On June 12th, the sky was clear.
Lin Yan checked the keyboard and mouse in his backpack to make sure he didn't take the wrong model. He quickly went downstairs and walked out of the base gate.
"Go, go, we don't want to pick up that pig nose Lin Weixiang." Mongoose urged in the car.
Lin Yan didn't react. "What happened?"
"There's no time to explain. Get in the car!"
Phyllostachys Pubescens pulled Lin Yan into the X6 and then welded the door shut. At the same time, he informed the driver, "Go to Zhengda Square."
YM had four or five SUVs every time they went out, so Lin Weixiang wouldn't be in the awkward situation of not having a car. The driver glanced at the other cars behind through the rearview mirror and stepped on the accelerator to drive the car away from YM's base.
Jack, who was sitting in the front passenger seat, was still yawning. It looked like he didn't sleep well last night.
"What's wrong with you two?"
Lin Yan took out a black thermal cup from his backpack, opened the lid, and took a sip of the warm wolfberry tea.
Phyllostachys Pubescens was angry when he talked about it. "Last night before going to bed, I was only one game away from King. Jack and Lin Weixiang were both on my side. Da Mei was the top laner. Jack gave him the bottom lane, but he didn't want to go. He just wanted the top laner!"
"That son of a bitch is good at raising his father." Xiao Yu gritted his teeth. "He raised Qing Gang Yin to Super God in 15 minutes. This game ended immediately. I lost 40 points. If I had known, I would have lost -3 seconds per game!"
Phyllostachys Pubescens was naturally upset that he was tricked by his own teammate. He suspected that if he saw Lin Weixiang again, he couldn't help but think of him as Da Mei. Moreover, Arielia's head was replaced by Da Mei's sneaky smile.
No, he couldn't think about it.
His fist was hard.
Jack, who was in the front passenger seat, was still gloating. "I said Da Mei's top laner was unreliable. If I played top laner, I guarantee you would be on King today."
Lin Yan, who hadn't expressed his opinion until now, suddenly said, "Jack, what top laner are you playing?"
"Barbarian King," Shiba Inu turned around with a bashful face, "I, Barbarian King, am very strong. Three slashes per person!"
Lin Yan patted Xiao Yun's skinny shoulders. "Just admit it. You'll lose to either of our two Eddisis."
Jack had only played as a fill-in top laner in the past two years. Recently, he had basically been playing as a jungler.
But Lin Yan's impression of the Barbarian King of Shiba Inu was too deep. Back then, the Barbarian King of Shiba Inu had tricked him at the top of the canyon.
When Barbarian King saw that the other side had started to use Whirlwind Slash, he wanted to wait until he had a sliver of HP left before using it. In the end, he was killed by the other side's inexplicable burst of damage.
Phyllostachys Pubescens could only sigh and lay down.
The SUV sped all the way and successfully arrived at the competition venue at two in the afternoon.
As soon as the door opened, Shanghai's billowing heat wave in the middle of June hit them in the face and completely froze the air around them.
"Hurry up, or we'll be cooked!" Jack raised his backpack high above his head and wanted to use it to shield him from the scorching sun.
Lin Yan and Mongoose followed suit and rushed into the main square with their backpacks on their heads.
It was still early at the moment. Since the regular season venue was incomparable to a large stadium, the audience did not have to worry about the large number of people waiting in line to check the tickets. It was more than enough to enter the venue half an hour earlier.
Moreover, around two in the afternoon was the hottest time of the day. Normal people would not come three hours in advance under the scorching sun.
No one was looking at them. Jack was like a wild dog that had escaped its leash. He grinned and stuck out his tongue as if he had inherited the cooling function of Shiba Inu.
"I feel good, I feel good." Lin Yan was refreshed by the cold air in the mall.
The three of them went straight to the backstage lounge on the 9th floor through the backstage passage.
"I heard there's KFC?" Jack did not eat at noon and was inevitably hungry.
"It'll be delivered at three in the afternoon." The staff smiled helplessly. "You're too early."
The popularity of the League of Legends tournament was high, attracting more and more sponsors to spend money on advertising.
The biggest sponsor of this summer tournament was Kaifeng Cuisine. With tens of millions of hot money, it meant that the bonuses of the major clubs would increase by a lot at the end of the year.
In addition to the money, KFC would also deliver takeout to the teams on the day of the tournament. It was not expensive according to the cost price. It was all a benefit. When the director cut to the backstage lounge, the logo would also be shown. It was a genius at advertising.
