Lin Yan was calm and composed as he waved at the three spectator stands.
The spectators facing the same direction cheered and applauded with the greatest enthusiasm.
The sound waves from the thousands of people were not soft at all. Wave after wave, they attacked Lin Yan's eardrums.
Li Xianghe, who was standing at the side of the stage, glanced at him with envy.
Ever since he lost to Lin Yan and retired from the throne, it had been a long time since he enjoyed such a grand welcome.
Faker was not one to admit that he was old, but he was already 22 years old when he was born in 1996. During this year's league, he had to admit that his operating strength and reflexes were declining.
Young players like BDD and Ucal challenged him again and again when he was past his prime. Li Xianghe could only hold on bitterly and maintain the last of his dignity as a former No. 1 High School student.
Faker looked at Lin Yan's handsome face that was smiling brightly in the face of the dazzling lights and tsunami-like cheers.
'One day, you'll lose too, right?
'Just like how I was back then.'
Lin Yan was the last representative of the LPL team in the host division. Through his earphones, Ren Dong checked the flow time with the backstage director and let him enjoy the cheers for more than ten seconds. Then, he picked up the microphone and said,
"Now, the 12 teams have been assembled …"
At the same time, the stage beneath his feet flickered with gorgeous special effects and was divided into inner and outer circles. Finally, the logos of the three major divisions, LPL, LCK, and LMS, were displayed in the inner circle.
The three sides each occupied one side, resembling a group of heroes.
On the other hand, the logos of each of the four teams were displayed in the outer circle.
"The 2018 League of Legends Continental Series Asia Tournament begins now!"
The camera angle gradually zoomed out. Accompanied by the gorgeous lights, the big screen in the stadium began to play the promotional video for the Asian Tournament.
Seagulls were flying leisurely above Dalian's unique beach.
Snakey crossed her arms and leaned against the street lamp. "Starting from S2, Asia is undoubtedly the strongest region in League of Legends. This time, the Asian Tournament will be competing for the strongest division in the world.
"We've always been one step behind, this time, we'll have to prove ourselves in the LMS division …"
Words that were originally very serious and serious, when said in a curved tone, always felt a little childish and fierce.
However, the bullet screen's attention was not on that.
[One step behind?
A few moves, right, Big Brother?]
[If we were to pick out a single team, Lightning Wolves might still have a chance. However, in terms of overall strength, LMS is already so weak. How are they going to prove themselves?]
[I like to see them get beaten up after bragging.]
Then, the scene changed, and KT's top laner Smeb also appeared in the promotional video.
He was tall and well-proportioned, and the smile on his face was as warm as the spring breeze. "In this Intercontinental Tournament, we must take back the title that originally belonged to us and restore the glory of LCK. We will not shirk our responsibility!"
Lin Yan's voice was heard before he even arrived. "They've always tried to reforge Glory, but they've never succeeded. LCK seems to have some misunderstanding about the term 'reforge'."
This retort made the audience roar with laughter. The audience only felt incomparably relieved.
Two years ago, they were ridiculed by the other competition zones for being stupid and having too much money. Even buying Korean aid was useless.
But now, the situation had reversed, and they only wanted to say that they were comfortable.
Lin Yan, who was wearing a black and red team uniform, finally appeared in the camera. The dark color of his shirt complemented his fair skin, and the two golden stars on his chest were extremely dazzling under the light.
"As long as I'm still standing here, LPL will always be the first division." He pointed to the golden stars on his chest and said in a firm tone, "This is the best proof."
When the audience heard this sentence, they became excited again. Many fans waved the YM support banners in their hands, and the low sound of the vibration of the air connected together and lingered around the stage!
The big screen in the stadium dimmed again. The next moment, Remember and Rita appeared in front of everyone through the live broadcast signal.
"Welcome to Dalian!" Remember was full of energy. "This is the live broadcast of the 2018 Asian Tournament!"
After reading the advertisements of Mercedes-Benz, Kaifeng Cuisine, and other sponsors, he continued in a clear voice.
"The 12 teams from the three divisions have gathered here. In the next four days, they will fight to reach the top of Asia!"
