YM and FNC appeared on stage almost at the same time. The audience below the stage burst into deafening cheers!
The popularity of the hosts was on full display at this moment. YM, who had always been popular with the European audience, was now being neglected!
Most of the audience stood up and cheered for FNC. Only a few domestic students were still waving YM's flags and support items.
FNC, who had come back strong this year and broken the G2 League's four consecutive championships, seemed to be on the verge of becoming the dominant team in Europe!
Even though it was not an elimination round and there was no exciting team entrance ceremony, Ou Cheng still thumped his chest hard when he went on stage to greet the audience who were cheering for him.
The audience was even more excited when they saw this scene. The screams were mixed with the muffled sound of support sticks hitting the table.
Jack plugged his keyboard into the USB port on the table. He was very sensitive to the audience's reactions since he had not yet worn his soundproof headphones.
"Tsk, what a show-off. Isn't his name Martin?
I'll beat him up into Ding Huang later! "Shiba Inu said fiercely.
Mongoose yawned and rubbed his eyes. He looked tired.
It was not his fault. He had no choice.
Fist had arranged the competition to be in prime time in order to take care of the audience in China and Korea.
This season's mid-season championship was held in Berlin and Paris, which were both in the East Region. Even if both places were in daylight saving time, there was still a time difference of six hours and seven hours between Beijing and Seoul.
Holding the competition in China and Korea during a time period with high ratings meant that they had to come to the stadium in the morning for interviews, makeup, and other preparations. Waking up at seven or eight o 'clock was normal.
That was the key problem.
No matter which country's professional players were from, there was no reason for them to wake up at seven or eight o 'clock in the morning.
Waking up around twelve o 'clock was their normal routine!
There was a general consensus among the six teams: whoever had the first three matches of the day would be unlucky.
Because it was just the afternoon, there was still some time before their usual practice matches. Their long-term habits caused their brains to not be excited at this time. Their mechanics and awareness could not keep up.
Of course, there were exceptions.
For example, Lin Yan.
He woke up at seven o 'clock every morning. His biological clock was no different from that of an ordinary office worker.
Lin Yan did not expect that one day, his routine would help him a lot.
Afternoon was the time for him to be excited. At this moment, he was rubbing his fingers, ready to go all out.
"Did I win with an unfair advantage?"
Lin Ran couldn't help but laugh when he saw the chat content that Caps sent to him in the custom room, indicating that he was sleepy.
"Indeed, Brother Ran really doesn't care about martial ethics …" Jin Gong seemed to have been infected by Mongoose. He also let out a big yawn, his mouth wide open as if he could swallow an entire hot dog.
The LPL commentary platform was ready and connected to the live broadcast signal.
"Good evening, everyone. Welcome to the live broadcast of the second day of the 2018 mid-season championship. The match between YM and FNC is about to begin …"
The lively voice of the commentator rang in everyone's ears.
"Hello everyone, I'm Wang Duoduo."
A female voice echoed, "Hello everyone, I'm Kris."
The commentators for this match were two rookies. After all, there were only a few experienced commentators. It was impossible for them to handle such a heavy group match in one go.
These matches that were not particularly crucial were naturally used to train the inexperienced rookies.
Compared to the pure rookie Kris, Wang Duoduo had some experience. Last year during the summer playoffs, he was scolded by Wang Sicong for being overly biased towards WE. Now, he had toned down a lot.
"Both sides of this match have started with two wins and zero losses. They are also the only teams that have won all their matches in the group stage." He quickly introduced the basic situation to the audience. "In other words, one team is destined to end their winning streak today."
"Yes, that's right," Kris said dryly.
She didn't know what to say.
Wang Duoduo was stunned for a moment. He didn't expect his partner to not respond.
Am I doing a stand-up comedy here?
However, he immediately reacted. "Even though FNC is showing signs of rising, I still think YM has the advantage. Kris, what do you think?"
Wang Duoduo threw out the topic so that his partner wouldn't respond.
Kris didn't hesitate this time. She had done her homework on the two teams before the match. "I think so too. Due to Ou Cheng's preference for stable growth in the early and mid stages, FNC's early tempo is still focused on the mid laner …"
"Especially in terms of control of the laner. Even though FNC has won the previous two matches, their control is only 36.8%. It's ridiculously low. Coupled with the movement of the jungler, it's enough to prove that Broxah doesn't pay enough attention to the bottom lane in the early stages."