"Jack, aren't you afraid that you'll slow down on the stage if you eat too much?"
Xiaosu laughed at him. "Don't blame me for not warning you if you don't hand in the Q and die suddenly."
"It's okay." Shiba Inu waved his hand and looked relaxed. "I'll just eat two egg tarts and not a hamburger."
"Eating egg tarts on the gaming chair is the supreme enjoyment of life …"
While they were talking, Guo Hao pushed the door open and barged in. Behind him, Lin Weixiang started to fight with Phyllostachys Pubescens.
"You stinky dog that can't even play with Dagger Girl, stay away from your father!"
When Da Mei heard this, he said righteously, "Do you know the value of diamond one?"
"I'm just taking you to experience the feeling of diamond one. Shouldn't it be your own problem if you can't carry me?
Why are you scolding me? "
Lin Weixiang's logic was always confusing, but Little Sleepyhead couldn't help but frown at his self-righteous look.
Could it really be my fault?
"Look if you're wearing the new team uniform." Guo Hao was still emphasizing to the team members. "The camera will be set up later. If you get fined, you'll have to pay the money yourself."
The six of them looked down at their uniforms to make sure they were wearing the right ones.
Jack looked at the YM logo on his chest and could not help but ask, "Didn't you say that our club was going to change its name? Why hasn't it been changed yet?"
"We'll talk about it when we get back." Guo Hao was also angry at the mention of this. "Mercedes-Benz has become the league's chief partner this year. If we change our name, we won't be able to include the investor's name. Even the commentators won't mention BMW when introducing the team."
Not including the investor's name was equivalent to not having much advertising effect. Recently, BMW China's marketing department had been arguing with Teng Jing about this.
However, Teng Jing, who had already accepted Mercedes-Benz's sponsorship, was very stubborn and directly rejected BMW's request.
Compared to Audi, which had been forced to reduce its price recently to save sales, BMW, which was still strong, was undoubtedly Mercedes-Benz's biggest competitor in China. They could not let their competitor touch their cake.
They had no choice but to use the YM name in China. At the very least, their reputation was there and they were considered the top club in the country.
"So ruthless?" Jin Gong could not help but be speechless when he heard this.
"Of course, Mercedes-Benz's sponsorship fee is nine figures a year. Teng Jing naturally has to support them," Guo Hao said unhappily.
Liu Qingsong, who was drinking iced Coke, stopped sucking and widened his eyes slightly. "… How much?"
"Whoa, nine figures?" Da Mei was already counting with his fingers.
"This kind of chief partner's sponsorship fee is very high. Mercedes-Benz is the only one in LPL." Guo Hao had a certain understanding when he was running around to get sponsorships for the club. He also took the opportunity to explain to his team members. "According to the amount of sponsorship, the next level is the strategic partner. For example, Harbin Beer and KFC are the third level. Official partners …"
As he spoke, KFC's takeout finally arrived. Jack quickly took out a warm egg tart from the carton and stuffed it into his mouth in one gulp. His cheeks were puffed up.
Lin Weixiang was not playing today, so he did not hesitate to pick up the spicy burger and eat it.
"Didn't you say you were on a diet?" Lin Yan saw that he was eating happily and could not help but tease him.
"Brother Ran, you don't understand, right?" Da Mei swallowed the chicken in his mouth. "How can I lose weight if I don't eat enough?
After eating this burger, I can run five kilometers tonight! "
Lin Yan looked him up and down. He had to admit that Lin Weixiang had lost a lot of weight during his time as a substitute. At least he now looked thinner than Jack.
Red Mi also came over and grabbed a burger. The team members were eating, so it was not good to talk about tactics. They might as well wait until everyone was full.
At this time, the right choice was to let the team members eat first. By the time they finished talking about tactics, the food would have been digested and the blood would have gradually moved from the stomach to the brain. It would not seriously affect the players' ability to operate.
After the YM coaches finished talking about all the precautions for the opening match, the atmosphere in the team's lounge became lively again.
Jack opened the door and saw Knight standing outside. He did not know what he was doing, so he immediately put on a vigilant expression.
"What?
You want to spy on us, right? "
The Afghan mid laner heard this and shook his head. "The room is soundproof. Even if I stood outside the door, I wouldn't be able to hear what you're saying. I, I just wanted to come over and chat with someone …"
Hearing Zhuo Ding's habitual words, Jack began to mock him. "Even if you can hear us, it's useless. We don't need to prepare any tactics for TOP."
