"2 to 0!
YM is one step away from the Bird's Nest! "
The audience below the stage could no longer control their surging emotions, which turned into shouts that lingered in the Dongfang Sports Center!
Last year, they had witnessed YM climb over a towering mountain to win the championship. Now, the mountain that had held back the LPL competition for years was about to collapse!
The three commentators looked at each other, trying their best not to let their voices tremble. "What YM needs to do now is very simple."
"Win one more round, just a small one!"
As long as it did not involve understanding the game, Doll was definitely a qualified commentator. He was in high spirits. "I'll say it again. In the League of Legends global finals, there has never been a case of two chasing three!"
The audience's emotions had already been stirred up by the exciting match. Doll's words made them even more excited. The screams from the audience were even louder.
However, this sentence did not please the bullet screen.
[Stop cheering, stop cheering.]
[This is a flag. If YM loses, we'll flush Doll out!]
[Guiding Doll's Weibo Xiang Xiang QAQ. Brothers, let's go!]
However, it was mainly a form of ridicule. The originally chaotic bullet screen had long since disappeared. YM held the match in their hands. Naturally, the audience was relaxed.
The ones who needed to be nervous were SKT, who already had one foot over the edge.
"Shengxun, can you be a little more steady?" Kkoma, who was standing in the middle of the lounge, softened his tone and asked Huni.
Huni scratched his head optimistically. Even though he had controlled Yasso to achieve a score of 0: 08 in the previous match, he was not as depressed as he had imagined.
It was because he was too happy.
However, when he raised his head, he met his head coach's gaze. Beneath his seemingly gentle face, there was a storm brewing.
Huni had no doubt that if it was not illegal, Kkoma would have broken his hand and sent in the emergency substitute, Untara.
"I understand, I understand," Huni said hurriedly. He knew that if he continued to die like this, he would not be able to survive in LCK after this match. "I'll be steady."
Li Xianghe, who was sitting beside him, had a burning gaze. Coupled with his indifferent expression, he looked even colder.
If he could pull his fingers out of his nostrils, he would indeed look like a peerless expert.
For the first time in his five years as a professional, Faker was tired of playing mid laner.
After these two rounds, he almost looked into Kkoma's eyes and said, "Coach, I want to play top laner."
Kkoma glanced at the tactical notebook in his hand. "In the next round, we …"
…
The three commentators were still talking non-stop to liven up the atmosphere.
"From the first two rounds, we can see that YM is clearly going for the top lane in this BO5. Their target is Huni..."
As soon as Mille finished his sentence, Doll continued, "That's right, Huni is indeed the most unstable player in SKT. He can make unlimited moves when the wind is in his favor, but when the wind is against him, it's hard for him to be of any help to the team."
"And he's easy to catch." Remember held back his laughter. "In the past two rounds, he's attracted no less than 10 gank attempts from YM. He's also died a lot. Basically, he's daring to catch and dared to die."
Many of the bullet screen comments were also energized and began to comment.
[First round: 0/6, second round: 0/8. He's already died 14 times, surpassing Cuzz's 20 deaths in the quarterfinals.]
[Huni's a pig's nose. Does he really think that he can carry against YM?
Does he have a brain?]
[He's not carrying anymore?
I've already given you two victories, what else do you want me to do?]
[This kind of hothead is purely an ATM machine. Does he really think that the S Tournament is a shortened form of solo tournament?
He only knows how to play in the lane. If the opponent dares to catch him, he'll die. He's drooling.]
[I suspect that you're hinting at someone.]
[Jin Gong: Is this guy not afraid of my teammates?]
In the past year, Da Sima in Wuhu had rapidly risen to become the head streamer of Dousha. Now, all the bullet screens in the major live streaming channels were filled with his memes.
"Now that SKT is on the verge of elimination, if they want to drag this match out, their top laner Huni has to hold up!"
Doll had just finished speaking when he received a message from the caster.
He was not surprised. "SKT has decided to change their jungler for this round. Little Black Blank will replace Little Peanut!"
[Jungler B is here.]
[After watching two matches from the backstage, he's put out the fire with his Kkoma kit, right?]
[I'm thinking that Little Peanut has played well in these two matches.
What's the use of changing junglers?]
[They've already lost two matches without changing junglers. Why don't they try another jungler?]
