"Congratulations to YM for winning the first round!"
Doll, who was standing in the commentator's seat, could not help but exclaim, "So far, they are still in a strong state."
Mille also agreed with Doll's opinion. "Especially after recruiting the new coaching team led by Red Rice, their rhythm has become smoother."
"And they get what they want in every wave of rhythm. Their ability to snowball is even better than before!"
Su Cheng, who was in the audience, applauded YM's victory just like everyone else.
She could see the changes in the team. Overall, they were more organized. When they gained an advantage, especially in the canyon, they were not impatient. Instead, they took it step by step, using the vanguard as a deterrent to find a better opportunity to attack.
Compared to the violent attacks of S7, YM now looked much more stable.
...
"Not bad." Red Rice stood at the door of the lounge and looked at Liu Qingsong, who was smiling after leaving the stage. "10 minutes and 7 seconds. That wave of cannon troops was handled very well."
"I think so too." Open Wound did not hesitate and sat down on the chair. "Why don't you give me the MVP award?"
"You want to compete for the MVP award?" Xiao Tian sneered. "In terms of team participation, give it to me. In terms of damage, give it to Brother Ran..."
As soon as he finished speaking, the MVP of the previous round appeared on the screen connected to the lounge and the live broadcast.
On the screen, Lin Yan stood sideways, which made him look tall and handsome.
His gold-rimmed glasses rested on the bridge of his nose, and his upper body posture made him look like a youthful Planck.
With an 815 damage ratio, 34.96% damage ratio, and a + 2800 economic advantage, he looked down on all heroes.
"Sigh..." Liu Qingsong sighed. "This MVP selection is really problematic. When can our support step up?"
"It's normal," Lin Yan comforted his teammates with a smile. "Supports are like this. Sister Li, please take a look."
LPL's MVP selection mechanism was indeed ridiculous. It mainly looked at KDA and damage, which caused the support position to be at a natural disadvantage.
After all, Liu Qingsong was different from a support who hid behind and waited for his teammates to finish taking damage before performing control. In YM, he had to take on the task of starting the team and taking damage. Heroes like Sunshine Girl and Bull's Head, who relied on control to provide teammates with opportunities to deal damage, would find it difficult to win the MVP award.
Hong Mi glanced at the big screen and took out her laptop. She began to discuss the BP lineup for the next round with her team members. Gouba was waiting for the recording of the previous round to be uploaded so that he could dig out all the data.
After the break, Lin Yan poured the hot water and went to the stage with his teammates through the waiting area.
He did not expect to bump into the former manager, White Crescent Moon. Both of them exchanged pleasantries but did not say anything more.
White Crescent Moon's smile was filled with nostalgia and bitterness.
He hadn't realized it when he was coaching, but now that he was facing this talented team, he realized how scary YM's players were.
It was just that he didn't know how to use it back then.
After the BP of the previous game, White Crescent knew that there was a gap between her and a coach at Red Rice's level.
When she led the team, she could only ensure that the BP team did not lose or had a small advantage. She would still be at a disadvantage in the sporadic matches, and this was based on the fact that all five YM players were world-class.
Red Rice, on the other hand, had never lost since the German Cup. The character selection was based on the hero pool of the five YM players. The overall strategy was still to attack in the early stages, but they were constantly optimizing the details.
The gap was visible to the naked eye.
However, he did not regret it. A strong team should have a high-level coach. Even if S8 Guo Hao did not fire him, White Crescent Moon would not be able to stay.
"Let's go, let's go," Lin Ran urged the garlic-headed tortoise who was still dawdling in front of him. Then, he turned to White Crescent and said, "White Crescent, good luck to you too."
"Okay." White Crescent Moon buttoned up his suit, leaving only the bottom button.
Recently, he had been busy looking for a job during the transfer period. He had lost a lot of weight, and his suit looked a little empty.
Lin Yan lifted the thick shade cloth in front of him. The stage lights shone down in an instant, reflecting in White Crescent Moon's eyes.
He pursed his lips and strode towards the dazzling stage with his BP notebook.
"Welcome back to the first day of the first week of the 2018 League of Legends Spring Season …"
Doll and Mille were still discussing the details of the previous team battles.
"Condi really needs to work harder." Mille was half-joking and half-serious. "Although the Spring Season has just started and there isn't much pressure to place, the points they'll get will be very helpful for them to have the initiative in the playoffs."
Although it was close to the end of the year and many players were slacking off, and a star player like Ouze was even more so, the value of points would not decrease just because the team did not treat them seriously.
