"Take it, take it." Lin Yan took off his headset. "Let's shake hands."
This match wasn't difficult for them at all. Samsung didn't even pose an effective obstacle to them.
This kind of pure operation team wasn't popular in the current version.
Because the mid-season version had been updated for more than a month, all the teams understood that the reworked Canyon Vanguard was to force people to fight.
Originally, teams like Samsung and WE that preferred late-game operations only paid one or two elemental dragons when they gave up on the rhythm in the early game.
But now that they didn't come out to fight, and the opponent took Canyon Vanguard, their first blood tower was in danger.
The opponent who had a large advantage in the early game wouldn't give them a chance to react. They tore the small wound of the first blood tower bigger and bigger, and the economic gap flowed like a gurgling stream of blood.
This kind of price was obviously not something a late-game operation team could afford.
The audience in the live broadcast room was very satisfied.
In this kind of one-sided game, there was no need to worry about the quality of the match. They just needed to see how their own team would win.
The pleasure they felt from witnessing Sect Leader An's miserable state was no less than the pleasure they felt from defeating the Lightning Wolves.
After all, Samsung had a nationality bonus in this match.
On the commentary platform, Mille and Doll looked at the YM members who left to shake hands with the Samsung players and let out a sigh of relief.
"This victory …" The two of them looked at each other.
"It's expected." Doll shrugged. "After all, YM is the big brother of our division. They have to set an example."
"After all, the LCK coaching team also said that YM was going to give up this match …" Mille smirked. "It's best if they give up two more matches. Then we can get off work early today."
Yu Zhen stood in front of the black screen backstage. He smiled and turned his head to look at the two C's of YM.
"YM just won the first match for the LPL. Can you two talk about how you feel about winning this match?"
"Well …" Jack thought for a moment. "I don't feel anything. It's no different from a training match."
Yu Zhen wasn't surprised by Jack's words. He immediately looked at Lin Yan.
"The competition was relatively easy." Lin Yan held the microphone and said, "Our mission is temporarily over. The rest will be handed over to our brother teams."
"If possible, I hope this is YM's last match in this year's intercontinental tournament," he joked.
What he meant was that he didn't want to play the fifth game. There were only two possibilities: either LPL quickly ended the game, or LCK won three games in a row and lost 1: 3.
What Lin Yan said was naturally not the latter result.
Aftershock's smile rippled. "Today, we also noticed that Jack's way of dealing damage was somewhat unique. Can you tell us what you were thinking at that time?"
Jack pondered for two seconds. "I'll just be in charge of dealing enough damage. Leave the rest to my teammates."
"My teammates are too strong. There's really nothing I can do about it." He pretended to be helpless. "Even the ADC won against a dog."
Lin Yan felt that Jack was hinting at something.
…
On the way back to the lounge after the post-match interview, the two of them bumped into the WE players who were about to go on stage.
"Put in more effort, Boss Su." Lin Yan patted Xi Ye's shoulder.
"Oh." Xi Ye, who was drinking Wang Zai milk, seemed to be turning into a sapphire blue.
Back in the lounge, Lin Yan sat beside Su Cheng and took the mineral water she passed to him.
The players in the lounge looked at the WE players on the screen with nervous expressions.
In the next match, WE's opponent was another red team — SKT.
Even though SKT, led by Li Xianghe, had lost to YM in the mid-season tournament, everyone thought that SKT was still one of the top teams in the world.
It was just the difference between the world's number one and number two.
Without a doubt, this was going to be a tough battle.
The head coaches of the three teams sat in the first row, staring intently at the red rice on the screen with headphones on.
Accompanied by a crisp sound, the BP segment had begun.
(See the BP diagram in this chapter)
WE banned the two ADCs, Callista and Policewoman, in the first round, before banning Little Peanut's signature spider.
From Lin Ran's point of view, the two ADCs and junglers who were extremely aggressive in the early game had been banned. Red Rice's intention had been exposed. He wanted to pick Invincible's big mouth and Gario's Physique.