He spoke very quickly, and it was likely that he had put in a lot of effort in private. "It's worth mentioning that the results of the group stage two days before the Intercontinental Championship will determine who will directly advance to the final!"
Just like last year, there was no elimination in the group stage. After the teams and the teams from the other two divisions of the same rank fought each other, they would be ranked according to the division.
The first place would directly advance to the final on the last day, and the remaining two divisions would meet in the semifinals.
Rita nodded in agreement and explained, "In addition to being able to compete for the first ticket to the final, the group stage also has a certain reference for the three divisions to judge the strength of the enemy. In the knockout stage, these will be an important reference for the division's lineups.
"The opening battle is between YM of the LPL division and LMS's first seed, Lightning Wolves. Both sides have faced each other twice in the mid-season championship, and YM won both times!"
As Remember spoke, the director also showed a comparison of the league performance of the two teams in the summer competition.
Series Win Rate: YM 100% (7 wins 0 losses), FW 100% (7 wins 0 losses);
Games Win Rate: YM 93.3% (14 wins 1 loss), FW 100% (14 wins 0 losses);
Baron Nash's Control Rate: YM 88.9%, FW 100%
Average Economy Lead: YM + 7334, FW + 9810
…
The luxurious data instantly caused the bullet screen to explode!
【？？？？】
[Did the Lightning Wolf cheat?]
[WDNMD, they're even stronger than YM. This is the real God of Illusion!
(dog head)]
[Lightning Wolves: Karsa's departure doesn't affect us much]
[Good guy, I'm going to be a shark in FW's fish pond, right?]
Even though Rita was prepared, she was still stunned.
The 100% of Lightning Wolves' row was too scary. Normal people would not be able to withstand it at all.
Remember could not laugh at all. Tears were flowing out of his stomach.
In his opinion, the bugged data of Lightning Wolves was not good news worth celebrating.
This meant that the other teams in the division were no threat to them at all.
To be honest, it was difficult for a normal professional team to generate such ridiculous data against a streamer team that had been through training.
The average economy lead was close to 10,000. Unless it was given to EDG, it could be said to be exaggerated to the extreme.
If Lightning Wolves were as strong as YM, they would be able to dominate the division. After all, they could achieve good results in international competitions.
But now, everyone knew that Lightning Wolves was just a general among the weak. In the LMS division, where the bloodline of King of Fighters was gradually drying up, they were still considered good. In the international competition, even the top ten goalies might not be qualified.
To be beaten like this by Lightning Wolves, how bad would it be for the remaining seven teams in the LMS division?
He remembered that after the mid-season competition ended, he received news from internal channels that there might be a huge change in the LMS. From the current competitiveness of the division, this was definitely not a good change.
He was afraid that even his hometown would be lost in the end.
"Both sides have shown super strong dominance in the league this summer …" Rita felt that there was nothing to interpret. Currently, they were invincible in the same division. She could only relate it to the previous battle results of the two sides.
Remember to continue the conversation. "Since Karsa came to our LPL division, this year, Lightning Wolves replaced their Korean jungler, Moojin. Based on the league data alone, he can be called a sea of heroes. He used 10 heroes in the spring competition and even brought Dragon Lady to the professional scene."
However, both of them knew that the LMS league data was not reliable at all.
If you moved the 25-year-old Ghost Foot 7 over, he would probably be able to wear AJ and use Blind Monk to kick these markers in the face.
After arguing for five minutes, the two of them did not manage to analyze anything nutritious. However, they were quite concerned about Liu Qingsong, who was going into battle again today. They expressed their views on cervical spine health.
[Is there any more data on the advancement points?
You can release the data on the eye insertion. The commentator is really f * cking ridiculous.]
[Don't embarrass me. This is the director's business. It has nothing to do with the commentator.]
[Director, then it's fine.]
[Don't you know what the comment section is?
It's just a warm-up. Don't kill the conversation.]
[Tian:???]
Fortunately, the backstage director indicated that the players' seats were ready. Remember finally let out a long sigh of relief and turned the camera to the commentator's seat.