"Huh?" Zhuo Ding did not expect Jack to be so arrogant. He was stunned. "Really?"
"Aiya." Jack looked at his confused expression and suddenly felt like he had entered sage mode. "It's fake, it's fake. I'm just messing with you. Hurry up and come in."
Shiba Inu looked at Zhuo Ding's back as he walked into the lounge and could not help but sigh.
With this brain, he had to thank the League of Legends for giving him a bowl of rice.
Phyllostachys Pubescens saw Knight and quickly patted the empty sofa next to him, asking him to sit down.
The two of them began to watch the two-dimensional drama with their heads touching each other's heads again.
Jin Gong was still teasing him. "Knight, you're not going to let Brother Ran kill you today?"
The people next to them laughed. They still remembered that Zhuo Ding had insisted on competing with Lin Yan in the middle lane. In the end, he had been taught a lesson by Lin Yan.
Zhuo Ding habitually clasped his fingers and said softly, "No, no, we have a new jungler this round. We need to get used to each other."
“XX？”
Lin Ran saw the other team's starting list last night. At that time, he was quite surprised. The TOP coach Bobby actually moved Sorrow, who had played well before, to the water dispenser and replaced him with another newcomer, Bear.
"I've seen him in LDL!" Lin Weixiang immediately raised his hand and shouted. "We're old friends!"
Phyllostachys Pubescens immediately began to mock him. "Big Mei, look at him. The guy who played with you in the secondary league is now in the starting lineup. When are you going to kill Jack?"
"I can kill him with a Wheat Flavored Fish now." Lin Weixiang's words were shocking.
When Jack heard this, he immediately slapped him.
The two Edis of YM began to fight hand-to-hand. Little Sleepyhead saw this and smiled as if his scheme had succeeded.
He was too smart.
He wanted to kill with a borrowed knife and take revenge on Lin Weixiang for tricking Swordsister last night!
…
"Friends present and Summoners watching the live broadcast, good afternoon. I'm the host, Yu Zhen!"
The tall woman walked to the front of the stage in her high heels. "This is the live broadcast of the 2018 League of Legends Summer Season!"
There was already a sea of people present. YM never had to worry about not being able to sell tickets. Every time the ticket channel opened, all prices of tickets would be sold out within a few seconds.
After all, the cheapest single ticket on weekdays was only 50 yuan. In other words, with the price of two cups of milk tea, one could see YM, who was comparable to the LPL's all-star lineup, live in the stadium. The price-performance ratio was extremely high. It was simply the favorite of the students.
"After a month and a half of the break, welcome back to Shanghai!"
Yu Zhen's hosting skills were sufficient compared to her peers. At this time, she said loudly, "In May, we witnessed with our own eyes the golden rain that YM set off in Paris. They once again picked up the mid-season trophy. In June, YM will return with glory. They will definitely want to continue their reign!"
"Let us welcome … Young Miracles!"
Above the stage, the flags printed with the logos of the 14 LPL teams flickered under the flickering flashes. Finally, the flashes focused on YM, who was covered in black and red!
The LED display behind Yu Zhen also showed a dynamic effect. The black dragon hovered and rose under the burning red flames, finally showing the team logo of YM!
"Top Laner GimGoon, Jungler Tian, Mid Laner Ran, Bottom Laner JackeyLove, Support Crisp, and Head Coach Homme!"
Amidst Yu Zhen's introduction and the excited screams of the live audience, the YM members left the entrance channel one by one and stood at the front of the stage.
With glasses on, Lin Yan's eyesight was very good. On top of that, there was nothing blocking his line of sight on the high stage. He could see a familiar tall figure arching her body as she walked along the narrow channel at the edge of the stadium to the front row. She glanced at the ticket in her hand, confirmed her seat, and sat down, revealing her white and soft cheeks.
She noticed that Lin Ran was looking at her. He was even waving the support sticks in his hands with the other fans.
Only then did Lin Yan notice that Su Cheng's outfit was a little different today.
The loose black short-sleeved shirt and three-quarter pants looked quite casual. There was also a headband printed with the word "Ran" on her head. The three letters flashed, adding a bit of playfulness.
The corner of his mouth raised slightly.
Where did Su Cheng get all these support sticks?
Lin Yan and the fans below the stage focused their attention on the person they cared about. Countless eyes wandered around him.
