"YM used their priority to get the red side in the second round, while IG is in the blue side!"
Hanyi first banned Spider.
As a jungler that Ning Wang had personally picked out to play a big game of chess, Hanyi didn't trust his proficiency with Spider.
On the other hand, Xiao Tian was a well-known Spider player. Last year, she had been able to ride on the head of another Spider King, Little Peanut. Her proficiency was needless to say.
Sending Spider to the ban position was a sign of respect to Phyllostachys Pubescens.
YM, on the other hand, banned the strongest jungler that Ning Wang was very good at.
Remember and Mille were still talking about the changes in strong support heroes after the release of the new version. When they turned around, they found that the first round of bans had already ended.
"IG banned Piggy and Excavator from the second and third hands. The three bans were all given to strong junglers."
Remember continued, "YM found that IG's bans were not on the right track. They didn't ban junglers. Instead, they targeted other lanes and sent Lucian and West, who were good at Dusk, to the ban position!"
But Han Yi on the side revealed a smile as if her plot had succeeded.
As a former coach of YM, he thought that he had seen through his old team.
At present, as long as Xiao Tian didn't make a sound in the early game, it would be difficult for YM to win against IG.
Because Lin Yan was difficult to move around in the middle lane, Broiler could use his personal ability to restrict him as much as possible.
As a result, YM's previously invincible mid-laner system collapsed without a single attack.
In this match, he was using a 3 ban to completely lock down Little Tian.
When Hanyi left YM, he had been suppressing his anger. He wanted to prove that he could win even if he wasn't on the champion team.
But the strong YM in the spring competition crushed the young IG team that he led. They couldn't even organize a wave of effective resistance before they were defeated.
Now, the opportunity had come.
It was said that a tiger would be bullied by a dog. Hanyi didn't mind being the dog himself.
With a strong desire to win, he wouldn't give up any chance to win against YM.
He even made some preparations for the substitute, Liu Qingsong.
Hanyi knew that Liu Qingsong was best at Hammer Stone, so he didn't ban it and just let it go.
Sapphire's Hammer Stone was also a worthy hero. If the red team wanted to snatch the Hammer Stone, they would have to choose between the first and second moves.
This was equivalent to forcing YM to give up a spot.
"IG will snatch the remaining version of the Jungler Wine Barrel for Ning Wang. Let's see what YM chooses …"
"Rambo and Princes!"
Mille was a little surprised. "YM took two swinging positions first. This is very different from their selection in the last round!"
Remember was also surprised. "Rambo made some changes in Version 7.12 when he logged into the competition server today. YM was immediately taken out and used!"
In Version 7.12, it wasn't just the three pieces of support equipment that were changed. There were also changes to Rambo and a series of other heroes.
(See this chapter for Rambo's changes)
The young Yodel inventor Q's Fiery Feast's damage to minions was reduced to 75%, and the cooldown reduction was also increased.
However, the base damage had been greatly increased. Therefore, even if the damage to the minions had been reduced, the damage to the minions would still be slightly higher than before.
Shattered Shield and Electronic Harpoon were also slightly enhanced.
Hanyi frowned. He felt that something wasn't right.
What was going on?
Not picking Hammer Stone?
Hanyi's first reaction was that White Crescent had set a trap for him.
He thought about it but couldn't find where the trap was.
"Hammer Stone and Sindra, just take them."
He chose to give Broiler the version of Sindra, which was still strong, and then snatch Liu Qingsong's Hammer Stone.
YM took Rowe in the end.
In the second round of bans, Hanyi and White Crescent targeted the positions that the two sides hadn't chosen yet.
IG banned Ice and Big Mouth, while YM banned Crocodile and Kenji.
"YM snatches Verus and locks on to the bottom lane combination!"
Hanyi was still pacing behind the players' seats. His expression was serious.
YM still had a player who was swinging between the top and bottom lanes.
Princes was either top or bottom in YM's system, while Rambo was wildly swinging between the top and bottom lanes.
It was difficult for him to choose.
"How about Policewoman and Qing Gang Yin?" Hanyi asked his team members.