"The opening battle is about to begin!"
The familiar sound of "wah wah" appeared again. The Haier brothers were still in charge of the commentary for the first half. "Without further ado, let's go to the BP segment first!"
With a clang, the two sides stood on opposite sides of the screen. The BanPick panel appeared in front of the audience!
"YM is in the blue side. They sent Rock Sparrow to the ban position first, while Lightning Wolves chose to ban Camille!" Mille was not surprised. "These two heroes are strong characters in the current version."
"The second ban position, YM gave Yasso, FW blocked …" Doll's voice suddenly rose. "Draven!"
"Isn't this too exaggerated?" He exclaimed. "This is not a version hero!"
The live audience was also extremely surprised. After watching the game for so long, it was rare to see Draven banned in the first round.
Mille thought for a moment and explained, "The main reason is that the duo Betty and Snakeskin are in is not known for their laning. More often than not, the support has to abandon the ADC to link up with their teammates. If Jack gets Draven, the pressure on the bottom lane will be too great. It will be difficult for Lightning Wolves to free Snakeskin."
There was another reason. The head coach of FW, Warhorse, had watched the game between YM and EDG. Lin Yan was the support at that time. The duo of Hammer Stone + Draven was directly used by the Red Rice in the first round. It was almost destroyed by iboy and Meiko.
Warhorse did not doubt Liu Qingsong's proficiency in Hammer Stone at all. This support who had made a name for himself in the professional arena as a hook hero. With Hammer Stone and Draven, he could only be strong and not weak.
In order to be cautious, he decided to sacrifice a ban position.
"The last ban of the first round. YM has chosen to block Knife Girl. Lightning Wolves are still hesitating …"
Warhorse paced behind the FW players' seats. There were still two T1 Mages, Enchantress and Zooey, left outside. He felt that if he did not block them, both sides would take one each.
The problem now was the jungler.
Should he target the Wine Barrel, which had returned to the strong position after the version update? If YM snatched the Wine Barrel, they would be at a disadvantage.
"Let's ban the Wine Barrel." Warhorse finally made the decision.
This time, YM did not hesitate at all.
The hoarse voice seemed to pass through time and space, and it sounded in Lin Yan's ears with a majestic killing intent!
"Listen to the Silence of Extinction!" Jack even dragged his voice, imitating the selection of lines.
Lin Yan wanted to ask 'What do you mean by death', but on second thought, if this voice was edited by some Harbin Beer operation, he would be as dead as if he had seen De Yun Se. In the end, he chose to keep quiet.
However, through the soundproof earphones, he could vaguely hear the exclamations from the stands on three sides.
"Sword Demon?!"
Doll was 30% shocked at first, but through her superb acting skills, she was able to express it fully. She tore her vocal cords and showed her surprise to the audience through the microphone. "YM has been instakilled!"
"This is the first appearance of Atokus after the revision!"
Mille was also excited. "However, the new Sword Demon's current win rate in the Korean server is worrying. YM must have some new tricks up their sleeves!"
He still had a brain. Since YM dared to instakill, they must have a plan.
This was not the way to play. YM must be very clear about the public opinion of losing to Wan Wan in the opening game of a local competition. Moreover, as the leader of the LPL region, they had to play a role in setting an example. The importance of getting a good start was self-evident.
Seeing that YM had locked onto Sword Demon, the reaction in the bullet screen was even more intense.
[Are there really people playing this stupid hero?]
[Let me tell you a joke. Sword Demon has to imprison himself on the spot for three seconds after releasing three rounds of Q]
[Previously, there was a 'YM chose Sword Demon to livestream himself swallowing feces' post on Resistance Forum. That person should be watching the livestream, right?
Today, I'll satisfy your little troublemaker's request for food and drink.]
[I have a suspicion that YM saw that post and chose Sword Demon.]
The other three teams in the LPL lounge also perked up. They wanted to see how credible Red Rice's pre-match analysis was.
Was Sword Demon really that strong?
On the other side of the stage, Warhorse and Lightning Wolves had the same thought.
They frowned, unable to come up with an answer.
