Lin Yan glanced at the data panel after the match. When he saw Izreal's exaggerated damage bar chart, he pouted helplessly, picked up the paper cup, and walked off the stage.
He had sacrificed a lot in the BP lineup, whereas KZ had gone overboard as well. He had swayed the original mid laner, Karma, to the bottom lane, and had chosen Swordsister as the mid lane counter.
After all, BDD was a rising mid laner in Korea in recent years. Many spectators thought that he was Lee Xianghyeok's successor.
Although Lin Yan was strong, when faced with such a top professional player, it was difficult for him to turn the tables since he was being countered.
Fortunately, his teammates and coaches were very supportive.
If the entire team was pulled apart and Lin Yan was the only strong player, it would be too easy for him to be targeted. He alone would not be able to turn the tide of the battle.
After all, the world's best super soldier depended on his teammates, and he was no exception.
When Lin Yan saw Jack beaming with joy, he wanted to take credit for it. However, before he could say anything, Shiba Inu rushed toward him shamelessly.
"Brother Ran, it's all thanks to you. If it wasn't for that Stone Scattering Formation, I might not have survived …"
Jack recalled the frightening moment when he was hit by Rat King's Void Locking Formation.
When he was closest to Kesha, the distance between them was only 0.01 centimeters. He had no idea what was going to happen next. Two seconds later, Kesha died on the spot.
"It's good that you know."
Lin Yan was very satisfied with his underling's attitude. Previously, Shiba Inu had reluctantly admitted that he was a great help because he wanted to take credit for it. Now that he had obtained a pentakill, he knew who was the boss in the team.
Obviously, he had improved a lot.
On the other side, Khan took off his soundproof headphones. Amidst the noise from the audience, he quickly returned to the waiting room with his teammates.
He had a sour expression on his face, and his high spirits from being determined to win the championship had already disappeared. He took a large cup of ice water and gulped it down, wanting to wash away the restlessness that had welled up in his heart.
He was really anxious about losing the match.
Last year, they were swept by YM in the international tournament. At the time, he and the rest of the team thought that the jungler was dragging them down. Icuzz had a heaven-defying performance of 0 kills, 20 deaths, and 1 assist in the entire BO5. For the sake of the team's continued development, they could only bring in strong reinforcements to make up for their shortcomings.
Little Peanut's arrival filled in the last weakness of the KZ lineup. On paper, the strength of the five players was already the ceiling of the LCK division.
The Spring Season had also proven this point. Team KZ had simply slaughtered everyone in the league. The declining SKT, the Samsung team that had won second place in the World Championship last year, and the other Galactic warship, KT, were all no match for them.
Khan felt that he had enough confidence to have a showdown with YM.
But in the first round of the finals, YM pulled out an unexpected Ezreal, and Jack played exceptionally well.
This completely messed up the team's pre-match planning!
The BO5 finals seemed very long, but if one thought about it carefully, it was only a matter of three to four hours.
If they could not come up with a perfect countermeasure within this period of time, they would lose the most valuable championship in the first half of the season!
Faced with this kind of pressure, Khan was naturally anxious. "I don't know how you guys fought in the last group battle. I used my big move and maxed out my damage in the Dragon's Pit …"
As he spoke, he happened to see the replay of the last group battle on the television screen in the lounge. He immediately pointed at it. "Can't we just chase EZ away?
He was still above the Dragon's Pit at that time, so the range of his damage output was very narrow. "
"Can't we focus fire on the people in the Dragon's Pit and kill them first?" Khan's voice was a little shrill as he spoke.
BDD was silent.
Now that he watched the replay of the group battle again, he knew that he had made a mistake.
On the television screen, Swordsister had already used her big move to force Jack to the top of the Dragon's Pit. At that time, he had chosen to dodge Cheyenne's big move and move to Jack's face at the same time.
If he had followed Khan's advice and ignored EZ and eliminated the enemies in the Dragon's Pit first, the outcome of this group battle might have changed.
