"YM took the lead and won the first game of the finals!" Doll's voice was as passionate as ever.
"IG has to pay the price for their mistakes since the middle of the game." Remember shook his head. "They were too reckless."
"Sometimes they have to take on team battles that they can't win!"
"But this is IG's style."
Mille looked at the players' seats. The IG players looked slightly depressed. They were obviously stunned by YM's suffocating rhythm.
"This team has been playing like this since this year," he said helplessly. "I can only say that they were targeted by YM in the first game."
"I have to say, Ran Bro's hand of cards caught IG off guard." He remembered that he knew who the key player of the game was. "He played very well in this round!"
The five YM players moved in unison. They clicked the mouse with their right hand and glanced at the post-game output panel. They picked up the paper cup with their left hand and drank all the drinks inside before getting up and heading to the backstage lounge.
The Qing Ao Park stadium was quite large. If the YM players wanted to return to the lounge, they had to cross the entire stage.
Along the way, the cheers from the audience never stopped.
In the first game, YM won the game with a crushing momentum.
Although IG kept looking for opportunities, they were like cornered beasts. Every step they took was calculated by YM. They could not gain any advantage at all.
The YM supporters who witnessed all this became more and more excited. Su Cheng hummed a song and looked down at her phone, admiring the scene in the eSports forum.
In the backstage lounge, Red Mi could not sit still anymore. He ran to the corridor to greet his team members.
He smiled and patted his team members on the shoulder one by one, indicating that they had done well.
"Keep up the good work. We will be in the blue side in the next game. Try to take it down, and this final will be very stable!"
After the first game, Homme felt that he had mastered the winning password.
After the semi-finals, Lin Yan had talked to him about his worries about the Sign of Theft rune in his hand. He was worried that it would affect the implementation and execution of YM's overall strategy.
Jin Gong was indeed the first player to use the Money Stealing Long Hand to the professional scene, but that didn't mean that he was the best player to use this strategy.
YM's application of this system was not perfect yet, and the personal style of the eight Westerners was limited to this.
Lin Yan believed that the team needed to perfect this Stealthy Omen set. At the same time, they needed to find a solution to prevent the opponent from using this set against YM.
From the looks of it, once the opponent chose to use a long-handed hero to carry Stealer's Omen, it would be useless to use the melee tank to resist the pressure.
Before Stealing Omen changed the food chain of the top laners, many LPL top laners liked to use Aoun and Cheyenne. Even when the team did not give them resources, they could still survive.
At that time, as long as the blue-collared top laner didn't die, he wouldn't be able to stomach even if he lost a bit of money during the laning period. This was because no matter how bad his development was, the other party wouldn't be able to reap any benefits other than the spawn line.
In other words, the long-handed hero would only gain the development of an ordinary hero. As for the others, there would not be any advantage in terms of equipment or level. In other words, there would be a relative economic advantage.
During the team battle, the blue-collared top laner could rely on his control skills to make a lot of contributions to the team battle.
But not now.
Stealer's Omen gave the long-handed top laner the ability to still obtain the economic advantage even when the other players were fighting.
The economic advantage of relying on stealing money during the laning period was above the other laners. His development was better than the other nine heroes, which was an absolute economic advantage.
Under such circumstances, it was very difficult for the blue-collared top laner to survive. Originally, the laner's development was just a little worse. Now that the other party had Stealer's Omen, he was the one who raised the other party.
After YM used Stealer's Omen to torture Letme, they also had to prepare a response.
After all, the other LPL professional teams were not fools. Their ability to create a tactical system out of thin air might not be high, but their ability to copy playstyles was indeed not bad.
Red Rice also realized that Stealer's Omen might become a trend.
Therefore, in the two or three days before the start of the finals, he and Gouba had done sufficient communication with the team members to try to find a solution that the coaches and players could accept.
"That's a good idea." Lin Yan sat down on the chair. "Card's hero is really good."
Gouba's face lit up with joy.
Card Master was a hero that he had found on a whim. Watching Lin Yan use such a stable method to harvest the other party's life, he was naturally overjoyed.
You want to use your long-handed top laner to suppress my short-handed? I'll use Card Master to counter. Let's see if you still dare to push the line so recklessly after level 6.
Due to the existence of Yellow Cards, Card Master could be said to be one of the most stable control heroes in the entire League of Legends.
