Lin Weixiang had been sulking all this time.
Now, he and the new jungler Wei were leading YMA in the secondary league. Their results were also one page green.
After all, with the continuous development of the Alliance, the entrance to promotion and relegation had closed. Most of the players left in the secondary league were the younger players of the club's second team. Without the pressure of promotion and relegation, it was equivalent to a reserve of talent. The team's standard was much worse than before.
Some young people were still too young. They were arrogant and thought they were invincible after playing professionally. When they met YMA, they would target Lin Weixiang, who was currently the most famous player in LDL.
Big Eyebrows never rejected anyone. If one came, he would kill one. If a pair came, he would kill a pair. He played with Ye Wen's style. On Bilibili, there were hardcore fans who photoshopped his grin and eyebrows onto Master Ye's head. Coupled with the "I want to kill 10" voice pack, it didn't seem out of place.
Lin Weixiang felt that his performance was average. Even though he and Liu Qingsong were killed in the secondary league in S6, Big Eyebrows had also grown during the year he trained with YM's first team.
I may be YM's substitute, but when did I become a secondary league player?
LDL had played seven BO3s so far. Lin Weixiang's KDA of 71.57.7 per game was the best. He was like a shark diving into a fish pond. He was completely at the level of a powerleveler.
However, Lin Weixiang, who had won seven MVP awards, couldn't be happy. The corners of his mouth had been drooping for the past few days. It looked like he was about to be assimilated by his good brother Liu Qingsong.
This was because the champion's skin was about to be completed.
Logically speaking, this was something to be happy about. However, it was this matter that had been debated since last November. Recently, it had become more and more intense.
It was quite big.
Lin Weixiang chose VN. He could only choose VN. After all, he had only used this hero in the S7 global finals. He didn't have the right to choose.
Big Eyebrows didn't care about the choice. Even if he had used a bunch of heroes, if he really had to choose, he would still choose VN. After all, this hero was the same as the support Hammer Stone and Blind Monk. They were all heroes of faith in their respective positions.
The real problem was that there was a group of people who did not want Lin Weixiang to choose VN.
[They're all in the club. RNG will communicate with YM. They're all in the club, and the manager knows them. They'll see each other often. If you want to shed all pretense of cordiality and take VN, just take it. If you don't want to hurt everyone's reputation, the S7 World Championship will still be yours. This will not change.]
This was a new version of the classic quote that was circulating on the eSports forums. Even now, it was still unclear whether it was a bait or not, but the effect of the program was as good as it could be.
Someone even reposted this quote under Xiang Xiang QAQ's Weibo. When he saw it, he was furious.
I only used VN, and you're asking me to switch?
Why don't you guys go and get rid of the fist game?
After being chased and scolded by some people for a few days, Lin Weixiang started to rebel. What's wrong with choosing VN?
I wondered why Piglet didn't choose Izreal when he won the championship.
When he started the live broadcast, he looked at the bullet screen full of comments and couldn't help but retort. "Not only can I choose VN, but I can also engrave my signature on her leg. Are you angry?"
In the end, tooyoung became Big Eyebrows. When it came to this kind of thing, the response was already a loss.
After hearing the response, regardless of whether it was real YM or RNG fans, the audience came after hearing the news. The fans of the two sides tore into each other from the live broadcast room to Weibo and Tieba … In addition, marketing accounts entered the scene. All kinds of extended semantics and reading comprehension games made Lin Weixiang very anxious.
Just as he was worrying about how to solve this problem, a phone call came in.
Big Eyebrows glanced at the caller ID — Guo Hao.
He shook violently. The emotions in his heart were crazily accumulating, flowing freely like boiling hot magma.
"Hello, hello?" He quickly picked up the phone. There was a hint of excitement in his voice.
"Jack is hospitalized. He might have to rest for two weeks. During this time, you have to be transferred back to the first team to fight the fire …" Guo Hao sounded a little tired on the other end of the phone.
"No problem, no problem!"
When Lin Weixiang heard the reason, he was worried for Jack for a moment. However, the burst of joy that followed washed away this little bit of emotion. "When can I go upstairs?"
