could provide 26% armor penetration at max level. Black Cutter now had 24% armor penetration at max level. The two stacked together could eliminate 50% of the opponent's armor in an ideal situation.
One had to know that this was not only applicable to himself. All his teammates could enjoy the armor penetration effect!
This would undoubtedly bring a huge improvement to the team!
The last reason for the rise of top laner Princes was the change in equipment.
The Gargoyle Stone Armor was extremely suitable for Princes.
(The effect of the Gargoyle Stone Armor is shown in the picture.)
It provided Princes with good resistance. The active effect [Metallization] provided HP, which allowed Princes to enter the game and delay enough time for his teammates. A top laner Princes' EQ followed by [Shattering Heaven and Earth] on the opponent's face. Then, he would activate the Gargoyle Stone Armor to resist damage and activate W shield. Just thinking about it was beautiful.
What was even more ridiculous was that the modification of the Gargoyle Stone Armor and Princes' W's [Golden Holy Shield] were linked.
The active [Metallization] of the Gargoyle Stone Armor would increase HP by 100% if there were at least three enemy heroes nearby.
Giant Hydra + Black Cutter. At level 15, Princes had 2500 HP. In an ideal situation, his EQ would trigger [Metallization] and his HP would be 5000 points!
The Golden Holy Shield could provide 4% of Princes' HP to each hero. If it hit three people, the shield value would be 600 points when [Metallization] was activated!
A 5,000-hp + 600-shield Princes with 200 HP on the face was simply a troublemaker in a team battle!
What else could be said about this?
It was no wonder that the designer made music with his heart and used his feet to make the version.
Being able to deal with tanks alone and being more useful in a team battle than other warrior type top laners, this was where Princes' strength was at the moment. He was firmly in the position of the top laner in the version.
(The team battle data in the S7 Summer Tournament is shown in the picture. Princes was really in the lead.)
And to make the two pieces of equipment, [Black Cutter] + Gargoyle Stone Armor, in a professional competition, the top laner Princes had to be able to consume resources alone.
In the current version where the spawn rate of wild monsters was extremely slow, it was undoubtedly difficult for Princes, who did not have the money to farm and had to take on a lot of vision quests, to make these two big items.
This kind of easy hero was more suitable for Ah Guang, who was not good at maneuvering.
"Should we take Lo?" White Crescent asked the Prophet for his opinion.
The Prophet subconsciously licked his lips. "… No way?"
His Lo was currently a hero that could not be trained. No matter how he played it, it did not have the elegant feel of the other hero. It was a bit of a drag.
"Jin Gong?" White Crescent looked at her steady top laner.
Jin Gong pinched his fingers. "Kenji."
He had obtained the S6 champion's skin for Fiona, so Kenji was definitely a hero he was proud of.
When the audience saw the woman with the western sword appear in YM's selection window, there was a sudden burst of enthusiastic cheers!
This kind of playable and aesthetically pleasing hero always attracted the attention of the audience!
"YM lock down Kenji and Verus!"
Mille on the commentary platform also shouted. "Kenji has a huge advantage against Princes in the mid to late game!"
In the early stages of the battle, Prince could use the Giant Dragon's Charge to wear down the Swordswoman's HP. However, as the Swordswoman's level gradually increased and her equipment gradually recovered, she could only take a beating.
Kenji's W [Laurent's Heart's Eye Blade] could block Princes' EQ or big moves. Moreover, the True Damage of the flaw made Princes' resistance useless.
In the first round of BP, EDG chose Wine Barrel as the jungler.
In the second round of bans, both sides locked down the positions that their opponents had not chosen.
EDG banned Rock Sparrow and Clockwork; YM banned Lo first to prevent their opponents from getting the Charlo combo.
In the second ban position, White Crescent thought for a while.
There was still Airplane outside, who was stronger in the mid game.
Ever since Lin Yan used Kassadin to perfectly counter Airplane in the MSI finals against SKT, everyone knew that Voidwalker would be back in the game.
This group had a counter relationship, and Kassadin could not go first. Otherwise, it would be easy for the opponent to counter him with an AD mid.