He was indeed anxious. When he saw EZ, it was as if he had triggered a passive skill. Not only did he flash up, but he also fooled Pray.
The two C's were directly killed by YM above the Dragon's Pit, leaving Khan alone.
Pray still wanted to explain. "That was an impromptu reaction. The situation was urgent, how could I have thought so much at that time?"
"If Rock Sparrow didn't throw the rock formation, I could've killed EZ …"
Khan still wanted to say something, but Hiari stopped him in time. "Don't argue, don't argue, don't argue, this is the key. Don't cause trouble, don't argue about these useless things here!"
The previous group battle had ended. No matter how much they argued, it would not change the outcome.
The break time between matches was tight, to begin with. He could not let his team members spend time arguing about such useless things.
The authority of the LCK team's coach was there. Moreover, Khan and Rat King knew that it was not the time to review the game, so they tacitly kept their mouths shut.
The lounge finally quieted down. Hiari nodded in satisfaction.
"I've chosen the red side for the next round. Everyone, get ready. I plan to …"
Khan was energized when he heard this sentence.
"Please don't choose Crow for me. I was disgusted to death by Cheyenne in the previous round!"
When Swein fought Cheyenne, he could completely suppress his opponent in lane. However, in the mid lane, the effect was extremely poor.
Although he relied on R [Demon's Ascension] to avoid trouble from junglers, he could not push forward. Cheyenne's three skills could completely clear the minions quickly. When the Turret entered the tower, he used E [Killer's Roar] to push it out.
It was difficult for Crow to resist the turret's cannons and Cheyenne's attacks to destroy the tower. After all, the hero's recovery ability was relatively mediocre.
Moreover, their attack power and attack speed could not keep up. The speed of destroying the tower was very slow.
Khan Shangpan and Jin Gong tortured each other for twenty minutes, and only then did they manage to tear down a tower, which was completely ineffective.
"Help me choose a strong hero." Khan made his request. "A 1v1 hero, there's recovery …"
He finally added, "It's best if it's a hero that can torture the opponent's top laner."
"I know, I know." Hiari flipped open his notebook. In the previous round, when the team members were on the field, he discussed the next tactical arrangement with his colleagues. At this moment, he smoothly expressed his thoughts. "I plan to do this …"
…
"Welcome back to the live broadcast of the 2018 MSI Finals!"
After the break, Mille was refreshed and in a good mood. "Currently, the LPL team, YM, is temporarily leading 1-0!"
"Jack even won the MVP of the first round with his excellent performance," Doll added. "Looks like he's in good shape today!"
Long-hair also made his presence known. "Indeed. Every time Brother Ran sacrifices himself for the team with a functional hero, it proves that YM's strength is not a problem."
"That's the case for Sparrow," Mille agreed. "The scariest thing about YM is that they won the game. If Brother Ran can't win the MVP, it means that there must be a teammate in top form who can take over the game."
From the Zenith Stadium to the live broadcast, the viewers who supported YM were in a good mood. They were full of confidence for the next game!
Before the game, they thought that Jack's Ezreal would be the team's breakthrough. They didn't expect this person to take out a pentakill!
With the hole filled, YM's fans thought that there was nothing that could stop their home team from winning the championship again. Naturally, they were overjoyed.
[YM is really good at hiding. They didn't use this EZ before the finals?]
[Why do I feel like it was chosen on the spot?
It doesn't look like it was premeditated.]
[Do you believe that?
Can an impromptu choice produce such a performance?]
[What are you arguing about?
Won't we know after the post-game interview?]
The comments were still debating whether or not Jack's EZ was prepared in advance. In the end, they didn't come to a conclusion.
However, there was one point that everyone agreed on — KZ wouldn't let Ezreal out in the finals. They couldn't afford to lose another game.
The three commentators stood on the stage and chatted for a while. Then, they saw the BP panel appear again!
"KZ used the right to pick sides to get the red side for themselves …"
Sure enough, KZ didn't hesitate to ban Ezreal in the first choice in this game!