Team WE was still fine. After all, they were playing against YM. If they won, they would earn a lot, but if they lost, they would not lose. Both the competition department and the ordinary fans were mentally prepared.
However, they were playing against FPX next. Unlike Team RW, FPX was recognized as a weak team. If Condi continued to play like this, they would be in danger of losing.
Don't underestimate this loss against a weak team. They would only know the meaning of this point when the regular season came to an end.
"Let's cut to the chase." Doll, who had already spoken dozens of sentences, said in a serious tone, "The second game has begun!"
"Team WE chose the blue side for themselves and took the initiative to ban Prince Demacia!"
Red Rice was also prepared to deal with White Crescent. In the previous game, Mongoose's Princes was everywhere. From the early game to the mid-game, his presence was bursting.
He decided to ban Aoun first and wait for his opponent to make another move.
"Grasshopper is also banned …" Doll hesitated. "What is Team WE doing?"
"Are they going to give Xi Ye Zooey or Ryze?" Mille guessed. "These two versions of Team T1 mid laners are very difficult to defeat."
Red Rice was also thinking about this problem. He patted Lin Yan's shoulder. "Do you think they should give Zooey or Ryze?"
Red Rice, who was on the red side, didn't plan to give the mid lane two bans. The reason was simple — he had Lin Yan.
Xi Ye didn't deserve to get so many bans in the first round. He had a better plan.
Lin Yan held the paper cup and thought for a moment. "Give Ryze. Zooey is too strong in the early and mid-game."
"Alright." Red Rice thought about it. Lin Yan had Snake Lady, so it wouldn't be a loss for Ryze.
After YM banned Zooey, White Crescent fell into deep thought.
He had been in YM for a lot longer than Red Rice, so he knew a lot more about the team members.
He knew that with Lin Ran's hero pool, he would be able to make full use of it if the red team had a counter position.
White Crescent knew that the key to his BP in the blue side was the mid lane. He had to give Xi Ye a hero that wasn't easy to counter. At the same time, this character had to be strong in the early and mid-game.
Condi had to take some responsibility for the loss in the last round, but White Crescent couldn't get away with it either. He had given Xi Ye's mid lane, Malzahar, to lose the early game advantage, allowing Lin Yan and Xiao Tian to do whatever they wanted.
However, in the current competitive environment of the mid lane, how could there be a hero that could stabilize the lane and not be countered easily?
S7's arrogant battle wind had disappeared without a trace. The meatball Galio had been blacklisted in the pre-season. After two slashes, he was beaten to a pulp.
White Crescent's eyes suddenly lit up as he thought of an idea.
"WE gave the last ban to Rambo in the first round?" Doll was shocked. "Were they scared of Brother Ran in the last round?"
Jin Gong's Lamborghini wasn't famous. In the current era where teams were used as tools, the probability of Little Tian getting a Lamborghini was also very low. Everyone thought that this ban was to prevent Lin Ran, who had a strong hand in the game, from continuing to use the Barbeque Master.
[I didn't expect to ban Rambo.]
[Dream of S6, right?
This version of Rambo is being banned too?]
[Hahaha, Greek nest. I didn't expect Rambo to be scared.]
[Don't be so awkward. Brother Ran's first match in the LPL was Rambo. It's reasonable for him to be traumatized, right?]
This ban was a little out of Red Rice's expectations. He thought about it carefully for a moment and felt that something was wrong.
WE didn't want to pick Ryze.
After all, Baldy wasn't afraid of Yodel's Barbeque Master. He even won a side lane in the mid-game. Banning Rambo was better than banning Snake Lady.
In the current version of the game, Rambo only had an overwhelming advantage against Grasshopper. This hero had already been banned.
Then what was the point of banning Rambo?
Red Rice was a very thoughtful person. He thought about a lot of things. His thoughts kept drifting and finally stopped at an idea.
He thought about it for two seconds and felt that this logic could convince him.
"Ban Kainan," Hong Mi said to Lin Ran in a firm tone.
"Huh?"
Red Rice's words stunned Lin Yan. With the changes in the current version of the game, Kenan wasn't very popular in the top lane.
Lin Yan still didn't understand, but the 30-second BP countdown was about to end. He didn't have the chance to hesitate. He listened to his coach and banned Kenan.
White Crescent felt a bone-chilling wind in his heart. His fingers couldn't help but grip his notebook tightly. His knuckles were white through his skin.
He looked at the YM player seats on the other side of the stage. Red Rice was still chatting happily with Lin Yan. Even the translator called Jiang Chenglu couldn't get a word in. The two of them seemed to be in love.
However, White Crescent didn't care how these two people who weren't proficient in each other's language talked. He was shocked by Red Rice's last ban.