However, SKT chose to ban Zach, Hammer Stone, and Ke Lie.
Big Mouth and Galio were both released.
WE picked Galio first, while SKT picked Ice and Blind Monk.
"Big Mouth and Galio, do whatever they want!
SKT is too full of themselves! "
Ouze had just opened the LPL official live streaming channel on his phone and did not have time to turn off the sound. Mille's roar was transmitted to every corner of the lounge through the earpiece.
In the LPL lounge, the staff members were also cheering non-stop.
This was a system that even YM did not dare to easily give to WE. SKT's approach was simply suicidal in their eyes!
Fist China's representative Winston and Tengjing's representative Bobby had already high-fived each other and were ready to celebrate this victory.
However, the professional players and coaches were still nervous and did not relax.
"What's wrong?" Bobby calmed down and saw Lin Yan's expression beside him. He instinctively felt that something was wrong.
He could be considered a successful manager, but his understanding of the game was not very good.
"SKT's BP was prepared," Lin Yan said slowly. "It's not that simple."
Broiler took a sip of water and continued the conversation. "SKT dug a hole, but WE jumped into it."
"Everyone knows that WE's Galio + Big Mouth system is very strong," Lin Yan explained. "SKT must have known about this."
"They didn't ban it or steal it on their behalf. Instead, they released it for WE to choose."
Lin Yan looked at Su Cheng and nodded. "Kkoma obviously saw through WE's plan."
"They've made a response." Su Cheng's index finger moved towards the big screen in front of the lounge. "Ice + Blind Monk. If there's no accident, there's also Karma."
As soon as she finished speaking, SKT's third choice was decisively locked onto Karma the Apocalypse!
Bobby raised his eyebrows.
He was not surprised by the professional players and coaches' ability to read BP. Sometimes, it was quite boring to watch a match with these people.
As a fan of competitions, he wanted to see the blood-pumping solo kills and the picturesque team battles.
This group of professional players would often look at the minions and spoiler commentaries. They could even predict what would happen 30 seconds later with an 80% to 90% accuracy.
For Bobby, this was like reading a Detective Conan book in a bookstore, only to find the name of the murderer on the title page.
It was not interesting at all.
However, today, he was not playing the role of a fan of competitions, but the CEO of Tengjing.
What he wanted was the result, not the process.
He needed LPL to win the Intercontinental Championship, then take the championship trophy and claim credit from the higher-ups.
Hence, he continued to ask, "What's next?"
"WE're in a passive position now," Lin Yan continued. "They found it difficult to start a team battle against SKT's lineup."
SKT's three heroes, Ice, Blind Monk, and Karma, were extremely agile and had strong pulling abilities.
"Galio can't be the first player in most situations. He needs a hero who can carry him into battle."
Bobby nodded, not fully understanding.
"Princes, then. WE can only choose top laner Princes," Broiler muttered. "Huni will probably choose a solo hero who counters top laner Princes. Red Rice will have to deal with that in the second round …"
The next moment, a short-haired woman holding a western sword appeared in WE's ban position.
Kenji Wushuang, who met SKT's requirements, was banned.
SKT banned Tam and Lulu, two support heroes who complemented each other well.
"What's WE going to ban for the last ban position? Crocodile?" Bobby asked curiously.
He had spent quite some time with the LPL co-coaches and knew that Crocodile countered Princes in the early stages of the game and in the late stages of the game.
Lin Yan shook his head. "Jax or Rock Sparrow …"
On the screen, Red Rice was frowning as she communicated with her team members. White Crescent, who was watching the match on mute, also wanted to know what they were talking about and turned up the volume.
"957, do you have the confidence to fight Jax?
I plan to ban Rock Sparrow. "
957, who had an elegant face, was still very calm. "It shouldn't be a problem."
Red Rice trusted her steady top laner who was slightly older, and ordered Ben to send Rock Sparrow to the ban position.
SKT's first pick in the second round was Jax!
WE picked support Boulogne and top laner Princes.