In his opinion, whether it was Rambo or Qing Gang Yin, it was easier to fight Rambo and Princes.
The Shy touched his chin subconsciously. He looked at the lineup on the other side and mumbled a few words in Korean.
Hanyi looked at Broiler.
"He said Qing Gang Yin is fine," Broiler, who was also a translator, said.
Bao Lan decisively locked on.
At this point, IG's lineup was all out.
White Crescent thought for a moment. "Jin Gong, can I give you Jax?"
He wanted to give Princes to Xiao Tian as a jungler.
Because there was no tank on the other side, one of Princes' strong equipment, Black Cutter, could be used. Just Slag Fighting Knife and Gargoyle Plate Armor would be enough.
Jin Gong naturally had no objections.
Although he had grown older, his ranking practice had not decreased at all. His hero pool was deep, and Weapon Master Jax's proficiency was naturally not low.
Not to mention Weapon Master, who was a small counter to Qing Gang Yin.
Jin Gong was confident that he would have an advantage against The Shy.
"YM took out Jax …" Mille saw that YM's lineup was confirmed and could not help but praise. "Let's not talk about anything else. This choice of swinging position is not bad."
"Their hero pool is too deep. They can really play anything." Remember nodded. "It depends on whether Xiao Tian can adjust his state in this game. His early game rhythm is very important to YM."
The lineup of both sides was as follows.
IG: Top Laner Qing Gang Yin, Jungler Wine Barrel, Mid Laner Sindra, Bottom Laner Policewoman + Hammer Stone.
YM: Top Laner Jax, Jungler Princes, Mid Laner Rambo, Bottom Laner Verus + Law.
"YM is obviously stronger in the team battle," Mille analyzed. "Except for Jax, the other four heroes are fiercer in the team battle."
Remember said, "I personally think that the winning and losing point of this game is in the early and middle stages. The style of these two teams is not focused on the later stage of the game. Whoever gets the early advantage will win this game."
[Then YM is gone.]
[I, a ten-year YM hardcore fan, am ready to play dead. Who will help me close the coffin?]
[I choose to believe in Ran's Mid Laner Rambo. Don't ask. Asking is the belief of the older generation of e-sports people!]
Many viewers were not optimistic about YM. It was not that they felt that YM was weak, but that they were not used to the current version.
After YM lost to JDG, many UP Masters on the Internet made analysis videos of YM's loss.
They all mentioned the Canyon Vanguard that had been reworked in this mid-season version and thought that it was a huge weakening of YM's four-and-two system.
There were even people who claimed that YM was very likely to not be able to enter the S7 global finals in order to stand out. They were attacked by angry YM fans until the comment section was closed.
Now, millions of pairs of eyes were staring at them from home and abroad. Some were worried, some had mocking expressions …
In YM's team voice chat, the five of them were full of energy.
"Remember what you should do. Don't make any mistakes," Lin Yan reminded his team members.
Jack was very confident. "Don't worry, Brother Ran. We've practiced in the mock competition several times. There won't be any problems."
"It's better to be cautious in the first game of the new four-and-two system," Lin Yan reminded. "When we used this lineup, the opponents in the mock competition were our own second team. Their strength is definitely not as good as IG's."
"Who cares about that?" Little Tian stretched his neck. "Let's just charge!"
Phyllostachys Pubescens, who had been holding back for two weeks, could no longer hold back his palms. He was ready to charge at any time.
He quickly bought his gear and headed to the jungle.
Lin Yan hesitated for a moment, but still gave up on Dolan's Shield. He bought Dark Seal and Recovery Potions and headed to the middle lane.
They were in the red side and did not have to worry about changing the jungle. Xiao Tian planned to start with the normal red buff.
He thought that he could start the game smoothly, but the calm situation was quickly broken.
"IG wants to invade. They want to confirm Xiao Tian's jungle route!"
Hanyi had some skill. He knew that Lin Yan liked to play dirty. He went out to scan the jungle and then used the experience of those spots to snatch the second kill early. This was a common thing for him.
Therefore, he arranged the early jungle invasion very late before the game. He did not want to give Lin Yan a chance to react.
When Jack and Liu Qingsong saw the other three IG players enter the blue zone, they had no way to deal with it.