"You can go upstairs later. The table from last year is still there. You can ask the team leader to tidy up the computers and other things. We'll return to Shanghai in the afternoon."
Lin Weixiang put away his phone and took a deep breath. Under the puzzled gaze of his LDL teammates, he valiantly began to tidy up the peripherals.
At this moment, he felt like a superhero who received a call for help to save the world.
LPL, I'm back!
Guo Hao, who was standing in the hospital corridor, arranged everything properly before opening the door of the ward.
The room was crowded with people from YM's competition department. Jack was lying on the hospital bed with a painful expression.
"If you don't know how to eat spicy food, then don't eat spicy food!"
In the video call, Shiba Inu's mother was furious. "Eating spicy food like other people, how dare you?"
A group of people hid behind their phones, leaving the stage to the Shiba Inu.
Jack, who had eaten seven hotpot meals in the past ten days, covered his stomach and did not say a word. He tried to hide his head under the blanket, trying to avoid his mother's pursuit.
Seeing this, Guo Hao quickly apologized. YM had been too reckless these days. Everyone split up during the day and only reported to each other when they returned to the hotel at night.
He did not expect Jack to be so crazy. Although the contestants were all adults, they were all internet addicts. Without supervision, it was easy for them to cause trouble.
Jack had a stomach problem, and the numbing and spicy Chongqing hotpot gave him gastroenteritis.
Yesterday, something had happened in the middle of the night. Several of his teammates had hurriedly sent him to the hospital. He hadn't slept well the entire night. Now, Jin Gong and Little Tian were still sitting on the chairs, dozing off.
Jack's mother told him how hard it was for his parents to raise him. Shiba Inu was almost moved to tears and swore never to eat spicy hotpot again.
After hanging up the video call, Shiba Inu finished his performance and poked his head out of the blanket.
"What about the competition in the next two weeks?" Jack listened to the doctor's diagnosis. It was best to keep him on a drip for three days and then rest for two weeks.
"Let Brother Xiang play, it's fine." Guo Hao showed a kind expression and patted Shiba Inu's head.
Jack panicked.
The usurper was here!
"I'll be back in a week!" Jack quickly promised.
Guo Hao refused, "No, the doctor said to let you rest for two weeks. Two weeks it is."
He had to use all the substitutes to threaten Shiba Inu's stable position in the starting lineup and teach Jack a lesson. This kind of unrestrained behavior would not only hurt his body, but also affect the club's performance.
Fortunately, it was the spring competition. If this happened in the international competition, the hard work of hundreds of people in the club would be in vain.
In the end, a staff member of the competition training department stayed in Chongqing to accompany Jack, and the rest of the team flew back to Shanghai. After a short break, they had to prepare for the upcoming competition and work hard to maintain their ranking in the regular season.
The news of Jack's illness spread quickly. Some netizens took photos of YM when they returned to Shanghai and found that one of the team members was missing. It immediately caused an uproar in the major esports forums.
[Where did he go?
Did he go on strike?]
[Can't he go back to his hometown to visit his family?
He just doesn't want to go with his teammates.]
[It's almost three weeks of holiday for Chinese New Year. He just came back to work and now he wants to take a break?
Do you think this is a river?]
[Hold it in, hold it in, Jack has been thrown into the pot by YM to be cooked.]
The topic was completely diverted at this point, and the netizens started to cause trouble again.
[It's true, I'm that pot.]
[The meat is too fragrant, the children next door are crying … I'm the cinnamon in the pot.]
This post by Resist Pressure Bar had over a thousand replies in one night, and it even became a hot topic.
YM could only post on Weibo to announce that Jack was sick and that Lin Weixiang would be substituted in to calm the fans.
However, many people felt that YM was going to lose this time.
This was because their next enemy was IG.
…
March 16th, Friday.
This was the last day of LPL in Version 8.2. Tomorrow, the professional league would skip Version 8.3 and directly transition to Version 8.4. That was a routine large-scale version update before the mid-season competition.
Today, the client had already launched Version 8.5, and LOL's 140th hero, Daughter of the Void, Kesha, had joined the battle.