In the situation where Jax was the first to come out, 957 still brought out Prince who was restrained.
This was to implement Galio's system to its fullest potential.
SKT had set up an ambush for the entire game, but WE stepped on it without hesitation.
They were like warriors who gladly accepted an appointment. They took out their sharpest swords and wanted to compete with the evil dragon.
SKT's last pick was Faker's Lamia.
The lineup was finalized.
The blue team WE: top laner Princes, jungler Excavator, mid laner Galio, bottom laner Big Mouth + Boulogne.
The red team SKT: top laner Jax, jungler Blind Monk, mid laner Lamia, bottom laner Ice + Karma.
"What do you think of the lineup?" Bobby sat down with a bag of lemon-flavored potato chips.
"I don't think so." Lin Yan shook his head. "At most, we have a forty percent chance of winning."
"Thirty percent, I think." Phyllostachys Pubescens was a native of Weihai, so he was very good at inverting sentences.
Bobby was stunned. "You don't think so highly of it?"
He felt that WE had at least picked the system that they were proud of, so their chances of winning should not be too low.
"In the laning phase, Princes has a slight advantage over Jax in the beginning. After the first wave of resupply, he won't be able to win. Galio will definitely be pushed by Lamia, so it will be difficult for him to support. How will bottom laner Big Mouth + Tam fight against Ice + Karma?" Lin Yan shrugged.
"In the middle of the game, no one will be able to stop Jax's solo laner." He took a lemon-flavored potato chip from Bobby. "If WE force a frontal attack, they won't stand a chance. Karma's AoE acceleration will drag them to their deaths."
"Princes' EQ Flash and ultimates seem to be able to keep people at a very long distance, but other than Xi Ye's Galio, no one can keep up with him. Big Mouth's movement speed is too slow."
With WE's lineup, they would not be able to win any of the three lanes. Only the jungler had the advantage.
In this situation, the jungler was often the most difficult.
This was because the opponent could fearlessly enter their own jungle and wreak havoc, while their teammates who were pinned down couldn't provide any help at all.
Even if they had the advantage, they would be forced into a disadvantage.
When this lineup was chosen, most of the pro players, including Lin Yan, were not optimistic about WE's chances.
However, Lin Yan did not expect the first blood to explode at the first minute and fifty seconds of the game.
He did not know what was wrong with Li Xianghe's head, but he still wanted to mess with F6's Kandi.
Then, he was surrounded by four WE's junglers and got beaten up. In the end, he used all his Flash of Purification and even lost the first blood.
"Ah, this …" His mouth was slightly agape, his face blank.
SKT's cerebral palsy strategy was still playing out. Little Peanut also wanted to start with F6, but since Li Xianghe went to WE's jungle to mess with Kandi, he pulled Huni to help him.
This caused Huni to log in ten seconds later than 957.
Although the ten seconds delay did not cause him to lose any experience, he lost the ability to push.
If 957's Princes did not have any accidents, he would definitely be the first to reach level two.
Even so, Lin Yan did not feel that there was a problem.
Jax had an easier time against Princes in the later stages of the game. In the early stages, Princes had a certain advantage with his Q's Giant Dragon Strike and passive Tempo of War.
As long as they could hold on, WE would be the ones to worry as time passed.
…
"Huni went back to the city to replenish his health?" Ouze, who was sitting in the front row, could not believe it.
He was not the only one.
All the professional players were shocked by the scene in front of them.
The match had only been going on for three minutes, and Huni's Jax had consumed all the Corruption Potions. He only had 250 health left and could only return to the city from the bushes behind the tower.
"This is what you meant by … a forty percent chance of winning?" Bobby looked at Lin Yan as he chewed on a potato chip.
Lin Yan's face was burning.
Why did Huni not play according to the rules?
Jax was good at fighting Princes, but he did not have to go up one level straight away!
However, he thought about it from another perspective.
The worse Huni's performance was, the more likely WE would win this match.