"Xiao Tian can only go red in the top half. Then, he can try to switch to IG's blue buff!" Jack could not help but say. "This is a loss for YM!"
As a result, Xiao Tian's position was forced to the top half. Everyone in IG knew this.
This meant that not only would Xiao Tian not be able to catch a level three player, but it would also be difficult to find another opportunity before the first wave returned to the city.
This was very bad for a jungler like Princes who relied on the early game rhythm.
The audience clearly knew that YM's early game strategy was behind IG.
[Bad guy!]
[The familiar script is here. Go to Xiao Tian's 20 minutes. Sleepwalking!]
[Xiao Tian, do something, Xiao Tian!]
Lin Yan did not care about his jungler now. He had to focus on the line.
Because he had taken two steps into the jungle, Broiler had finished his line work first. He controlled Sindra to stand between YM's long-range soldier and YM's tower, trying to force Lin Yan to retreat.
As Broiler's signature, Sindra was definitely one of the best in the world.
Moreover, from level one, Sindra's line suppression was extremely strong. The Q [Shadow Ball] had a short cooldown, low mana consumption, and did not attract the aggro of minions. This made Sindra extremely strong in the middle lane.
There were not many heroes in the middle lane that could be compared to Sindra's strength in the first few levels. Rambo was definitely not one of them.
This hero would only become strong after level three.
In addition, the cooldown time of Rambo's Q had increased. Lin Yan, who did not dare to close in, chose to use E [Electronic Harpoon].
However, Broiler did not give up. He controlled Sindra to keep moving forward. It looked like he wanted to push Lin Yan to the bottom of the tower.
Lin Yan did not expect Broiler to be so arrogant.
Naturally, he was not willing to be suppressed like this. The first wave of minions was just in the middle lane, and you want me to go to the bottom of the tower?
He glared at the chicken with a ferocious look.
Then he ran to the bottom of the tower and shut himself in.
The director noticed what was happening in the middle lane and quickly cut the camera to it.
"A level one Broiler pushed Ran out of the experience zone. How can we play this!" Mille did not expect such a dramatic scene to happen in the middle lane.
The bullet screen in the live broadcast room was filled with question marks.
They did not expect Ran, whom they had high hopes for, to give up resistance in the first wave of minions!
Broiler was not surprised.
Lin Ran had only given up his position. Even though he had left the experience zone, no soldiers had died yet. In other words, he had not lost any EXP.
(Tip: LOL minions gain experience range is 1600 yards. It is larger than the distance between the middle lane and the bottom of the tower. If handled properly, the long hand can fight the short hand. The first wave of minions may not give the opponent any experience.)
However, a problem soon appeared.
The three melee minions on both sides were worn down to low health.
Broiler did not have many choices.
If he used Q to kill all three minions, the minions would push toward the YM tower. Lin Yan would also go forward and take Sindra's normal attack to eat the experience of the minions.
If he used a normal attack to kill one of them, Lin Yan would definitely take advantage of the time when he raised his hand to use a normal attack to throw an electronic harpoon. In this case, the harpoon would definitely hit. This was also the reason why Broiler did not use a normal attack to deal with the minions in advance when he was suppressing them.
After the electronic harpoon was strengthened, Lambo, who had left the Dark Seal, could deal almost 100 damage to Sindra with a single harpoon. A normal person would definitely not be able to take it.
In such a short time to think, Broiler thought of a third option.
He did not use a normal attack or a skill. He planned to let the melee minions on both sides kill each other.
This way, even if he did not gain any minions, he could gain experience while Lin Yan could not.
However, Lin Yan left the tower and took two steps forward.
Broiler calmly used Q's [Shadow Ball] to predict Lin Yan's position. At the same time, he began to retreat.
The distance of this Shadow Ball was calculated very accurately. It was right at the edge of the experience zone.
If Lin Yan wanted to gain experience, he had to be hit by this Shadow Ball.
He had no other choice.
At this time, Broiler moved backward and raised his hand to use a normal attack to wear down Lin Yan.
Lin Ran stood motionless on the spot.