…
In YM's lounge.
"The MVP of this round is Jin Gong again?"
Xiao Tian glanced at the screen. Jin Gong's two hands were crossed in an Ultralight Beam pose. He looked like an idiot.
9 kills, 1 death, 3 assists. Damage ratio 28.00%, damage ratio 34.69%, matchup economy + 4430.
The statistics were perfect.
Phyllostachys Pubescens frowned and muttered under his breath, "I'm going to vomit. We've already fed him heads. If he can't carry, he should go home and raise pigs."
In this round, he had used his matchup advantage to perfectly alleviate the pressure on the top and middle lanes. He had also gank many times to help his teammates build up the advantage. He thought that he was the best player in this round, so he was naturally unhappy that he had missed out on the MVP award.
Since Jin Gong had gone to throw the match, he could not hear what he was saying. He could scold him however he wanted.
"That's right," Jack leaned back in his chair, his face full of arrogance. "Didn't I do a great job in this round?"
In the middle of the game, he had repeatedly used his body to lure his opponents to pull him. Then, he had died and his teammates had eaten all his heads.
Although he only had two kills and three assists in the end, he felt that the statistics did not reflect his great performance.
"That counts as your contribution?" Su Cheng smiled. "Lin Yan, is there a Shiba Inu in Woof Woof's team?"
Lin Yan could not hold back his laughter.
"But Brother Ran didn't get many MVP awards this year." Xiao Tian's gloomy expression turned cheerful as he thought of this. "He won't get the MVP award this time."
Starting from the knockout round, the MVP of the quarterfinals against Longzhu was Liu Qingsong. The MVP of the first two rounds against SKT in the semifinals was Jin Gong …
Lin Yan's performance was not as outstanding as his teammates'. He did not get many MVP awards. This had something to do with the current version of the game. The current midlaner's influence in the competition was relatively weak. Moreover, his opponents in the knockout round were tough. The Korean league's rising stars BDD and Faker were not easy opponents.
Lin Yan, who was about to discuss the strategy for the next round with White Crescent, turned around and showed a look of disdain.
"The MVP award depends on the finals. It doesn't matter how good your performance is in the beginning. I can win all three rounds in the finals. Believe it or not, this honor will still be mine."
Xiao Tian's expression froze.
The finals … He thought of the two teams in the other half of the bracket.
SSG and RNG. Their midlaners were Crown and Bandit.
Crown's performance this year was rather lackluster. His style was somewhat restrained by Lin Yan. He could not pressure him in the lane and could only watch as Lin Yan roamed around and set the pace.
Bandit was similar in style. Although his performance in the league this year was not bad, the S League had never been stable.
It could be said that Crown and Bandit were noobs compared to Lin Yan's previous opponents.
Noobs in the professional arena were the team's breakthrough points. It would be a waste of oneself if one did not gain more data from them.
Xiao Tian realized something when he thought of this. If YM entered the finals, would Lin Yan not ride on the opposing midlaner to gain more data?
It was not impossible for him to win the MVP award in a BO5.
Shiba Inu rubbed his stomach and made a rumbling sound. "Stop joking. You're not giving the MVP award to Edisi, right?"
"Heh, your dad doesn't need the help of the incense burner. Look at your own data, do you think?" Liu Qingsong mocked.
"YM is ready to go on stage!" A staff member knocked on the door of the lounge.
Before leaving, White Crescent was still mumbling to herself as she flipped through her notebook to simulate the BP segment.
A group of people walked through the dimly lit entrance and lined up on the stage. The cameraman dutifully aimed the camera at the team members.
The audience, who were still resting after the excitement, saw the five YM players appear on the big screen again. They waved their glow sticks excitedly. Many die-hard fans even carried banners, wanting the players to see their feelings.
Lin Yan, who had already won two matches, was in a good mood. He smiled and waved at the surrounding stands, receiving a lot of screams from the audience.
There was no need to adjust the equipment in the arena. The YM players sat on their chairs and joked around.
On the other side, the atmosphere in SKT's player area was particularly tense.
Xiao Hei, who had just entered the arena, was still logging into his account to adjust his runes. Kkoma took the opportunity to communicate with him.
He was as tanned as Ning Wang, who was known for his milk-white skin. His dark face was filled with anxiety.