The audience burst into laughter. In two consecutive games, KZ's choice in BP was worlds apart.
"But this way, won't KZ's ban positions be enough?"
Even Doll could see that the side effects of banning EZ were obvious and on the table.
In the first round, KZ released Qing Gang Yin, who had been buying a house in the ban position before!
"YM decisively locked Camille!" Long-hair couldn't believe it. "KZ is playing with fire!"
Mille also widened his eyes. There was a bit of surprise in his eyes, but the corners of his mouth were slightly raised with a bit of a happy arc.
Not only him, but Doll next to him was also happy.
"KZ is really brave. YM's Qing Gang Yin system is extremely effective. Since the spring competition, they haven't been released by their opponents!"
He could imagine the scene of Lin Yan and Jin Gong swinging wildly in a while, tormenting KZ to death.
The five YM players under the camera also laughed happily and comfortably.
They were very confident in Qing Gang Yin.
Camille was already very strong at the moment. Coupled with the double swinging attribute given by YM, it made her even more powerful.
The next BP selection of the two sides was quite fast. YM formed a combination of Qing Gang Yin, Olaf, Ryze, Verus, and Boulogne. The middle and upper paths of Ryze and Qing Gang Yin had not been determined.
"YM's lineup is very stable!"
Mille laughed happily. "Taking into account the front, middle, and late stages, there is 131 points to push, and there is Verus and Boulogne's backhand …"
On the other side, KZ took out Zach, Karma, Kesha, and Morgana. Karma also did not determine the path. Obviously, Hiari was used to deal with YM's Qing Gang Yin.
"Let's see what KZ's last choice will be …" Doll was not worried, but KZ immediately gave him a big surprise.
A woman with a crossbow and a scorpion braid appeared in Gerella's hero selection box!
Without any hesitation, it was directly locked in!
The waves of surprise set off by the live audience filled the enclosed stadium, echoing heavily and showing no signs of dissipating!
"Vayne?!"
Long-hair's surprised emotions passed through the receiver to the ears of all the audience watching the live broadcast. He couldn't help but raise his voice. "Which path is KZ going to use her?"
The appearance of Night Hunter filled the chat channels of all the live broadcast channels with question marks!
"Ahhh …" IMP, who was still chatting with his partner on the LCK commentary platform, almost couldn't control his emotions again. He put his teeth against the tip of his tongue and quickly swallowed the swear words into his stomach.
This time, he was invited to participate in the commentary, and he didn't have much money. LCK was not very generous in this regard. If he was held responsible for his inappropriate words, he was afraid that he would turn around and pay LCK's salary.
Quan Xuan's expression was equally colorful. "Is Vayne really a good choice?
This hero has been sitting in the sewers for a long time … "
Since last year, few people had asked about Vayne. Even when Censer and Galio were popular in the S7 World Championship, she was rarely seen.
In the S8 season, the archer Kesha, who could be called the perfect mechanic, entered the league and completely squeezed Vayne's position.
Today, KZ let her come out again!
However, Quan Xuan's heart was faintly worried.
If KZ chose Vayne in the first game, he would not hesitate to judge that this was the team's trump card.
But now that the score was behind and the opponent's signature Qing Gang Yin was released, he had some doubts.
"There's no problem with this hand!"
Imp collected his emotions and explained to his partner and the audience watching the Korean Stream. "Vayne is a solo lane and is used to counter Qing Gang Yin!"
"Ah?"
Quan Xuan was nearly fifty years old, and his understanding of League of Legends was average. Usually, the task of the commentary platform was mainly to ease the atmosphere and guide the topic, leaning towards the role of a host. At this time, when he heard Imp's words, he was stunned at first, and then immediately asked, "What's the specific reason?"