The rookie Kris had evidence. In order to commentate this match, she had collected a lot of data. It seemed that she was quite similar to Su Xiaoyan # 2.
She tucked her hair behind her ear and continued, "However, Caps and Broxah are clearly no match for Brother Ran and Mongoose. If the team's strongest mid laner can't break through, FNC won't be able to fight back."
Wang Duoduo nodded. After receiving the caster's message, he quickly said, "The BP of this match is about to begin. FNC has chosen the blue side for themselves with the priority of picking sides!"
In this version of the game, Azreal was too strong. It was even to the point where it was necessary to ban him. The red side that was forced to take on this task was naturally not favored by the coaches.
Accompanied by the heated cheers and the crisp sound of metal, the BP screen was presented in front of the audience!
"FNC has banned Qing Gang Yin. This is also the common ban position used by the major teams when facing YM." Wang Duoduo spoke with assurance. "Camille, who can swing between mid and top, is indeed quite strong now."
After warming up the scene, Kris's nervousness eased a lot. At this time, she responded, "That's right. After Qing Gang Yin made Tiamat, he has taken into account both lane pushing and fighting ability. He's not very eye-catching in a tough top lane environment, but he'll have a much easier time in the mid lane against a group of fragile mages."
The player Red Rice was still discussing the BP with the other players. "Do you think EZ can handle it?"
"If you can get me Kesha, then it won't be a problem to release EZ," Jack said after thinking about it.
Red Rice heard the player's words and first ordered Jin Gong to ban the strong jungler Troll.
"FNC banned Karma next …" Wang Duoduo laughed. "Previously, Jin Gong used Karma to steal money for two games in a row. He probably tortured those top laners until they were sick of it."
The Siberian pursed his lips and was not very happy. He was gradually experiencing the joy of Karma's long-handed torture. Seeing that he could no longer experience such a happy hero in this game, he was a little unhappy.
"YM chose to ban Vampire. It looks like they're going to choose a captain?" Wang Duoduo frowned slightly.
According to the current thinking in the professional arena, Vampire was the same captain counter position as Jayce in the top laner, and he was more popular than Jayce.
Firstly, it was because they were both long-handed and could light up the captain's powder keg. Although Vampire's normal attacks were much slower than Jayce's, before the captain reached level 13, the powder keg's HP would decline very slowly. Vladimir's attack speed was completely enough.
Secondly, it was very difficult for the captain to coordinate with the jungler to kill Vampire. He couldn't limit the opponent's development speed. Vampire had two sets and the captain had reached level 13, so the time for both sides to use their power was almost the same.
However, Vampire's destructive power to the enemy was more violent and simple than the captain's. The latter relied very much on the powder keg. Once he became a rich guy and was continuously lit up, he might have a mental breakdown and have to go to psychological counseling.
FNC's head coach Youngbuck frowned.
"Let's ban Shalor."
He had no choice. If he didn't break up Shalor, FNC's first round priority choice in the first round would be wasted.
"YM sent Tam to the ban position in the end." Kris's lips opened slightly, showing a very surprised look. "They chose to release Rekkles's best player, Ezreal!"
Under the camera, Ou Cheng smiled like a child. Usually, he liked to develop and come out to take over the game in the middle of the team battle. EZ, this hero, was very suitable for his playstyle. He didn't expect YM to actually dare to release it.
FNC didn't hesitate and instakilled Ezreal!
The female audience members at the scene were so excited that they couldn't control themselves. They held up huge support signs with Ou Cheng's full body picture and shouted Rekkles' name at the top of their lungs. Their fanaticism was obvious.
Wang Duoduo wasn't surprised. He looked at YM's hero selection box. "There's still Swordsister outside. Does Brother Ran want to choose?"
Kris continued, "That's right. Looking at it now, Brother Ran's Swordsister is indeed smooth. The other players can't compare to her in terms of speed and accuracy in casting Match Made in Wings!"
[Sparrow, Smooth = Solo Kill by Outside Blocker (Dog Head)]
[Being counter-killed while crossing the tower is considered a solo kill?
Don't be so awkward, okay?]