As the daughter of Kassadin, she had evolved characteristics similar to Mantis. At the same time, she had attributes such as Dash, AOE, long-range consumption, invisibility, and so on. She was perfect and powerful. With the mechanics here, Lin Yan felt that as long as her value wasn't too high, this hero would be able to play.
When that time came, the ecology of the bottom lane would definitely change again.
However, these things weren't what YM needed to worry about now. At this time, they were engaged in a life-and-death battle with IG.
The sky in Shanghai gradually darkened, and the stars shone brightly. The lanterns were lit, and the Oriental Pearl Tower not far away was dazzling. The gentle spring breeze gently blew across the Huangpu River, bringing with it fresh water vapor. Mixed with the fragrance of the late spring grass, a single sniff was enough to make one feel refreshed.
A good spring scenery was not as good as a dream …
However, in the LPL stadium in Zhengda Square, the tense and austere atmosphere once again enveloped the backstage lounge.
Lin Weixiang took a glass of iced cola, and the guilt in his heart surged. No matter what, he couldn't suppress it.
In the first game against IG, his performance was very green.
Verus handled the lane well, and he didn't fall behind when facing Old Thief Sima. However, when it came to the team battle, he began to fall apart.
He died three times in the entire team battle, including the first time when he was shot by The Shyness in the middle of the road. The Shy Man flashed over the wall with a set of skills that were extremely elegant. At the same time, he also helped IG to take down the first big dragon.
In the last team battle, he was careless and left alone, and was killed by Broiler Sindra.
Naturally, YM couldn't win the game in a 4v5 under such circumstances. After the last team battle, the only survivor, Lin Yan, was killed and helped the team drag on.
However, in the end, he was teleported to the high ground by The Shyness. He changed forms and ran to the side of the Main Crystal. Before YM could kill him, he activated W [Super Charge] to increase his attack speed and detonated YM's base.
Big Eyebrows felt that his normal performance wouldn't be so bad. The key was that he didn't practice with this group of teammates often. When it came to team battles, he couldn't find his position.
His teammates weren't used to protecting the ADC either, and they played according to Jack's playstyle. They let the archer deal enough damage and leave peacefully, and the rest of the teammates filled in.
In the end, Lin Weixiang, who wasn't used to the environment, didn't deal any damage. He stood too far forward and died.
"It's okay to lose." Red Rice saw that everyone's morale was low, and he quickly clapped to cheer them up. "We don't have to win all the games, right?
Everyone should be mentally prepared. "
Lin Yan also felt that Red Rice was right. It was just a regular season. Wasn't it normal to lose two games?
It wasn't like they couldn't afford to lose.
He could understand, but there were still people who were troubled by the loss of the last game.
Especially Lin Weixiang. If the S7 global finals were included, YM had already won more than 20 games in a row. This loss interrupted the team's winning streak, and he blamed himself.
"The main thing is …" Xiao Tian scratched his head and asked, "It's okay to lose, but we have to learn something, right?"
"Because we'll meet IG in the playoffs. When the time comes, do we have to play so hard?"
Red Rice listened to Jiang Chenglu's translation and nodded to show that he understood. He then turned to look at Xiao Tian.
"How about this, we'll change our strategy for the next game. Don't try to attack early." Red Rice pondered for two seconds. "Try to drag it out."
"Drag it out?" Liu Qingsong didn't understand. "What do you mean?"
"I'll give you mid-game heroes, and then you'll fight late game team battles." At this time, Teng Jing's staff had already come to inform them to go on stage. "Switch to operations."
"Will that work?"
Lin Yan didn't understand. They were a team that focused on early game offense. Why would they switch to late game strategy?
Everyone played to their strengths and avoided their weaknesses. Was Red Rice doing the opposite?
"If YM were to fight early game against IG now, what are your chances of winning?" Red Rice took his notebook and left the lounge with his team members. On the way, he asked Lin Yan.
"Hmm …" Lin Yan thought for a moment. "Fifty-fifty."
In terms of lane play, he was about the same as Broiler. His sense of roaming support and handling of team battles were stronger. Jin Gong, the top lane, was more average in the early game. The strength of the Siberian was that he could withstand pressure in the early game and deal full damage in the mid and late game team battles. In terms of lane play, he wasn't as good as The Sh …
Phyllostachys Pubescens had gone through two years of training. He was stronger than Ning Wang, but there was a limit to his strength. The latter was now considered a rising jungler in the Alliance. His ability to drive the early game was quite fierce.