Imp considered his words before answering, "Vayne's Q [Dodge Surprise Attack] with the big move stealth mechanism can be very good to deal with Qing Gang Yin's face; and E [Devil's Judgment] can form a linkage with the wall. Unfortunately, Qing Gang Yin's E [Hook Rope] is a skill that relies on the wall to use …"
Quan Xuan understood at once. "If Qing Gang Yin uses E to hook the wall to try to break through, Vayne will take the opportunity to nail the wall?"
"Yes, that's it," Imp nodded and agreed with his partner. "But this is all theoretical. I usually don't see Vayne play solo. The effect on Qing Gang Yin in actual combat depends on KZ's performance."
The three LPL commentators were arguing and expressing their own opinions. However, none of them were able to hit the nail on the head like IMP.
In terms of qualifications, the Haier brothers and Long-hair were definitely the oldest group of commentators, but in terms of understanding the game, except for Mille, the other two couldn't even look at them. They couldn't play many ranked games in a year, and they couldn't even understand the hero mechanism, let alone the restraint relationship.
The selection rate of Vayne in solo lane was low, and it was reasonable that the three of them couldn't understand.
On the stage, the atmosphere of the YM players' seats changed in an instant. It was no longer as relaxed and cheerful as before, and it seemed a lot more dignified. Lin Yan collected the corners of his mouth, and the smile on his face disappeared.
Several players were still chattering, discussing with each other how to deal with KZ's Vayne.
What IMP could understand, they naturally understood as well.
It was obvious that KZ deliberately released Qing Gang Yin, and used Vayne in the counter position to catch the lane.
In the end, they decided to give Qing Gang Yin to Jin Gong, and Lin Yan used Ryze to stay in the middle lane, trying to control the lane and give priority to support the top lane to alleviate the disadvantage of the West 8.
…
“He'sstillalive!”
LCSEU commentator Drakos looked at the Night Hunter flashing and moving on the screen, and his voice became more and more excited. "Khan is still attacking!"
Vayne's Crossbow kept shooting Sacred Silver Crossbow arrows. After stacking her Goat Sword, she shot three arrows at a very fast speed, and rolled forward to kill Camille with one arrow!
"She didn't stop, BDD controlled Karma to give Vayne an acceleration effect, and let Khan continue to chase forward!"
The excited cheers of the audience lingered in the ears. With the help of the acceleration effect, the Night Hunter twisted his body and dodged the skills of Olaf and Bron. The crisp sound of the Sacred Silver Crossbow's effect triggered echoed throughout the stadium!
After finally flashing forward to kill Lin Yan, who was trying to escape, Vayne successfully took down a quadruple kill!
"KZ's team wiped out their opponents, and they're going to use the two archers, Kesha and Vayne, to push forward and end the game!"
Quan Wuxi was really good at stirring up the audience's mood. Her tone was rhythmic, and with just a few words, she stirred up the Korean audience's passion.
Defense towers were destroyed one after another, and the economic gap between the two sides continued to widen from God's perspective.
However, until YM's Main Crystal was destroyed, this economic gap was only 5,500 gold coins, and before the start of the team battle, the economic gap between the two sides was 2,200 gold coins.
Based on the 38-minute duration of the game, this economic value was almost negligible.
"Congratulations to KZ, it was a very difficult battle!"
CloudTemplar's expression relaxed a little. "They relied on Khan and Little Peanut's excellent play to tie the score at one to one!"
"Although they won, it was much more difficult than expected." IMP's attitude was very neutral. "KZ had such a big advantage in the early game, but in the end, they lost several waves …"
The bullet screen in the LPL's official live broadcast room was full of rhythm.
[Khan?
Ouze!]
[If you don't understand, just ask. How much of Ouze's skill does Vayne's Quadruple Kill have?]
[This is the divine punishment from Ouze's possession of Khan after YM won against RNG!]
[First of all, he committed …]
[KZ is really pulling. He had such a big advantage in the early game that Brother Ran was able to roam around everywhere.]
[Isn't Khan going to play AD?
Rat King is also a mole in this game. He flashed to pick up Liu Qingsong's Boulogne. Was he really infected by Jack?]