There had been no competition for more than half a month, so the audience in the live broadcast channels of the major platforms was quite active. They had probably been holding it in for too long. Today, they finally found a place to vent and quickly typed on their keyboards.
[Hahaha, why is this team uniform so weird?]
[I think it's okay, it looks pretty good.]
[I don't care what you think, I want what I think.]
[It's a far cry from the previous version with the claw marks, okay?]
[After looking at YM's team uniform, my evaluation is: F * ck!]
Unable to agree on the name change of the club, BMW simply made a fuss about the team uniform.
The design team continued to enlarge the BMW logo on the team uniform, making it look like the Arc Reactor on Iron Man's chest. What they wanted was for the camera to focus on the players so that the audience could see the eye-catching BMW logo at first glance.
Because the BMW logo was adjusted too big, the claw mark that was widely praised by fans last season could no longer be used. Otherwise, it would look too out of place with the logo on the chest.
Now, the team uniform gradually changed from pure black to dark red from the left collar to the right waist. This gradual style looked a bit monotonous, and many audience members were not used to it.
However, this did not affect their deafening cheers for YM's debut!
"Let us once again welcome team YM …" Yu Zhen switched to a card when the director wasn't paying attention. "And the other side of today's opening match is the rising young power of the new generation.
"In the year since its establishment, their results have steadily improved, and they have successfully entered the top six in this year's spring competition. They have become the most dazzling stars in the league. Let us welcome Topsports Gaming!
"Top laner Zoom, jungler xx, mid laner Knight, bottom laner Jiumeng, support ppgod, and head coach Poppy!"
The starting players of TOP and their coach stood on the right side of the stage, listening to the sporadic applause that symbolized courtesy.
Although they did not have as many fans as the fans of Piggy and RNG, they were still considered to be in the middle of the league. They were much stronger than BLG and the like.
After all, Zhuo Ding was from YM, and a bunch of YM fans looked at him as if he was their son. In addition, his performance in the previous year was remarkable, and he had attracted a lot of fans with his explosive single point attack and pleasing to the eye.
Moreover, TOP had another key attribute — Huazi. Although they did not have as much marketing as RNG, they still attracted a small portion of the audience's support.
However, all of these added together were still not enough in front of YM.
After being crowned king in the two mid-season competitions, it was no exaggeration to say that YM had already captured 70% of the LPL's fans. The rest of the fans were divided up by veteran teams like EDG, IG, RNG, and WE. The leftovers were left for TOP, Snakes, RW, and the declining Planet of Planets OMG.
The exaggerated number of fans made it impossible for TOP's fans to compete with YM's fans for tickets to today's opening match.
"Let us once again welcome the TOP team!"
Yu Zhen had a sweet smile on her face. "For the top of the world, the 2018 League of Legends Summer Season officially begins!"
While the players of both teams were rushing to the player seats, the director quickly switched the screen.
Doll's energetic voice once again echoed in the stadium.
"Welcome to Zhengda Square!
After a month and a half, there's finally a match. "Doll still looked a little excited." Today's opening day has two matches, YM versus TOP, and RNG versus IG at 7 o 'clock. Both are the highlight matches! "
Mille next to him added, "That's right. Watch every match. But before that, we have to break in some important news."
"The League of Legends roster for the Asian Games in August has been submitted to the General Administration of Sports for approval. It will be officially announced this afternoon." The director also showed a picture on the screen. "The top team is RNG's Letme, jungler Mongoose, midlaner Brother Ran, bottom laner Jack and Puppy, support Liu Qingsong, and head coach Abu."
That was the official list. The rest of the analysts, such as White Crescent, Hanyi, and Su Cheng, could only be considered part of the logistics department.
"I also hope that the boys will continue to work hard and win the first Asian Games gold medal in the history of League of Legends!" Doll was still a little excited when he said this.
As an older generation esports player, he really wanted to see the development of esports become better and better.
Whether it was personal feelings or practical benefits, this was the case.
Hearing this news, the bullet screen in the live broadcast room exploded.
[YM has four people on it?
That's ridiculous.]
[This way, their chances of winning are guaranteed. YM will have four people on it. Let Emperor do whatever he wants.]
[I suggest that Ouze just play in the group stage for two matches. It's best if he doesn't play in the knockout matches. You also have a part to play in winning the championship. Of course, this is just a suggestion.]
[No one is on the Korean roster?