If WE could win this match, then YM would not have to risk their lives. After all, they still had IG and RNG to hold the line. Winning against the well-researched MVP would not be a problem.
"Good fight, 957!" He was the first to applaud.
Then, the lounge was filled with thunderous applause.
SKT's performance today was very problematic. At seven minutes, Li Xianghe was successfully baited by Xi Ye, and WE's jungler killed Faker's Lamia once again.
The scales of victory were tilted in WE's favor.
The first item Xi Ye looted after returning home was the Adaptive Helmet. Li Xianghe's Lamia could no longer hit him.
As the crucial mid lane, Lamia, who had died twice in a row, did not have the ability to restrain Galio.
Xi Ye's thought process was clear. He knew that his mission was not the right lane. After pushing away the minions, he controlled Galio to wander up and down the river.
The frequent movements of Galio made Little Peanut's Blind Monk hesitate to attack the rat for fear of breaking the vases. He did not dare to attack the top and bottom lanes.
At twelve minutes, Huni faced WE's duo who had switched lanes to the top lane. He felt dizzy again. He actually dared to defend the tower in front of Boulogne.
WE's duo thought that there was an ambush behind them. However, after circling back and forth, they still could not find anyone who could help Huni.
Only then did the two realize that Huni didn't have anything to rely on at all. He was just crazy.
The way to deal with this kind of top laner was very simple — just jump over the tower and scatter his ashes.
A single ADC was not worth mentioning in front of top laner Jax. Even a fully developed weapon master like Huni could easily slaughter him.
However, pulling in a support was enough to completely crush Jax.
This was Eddisi's charm.
After Huni died, WE's duo grinded down the top lane to half their health.
Then, they switched lanes again and went to the bottom lane to suppress Jax.
"His brain sure doesn't know how to think …" Lin Ran looked at Jax, who was heading to the bottom lane as soon as he returned to the city, and he was surprised. "WE is obviously trying to kill him. I didn't expect him to leave the tower."
Jax, who was controlled by Huni, had just killed two minions when WE's duo closed in on him again.
Princes used EQ twice to trick Jax into jumping and slashing. Then, he used Heaven Falls and Earth Splits to cover Huni. Boulogne was passive, his big mouth constantly spitting saliva.
Jax died peacefully.
"Why do I feel like Huni is a random player who accidentally entered the professional scene?" Su Cheng whispered to Lin Yan. The warm air hit his ear.
"… I think so too."
Lin Yan tilted his head and smelled the citrus scent on Su Cheng's body. He reached out and pulled her into his arms.
Bobby smelled the sour smell of love. He looked down at the lemon-flavored potato chip in his hand.
F * ck your mother.
He got up and ran to Broiler's side. The two looked at each other and smiled.
The chubby Broiler took a potato chip from Bobby's arms and started chewing. The plump collagen on his cheeks also shook. It made people want to pinch him.
Lin Yan and Su Cheng curled up in the corner.
The two did not look at the big screen in the lounge. Instead, they took out a tablet and opened the Shark-fighting platform's live broadcast room. Each of them put on a headset.
Now, the LPL commentator's advantage over his colleagues in other divisions was on full display.
Lin Yan played with Su Cheng's slightly cold palm and whispered to her. He did not even need to look at the screen to know what was going on in the match.
In terms of retelling the match, no one could compete with the LPL commentator.
"SKT is still resilient. They're starting to familiarize themselves with lane switching. The economic gap between the two sides is now only 3k. Huni is happily leading the bottom lane alone!" Doll's voice rang out. "Princes might not be able to beat Jax in a one-on-one …"
After the initial panic, SKT's five players still managed to display the strength of their formation.
On the main battlefield, the four of them used their flexibility to pull the distance between themselves and WE. The remaining Huni wandered around the edge of the battlefield and kept hitting the minions with the lantern in his hand.
WE's five players could not think of a solution.
However, it did not matter. If they could not solve the problem, they would fight the Dragon.
With Princes's attack speed increase and Mouthpart's percentage damage, the Dragon's HP dropped rapidly!