Blank knew how heavy the burden was on his shoulders. Naturally, he could not joke around.
Although he was also a jungler with the B surname, he knew very well that he did not have the heart of a stupid chicken. At most, he was just carrying out the task assigned to him by Kkoma.
Most people would not be able to withstand the psychological pressure of saving a fire in the semifinals.
Kkoma knew that he had put a lot of pressure on Xiao Hei, but the situation was urgent. He could only pat him on the shoulder to comfort him.
He had no choice but to switch to Xiao Hei.
In fact, Little Peanut's performance in these two matches was not bad. He was much better than when he had sunk into the LCK Summer League.
Kkoma knew that his teammates would have opinions about him if he had let Little Peanut guard the water dispenser in the semifinals.
However, he had to do this.
Little Peanut had a fatal problem: he was prone to getting carried away.
The first half of the match had been quite normal. However, after YM had dragged the match into a chaotic battle, Little Peanut had started to attack frequently.
It was not that this style of fighting was impossible, but his teammates could not keep up.
Throughout the match, only he and Huni had accompanied YM in their chaotic battle. In the end, they had lost.
Kkoma was afraid that Little Peanut would send Huni to his death again, so he quickly replaced him.
He could not care less about Little Peanut's mood. Even if he had to leave next year, he would accept it.
In front of the champions, Kkoma had always been ruthless.
Li Xianghe, who was sitting in the middle, closed his eyes tightly. He leaned back and rested his head on the pillow, taking deep breaths.
The cameraman captured this scene and recorded it with his camera.
[What's going on?]
[Invite the gods!]
[Don't be so awkward. Faker left peacefully.]
At this moment, Li Xianghe had received the signal from the referee behind him to start the match.
He opened his eyes and sat up straight. His eyes were full of fighting spirit.
He would not fall in this place!
Although there had never been a case of two players chasing three players in an international tournament, records were made by people. This summer, they had let KT catch two players chasing three players in the LCK playoffs. It was not impossible!
"SKT has the priority to pick sides in this match. After they got the blue side, they banned Kenan!"
Jin Gong easily found Callista's position and banned her.
The second ban spot was given to Princes, while White Crescent banned Jess as usual.
"The last ban spot in the first round …" Remember looked at the BP panel on both sides of the screen. "SKT did not pick Xialo apart. Instead, they banned Galio!"
"Princes and Galio were both banned. That's quite interesting." Mille was also surprised.
This was exactly the same as what White Crescent had done in the previous match. Kkoma was a quick learner. He was giving them a taste of their own medicine.
"YM chose to ban Lo …" Doll could not understand the deeper content of the BP panel, so he analyzed what was on the surface. "Looks like they're still wary of Wolf. Although SKT lost the previous match, Lo's opening moves were very exciting."
Kkoma pinched the bridge of his nose and stood behind Bang to discuss the ADC selection.
Phoenix Legends only had Xialo left, and Verus, who was more important to the Korean team, was also outside. If there were no surprises, they would definitely pick YM.
There was not much of a difference in the priority of these two heroes. Kkoma naturally did not need to choose it first.
However, it was not a bad idea to use this opportunity to discuss the next selection with his teammates. This way, he could leave some free time for the follow-up BP operation.
Bang bit his lip and looked at the screen. The Rolex on his wrist shone brightly under the stage lights.
Unlike Gomoku, his hero pool was not a big problem. Xialo was a regular choice, and he had practiced it before. In the summer tournament, his Xialo had a 100% win rate in seven matches.
However, he had rarely used it since the international tournament. The team's strategy was to let the bottom lane pick heroes like Verus.
Under such circumstances, he had more trust in Verus.
Kkoma was not surprised to hear his ADC's answer. He did not have any bias in his heart. After all, snatching substitutes was not useful to Jack.
Sharpshooters like Xia and Verus were all in his Hero Pool. With a suitable Hero Pool and more experience in competitions, although Jack's current strength was not comparable to Bang's when he did not meditate, it would not be as embarrassing as last year's finals.
"SKT first pick Wine Barrel!"
Remember nodded. "Let Blank pick a convenient hero first. This way, we can seal off Xiao Tian's hero pool."
Mille added, "Without Princes, Wine Barrel will be very strong in the early game. In the current version, only Excavator will have an advantage in the early game."