"… Fengtang, what do you think the mid laner should pick?"
Warhorse did not understand and simply ignored it. He looked at his own mid laner, Maple. "Rou Yi or Lebron?"
Fengtang thought for a moment. Both of them were his best heroes, and their version priority was about the same. "Lebron. Sword Demon is very stupid. I can use the chain to pull him in the team battle."
Warhorse did not have any objections. Then, he helped Moojin take down Troll. In the team battle, he could use the R [Might Is Supreme] to steal Sword Demon's health and make Atokus unable to tank. He could also use the E [Ice Pillar] to restrict the clumsy Sword Demon.
It was killing two birds with one stone.
Coupled with the flexible and crowd-control Enchantress, Warhorse was going to annoy Sword Demon to death today.
Want to make an example out of us?
Dream on!
"YM followed up with the Charlo combo," Mille commented truthfully. "This combo's strength is not bad now, and Lightning Wolves took down Lu Xian in the first round!"
It was worth mentioning that Lu Xian also had a small nerf in Version 8.13. The R [Holy Lance Baptism]'s damage bonus to minions was cut, and it was becoming more and more difficult to clear minions with big moves.
It did not seem to have a big impact, but for a position like the mid lane that required a high level of control, Lu Xian's situation was slightly awkward. At present, more players preferred to rearrange Lucian back to the bottom lane.
"In the second round of bans, Lightning Wolves first sent the only remaining strong mid laner, Zooey, to the ban position, while YM chose to block Lucian's good partner, Boulogne …"
In the remaining ban position, Warhorse banned the Eternal Nightmare that Lin Yan had previously taken out to deal with Enchantress. This hero could turn off the lights and teleport thousands of miles to kill people. If the snake slithered away and Betty was left alone to develop, the Eternal Nightmare would be able to withdraw money at will.
Red Rice's idea was simpler. She bought a house in the ban position for the captain that Fire Dragon Hanabi was good at.
"FW's fourth choice, support Leona first!"
Sunshine Girl was Luo's traditional counter position, and she was full of crowd-control skills. Her wandering gank ability was very strong.
Red Rice and the team members discussed the choice of the last two heroes. The audience could see Lin Yan chattering under the camera.
When there were ten seconds left in the countdown, YM finally decided on the last two choices.
"Ryze and Qian Jue …" Doll hesitated for a moment. "Isn't YM's lineup a little weak?"
Mille thought so too. "They're basically relying on Sword Demon to tank in the front. If Troll takes a breath in the team battle, it'll be terrible."
In the end, Warhorse gave Hanabi Kenji, who was relatively good at fighting Sword Demon.
When the two sides changed heroes, the two commentators realized that something was wrong.
"Are they going to let Brother Ran play Sword Demon?" Doll's tone was extremely exaggerated. "Mid Tank Atokus?!"
"That's true." Mille saw that the countdown had reached the last 20 seconds and knew that there was no way for the two sides to change heroes. "Jin Gong will use Ryze to fight Kenji. This is a more comfortable matchup!"
Lightning Wolves, from the team members to the coach, had solemn expressions.
YM's change caught them off guard.
That was because they couldn't change lanes.
They couldn't possibly use Leblanc as their top laner and Kenji as their mid laner, right?
Even if the top and mid laners were very comfortable with changing lanes, Little Temptress's early game usefulness would be reduced by more than half.
After all, Leblanc was a character that emphasized roaming. If she was placed on an isolated island in the top lane, she would become a pure respawn hero.
"It's okay. My Leblanc can fight him. Don't worry." Fengtang pinched his fingers and said firmly. He wanted his teammates to believe in him for once.
Little Temptress was such a flexible hero. Wouldn't she just walk a dog?
Warhorse patted him on the shoulder. "Remember, release Moojin and Snakeskin first, then go to the top lane."
"I know," Fengtang said in a sarcastic tone.
As the countdown officially ended, the lineups of the two sides were determined as follows.
Blue YM: top laner Ryze, jungler Qian Jue, mid laner Sword Demon, bottom laner Charlo.