"Huni has given up the teleport. SKT can't release this Dragon!"
The teleport did not dissuade WE's players in the Dragon Pit. They were definitely going to eat this Dragon.
"Little Peanut doesn't plan to go in and snatch it. They want to pull the formation and keep all five of WE's players in the Dragon Pit!"
You can take this Dragon, but you have to leave your head behind!
Little Peanut saw that the Dragon was easily controlled by Kandy's Excavator and felt that he had grasped an opportunity. This opportunity was fleeting. He did not have time to report it to his teammates and immediately rushed forward.
Eye Touch + R Flash!
The dragon swung its tail and kicked Mouthpart away, sending him straight to the face of Huni who had just teleported to the ground.
Jax's flowery hands were already moving. The W Power Up Strike hit Mouthpart's fragile body heavily. The high magic damage and the three passive abilities took out 13% of Mouthpart's HP!
"Xi Ye used his ultimate move. Ben came to the rescue. They want to protect the DPS core, Mouthpart!"
Bloem's anti-theft door was placed in front of Big Mouth, helping him block the skills of the SKT players in front of him. Galio leaped into the air, and with Big Mouth as the center, a giant circle appeared, protecting him under his body!
957's Princes charged into the midst of SKT with EQ. Although he did not send the enemy flying, his Gargoyle Plate Armor had been activated, increasing his HP by 100%!
Strength of a Thousand Men!
"957's ultimate move is covering the three players in front of SKT. Faker's damage output is very bad!"
Snake Lady was still a short-handed hero. Most of her damage output relied on the Twin Fangs after the poison was generated.
However, Princes blocked in front of him.
Faker wanted to dodge Princes' ultimate move and use his Petrifying Gaze to control Mouthpart.
However, he did not make a move.
In the next moment, the Colossus of Justice, Galio, landed beside Mouthpart. The shallow puddles in the distance rippled!
Jax's flowery hands ended and stunned Mouthpart. However, Huni was also sent flying by Boulogne's ultimate move.
On the other side, Condi was fighting Little Peanut with all her might.
"Xi Ye, Galio's Taunt flashed into the field and controlled the three players in front of SKT!"
Galio's insane Taunt flashing combo was used at the perfect time. While Mouthpart was stunned, it controlled the three players in front of SKT.
Kegmo was at his weakest, but no one in SKT could threaten him!
"Mouthpart is spitting!
This damage is unreasonable! "Mille shouted. Kegmo's saliva was flying everywhere!
The new Kegmo skin that was released on April Fool's Day caused him to bark madly when he activated his W Power Biohazard Bullet Screen.
For a moment, the entire river was filled with dog barks. Coupled with the saliva that was flying everywhere, one could not help but suspect that this bulldog came from Fuzhou No. 16 High School.
At the 27th minute, Mouthpart's attack speed of the three-piece Hurricane Goat Blade set broke through 2.0 points. As its saliva splashed everywhere, the river was littered with corpses!
"SKT has been wiped out, oh my god!"
Doll could not control his excitement. "WE wants to end the match in one go with the Dragon's buff!"
"It's going to be 2: 0!"
Mille clenched his fists. He was so excited that the veins on his forehead were bulging. "Three match points. What can LCK use to fight me!"
28 minutes and 00 seconds. Another magical number. WE had flattened SKT's base!
Deafening cheers erupted from the resting room. Firefox and White Crescent could not hide their excitement. Hanyi, who had a serious expression on her face, also clapped her hands.
The bullet screen in front of Lin Yan and Su Cheng's tablet was filled with comments. It completely blocked the live broadcast of the match.
[60E sat up in shock. Aiya, he has finally redeemed himself!]
In the semifinals yesterday, WE had lost to Lightning Wolves. They were criticized both in speech and in writing.
Originally, losing a small match was not a big deal. However, the performance of the audience in this Intercontinental Championship had angered the LPL audience. They even raised their expectations of their own teams.
After losing to Lightning Wolves, there were many discussions on the forums.