Kenan …
His precision ruined his plan.
White Crescent originally wanted to use BP to give Lu Xian to Xi Ye. This perfectly matched his previous plan of giving Xi Ye a hero that wasn't easy to counter and was strong enough in the early and mid-game.
If he gave Lu Xian to the mid laner, in this version of the game, the top laner would have to deal AP damage.
This was the reason why White Crescent banned the use of Rambo. It was not to target Lin Ran, but to play a trick.
After leaving YM, he was very clear about the hero pool situation of these five people. Jin Gong was no exception.
In the S7 World Championship, all the teams banned Kenan. They thought that YM's system couldn't play another version of the AP top laner Rambo. This was to limit Lin Yan's overly strong AD mid laner.
However, White Crescent knew that Jin Gong's Rambo wasn't bad. If he was afraid of military training and didn't dare to pick a top laner like Dragon Ball or IG, then he didn't have to worry about playing against 957's Xiba.
Everyone knew that Kandy and Factory Director didn't like to be caught. 957 mostly used tank heroes that contributed to the team. Even if Rambo was standing in the top lane, they wouldn't be too afraid.
White Crescent's plan was shrewd. He had banned Rambo in order to deceive his opponents. Everyone knew that Lin Ran was the most proficient at using Rambo in YM. He had even won the MVP award in the previous match.
He planned to use this ban to make Red Rice think that he was targeting Lin Yan. Once he gathered the top and mid laner combination of Kenan and Lucian, it would be useless even if YM realized it.
After all, in this version of the game, Rambo and Kenan, the two AP top laners, could play. If Lin Yan still wanted to choose Counter Lu Xian's mid laner Little Pao, YM would have to use a weak team lineup.
No matter how he looked at it, White Crescent felt that this was a good strategy.
However, he never thought that Red Rice would see through all his plans!
Rambo and Kenan, the only two AP heroes in the current version of the game, were banned. Lu Xian, the mid laner, naturally couldn't come out!
Disgusting!
White Crescent was shocked. How did Red Rice see through it?
"We pick first. Get Azreal!"
White Crescent gritted his teeth. He could only give his brother-in-law the blonde first.
Mystic's tactical position in the team was quite high. If Kandy was the early game engine of WE and determined the upper limit of the team, then the damage provided by his brother-in-law determined the lower limit of WE.
Azreal, who was very popular in the current version of the game, was definitely worth getting.
Jack saw this scene and smiled. If his brother-in-law got EZ, he wouldn't be able to play anymore.
After all, if he chose the blonde, he would not only be torturing himself, but also the audience.
"Get Blind Monk and Hammer Stone," Red Rice told Liu Qingsong through Jiang Chenglu. "Don't stay online for too long this round. Try to move around."
Liu Qingsong nodded to show that he understood. Compared to killing the opponent online, he preferred to move around to open up the situation and tear open the wound.
What's more, Hammer Stone wouldn't have much of an advantage against EZ. Not to mention, it was difficult for Q [Death Sentence] to hook the blonde with E [Arcane Transition]. In this version of the game, Azreal, who had [Steal Omen], was a god that no hero could compare to.
Jack could just stay in the bottom lane. With a lantern to pick him up in the team battle, Shiba Inu wouldn't die suddenly.
"Shenhe and Pig Sis," Mille hissed softly. "WE's lineup is very stable …"
Red Rice picked Jin Gong as the last captain in the first round.
In the second round of bans, White Crescent banned Gunslinger and Verus, while Red Rice banned Boulogne and Tam. Together with Hammer Stone, who was chosen by Liu Qingsong, the three protective supports were all restricted. There weren't many choices left for White Crescent.
"YM still chose Ember to go with Hammer Stone. It looks like another stable bottom lane combination …" Doll stared at the hero selection window of both sides. "WE'll pick Bull's Head to deal with it. Also, pick Airplane for Xi Ye!"
White Crescent didn't dare to pick Ryze first. After all, there was still Snake Lady outside. If Lin Yan got Ryze, it would be a replay of the S7 Bird's Nest finals.
After all consideration, Airplane was more suitable.
However, when White Crescent finished picking and looked at the lineup, he was suddenly very worried.
He didn't know what was going on. This BP had somehow become his team's disadvantage again!
Originally, he wanted to pick heroes from both the mid and top lanes. However, Red Rice's reaction was too good, and it ruined his plan.
Not only that, now that WE's lineup has been confirmed, it's a system that's headed towards 30 minutes.
How could they compete with YM in the mid and top lane?