[It's not considered a solo kill?
You can't say that it's not a solo kill just because Crocodile has Otto's help.]
[With Otto's help, Xingbok, Xingbok, Xingbok, Xingbok …]
The bullet screen in the live-stream was still whipping corpses. Yesterday, Lin Yan failed to predict the Vietnamese mid laner and was instead killed by a solo kill. They were teasing each other happily.
"YM has decided to snatch the two strong positions of Crow and Olaf first." Wang Duoduo tried to guess the BP. "Next, FNC should take the jungler and an above average hero … and then YM will choose Kesha last in the first round."
As soon as he finished speaking, the avatars of Nanqiang and Ryze appeared in FNC's hero selection box!
Wang Duoduo couldn't help but puff out his chest. "As expected, Nanqiang's jungler and an above average Ryze!"
"Wow …" Kris looked at her partner with a little admiration, her eyes shining.
She wanted to shout in Yue Yunpeng's tone: Oh my god, is it so magical?
Wang Duoduo saw that YM had indeed taken Kesha last in the first round. Feeling proud, she didn't forget to explain to her partner and the audience.
"In the absence of Tam and Karma, it's difficult for the support pairing of EZ in the current version to cause a qualitative change in the bottom lane. In addition, FNC doesn't pay attention to the bottom lane in the first place, so they will definitely lower the priority of the support position."
Wang Duoduo spoke quickly. "In the face of the strong threat of YM's Olaf, it's important to take the jungler position in the first round as soon as possible. FNC doesn't want to expose the split between the top and mid lane too early, so they will choose a hero who can swing. Ryze is a very good choice!"
Kris nodded, not fully understanding. "YM took the lead in banning Boulogne in the second round … Eh?"
Youngbuck carefully thought about the BP strategy next. He used up the last second of the countdown to send Rambo to the banned position.
"The last banned position for both sides is given to Rock Sparrow and Morgana respectively." Kris glanced at the screen. "YM picked the support position in the fourth round, Morgana … It looks like they might really get Dagger Girl!"
Wang Duoduo also felt that it was close to the mark. "If Raven is sent to the top lane, YM's strength is still guaranteed. In the team battle, Morgana will give Dagger Girl a shield, and Erilia's ability to enter the game is also very guaranteed!"
Youngbuck was still discussing the next two hero choices with his team members. Caps grinned and laughed wildly. It looked like he really had Mr. Bean's inner style.
He ran his fingers through his blonde hair and rubbed his palms in anticipation.
"FNC chose Bull's Head as the support, and the last position left … Crocodile!"
Kris blurted out. "It's a very reasonable choice. This is Dagger Girl's absolute counter!"
[It's coming, it's coming. Brother Ran, quickly choose Dagger Girl to prove yourself!]
[I don't think Caps looks like a good person!
Why is he laughing so sinisterly?]
[It's time to redeem himself. Hurry up, Brother Ran.]
The bullet screen was still laughing and giving bad ideas to Lin Yan.
However, YM's next choice surprised them.
"Quinn?!" Kris shouted. "YM wants to use her as a swing to deal with FNC's Crocodile!"
"Quinn's appearance rate isn't high!" Wang Duoduo was also excited. "It's a risky move. They've successfully tricked FNC!"
The live audience wasn't stupid. They knew how powerful Quinn was against Crocodile, and those who supported FNC immediately fell silent. The LCSEU studio was silent.
Caps stopped laughing immediately. The whole process was like a flash of light.
"Do you want Crocodile?" He turned his head and asked Bwipo.
His top laner glared at him.
The message was very clear. Oh, I'm a pig?
You want to use Crocodile to beat Quinn?
"Caps, you can use Crocodile." The coach patted his shoulder. "The mid lane is short. You won't lose much experience."
If Crocodile was placed in the mid lane, it would really be useless.
"Okay," Caps muttered and reluctantly agreed.
He originally thought that Lin Yan would choose Swordsister this round. He even wanted to use Crocodile to annoy him.
Who would've thought that the clown would be himself!
"Brother Ran's Quinn …" Wang Duoduo watched as FNC swung Crocodile to the mid lane, and YM chose Quinn as their mid laner. "This is the first time I've seen it!"