Lin Yan pushed open the door and entered the lounge. Compared to the noisy corridor, the room was exceptionally quiet. Only Red Rice, Jiang Chenglu, and Gou Ba were discussing tactics in low voices.
"I'm suffocating, I'm suffocating." Mongoose went straight to the toilet. "I thought this game would be over in 20 minutes. Why did the other side still lose?"
"Hurry up. We still have to come back and discuss how to play the next game." Lin Yan sat on the chair and recalled the specific details of the previous game.
YM had collapsed at the start of the game.
Relying on Liu Qingsong's strong fighting power as a Level 1 player, they wanted to group up and invade. However, they never thought that KZ would actually dare to fight back and even use BDD Karma's RQ to slow them down.
In the end, the two teams exchanged 2 for 2. The disadvantage was that YM's two-man team had used all their Blink.
Little Peanut naturally wouldn't let go of this opportunity. He had Zach rush to the bottom lane frequently. As long as he used his E [Elastic Slingshot] to send people flying, Gera would be able to follow up and control them.
Mongoose had no choice. Jin Gong in the top lane was facing too much pressure from Vayne. He could only let the bottom lane tank the pressure and choose to catch Khan with Lin Yan.
But Khan had been very steady in this game. He knew that if Little Peanut appeared in the bottom lane, he would definitely be subjected to YM's military training. Thus, every time he returned to the city, he would have a True Eye in his hand. He had used the 75 gold coins to save himself two or three times.
In the entire 15-minute lane period, Jack and Liu Qingsong died a total of eight times and only managed to get one kill, which was when Little Peanut had carelessly swapped out while trying to kill a tower.
If this had been a normal professional match, if the bottom lane had been caught like this, they would have already started to think about how to play the next game.
Lin Yan looked at Rat King, who had been using Hurricane + Goat Saber + Attack Shoes for 16 minutes, and his entire body went numb.
But no one had expected that Rat King would still be obsessed with his play in the last team battle of the previous game. In this game, the entire field was a mess. YM didn't have to worry at all. In any case, Pray would send him over.
After dying twice and giving away more than a thousand gold coins, he also gave YM a Dragon. Only then did Rat King stop. He calmed down, bought a stopwatch, and focused on the team battle.
Both sides were evenly matched, but when it came to the team battle, the difference in their lineups was too obvious.
Jin Gong had been suppressed too miserably in the middle of the game. Even if he was very careful to stay close to the wall every time he made a move, his E [Grappling Hook] wouldn't give Khan too much time to react.
But after all, Khan was a top professional player. This little bit of time was enough for him to make a move.
Every time Qing Gang Yin kicked the second section of the wall, he could use E [Devil's Judgment]'s giant crossbow to nail Camille firmly to the wall. Then, he would use his big move to chase and shoot all the way, and he could beat Jin Gong into a mess.
After 30 minutes, the last hit of the eight Western players had barely exceeded 200. He only had Three Forms + Crimson Hand + Cloth Shoes. In order to save his life, he didn't even have time to use Tiamat.
This kind of developed Qing Gang Yin was cannon fodder in a team battle. Vayne easily caught up to him and killed him. In the end, Khan took Karma and Morgana's double shield and entered a no-man's land. He could only be described as a crazed shark.
Lin Yan replayed the entire game in his mind, trying to find a way to turn the tables.
In the end, he came up with nothing.
Rat King was enough of a gift. If it were not for Pray's long experience and the fact that he did not need to resort to underhanded means to earn money, Lin Ran would have thought that he was the last trump card of SKT's famous player, Mountain Mud.
Mongoose ran back from the toilet with a cup of cola in his hand.
Red Rice and Gouba had already finished discussing the tactical arrangements for the next game. They were writing and drawing on the summoner's whiteboard to express their intentions clearly.
"We've already decided to choose the blue side for the next game. I plan to directly reveal my trump card and set a trap for the opponent to jump into …"
The hearts of the YM members were as calm as water.