Red FW: top laner Kenji, jungler Troll, mid laner Little Temptress, bottom laner Lucian + Leona.
"Let's see what kind of surprise Brother Ran will bring to us in the first game of the new version of Sword Demon!" Mille said loudly, trying to stir up the crowd's emotions.
When the Summoner's Canyon descended, the audience could no longer hold back their inner restlessness and burst into a burst of cheers.
"YM, go!!"
Although the stadium was empty, there were still fans who led the shouting, filling the space with their voices.
Following closely behind, the rest of the fans used noisy voices to express their support for the home team!
"Brother Ran brought Electrocution, Taste of Blood, Spirit Boluo, and Ultimate Hunter. His secondary abilities are Chrysalis and Revival …"
It was the debut of the new Sword Demon, so the first thing to pay attention to was the runes and equipment. "Doran's Sword + potion. Brother Ran is very confident. Can he withstand the consumption of the Long-Handed Beauty without the Doran's Shield?"
Doll was still a little doubtful.
"Both sides don't plan to invade. Mongoose's Qian Jue plans to go from bottom to top, using Gongzi Ryze's early lane push advantage to protect his river crab. Moojin will go from the opposite direction and go from top to bottom."
For Troll, Kenji, who had no control, was definitely not a priority to help. It was a good choice to help the bottom and middle lane first, then roll the snowball up.
Before Lin Yan went online, he hid in the bushes in the middle lane and cast a Q [Dark Blade]. Then, when the skill casting window was about to end, he cast a second Q before leaving the bushes and exposing himself in front of Fengtang.
The caster switched the camera to the middle lane. "Brother Ran's positioning is very arrogant. It's obvious that he wants to exchange health with Temptress!"
When Fengtang saw this scene, he couldn't help but get angry.
Who are you looking down on, bringing Doran Sword to fight as a long laner?
He immediately used a normal attack and W [Specter's Perplexing Track] to step on him.
His plan was very good. The first phase of Sword Demon's Q [Dark Blade] only had high damage on the outer edge. If he used a sudden attack, Sword Demon would not be able to win.
But who would have thought that the moment he rushed over, Sword Demon would jump into the air, holding his heavy sword and doing a move that was very similar to the Mountain and Earth Shattering Strike in Toxic Milk Powder!
It was the third phase, Dark Blade!
This b * stard had calculated in advance to lure him forward to exchange health!
Cunning bastard!
Fengtang was shocked, but he did not have the ability to retreat. He could only watch as he crashed into Sword Demon's core sword domain like a moth to a flame!
Additional damage jumped out, and there was even a knockback effect. Yatokus's passive [Death Bestowing Sword Aura] stabbed into Lefran's body!
In the blink of an eye, Temptress's health dropped by 13%!
Fengtang drank a Decay Potion and used [Time Distortion Recovery Potion] to recover a small amount of health. He and Sword Demon attacked each other again, triggering their respective electrocution effects.
Since Yatokus was a Heavy Warrior, his basic stats were much higher than Temptress'.
Thus, although this exchange of health seemed to be one skill, two normal attacks, and one electrocution, Lin Yan had gained quite a bit of health.
"My god, why is Sword Demon's Q skill healed again?!" Doll found a blind spot.
Not long after this exchange of health, Sword Demon once again waved his Dark Blade and began to attack the minions.
The cooldown time was much shorter than he had expected!
Because the skill hadn't changed yet, Maple shrank back in front of the tower, not daring to move too aggressively. His palms were sweating.
Sword Demon had just logged onto the official server not long ago. Fengtang had always thought that he was a top laner, so he hadn't practiced much. He didn't understand the small details of the skill.
Lin Yan's series of actions just now made him think of another old hero — Banishing Blade Raven.
Indeed, as many players had said, the new Sword Demon was very similar to Raven. It looked like he was wearing a layer of skin.
Both of their Q skills were cast in three stages, and their cooldowns were almost the same.
When Raven came online at Level 1, she could hold off her Q — she could only cast Broken Wing Dance at the end of each stage.