"What hero do you think is better?" Red Rice wasn't anxious at all. He spoke leisurely and wanted to hear Lin Yan's opinion.
Previously, it was the players who picked whatever he wanted. However, that didn't work now. YM was obviously not the LPL team that Red Rice had coached.
Red Rice learned to be flexible and tried to give YM's five players some autonomy in their selection. This was undoubtedly the first concession in his coaching career.
Lin Yan glanced at the hero pool in the mid lane and estimated his team's lineup. "Ryze, what do you think?"
He wouldn't pick a hero that reversed the version just to be in the limelight. His fist was already in the face of the version update. Anyone who went against the designer wouldn't have a good ending.
Red Rice gave a look of approval. "No problem. Pick."
"Wow …" Doll almost couldn't control herself and screamed. However, she forced herself to hold it back. "Both teams' lineups are stable!"
"That's true." Mille couldn't see the BP game that the two sides had been playing. He could only nod in agreement.
The lineups of both teams were as follows.
Blue WE: Top Lane Shen, Wild Boar Girl, Mid Lane Airplane, Bottom Lane EZ + Bull's Head.
Red YM: Top Lane Captain, Jungler Blind Monk, Mid Lane Ryze, Bottom Lane Jin + Hammer Stone.
White Crescent closed his notebook and put his pen on it. He left the player area to shake hands with Red Rice.
"You're so good." He sighed sincerely.
White Crescent felt that he couldn't find any other words to describe his opponent …
Of course, it was mainly because his English was too bad. He was probably only slightly better than Lin Weixiang.
"You're very good too." Red Rice turned on commercial flattery.
The two of them walked off the stage hand in hand, causing the audience to burst into laughter.
Su Cheng glanced at the lineups of both teams amidst the laughter. She had a feeling that WE was going to be finished. There was no rhythm in the early game. She could only hope that 957, along with Wild Boar Girl and Bull's Head, would be able to give YM some trouble after reaching level 6.
A gorgeously dressed girl beside him suddenly let out a shriek.
"Go, YM!"
Su Cheng was thinking about the lineups of both teams. She was so shocked by the scream that her hand trembled and she almost dropped her drink cup on the ground.
Her small face was pale as she shrunk into the seat. Then, she put on the black hood of her sweater, and the loose clothes easily covered her head. She looked like she was cosplaying as a Death Eater. She could even call for Avada's life with a wooden stick.
With someone taking the lead, the rest of the audience followed suit. For a moment, the stadium was filled with cheers!
Lin Yan brought Phase Rush. His secondary was the standard Taste of Blood and Greedy Hunter's double lifesteal.
On the other hand, Xi Ye had Swift Steps and Enlightenment Runes. The similarity between the two was that they both had Purification, which was used to increase the room for maneuvering during team fights.
Lin Yan was still thinking about the situation in the middle lane when he bought the equipment.
Ryze was attacking Airplane. The initiative was in the hands of the bald boss. If he wanted to attack Airplane, he would attack Airplane. If he didn't want to attack Airplane, he would just stay put and develop.
Relying on the shield provided by the Rune of Explosion, Ryze's healing ability was definitely stronger than Airplane's.
However, it was difficult to kill Airplane. Although Lin Yan didn't know Xi Ye's specific runes, it was probably the Miracle Shoes and Biscuit Delivery.
With Biscuit + Swift Steps' healing, Airplane's line endurance was also guaranteed.
Lin Yan started thinking about the minions.
It was worth mentioning that in the new season of S8, Fist had brought forward the dispatch time and jungle refresh time by 10 seconds.
The two buffs that originally refreshed in 1 minute and 40 seconds had been reduced to 1 minute and a half. The time for the middle lane's minions to switch over had also been reduced from 1 minute and 37 seconds to 1 minute and 27 seconds.
The designers mainly wanted to continue speeding up the pace of the game, and at the same time, shorten the confrontation time between the two sides before the line, so that the level 1 team's time would be shorter.
In this game, both sides invaded each other's jungle and retreated directly after setting up their eyes.
However, the routes of the two junglers were exposed — Xiao Tian opened red in the first half of the map, while Kandy opened F6 in the second half.
When Lin Ran logged on at 1 minute 27 seconds, he immediately unleashed a normal attack on the melee troops. Seer had also seen through the situation, and knew that there was no need for a blood swap. Therefore, he similarly unleashed a normal attack on the troops.
If the two sides continued to push like this, it would naturally be more efficient to clear the minions with Airplane's Extraction.
Xi Ye killed the first wave of minions, and Lin Yan also used up the mana of his skills to clear the minions before the second wave of minions arrived.