"Xialo + Gnar. YM will pick the remaining strong characters outside. The three key pacing points of Nakano Fu have not been decided yet. SKT will choose!"
With Gnar's lock, it was SKT's turn to pick. The bullet screen started again.
[Yasso, Yasso, Yasso!]
[Brother Huni, can I see Yasso?]
[Although SKT lost the last round, Huni did not lose. After all, the dual wind skills were successful.]
This time, Huni chewed his gum and did not say a word. He let Kkoma make the arrangements.
"How about Shen? You just need to be able to withstand pressure," Leehom suggested.
"Okay, okay," Huni replied, but he purposely dragged out his words. His emotions were about to spill out.
Kkoma, who was a smart person, naturally understood. He did not know whether to laugh or cry.
Among the professional players in the world, the top laner was the most mentally mature position. After all, he was an orphan in the early game. If not for the Rocket Launcher, the caster would not have shown him the top laner. He could only watch as Nakano Fu's three brothers set the pace. He also had to carry the sky in the mid and late game team battles, protecting his youngest son, the ADC, who was the most explosive.
He had led SKT's top laners in various seasons. Impact, Marin, Duke … They were all very stable and were considered the stabilizers of the team. However, Huni was definitely a weirdo.
Kkoma squeezed the top laner's shoulder hard, trying to pass his strength to him.
SKT's lineup for the first round was Wine Barrel, Shen, and Verus. YM, on the other hand, brought in Pigsy at the end of the first round.
"Both teams have chosen heroes for the top laner and ADC positions." Mille frowned. "Nakano Fu did not choose any of them. Both teams want to save the key rhythm of this version for the last pick."
The originally popular soft support Censer had been given the cold shoulder. No one wanted to choose it first. After all, the scene of the soft support being countered by the hard support was still fresh in their minds.
White Crescent wanted to push the rhythm of this game back as far as possible, which coincided with Kkoma's plan.
No matter how both teams chose, there would be a counter position. For example, if YM on the red side picked Lin Yan first, the mid laner would be countered by SKT, and the support would have the advantage of being picked later.
It seemed to be quite fair.
In the second round, both teams targeted the strong mid laners who were not chosen. White Crescent banned Faker's best heroes, Ryze and Sindra, while Kkoma banned Rock Sparrow and Leona.
"The red side picked Hammer Stone!" Doll's tone revealed a hint of joy. "This is also Liu Qingsong's signature hero!"
Kkoma's lips curled up slightly.
"Karma and … Tam!" The commentator's exclamation was heard by countless spectators through the receiver.
Then, as if it had caused an echo in the spacious stadium, the spectators on all sides of the stadium exclaimed in surprise!
"Four to one!
SKT's trump card! "Mille was quite surprised." They're betting heavily on Bang! "
The Korean commentator's seat was filled with cheers.
"Jun-shik!" Chun Fu's familiar excited voice rang out. "SKT's in your hands this round!"
Madlife laughed as well. "Jun-shik won't disappoint us. His late-game damage output is unmatched."
This was SKT's trump card. In the 2015 and 2016 mid-season competitions, they had used four to one, allowing Bang to take over the late-game.
If Faker was SKT's brightest and most eye-catching blade, then Bang was the heavy sword. Although it did not look like much, it was definitely worthy of the team's trust.
Teams with Bang at their peak would never have to worry about their late-game damage output. This kind of ADC with full DPS was definitely worth four to one.
[Oh my, SKT's most stable lineup is here.]
[I suggest some teams take a good look and learn from this. What do you mean by four to one?]
[My DNA is moving. Lucian's Bang from back in the days was really disgusting!]
[It's over. How is YM going to kill Dusk with this lineup?]
This was indeed the problem that White Crescent was discussing with the team members. Gnar's entry conditions were too harsh. Pig Sis and Verus's R [Corrupted Chain] could not threaten Dusk, who had an R [Storm Feather Blade]. Hammer Stone's hook was also countered by Tam.
Although Dusk's hands were short, she relied on the combination of her skills and her high AoE damage. Her late-game damage was surprisingly strong.
Verus was not bad either, but YM's lineup was not very realistic.
With Gnar and Hammer Stone, and Lulu as the mid-laner, their lineup's ability to protect the backline was incomparable to SKT's.