Because the cooldown timer started from the first stage of Broken Wing Dance, old Raven would basically hold off the last stage of Broken Wing Dance at Level 1.
After the knockback effect, she would have the additional damage from the passive [Runic Blade] in her hand. Moreover, her new Q skill was about to change, so she could cast another round of damage.
This was a huge advantage in a Level 1 fight.
The current version of Sword Demon was the same. The cooldown timer for Q [Dark Blade] hadn't been changed to start from the end of the third stage of Q or the end of the skill casting window. Like Raven, it started from the end of the first stage of the skill. In theory, she could hold off her Q as well.
Lin Yan had used this technique. Before going online, he had used a Q [Dark Blade] to trigger the cooldown timer. Then, he had used the time limit to lure Fengtang forward.
In the end, he had won this round.
The cooldown for Demoness's Phantom Perplexing Track was very long. Maple hadn't received much in exchange for the skill before he was forced into a passive position. He could only give up the mid lane.
Lin Yan pressed Tab and saw that Fengtang had Demoness's standard Electrocution + Enlightenment Rune.
In other words, Lefran didn't have any extra health.
At Level 1, Demoness had a Corruption Potion, but she only had 500 health.
"The river crab will respawn in two minutes, but Mongoose's luck isn't too good. The first mark is in the river!"
Phyllostachys Pubescens clicked his tongue. He could only accept it obediently. After eating the river crab, he entered the jungle on the opposite side.
After Lin Yan pushed the second wave of minions, he placed his first accessory eye at the outermost part of the bushes in the river.
There was no false vision here. For a jungler like Troll who didn't have any displacement skills, he would have to expose himself if he wanted to pass through the river.
After Demoness reached Level 3, she was finally a little braver. She dared to rely on her high burst damage to trade for health.
Lin Yan took a full set of damage from Demoness's WEQ. After Electrocution, he only had 50% health left after drinking a potion.
He also didn't let Fengtang go. With his passive, he took out a Corruption Potion and a biscuit from Demoness. Now, Maple also had half health left.
"Brother Ran did a good job of trading for health!" Doll wasn't stingy with her praise. "He's not at a disadvantage even against the nimble Demoness!"
Lin Yan was still observing the various details of the battlefield.
Demoness's second biscuit wouldn't appear for another four minutes.
At that time, it would be close to the sixth wave of minions …
He glanced at the time stamp on the upper right corner.
The fifth wave of minions was about to be dealt with in less than three minutes and fifty seconds. Moojin's Troll ran to the bottom lane and caught Jack at the wrong time.
Lin Yan felt that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Since Fengtang had used a skill to trade for health with him, Demoness lost the ability to push the minions. Lin Yan, who had reached Level 4, pushed the fifth wave of minions into the middle tower.
Then, he decisively made his move.
Q [Shadow Blade] was swung out, followed by E [Shadow Charge], and the outer edge of the blade hit Little Temptress!
This version of Sword Demon E increased attack power after casting, causing the damage of the blade to be quite high!
Bright red damage numbers jumped out. While attracting the tower's aggro, Fengtang also panicked!
You want to go over the tower?
Are you crazy?
"Brother Ran wants to go over the tower and kill it?!"
Mille was extremely shocked. "After the first Shadow Blade hit, W's Evil Flame Chain also hit Demoness!"
Sword Demon's Q's E's + W combo basically didn't miss. It took advantage of the short gap when Fengtang was sent flying to continue another crowd-control.
"Demoness W's skill cooldown is too long. Fengtang still wants to use Q's Mark of Malice and E's Phantom Chain to restrain Sword Demon!"
Lin Yan controlled Atokus to take a step forward and swing the second Shadow Blade. The extremely wide blade hit Demoness, who had no ability to escape!
"Two Q's outer edge damage, plus the electrocution damage, Demoness's health is almost empty!"
In the next instant, Sword Demon jumped into the air and used all his strength to smash his heavy sword down!
Evil Flame Chain took effect, and Demoness was forcefully moved to the center. She just happened to hit the center of the last Shadow Blade!
Bright red numbers jumped out. Demoness didn't even have time to use Flash and died on the spot!