If they had Jack in the bottom lane, they could indeed try to attack IG. After all, the middle lane and bottom lane had the advantage. The top lane Siberian only needed to withstand pressure.
But now that Lin Weixiang was on the field, the early game strength of the two sides became equal. IG had the advantage in the top and bottom lanes, while YM was strong in the middle and jungle.
Normally speaking, the middle and jungle's influence on the map was stronger in the early game, but they were afraid of variables.
If they didn't end the battle immediately and dragged it out until The Sh and Old Thief Sima arrived on the battlefield, they would be finished.
For example, in the previous game, they didn't win the early game. This strategy didn't matter if they won or lost. The game was full of blood and ended very quickly.
After listening to Lin Yan's answer, Red Rice nodded and said, "That's about what I thought. That's why it's not safe to attack early game. No one has the confidence to win."
"But what about the late game?"
Phyllostachys Pubescens in front of him lifted the curtain of the entrance. Red Rice squinted his eyes slightly to adjust to the strong light on the stage.
"I'm not familiar with YM, but I'm not familiar with IG either." Jiang Chenglu translated Red Rice's words. "It's just the regular season. We don't need to expose too much."
Lin Yan nodded repeatedly when he heard this.
As everyone knew, IG was famous for not knowing how to play late game. It started during the era of Brothel Broken and Gemini. It didn't change even after the arrival of Kakao and Broiler's coal mining brothers.
Until today, The Sh, Ning Wang, and Broiler. The three of them had become two-star brutes. If their early opponents dared to look at them, IG would go up and slap them. What are you looking at?
This aggressive style was branded on them. It had gone through the vicissitudes of life, but it would never be erased.
But IG also thought about changing.
When EDG used learning to improve the Korean style of operations to dominate LPL, many clubs tried to learn, and IG management was one of them.
After trying for a season, there was no improvement. They thought it was the coach's problem.
But how many coaches had changed from one season to the next?
Had they changed?
They changed the soup but not the medicine.
In some ways, IG was exactly the same as EDG. The management always wanted to improve and enrich the playing style, but they didn't understand. As long as they didn't leave, no matter how many players or coaches the club changed, it would be useless.
Red Rice stepped up the stairs and continued to explain to Lin Yan.
"This time, we can drag it out to the later stages to test the strength of IG's early attacks and see how fierce they are. Also, if we can really drag it out to the later stages, it will be a competition of vision and team formation. It will be convenient for me and Gou Ba to study the video. We will definitely be able to find their weakness."
After hearing Red Rice's words, Lin Yan gave him a thumbs up. What a dirty heart.
"Welcome back to the live broadcast of the 2018 LPL Spring Season. The competition will be between the Western Champions, IG, and the Eastern Champions, YM!"
On the commentary platform, Doll said loudly. Teng Jing had given enough face to this battle for the top spot in the Eastern and Western Divisions. Other than Doll, there were also Miller and Remember.
This trio was already the most luxurious commentary lineup in Teng Jing in 2018. The audience was even more packed. The audience waved support banners and light sticks. There were also many female fans holding up tablets, using rolling captions to write their expectations for the players.
From [Lin Yan, remember to use more eye drops] to [Liu Qingsong, stop scolding your teammates], most of them were YM fans.
However, IG supporters still made up a small portion of the audience. Last year, IG relied on the early attacks of Feast for the Eyes to attract a lot of fans. Coupled with the original team's fans, the number of fans now was quite large.
In the previous round, the home team they supported had won. This time, they were even more powerful and invincible!
The live broadcast of the competition was even more noisy. Usually, Gou Ba's fans did not speak out, but there were legends of them everywhere.
Now that IG had won the first round, they took the opportunity to jump out and start the momentum.
[LWX?
Come and eat sh * t!]
[The sudden death of Verus in the previous round really made me laugh. Is this the champion ADC?]
[I suggest that Jack and Lin Weixiang write a book — "The Years I Died as an ADC in YM"]
[Even the champion ADC has a gap, right?
