The team lounge was the same as the LSPL finals. There was no need to share the same room with other teams. The lounge was bright and spacious.
Since they arrived at the venue early, the officials had prepared six or seven computers for the players to use in order to keep them comfortable.
The match started at 7 o 'clock, and the makeup time was set at 5 o' clock. During this time, the players were free to move around as long as they did not leave the venue.
As soon as Ning Cheng entered the lounge, he curled up on the sofa and watched the matches on his phone. It seemed like he was not worried about tonight's match at all.
Jin Gong went straight to the computer as soon as he entered the room. He insisted on playing a few ranked matches to warm up before the match.
"Let's go get some milk tea?" Xiao Tian said to Lin Yan.
"Milk tea?
Me too, me too, hehehe. "Xiao Ming followed with a cheeky smile.
In order to keep his brain active, Lin Yan had a habit of not eating before a match. Drinking milk tea was fine.
After gulping down a cup of Oolong milk, Lin Yan looked at his phone. Su Cheng had sent him a few messages and emojis during lunch break. Lin Mingdong still replied with a "Good luck" without even a period.
At 5 o 'clock, the first match started. It was EDG versus NB (QG's name changed).
Just like the Spring Season, this year's Summer Season LPL was still split into groups. It used a BO3 system with the same group and a BO3 system.
The groups were as follows:
Group A: EDG, NB, Snake, IG, SAT, IM (EDE's name changed)
Group B: RNG, WE, VG, LGD, OMG, YM
In the opening match, EDG fully displayed their strength as an expert in internal battles. In the face of Doinb's departure, Team NB, who had just joined Dade, took only an hour to send Team NB off with a score of 2: 0.
After EDG's interview, the organizers brought YM to the main stage. On the other side, WE was already in position in their red and white uniforms.
957, Condi, Xiye, Mystic, Zero. This was WE's second lineup since its establishment. Since last year's lineup was fixed, their results had steadily improved and they had become a top tier team in the league.
Xiye was chatting casually with Mystic beside him. There was not a trace of nervousness on his face. It was no wonder. The five of them were veterans who had been on the battlefield for a long time. It was normal for them to fight in the opening match.
This year, the only difference was that their opponent had changed from IG Club to YM. There was no difference.
Xiao Tian, on the other hand, was different. His hands were trembling when he opened the custom game settings, and the mouse was floating everywhere.
In all fairness, Lin Yan was also a little nervous, especially when he looked at the group of audience members holding up YMR Ran support signs below the stage.
He glanced around and saw that there were more people supporting him than the LSPL finals.
"Xiao Tian, don't shake your hands." Lin Yan turned to Mongoose and said, "If your hands shake in front of hundreds of people, are you going to be foaming at the mouth and going to the hospital when you reach the finals of the S League?"
"Stop talking about me!" Little Tian flew into a rage out of humiliation. "Your hands are shaking too!"
"Oh, that's normal." Lin Yan calmly put his hands under the table. "The people who are playing against each other all have shaking hands. It's easier for them to line up."
After some joking around, everyone's nervousness was relieved.
As usual, the opening match was between Doll and Mille.
"Welcome back to the live broadcast of the LPL Summer Season. There's an announcement for the next match." Doll spoke to liven up the atmosphere.
"That's right. It's the debut of the champions of the secondary league." Mille nodded. "The finals were also commentated by the two of us. YM's team …"
"How should I put it? YM isn't a matter of whether they're strong or not. They're really rare …" Doll began to joke around.
Mille added, "For those who didn't watch this year's LSPL, YM won 33 consecutive matches in the LSPL and didn't lose a single match. Their performance was extremely dominant."
"But I still have to say that it's a secondary league," Doll continued. "As a veteran LPL team and the third place of the Spring Season, WE is very strong."
"You can say that. Today is also a challenge for YM. Let's see if they can adapt to the pace of the LPL." Mille nodded. "The BP has begun."
WE chose the blue side first, and YM chose the red side.
WE banned Leopard Bull's Head and Big Tree, while YM banned Qian Jierezi and Ike.
Both sides were regular bans and didn't specifically target each other.
Both teams had never played a mock match before, so they decided to deal with the changes by sticking to the status quo. Since it was a BO3, they still had a chance even if they lost this match.
WE chose Lucian first. After the mid-season update, Elemental Dragon became more and more important. Lucian was favored by pro players because of his strong early and mid-season combat ability.
YM then took Hammer Stone and Excavator.
"These two heroes are also strong in the early and mid-season. They're very helpful in controlling dragons. The logic of this version is very simple. If you control more dragons, you'll have the capital to drag on in the late game."
WE took Big Tree and Troll. This jungler duo was going to tank until they died. They were going to force both sides to fight.
The problem was left to YM.
"What do you want to choose? You can tell me." Even though the stadium's air conditioning was on full blast, Hanyi's forehead was still sweating. He was extremely nervous.
"How about you give me Rambo?" Lin Yan suddenly asked.
A week ago, he had just used up his 700 points and added them all to his ability to understand the version.
After accidentally discovering Titan as a mid laner, Lin Yan was addicted to this kind of black technology.
The feeling of playing with the opponent's BP in the palm of his hand was too satisfying.
After upgrading his ability, Lin Yan would have some strange ideas in his mind every time he looked at the version update.
Of course, he would bring these ideas to the Korean server's Rank to test.
It was just that the people on the Korean server would quit the game when they saw the strange heroes he chose.
They were really a bunch of iron slaves.
"Rambo?"
Hanyi frowned. These days, he had seen Lin Yan's various strange heroes. It refreshed his understanding of mid laners.
He looked at the lineups of both sides. The Big Tree was Troll, Lucian. Rambo's big move could destroy everything in the Big and Small Dragon Pits. He also had Hammer Stone to protect him. This was indeed a good choice.
"YM chose Rambo. This hero should be Jin Gong's to try and suppress the Big Tree," Doll said. "The AD position is Policewoman. Together with Hammer Stone, they can also fight Lucian online."
WE then chose Victor and Nanqiang. The lineups were confirmed.
YM's last counter was left for Jin Gong. Hanyi chose Tidal Sea Spirit Fitz for him. This hero was now a regular in the top lane. With many displacement skills, he could abandon Flash and Ignite. It was very useful against the Big Tree.
"This is … Murloc or Rambo?" Mille was dumbfounded when he saw YM's last pick, Murloc.
The WE players sitting on the other side of the main stage were also whispering. They didn't understand YM's choice of lane.
"Lane change time is over!"
Doll adjusted his glasses. "This way, it's confirmed that Rambo will be the mid laner and Jin Gong will be the top laner."
The live audience and the live broadcast room exploded.
"Rambo's mid laner?
I've only seen Rambo's top laner and Rambo's jungler. This hero can even play mid laner? "
"I'm convinced. The water army mid laner plays a non-mainstream hero. If he loses, it's because he didn't play seriously. If he wins, it's because I randomly picked him. If he wins, it's not a loss."
"This understanding is also 6. According to your understanding, he can't be an unpopular hero in the future?
Anyway, if he loses, it's the hero's problem. If he wins, it's because he played well. "
Lin Yan's talent was Thunder Lord's Decree. The summoner's skill was Flash and Ignite. He wanted to gain an advantage in the lane.
After buying Doran's Shield and Health Potion, he controlled Galaxy Magic Armor God's Rambo skin to walk out of the spring.
With the cheers of the fans, the BO3 between YM and WE officially began.