EDG had the last selection on the red side. They would definitely hide their junior's mid until the end, and the initiative would always be in the hands of the opponent.
He had no choice but to ban it.
"EDG will snatch Boulogne first, and continue to improve their tangibility and backhand ability!"
"Clockwork, Victor, or Galio?" White Crescent gave three choices.
Lin Yan thought for a moment. "Clockwork."
He had no choice. Otherwise, if the opposing team had Princes + Clockwork dribbling the ball into the game, YM would have a hard time in the team battle.
As for the other entry point, Galio, who was paired with Princes … EDG would definitely not choose him.
Since Wine Barrel's main equipment was pure tankiness, EDG's only damage output was Dusk. Although Galio was known to be tanky and had high damage output in this version, his damage output was still not as good as other regular mages.
Moreover, EDG would definitely not trust Emperor Z's damage output ability. If they gave him the damage output task, they would just have to wait for him to cry again.
The Prophet used Lulu as usual. Although this hero was nerfed in version 7.10 (as shown in the picture), there was no better choice in the Prophet's hero pool.
In the end, EDG added Victor to be the big core of the magic damage output.
The lineups of both sides were as follows.
The blue side YM: Top Laner Kenji, Wild Boar Girl, Mid Laner Clockwork, Bottom Laner Verus + Lulu.
The red side EDG: Top Laner Princes, Jungler Wine Barrel, Mid Laner Victor, Bottom Laner Lu Xia + Boulogne.
"EDG's lineups are solid," Mille sighed. "YM's Kenji is a little out of place. This hero's ability to fight in a team battle is not strong!"
Lin Yan brought Sprint, squeezed his fingers, and waited for the game to load.
Amidst the loud cheers, the image of Summoner's Canyon appeared on the big screen!
"Let's take a look at the red zone. They should be coming in. Xiao Tian, go to their red zone and open it." Lin Yan began to command from the spring.
The opponent had a strong hero like Boulogne. It would be abnormal if they did not invade.
However, YM's first team could not win against EDG, nor could they defend. They could only watch the opponent's invasion.
"EDG is very ruthless. They want to force YM out of the red zone and forcefully counter this red buff!"
Lin Yan watched as Boulogne took the lead and rushed over. "Retreat, retreat, retreat!"
He led the duo to retreat from their own jungle. At the same time, Xiao Tian also rushed to the opposite red zone.
Factory Director had no intention of returning to defend. It was obvious that he wanted to forcefully change the jungle.
In comparison, top Laner Kenji was not easy to catch. Bottom lane control was more stable.
This way, Factory Director could use the strength of the first team to protect his own bottom lane and threaten the opponent.
Everything was going smoothly. It looked like Factory Director's favorite slow map control.
However, something unexpected happened.
"The health of the two mid laners is a bit low. What's going on?" Mille looked at the status bar and was the first to notice that something was wrong.
They were only level one, and Clockwork and Victor's health had dropped by more than half!
The junior could not understand why Lin Yan wanted to exchange health with him.
Clockwork would definitely not be able to win against Victor, who had Q's [Siphon Energy].
However, when he saw Lin Yan's Clockwork move forward, he naturally would not admit defeat and decisively fought back.
Lin Ran took a step forward and entered Victor's shooting range, then began to retreat.
The junior did not give up and followed up with a normal attack!
With the [Siphon Energy] shield, Lin Yan did not turn around to counterattack. He only retreated.
In this way, the two sides went back and forth, and Lin Yan's health was even lower.
At this moment, a heroine riding a pig appeared above!
"Pig girl is level two red and came to mid!
The junior is in danger! "Doll's tone was a bit worried.
The junior finally realized Lin Yan's intention of exchanging health with Clockwork!
Factory Director, who was farming F6, hurriedly came out to help his teammate.
However …
"Xiao Tian is not giving him a chance. Q-Blink directly sent Victor flying!"
The cumbersome Pig girl was sent flying by Phyllostachys Pubescens!
W's [Winter's Wrath] took advantage of the time to deal two damage!
With a normal attack with a red buff burning effect, the junior's health was low!
Even though he had Purify, it was useless against being sent flying!
Lin Yan blinked AQ and took away one health!