In the second wave of minions, Lin Yan decisively used Spell Surge and prepared to snatch the second wave.
Xi Ye did not want to be left behind, so he used the E Gatling Gun to shoot at the minions.
Both sides leveled up to level 2 at almost the same time, but neither of them tried to heal. Instead, they each took a step back to increase the distance between them.
Lin Yan did it because he did not teleport. He was afraid that if the rate of healing was too high, he would not be able to make Goddess's Tear in the first wave. Xi Ye went out with Extraction and was not good at fighting, so he simply focused on leveling up.
Both sides' mid laners stopped fighting, but Xiao Tian did not agree.
He finished killing three groups of minions in the first half of the map and leveled up to level 3. It was just past the duration of the WE invasion.
Phyllostachys Pubescens, who knew that the opponent had lost track of him, crossed the river and went straight to the top half of the WE jungle.
Xiao Tian knew in advance that the Beaked Bird camp would be opened in the bottom half of the map. He was very sure that Kandi still had minions in the top half of the map. After all, it was impossible for Zhu Mei to kill four groups of minions while Blind Monk was killing three groups of minions.
He took advantage of this point of the invasion and thought that the opponent would avoid him. He let Zhu Mei avoid Blind Monk, who was at his peak, and let him win by changing the jungle.
However, Xiao Tian did not expect that he would be able to catch Kandi's whereabouts in the blue buff camp!
"Kandi's position has been seen clearly!"
What's going on?
Is this a formulaic jungler?
Xiao Tian was a little confused at first. He thought that he was in a ranked match, but his hand speed was still very fast. He touched his eyes and used Sky Thunder Break to slow him down. His normal attack had a red buff to slow Kandi down!
"A conflict has broken out in the jungle. Both sides' mid and top laners are rushing to the battlefield!"
Lin Yan, who had leveled up to level 3, even took a detour from the WE tower and rushed to the battlefield as fast as he could.
Xi Ye wanted to stop him, but he could not. What could he do when he had no control and no damage?
He could only stay in front of Lin Yan and ensure that he had a two-man lead so that he could support his teammates in advance.
Because the top lane was longer, the minions arrived later. Both sides' top laners were not able to catch up.
After knowing that Lin Yan was about to reach the battlefield, Kandi did not have much health left after killing three groups of minions. After being beaten up by Mongoose, his life was in danger. 957 gritted his teeth and gave up on the idea of leveling up to level 3. He ran to the jungle to support first.
"Xiao Tian, block Kandi's retreating position. Don't let him use Pig Rush to escape!"
Kandi spat out a mouthful of health, but Xiao Tian stuck a Heaven's Sound Wave to his face.
Blind Monk passively increased his attack speed. Together with the burning effect of the red buff, he quickly reduced the pig chick's health!
Kandi saw this and used Blink. Just as he was about to use Q Pig Rush to escape, another golden light flashed!
"Mongoose's reaction is very fast. He immediately blocked Kandi's position and did not let her escape!"
Polo Boar pushed Blind Monk away, but it also stayed in place.
Xi Ye passed by the Exploding Spheres outside the blue buff camp wall. When he saw that Lin Yan was still two steps behind him, he could not help but feel happy.
Xi Ye wanted to use the Exploding Spheres to catapult himself onto the battlefield and send Lin Yan flying!
However, the moment the bullet left the chamber, Lin Yan used Blink and moved forward by 400 yards!
As a result, he and Xi Ye were stuck together!
Xi Ye felt a chill in his heart.
Lin Yan and Xi Ye both reached the battlefield amidst the noise of the live audience!
"This Blink!
The Exploding Spheres actually helped Ryze! "Doll's voice was excited." Brother Ran, EWQ, take the pig chick's head! "
Two layers of Rune Charges were detonated. Lin Yan gained a speed buff and stuck close to Xi Ye, trying to block his position!
Xi Ye did not expect to kill his own jungler. However, with one less member, it was obvious that they had no chance of winning this team battle.
"Retreat!" Xi Ye used his W Valkyrie and dove, jumping over the wall to escape to a safe position.
"A Level 2 957 won't be of much help. Both sides should temporarily retreat and increase the distance between them!"
Mille saw what was happening in the Summoner's Canyon and could not help but raise his voice. "Brother Ran can even take away Kandi's blue buff. What about the mid lane?"
Xi Ye looked at Lin Yan, who had returned to the mid lane with a blue buff, and frowned helplessly.
In the next two minutes, the mid lane would not be lacking in mana at all. He could easily suppress him …
Xi Ye's heart beat faster and faster. Anxiety lingered in his heart.