They had been prepared for this. They had carefully researched the strategy from the end of the Spring Season until now. They hadn't found a chance to use it.
Red Rice had initially wanted to see how far the team could go with brute force. He had to admit that YM's skill was excellent. They had defeated all the opponents until the end of the last game, when they were in a predicament where Qing Gang Yin's system was broken.
If they continued to hide their moves, it was very likely that they would continue hiding until the international tournament.
He decided to take out KZ for a big surprise in the next game.
…
"Line up and walk in!" The staff member shouted, trying to drown out the noise from the audience.
The YM members lined up according to their positions. They held paper cups and walked through the field, heading straight for the center of the stage.
"Looks like everyone's in good shape." Mille looked at the expressions of the YM members through the caster's camera. "They're not affected by the loss of the last game."
"The main thing is that there's nothing to be afraid of." Doll was quite optimistic. "At worst, we can just ban Vayne and the problem will be solved."
"It's hard to make up for the difference in strength, but this kind of high-tech lineup is relatively easy to deal with," he said.
After the two teams went on stage, there wasn't much time to spare. The BP panel once again came into everyone's view!
"YM chose the blue side and first banned Roh …"
KZ did the same as the previous game and first banned Azreal.
For the second banned position, both sides chose Karma and Troll respectively.
"YM's third banned Yan Que …" Mille hissed softly. "Aren't they banning Vayne?!"
"KZ sent Crow to the ban position and also released Qing Gang Yin!" Doll sucked in a breath of cold air. "They're trying to lure YM into continuing to choose!"
Jin Gong's selection box didn't even have the flickering special effect of a breathing light, but he directly banned Qing Gang Yin!
"Instant ban!" Mille was a little anxious. "YM doesn't believe in heresy!"
On the other side, KZ's members were all laughing. Khan also instantly banned Vayne without saying a word.
In this game, he was going to continue to target Qing Gang Yin!
Little Peanut then chose Olaf to ensure that he was strong enough in the jungle.
"YM's second and third Policewoman, Morgana, isn't a problem either …"
And KZ gave the last spot in the first round to Verus.
"This is a rare matchup without Kesha." Long-hair sighed. "Compared to Policewoman and Verus, her ability to lane is still a little weak."
Rat King had originally wanted to pick her, but Hiari didn't believe him.
He had died two sudden deaths in a row. Who knew what possessed him, but he was completely different from his usual steady style.
No one would ever believe Rat King's Kesha again.
At least not today.
In the second round, KZ chose to ban Nanqiang and Qian Jue, afraid that Xiao Tian would choose another shooter who could restrain Olaf.
Phyllostachys Pubescens smiled dazzlingly when he saw this scene.
YM, on the other hand, locked down Bloom and Tam, trying to limit Gerella's hero pool.
"KZ's fourth pick … Lulu!"
Mille frowned slightly before he reacted. "This combination isn't bad. Lulu paired with Verus isn't weak in lane play, and it's a considerable improvement for KZ's double shooter lineup in team battles."
Liu Qingsong couldn't help but curse in a low voice when he saw this scene.
"Lulu and Karma are both gone. Tear can't show off his hero now." Mongoose still wanted to tease him, but when he saw Liu Qingsong begin to lick his lips and scold him, he immediately shut up.
"Then YM's only left with the mid-top swing position and the jungler …"
Mille looked at Jack's selection box. "This way, YM's top mid pick is exactly the same as the last game."
"Is this to prove that the lineup they chose in the last game is okay?!"
[Stubborn?]
[I give up. They didn't ban Vayne, but chose Qing Gang Ying?
Is their brain fried?]
[I think YM has a backup plan. How could they not change their lineup after losing the last game?]
The comments were still arguing, but Liu Qingsong directly locked on to the last pick!
"Lucian?!" The familiar cry spread instantly. "What kind of lineup is YM using?"
"Qing Gang Ying jungler?"