Laugh, brothers.]
[With this level of skill, you still chose the VN skin?
It's not too late to return the skin to Gou Ba's. Uzi will definitely forgive you.]
Probably because the crosstalk was too obvious, the RNG fans quickly came down to fight with Gou Ba's fans. However, Gou Ba's fans had always adhered to the principle of "not only love to cause trouble, but also fear trouble." When they saw the RNG fans come down to fight, they immediately backed down.
They hid in the crowd, put on another layer of skin, and pointed at the Royal fans and said, "Look at him, he's anxious!"
It was not until the second round of BP that the rhythm of the bullet screen finally stopped for a while.
"IG used the priority pick to get the blue side in this round, and the first ban spot was given to Princes!"
Red Rice saw the ban position and suddenly laughed.
Jin Jingzhu on the opposite side obviously still thought that YM wanted to fight with them in the early and mid stages. The banned hero was also a version hero that Mongoose was good at.
"Ban Zoe, there's no need to."
He ordered Jin Gong. This strong hero was used by a few of the top LPL midlaners … but there seemed to be an exception.
Zoe's strength was in the early and mid stages. Until the start of the three-piece head-on team battle, she was considered a top midlaner hero. E's [Hypnotic Bubble] and Q's [Flying Star Rush] were too good at drawing prizes. In the professional arena where communication and cooperation were more tacit, they were given an extremely important task.
IG's second ban was given to Liu Qingsong's Hammer Stone, while Red Rice banned Old Thief Sima's signature hero, Ember. Red Rice felt that the difficulty of this BO3 was in the bottom lane, and Lin Weixiang had to play at his normal level.
"The last ban spot in the first round, IG banned Ike!" Remember laughed. "Looks like Broiler is still going to take Sindra this round?"
It was exactly as he guessed. After Red Rice banned Bull's Head, Jin Jingzhu snatched Sindra from the blue side.
In addition to Rookie's proficiency in Two Balls and One Champ, Ike's proficiency was also quite high. In the past, he had single-handedly killed Fat General with a Time Assassin.
He naturally knew that this hero restrained Sindra. As long as it was attacked, it would be a free blood exchange, and Sindra would find it difficult to fight back.
If it was against other midlaners, Broiler was confident that Sindra could suppress Ike, but the opposing midlaner's ID was too intimidating.
Just in case, it was safer to ban it.
On the other side, Lin Yan and Red Rice were discussing which hero to choose. He still had Rambo in his hand, and this hero was quite powerful against Sindra.
Red Rice recorded the opponent's BP in his notebook. "Don't use Rambo. Remember the Rambo system we tested two days ago?
This card will be revealed in the playoffs. I'll try to wind you up in this round. "
"… That's fine."
Lin Yan shook off his heating pad. He knew that this round's mission was to test the strength of IG, and there was no need to compete in the regular season.
"YM will directly send out Charlo!"
Mille was not surprised. "It looks like they want to increase Lin Weixiang's fault tolerance. After all, Charlo has a big move, and his ability to protect himself in a team battle is quite strong."
Jin Jingzhu also knew that YM wanted to protect the bottom lane. Naturally, he would not let the opponent do as they wished. In the first round, he would choose Verus and Boulogne, the current T1 duo in the bottom lane. They could tank and fight, and their combat strength in small-scale team battles was quite strong.
"Xiao Tian, you take Olaf."
Red Rice also knew that it was impossible to give YM five mid- and late-game heroes. Someone had to be responsible for buffering the team in the early and mid-game, slowly transitioning to the mid- and late-game team battles.
"In this way, the opposing team might send out Zach. Jin Gong, you probably won't be able to choose Captain."
Zach, this hero, had too many control abilities, and it was very easy to catch the top lane from a distance. It was easy to play a Captain without displacement.
"It's okay." Jin Gong was very optimistic. If he took the Captain, the opposing team would send out a disgusting long-handed monster like Jayce, and it would be even more uncomfortable for him. "Can I play Aun?"
"Sure, I'll give you the counter. If you're confident, you can take it." Red Rice smiled.
In this round, he deliberately sent out Uncle Sheep on the red side.