Top laner GimGoon, jungler Peanut + Score, midlaner Faker, bottom laner Ruler + Corejj, head coach Kkoma.]
[Rumor has it that the other two coaches on the Korean team are Red Rice and Edgar, the Three Stars White Double Hero.]
[It's over, it's over. Siberian + Red Rice?
These two definitely know YM. Won't they be able to take advantage of their weakness?]
[It's okay. As long as Emperor can hold his ground in the top lane, Brother Ran and Little Tortoise can bring up the tempo and win. No matter how good the coach is, you still have to rely on the players to win the game.]
The bullet screen was still discussing, but on the commentary platform, Doll Mille had already turned the topic back to the game.
"YM versus TOP. The focus of the game is still on Brother Ran and Knight. Especially after the big update, the tactical status of the mid lane has instantly risen. It's completely different from the version of S7 Grasshopper Galio."
Mille agreed. "The other key point is the jungler. This is the most important part of the mid-season update. In the first game of the summer, let's see what kind of tactical thinking both teams will show!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the crisp sound of metal rang in everyone's ears!
"YM used their priority to get the blue side for themselves and took out Aoun first!"
Zoom's Aoun's proficiency was quite high. Red Rice was very afraid and did not hesitate to give him a ban position.
"TOP blocked out Qing Gang Yin … This should be because they are afraid of YM's three-way swings in the mid and top lanes."
Doll saw this and joked. "I realized that YM is really playing like the Camille team now. Originally, it was only Brother Gongzi who played the top lane, then Brother Ran started to use it, and now even Mongoose has joined in …"
"What's the most ridiculous thing?"
Mille held back his laughter. "YM's strongest user of Qing Gang Yin is not a top laner. This is ridiculous!"
Red Rice gave the second ban position to Luo, and Bobby banned Kesha.
Although Void Maiden had been removed, her mechanics had not changed. She was still the most perfect ADC in the entire Alliance. This kind of hero would not have much of an impact on her appearance rate as long as she did not hit the main artery.
"For the last ban, YM chose Little Temptress, and TOP responded by blocking Zooey!"
Lefran and Zooey were currently the hottest mid laner heroes in the ranking competition. Bobby originally wanted everyone to have one each.
However, Red Rice's initiative to attack disrupted his plan. In order to not let the opponent get a strong mid laner, Bobby could only send her to the ban position.
"YM snatched Rock Sparrow, and TOP got the bottom lane combination of Verus and Boulogne …"
In the second and third choices, Red Rice decisively blocked Dusk and Karma.
"YM's bottom lane combination looks a bit strange. How did Dusk and Karma work together?" Doll thought for a moment and raised her doubts.
Mille frowned slightly. "This Karma might not be a support. Brother Gongzi took the top laner to steal Karma's money in the mid-season match. The effect was quite good!"
TOP coach Bobby was also thinking about the opponent's choice.
However, until the countdown was about to end, he still had not figured out YM's split.
This Karma looked like a top laner, but he could not guarantee it. If YM swayed successfully, it would be too painful.
"Let's take Princes first. We'll keep the top laner for the second round."
In the second round of the ban position, Bobby aimed at the jungler position. He banned Nanqiang and Qian Jue, two heroes with displacement skills that countered Princes.
Red Rice did not hesitate either. She sent Swordmaiden and Sindra to the ban position.
"TOP red's fourth choice … Jayce!" Doll's eyes lit up. "This is also a swinging position that can be mid or top!"
Mille rubbed his chin. "However, the problem is that Zoom's Jayce's proficiency seems to be average. I personally prefer Knight to use him to fight Rock Sparrow."
What he said made sense. Doll nodded.
"Look at YM's fourth and fifth choices. If they take Bull's Head first, then this Karma should be the top laner … Mongoose has to get a jungler good at fighting Princes!"
But the last hero YM chose in the box surprised him!
Everyone would die eventually, and some people needed a little help.
Lu Xian!
"What does this mean?"
Doll's words were reasonable. He immediately blurted out, "Is Lu Xian jungler?"
[@ insec, come out from under the table.]
[Doll, you're a traitor too, aren't you?
Who are you hinting at?]
[Is YM's brain fried?
They chose two mid laners?]
At the climax of the comments, Mille poked his partner's waist. "This should be Rock Sparrow jungler Lu Xian mid laner."
"Wow, for real?" Doll's tone was extremely exaggerated.