YM would either suppress SKT in the early-mid game, or find a way to kill Dusk in the late-game.
Otherwise, they would have to wait for Bang's feathers to harvest the battle.
Lin Yan scrolled through the hero interface, trying to find a way to break out of this predicament.
However, it was too difficult. An AD assassin would become a noob team. An AP assassin relied on skills, and their damage output would be slower. They would be easily swallowed into Tam's stomach to protect them.
The AP assassin with the fastest damage output, Little Temptress, had been modified to be neither fish nor fowl in this version. She was very strong when the update was first modified, and could farm minions and kill players. However, once the basic values were lowered, she was suddenly neglected.
The five YM players and the coach were all thinking about how to deal with SKT's lineup. The team voice chat was silent.
"Will Grasshopper do?" Lin Yan let out a long sigh. He barely managed to think of a backup plan before the countdown ended.
"If the opponent uses Quicksilver, we'll also …" White Crescent felt that it was a little inappropriate, but he could not find a better choice.
Lin Yan looked at Liu Qingsong looking for a hero. He turned sideways to communicate with his teammates and coach. "Let's play with the time difference. Follow my rhythm and give it a try."
It was not that they had not studied SKT's extreme 4v1, but Tam had completely disrupted YM's plan.
Liu Qingsong's Hammer Stone was almost useless. His jungler could not pose much of a threat to SKT's duo.
Under such circumstances, he could only roam around.
"It's okay, don't be too nervous." White Crescent wiped the sweat off his forehead. "If it doesn't work out, we still have a fourth round. We can take the blue side then."
Jack was shaking his legs. "I don't think anyone is nervous. Instead, you're blushing like Ouze."
White Crescent laughed awkwardly. He took off his headphones and shook kkoma's hand.
The camera focused on the two coaches holding each other's hands, and then slowly zoomed out. The caster took the opportunity to show the lineups of both teams.
Blue side SKT: Top Tank Shen, Jungler Wine Barrel, Mid Tank Karma, Bottom Tank Lu Xia + Tam.
Red side YM: Top Tank Nar, Wild Boar Girl, Mid Tank Malzaha, Bottom Tank Verus + Hammer Stone.
"Tam has the ability to purify, and Dusk has the ability to heal." Miller took a deep breath and calmed himself down. "Their ability to stay alive is quite strong. Tam is not too afraid of Hammerstone and Little Pig."
The three casters looked at each other.
SKT's Iron Barrel Formation Bao Xia looked very difficult to deal with.
If it was any other team, it would be fine. However, Bang's damage output was obvious to all. He was an unbeatable damage output machine even when he was hiding in Faker's shadow. This time, the entire team had created an environment for him to survive in. The damage he could cause was definitely a terrifying number.
However, they did not say it out loud. Doll even joked about which Bug Malzaha's skin looked better.
On the LCK commentary platform, less than ten meters away from them, Madlife, the team spirit and core of AZF and CJE, was still analyzing the lineups.
"YM's lineups look good." His opinion was different from the LPL casters. "The key is in their control of the tempo."
"After Level 6, Grasshopper's ability to catch people and Hammer Stone's roaming will pose a huge threat to SKT."
He expressed his opinion. "Even though Tam has a big move and can provide support in the half-ball, Wolf does not dare to leave Bang's side. After all, if he leaves, YM will take advantage of the situation and go all out."
"It's also unrealistic to bring Xia along to provide support. If they don't get any kills, they will lose a lot of troops. As SKT's only damage output player, Xia's economy cannot be bad."
"In this situation, YM will have an opportunity to drive the tempo." Madlife adjusted his glasses. "In my opinion, the focus of this match will be on the mid lane. Whether Xiang He can restrict Ran's roaming support is crucial."
At this moment, the live audience abandoned their thoughts of analyzing the lineups of both teams and focused on cheering for the teams they supported!
The already high-spirited atmosphere in the Oriental Sports Center was once again ignited. Wave after wave of cheers surged, wrapping all the other noises together and smashing into the walls of the stadium!
The Bird's Nest. Since the beginning of the year, countless Chinese viewers had been yearning to see their own division's team in this national landmark stadium.
And now, YM was only one step away from this goal!
Amidst the clamor, the Summoner's Canyon descended. Ten heroes from both teams appeared in the spring!