Red Rice could not wait for The Sh to play Sheep. This way, Jin Gong and the entire YM team would be under a lot less pressure.
However, Jin Jingzhu obviously did not fall for it. It was a waste to let the talented top laner in the team play the tank hero.
Not only that, in the second round of BP, he still did not ban Aun. It was obvious that he was going to give it to YM.
He had his own ideas.
Now, YM had jungler Olaf + bottom lane Charlo. If it was YM with Jack, Coach Jin would definitely ban Aun, but now it was Lin Weixiang on the field.
The previous game was Lin Weixiang's debut in the 2018 LPL Spring Season. His performance could only be described as terrible. Normally, he would be a war criminal. Jin Jingzhu felt that this person was not a concern.
This meant that YM had a C position that could not be guaranteed. If Jin Gong chose Aun again, then the pressure of this lineup would be concentrated on Lin Yan.
According to common sense, this lineup was abnormal and unhealthy.
Jin Jingzhu deliberately left this hole for YM to see if they would jump into it.
"YM took Clockwork Devil." Doll clicked her tongue. "Brother Ran is so stable in this game."
On the other side, IG took the top laner Jayce and jungler Zach as expected. Jayce and Sindra held the top and middle lanes, which would greatly reduce the pressure on Ning Wang in the jungle.
"YM's top laner is the counter. Lulu should be played by Liu Qingsong … In the end, they still have to take Aun!"
Remember to look at the ten heroes that both sides had locked on.
Blue side IG: top laner Jayce, jungler Zach, mid laner Sindra, bottom laner Verus + Boulogne.
Red side YM: top laner Aun, jungler Olaf, mid laner Clockwork Devil, bottom laner Charlot.
He frowned. "Isn't YM's lineup dragging on too long?
The entire top half has no lane rights. Olaf can only rely on Charlot in the early game. "
"This is really the ultimate pressure." Mille also felt that it was a little ridiculous, but he could not say anything at this time. "With YM's lineup, as long as they can hold on for 30 minutes, they will reach their strong period."
But the question was, would a team like IG let YM drag on for 30 minutes?
The big players in the bullet screen began to express their opinions.
[YM didn't win in the early and middle stages of the last game, and they're starting to chicken out?]
[I give up. I thought it was EDG when they covered their ID.]
[Why drag on for the middle and late stages?
Isn't it better to continue fighting?]
[Don't be so awkward. Can you fight against IG with a bowl of sh * t?
If you don't pay attention, the ADC will explode in a minute.]
Lin Weixiang looked at the screen that was about to open the Summoner's Canyon. His eyes lost focus, and his fingers unconsciously pulled on the heat pack.
"You have to be more stable in this game." Red Rice was still teaching him. "We need your late game output."
Lin Weixiang just nodded and did not say anything.
"Brother Xiang, don't be nervous." Lin Yan turned his head and looked over. "Why aren't you saying anything?"
Lin Weixiang blinked and changed the topic. "No, I'm just thinking … Can my luck be better?"
"For example, the three-piece set Flash forward and use Sunset to make three critical hits."
Liu Qingsong let out a snort. "Are you dreaming?
Don't think about it, pig nose. "
Lin Weixiang felt that discussing this problem with his teammates could relieve his tension. "It's not that difficult, right?
If it's a three-piece set, the critical hit rate should be … "
"If it's Jack, then don't even think about it." Liu Qingsong was good at beating up his good brother.
"Why?" Big Eyebrows wanted to get to the bottom of it.
"Because …" Liu Qingsong adjusted his sitting position and licked his lips. "Good luck doesn't favor fools."
The other three teammates laughed. Even the female referee behind them was stunned, and the corner of her mouth raised into a bright smile.
Lin Weixiang's brain was not very bright. He turned this sentence around in his head twice before realizing that this person was scolding him.
"Liu Qingsong, do you want to die?" If it were not for the camera, he would definitely make him pay the price for tearing his wound.
However, in between the jokes, the tension in Lin Weixiang's heart was swept away.
Can I be more stable?
It's not impossible …
His eyes suddenly lit up, and the Summoner's Canyon appeared in front of him!