Broiler's Sindra had already raised his hand, but the normal attack did not go out.
Lin Yan calmly ate the experience of the three melee minions. Then, he stood still and danced.
Lambo jumped out of his Galaxy Magic Armor and flipped around on the drill bit. It looked quite cute.
Break through the sky!
Drill through everything!
Yodel shouted loudly.
"Huh?" Mille, who was on the commentary platform, did not understand at first. "Did Broiler make a mistake?
I saw that a normal attack did not go out. "
Many viewers also noticed this detail.
Some people were even spamming question marks in the live broadcast room.
However, Broiler knew that his normal attack could not go out.
Lin Yan also knew that Broiler knew that his normal attack could not hit him.
If this basic attack hit Lin Ran, the result would be that the army line would be pushed forward.
This was because the six melee minions with higher tankiness on both sides had already died, and the remaining ranged minions were quite fragile.
In this situation, if Sindra used a normal attack to attract the aggro of the YM minions, the minions would be pushed forward much faster than before.
Against Lambo in the middle of the formation, in a situation where the jungler did not come to help cross the tower, it was best for the non-displacement mage not to push the minions forward.
This was because Lambo's Q [Pyro Feast] did not attract the minions' aggro. If the minions were pushed under Lambo's tower, it would be difficult for the minions on their side to deal damage to Lambo.
Moreover, if Lambo was pushed under the tower, if he was accidentally hit by a harpoon and slowed down, it was very likely that he would be chased all the way and barbecued.
Broiler planned to control the minions in the middle of the river. This way, he could suppress Lin Yan and would not have to worry about being chased and barbecued.
Both sides were well aware of this game. They knew that their opponents were world-class mid-laners. This kind of knowledge was not considered a detail at all for players of this level.
The commentators and some of the audience could not tell. First, it was because they did not have an immersive experience of the game. The feeling of watching the game from a bird's eye view was completely different from watching the game in person.
Second, it was because the director would not focus the camera on the same line for a long time. Before the audience could see the situation of the minions in detail, the director had already cut the screen.
Third … their understanding of the game was a little green. Some people really did not understand how specific heroes were dealt with.
Broiler controlled Sindra to once again use his own strength to suppress Lambo.
Lin Yan was too lazy to bother with him. He had to eat the minions' EXP.
If he did not reach level three, he would not be able to turn the tables for the rest of his life.
Seeing Sindra going forward to suppress him, he drank a bottle of reusable potion to maintain his status.
Broiler understood very well. He used the Q [Shadow Ball] to wear down Lin Yan. This skill did not attract the minions' aggro anyway, so he could suppress him however he wanted.
Lin Yan tried to twist his waist left and right to dodge the skill. However, Broiler's Sindra was indeed very proficient. Dodging like this only saved him from taking two damage from the Q's.
However, the Dark Seal's passive + 25% healing effect from the potion allowed Lin Yan to maintain his status very well.
Without killing a single minion, Lin Yan successfully reached level two with a bottle of potion and 34 HP left.
He looked at the data panel and saw that Broiler's Sindra had only dealt two hits. He was relieved and put his skill points into W [Shattered Shield].
He did not try to learn how to kill minions from the Q's. He thought the same as Broiler and did not push the line.
Broiler realized that he could not wear down Lin Yan at all.
He did not expect Lin Yan to learn W at level two to resist pressure. Also, why was this Lambo's Shield so thick?
Although the duration of Shattered Shield had been reduced by 0.5 seconds, it was more than enough to deal with a skill-based burst mage like Sindra.
More importantly, the basic shield value of W [Shattered Shield] at level one was directly increased to 80 points!
Coupled with Lambo's magic resistance and the magic power provided by Dark Seal, Lin Yan would not lose a single drop of HP if Broiler threw the ball at him.
Lin Yan only needed to calculate the two-second cooldown difference between Sindra's Q and Lambo's W's Shield, and he could complete the brainless damage resistance.
Even with Broiler's good temper, he could not help but secretly curse the game designer.
How shameless could he be?
Who could wear down Lambo when he was in the middle lane?
Broiler tried to throw two Q's, but realized that Lin Yan's HP bar did not budge. He could only give up.
