"Welcome to the finals of the 2016 League One Spring Competition. I'm Mille, the commentator."
"Hello, everyone. I'm Doll."
In order to show the importance that Tengjing Sports attached to the LSPL, they had specially arranged a pair of popular LPL commentators for this finals. Their commentary style was mainly humorous, and their understanding of the game was much higher than those LSPL commentators.
"We can see that there are many spectators who support Team YM." Doll was the first to speak. "There are a lot of female fans …"
"Indeed, it's mainly because their team's midlaner is too handsome," Mille continued to tease. "He's not inferior to WE's Mystic."
"We first learned about YM because of their boss, Chubby. He's an old acquaintance of ours. At this time, he's also standing behind the five YM players and discussing BP with the coach."
"It's worth mentioning that Team YM has won all the regular season games this season." Mille had obviously done a lot of work. "It's very crazy. They've created a winning streak record since the establishment of the League One."
"Among them, the player with the most outstanding performance is this player, Ran. He has won 19 MVPs and can be called the rhythm engine of Team YM."
"On the other side, EDE also has players that we are very familiar with …"
The two commentators introduced the lineups of both sides. Lin Yan lay on his gaming chair and stared at the screen.
"Xiao Ming, remember to deepen your vision of the bottom lane in three minutes. You have to detect the movements of the opponent's jungler. That way, Xiao Tian can do things better," Chubby reminded.
Xiao Ming nodded. His right hand that was holding the mouse was slightly sweaty.
"Jin Gong, they might change lanes in this game. You have to be mentally prepared. Keep an eye on AmazingJ and ensure your development."
Jin Gong took a deep breath. His weathered face was calm. He knew how heavy the burden was on him in this best-of-five game. No one knew better than him how it felt to play top laner in this genius team.
In just one Spring Season, the four youngsters had improved so much that it left people speechless. Their ability to adapt to the pace of the competition was too outstanding.
The youths, who had yet to perfect their teamwork, were still able to attack at a pleasing pace. There were many small-scale group battles that didn't require any commands at all. The four of them seemed to be controlled by the same brain, and they were able to instantly focus fire on key characters.
In comparison, during the later stages of the Spring Season, Jin Gong was like an outsider during the team battles. His train of thought was often half a beat slower.
In today's BO5, even if he didn't carry, he couldn't drag his four teammates down!
Jin Gong made up his mind.
Mille and Doll joked around for quite some time before the match finally began. "… The BP has begun. YM is the number one team in the regular season, so they have the right to choose the side first. They've decided on the red side. Let's see if YM's new team is going to win today or if EDE's experienced team is going to win!"
"It's a familiar rhythm. EDE isn't giving RAN a chance at all. Lisandro, Cards, and Little Temptress are blocking his hero pool."
"YM is sending Sniper Qian Jue and Bobby to the ban position." Mille hesitated for a moment before analyzing. "YM is prepared."
"What do you mean?"
Doll was playing the supporting role. In terms of understanding the game, he was slightly worse than Mille. Back in the day, he was also able to say that "when you have an endless lead, the damage is especially high".
"Although there are no particularly strong heroes in the current version, there are only two or three heroes in each position of the same strength echelon. Sniper Qian Jue has banned the remaining Callista, Nanqiang has been banned by Qian Jue, and Titan has been banned by Bobby."
"Of these three priority heroes, EDE can only take one from the blue side. The remaining two will be taken by YM." Mille looked at the BP. "In this way, YM is using RAN to create an advantage for their selection."
Just as he said, EDE Team was wavering between the three priority heroes.
"Take Callista. She's very suitable for our strategy." Sun Dayong made a decision.
YM didn't hesitate and directly banned Titan and Nanqiang.
EDE then chose Hammer Stone to form the Shadow Island combo. However, they hesitated for a long time on the jungler position. Now that Qian Jue was banned, Nanqiang was basically invincible in the jungle.
"Take Rexey. There's no other hero to take." Sun Dayong directed the jungler, Baybay, to take Excavator.
"They'll definitely take the Shadow Island combo this round. Don't switch lanes with them. With our operational ability, we'll lose more if we force a lane switch." Chubby and Hanyi discussed and came up with a countermeasure.
"What do you two think will make you feel better?" He took the initiative to ask Ning and Ming.
"Is EZ Lulu feasible?"
Ming hesitated and said, "This way, the opposing mid laner won't be able to pick Lulu. In other words, it'll free up Brother Ran."
Ning didn't have any objections. They would definitely be suppressed no matter what lineup they used against the Shadow Island combo. It was better to pick EZ.
After choosing Lulu, Sun Dayong's face darkened. YM was completely wavering.
Lulu was a character that could be played either mid or support. His plan to leave a counter position for AmazingJ fell through.
"How about you give me Gnar?" AmazingJ rubbed his palms together. He planned to pick a solo carry character to play operations.
Yes, it was also within Sun Dayong's consideration. After all, the 41 points in the Korean operation were tried and true, and Gnar was also considered a core character in the points.
"Is Sindra okay?"
The mid laner, Baeme, nodded. He couldn't bring out a hero like Tsar against Lin Yan. He admitted that he wasn't as good as his opponent in terms of lane details and suppression. If he brought out Tsar, Excavator's jungle would be out of the question.
"What should we pick?" Hanyi asked for the opinions of the team members.
"The opposing mid laner is Sindra. What can I do with Titan? Let Jin Gong play Ike. He won't be at a disadvantage against Gnar." Lin Yan took the initiative to say.
Jin Gong didn't have any objections. If he were to play Titan, he would definitely be suppressed badly against a solo carry like Gnar who had long arms and percentage damage.
Ike had appeared frequently since mid-March when the cooldown of Q skills was shortened. Percentage damage was very suitable for top laners.
"Ike?"
Mille felt that something was wrong. "How are YM going to split up? Mid laner Ike isn't impossible …"
"Is Ike going to play Sindra?"
Baeme wasn't surprised. Ike had played against Sindra when he was in the mid lane. It was very comfortable to play against him in the mid lane.
However, Lin Yan's and Titan's character frames hadn't changed. As time passed, they couldn't switch heroes anymore. The live audience exclaimed.
Mid laner Titan, top laner Ike.
This lineup was completely out of Sun Dayong's expectations. Chubby turned his head and saw the EDE coach's shocked expression. His fat face revealed a sinister smile.
YM hadn't used this strategy since Lin Yan discovered it. They only let Lin Yan and Xiao Tian practice the mid lane matchup. They didn't even leave a record. EDE didn't expect a straightforward team like YM to have such a trick up their sleeve.
"Don't panic. Calm down and follow the plan. YM's tricks won't work," Sun Dayong said to the translator.