Kris agreed. "That's right. YM only chose Quinn once before. When YM faced Top, it was Brother Gongzi who played."
The lineups of both sides were as follows:
Blue side FNC: Top laner Ryze, jungler Nanqiang, mid laner Crocodile, bottom laner EZ + Bull's Head.
Red side YM: Top laner Crow, jungler Olaf, mid laner Quinn, bottom laner Kesha + Morgana.
Endless cheers could be heard from the audience. With the appearance of the Summoner's Canyon, the curtains of this group stage officially opened!
Lin Yan's runes were Assault. His secondary runes were Witchcraft's Absolute Focus and Water Walk. His summoner's skill was Purify.
On the other side, Caps didn't bring Conqueror. Instead, they chose Assault. It looked like they wanted to use a burst to threaten Lin Yan. Their summoner's skill was Blink.
Lin Yan bought Doran's Sword and began to give out orders.
"Xiao Tian, you and the bottom laner will invade the enemy's jungle. Remember to bring Scanner!"
Wang Duoduo looked at YM's movement on the minimap. "In terms of strength, YM has Olaf, Kesha, and Morgana. They're much stronger than FNC's jungle!"
Azreal and Bull's Head were level one fighters. They couldn't compare to YM at all.
Moreover, Caps had used Crocodile. It was also a level one Iron Fool. It didn't have any Rage and wasn't much stronger than a melee soldier.
"Nanqiang set up a defensive eye in the bushes outside his own red zone … He's detected Mongoose's movements!"
Phyllostachys Pubescens used Scanner to invade the jungle. When he saw Nanqiang's eye, he dismantled it and led the bottom laner duo to invade.
"Nanqiang is prepared. The moment he saw Xiao Tian, he ran toward YM's top half!"
Kris's eyes lit up when he saw this. "Jin Gong and Brother Ran are crouching in the bushes by the river. They're waiting for him to take the bait!"
Broxah even brought Bwipo into the jungle. Halfway there, he was ambushed by Lin Yan and Jin Gong!
"Kill Nanqiang, don't worry about Ryze!" As he crouched in the bushes and marked Nanqiang, he used his basic attack to steal an arrow!
"Broxah reacted immediately. He tried to use Slide Step to escape …" Wang Duoduo couldn't help but clench his fists. "But he was kicked down by Brother Ran!"
The moment Lin Yan saw Nanqiang use Slide Step to retreat, he controlled Kane to use E [Whirlwind Kill] to kick the opponent, interrupting Nanqiang's movement skill!
"What kind of reaction is that?!"
Kris's interruption wasn't at the right time. Wang Duoduo paused for a moment before continuing to explain the situation.
"Crow used his passive to pull Nanqiang into his arms. He used his basic attack again to reduce Nanqiang's HP!"
Lin Yan used Vulnerable Mark on Nanqiang and followed it up with a Crossbow Bolt. By the time he used his power attack, Nanqiang's HP was already less than half!
Caps originally wanted to go to his Beaked Birds' camp to take a look, but he didn't expect the two players in YM to not invade with Mongoose. Instead, they deliberately crouched in the upper river!
They were obviously using Phyllostachys Pubescens to invade the jungle and trick Broxah into going to the upper half of YM to start the game with a buff. They were trying to crouch down for one hit!
Caps wanted to help, but he was too far away to reach the battlefield in time!
"Broxah still wants to use Flash Step to escape. Ryze also used W Rune to immobilize Brother Ran …"
However, 0.75 seconds of immobilization didn't have much of an effect. Lin Yan quickly regained his freedom and used the movement speed provided by [Water Walk] to chase after Broxah!
"Brother Gongzi gave up his Flash Step. His E [Never Again] successfully immobilized Nanqiang!" Wang Duoduo said excitedly, "Broxah, you can't escape!"
Lin Yan followed up with a basic attack. There were no monsters here to retribution Broxah's HP. Since he had already given up his Flash Step, he could only sacrifice his life!
"The first hit is taken by Kane!" Wang Duoduo shouted angrily!
The FNC fans in the stadium were instantly silenced.
"By the time Gunner revives and rushes to the jungle, the creeps will have already been handed over. This means that Broxah will have no choice but to farm alone. This is practically torture for Gunner!" Wang Duoduo's face lit up with joy.