He was confident that he could wear down Lin Yan during the cooldown difference between his Shadow Ball and Lin Yan's Shield.
However, his mana did not allow him to do so.
Although Sindra's Q's mana consumption had not been reduced, a Shadow Ball cost 40 mana. How could it withstand Broiler's usage?
Helplessly, the chicken had no choice but to deal the final blow.
On the commentary platform, Mille and Remember's attention was no longer on the middle lane. They were now focused on the jungle.
Remember saw Princes, who had just finished eating the red buff, EQ the Dragon Pit and then directly walk to the blue zone of IG.
"Xiao Tian went to the IG jungle after killing the red buff, and he didn't kill the blue buff first. Instead, he killed the three wolves first. What kind of strategy is this?"
Mille could not figure it out. "Xiao Tian didn't kill his own jungle first. Instead, he killed all of Ning Wang's monsters …"
In 2 minutes and 17 seconds, Xiao Tian killed the three wolves of IG. In 2 minutes and 36 seconds, Xiao Tian killed the Magical Swamp Frog of IG.
After doing all this, Phyllostachys Pubescens started to farm the blue buff.
Then, he ate the River Crab and rushed back to his own jungle to farm.
"Brother Ran, I'm here to gain some experience." Xiao Tian killed the Razorback Bird as he walked close to the wall near the middle lane.
From this position, he could gain experience from the minions in the middle lane through the wall.
Lin Yan did not say much.
Xiao Tian shared the experience with a few minions. Then, he realized that he still needed some experience to level up to level four.
He did not retreat. Instead, he stood at the innermost position of the wall and returned to the city while gaining experience.
The moment he was about to return to the spring, he successfully leveled up to level four.
"You're so disgusting, Phyllostachys Pubescens!" Lin Yan controlled Lamborghini to add insult to injury. "Are you using my place as a training room?"
Xiao Tian was overjoyed.
This time, he returned to the city to replenish his green jungler's knife and long sword. Then, he immediately headed to the blue zone of IG!
"Xiao Tian has a good plan!"
Remember realized. "He's taking advantage of the time difference to farm the three wolves and Magical Swamp Frogs from IG twice!"
At four minutes and forty-seven seconds, the second group of three wolves from IG respawned on time.
Xiao Tian arrived at the right time and decisively killed them!
At this time, Ning Wang had just finished replenishing his equipment and left the spring.
However, Xiao Tian was almost done with this group of three wolves.
At five minutes and six seconds, the Magical Swamp Frogs respawned. Xiao Tian was still there on time and used Punishment to steal the Magical Swamp Frogs.
"Ning Wang is one step late. He's facing all the leftovers!"
Mille was not the only one who did not expect Xiao Tian's strange farming route. Ning Wang did not expect it either.
During this period of time, he had not wasted his time practicing economic suppression tactics in the jungle. Now, it came in handy.
Xiao Tian first cleared the two groups of non-BUFF monsters from IG.
His goal was to let these two groups of monsters respawn as soon as possible.
Ning Wang did not know about all of this.
His goal was achieved. Xiao Tian went back to farm his own monsters and gave up on his own group of Gargoyles.
He had just reached Level 4. He decisively bought equipment and rushed here. He successfully arrived just as the three wolves respawned.
The straightforward Ning Wang thought that Xiao Tian would leave the three wolves and Magical Swamp Frogs from IG's camp for last.
After all, this could slow down the respawn time of the monsters.
However, he did not expect Xiao Tian to be so daring. He cleared them in advance and then used the time to eat two more groups of monsters!
"Ning Wang is so injured. The next Magical Swamp Frogs and three wolves will respawn in seven and a half minutes!"
"Here's the problem. How is he going to reach Level 6?" Mille seemed to be a little excited. "Xiao Tian has successfully restricted Ning Wang in the jungle!"
Ning Wang, who had just cleared his own Sharp-Beaked Birds and Gargoyles, was not even Level 5. However, he had nothing to do now!
"Ran in the middle lane killed the Broiler. Now, YM has taken the economic lead. They seem to have found the feeling in this round!" Remember was overjoyed.