WE 2.0's hardcore fan 60E wanted to learn the secret technique of playing dead from his nemesis, Dog Son. He did not expect that in just one day, the five members of WE 2.0 had taken the crown from SKT on the stage of the finals!
How could he not be overjoyed?
[Put in more effort in the next match. LPL, go, go!]
[The opponent will definitely send out KT next match. I still remember what their coach said. If they lose the finals, they will swim back to Korea, right?
Everyone knew that LCK would send out KT in the third match. LPL's coaching team did not discuss further and arranged for IG to take up the challenge.
They wanted to use IG's superior strength to defeat the three heroes of LPL.
After all, Fat General was old. He was no longer the old father who bought oranges for Ghostfoot Seven.
However, things did not go as planned.
Fat General used Rock Sparrow to block Broiler's ferocious pressure in the lane. West and Sapphire's bottom lane combination was weak in front of Mr. Dai and MATA.
Mr. Dai's Policewoman destroyed IG's next turret in ten minutes. She changed lanes and pushed the turret so quickly that IG, who were not good at maneuvering, could not react in time. The previous turret was destroyed.
Policewoman even made a critical hit in twenty-two minutes. She used the special effect of Rapid Fire Cannon to take out 13% of Sapphire's HP.
Under such circumstances, IG was still trying to engage in a chaotic battle with their opponents.
This kind of chaotic battle was very entertaining. Even if the audience did not like LPL teams, they could not help but exclaim when they saw the players' exaggerated maneuvers.
The end result of this kind of visual feast was the rapid growth of the economy of both sides. Mr. Dai's Policewoman even made six godly items in thirty-one minutes.
Policewoman only needed two shots to kill Luo. This kind of damage was unparalleled.
At thirty-four minutes, IG and KT contributed to a chaotic battle with 50 kills. In the end, LCK won.
KT coach let out a long sigh of relief.
That was close. He almost had to swim back to Korea.
"Ah …" Everyone in the lounge heard Sapphire's voice in the team chat. "I'll have to rely on you guys for the next part."
"Sorry, sorry." West's face was pale. "I'm too weak."
He had been beaten badly by Mr. Dai.
Without Sunset, West's performance was indeed average.
"Let's go, brothers!"
Spicy Saucepan jumped up from his chair and moved his wrists. "Go, go, go, get off work early!"
Mi Dehu hugged his keyboard. His expression was serious and unsmiling.
His image as a comedian was poles apart.
Now, he was like a ferocious tiger, adjusting himself to his best state to face this crucial match.
Ouze took a deep breath. His face was slightly red.
This was not the face of a defeated BO5. After all, this was only the fourth round. Even if they lost, their big brother YM would be responsible for cleaning up after them.
Instead, it was because of excitement.
Ouze's fingers were trembling slightly.
Up until now, he had not won any international league championship in the six years since his debut — except for solo matches.
Some fanatics called him the world's number one ADC.
This was because he would tap the floor four times in every normal attack. His signature move was unique and elegant, as if he was tapping the Summoner's Canyon with his heart.
Many fans called him the Uncrowned King.
But Ouze knew that the Uncrowned King had no crown.
The world's number one ADC should have an international champion.
He had lost many opportunities before. SKT, SSW, EDG, YM, WE … One by one, strong opponents defeated him and used him as a stepping stone to crown themselves the king.
Now, another opportunity was placed in front of him.
This time, he was not facing the invincible SKT, not the suffocatingly strong SSW, not the ferocious YM …
It was just the ordinary LCK Spring Season Champion, who had been analyzed by the LPL coaches to be the naked MVP.
Although it was only an intercontinental tournament, which was a far cry from the global finals, Ouze was still excited.
This was the closest he had ever been to a championship.
Everything was going according to plan. He only needed to make a gun — like his ID, it would rain bullets on his opponents. That was enough.
Sitting on the player's seat, he entered training mode. As usual, he tapped the floor four times in between every normal attack.
It was like a death knell for the MVP.