Moreover, in the professional arena, it was very difficult for the top laner to be purified. This made Card Master's ability to catch even more prominent.
As long as Yellow Cards controlled the top laner, the teammates could keep up with the damage.
Especially when the other party used the long-handed top laner with Stealer's Omen, the effect was particularly obvious.
Because of the mechanics of League of Legends, since the character had the range advantage, the character's body would be more fragile.
Card Master could use Yellow Cards to freeze the character, and together with the teammates, they could even directly kill the fragile character.
This way, Drizzt would be a great deterrent to the long-handed top laner, and Stealer's Omen wouldn't be able to be as effective.
From Red Mi's point of view, Card Master's biggest weakness was his weak solo fighting ability, and the weakness of the mid lane was also derived from this.
Lane control was very important in the current patch.
Why would junglers be able to perform better when their team's three lanes had lane control?
Because no matter where the jungler went, their team's hero with lane control would always be able to get there first.
Currently, the value of Two Minute River Crab's economy and experience were constantly increasing. Canyon Vanguard had also added a revival mechanism. In the early and middle stages of the game, junglers who could fight for neutral resources could be said to be the absolute core of the team.
The players on the three lanes had to cover their junglers in the jungle, cover their ganks, and cover their looting of neutral resources.
In this patch, the junglers had to be comfortable in order to win the game faster.
The junglers' position in the early stages of the game had indirectly increased the importance of lane control.
Red Mi and Lin Yan both thought that this patch of S8 emphasized lane control.
With lane control, the team could set their sights on the opponent's jungle and know all of the enemy's movements. They could also use their lane advantage to snatch neutral resources.
Card Master had a natural disadvantage in this aspect.
He couldn't compete with heroes like Sindra and Zooey for lane control.
However, in the current version of the game, line rights were meant to provide support.
Drizzt's powerful support ability was enough to make up for this. He could use his big move [Fate] to forcefully ignore lane control and go to other places to help his teammates.
This was even more terrifying than Galio's wandering ability. The Level 1 R [Hero's Entrance] only had a range of 4,000 yards, but Card Master's displacement range was 5,500 yards. Standing in the middle lane, he could basically cover the entire map.
In this situation, Card Master's strength was reflected.
After he had his big move, he could take on the role of half a jungler, constantly giving pressure to the other two lanes and the jungle.
This was also the reason why Lin Yan had picked the last card in the previous game. He had picked The Shy.
If you dare to pick the long hand, you must be prepared for military training!
"I'll emphasize it again. If we can still get the card in the next game, everyone must keep the battlefield away from the middle lane!"
Red Mi said. He didn't let his guard down. This was only the first game of the finals. No one knew if there would be any changes.
Card Master could also play a good role in small team battles such as 2v2 and 3v3. However, compared to heroes like Sindra, Zooey, and Lefran, he was still much weaker.
Drizzt's strength was mainly in the lane and the side lane.
This required the entire team to avoid fighting in the middle lane and let Card Master drive the tempo. They would go to other areas to create a situation where they outnumbered the enemy. Only then could Drizzt's role be maximized.
"It's fine," Jack replied with a smile. "I don't believe that IG will release a card in the next game. Brother Ran definitely won't be able to pick it!"
When he was on the field, he also felt the strong control of his team's mid laner.
The entire game, from beginning to end, went according to Lin Yan's plan. IG was like being trapped in a net. No matter how they struggled, they couldn't escape.
Jack felt comfortable.
He didn't have to worry too much. The entire game was like a snowball rolling little by little. In the end, they won the game.
Lin Yan held a cup of iced coffee in his hand and sipped it from time to time.
The MVP of the previous game was also shown on the TV screen in the lounge.
It was still given to Lin Yan.
Although the battle damage ratio wasn't very good and the damage conversion rate was a pitiful 102.2%, the 83.3% kill participation rate made up for it all.
"Ahhh!" Jin Gong screamed like a groundhog. "I'm not the MVP?"
Before he left the stage, he deliberately looked at the damage output panel. In the 20 minutes of the game, he had dealt 22,000 damage. His average damage output had exceeded the 1,000 mark.
More importantly, Xi Ba was the only player with zero deaths in the game. KDA707 didn't give IG any chance at all. At the same time, he also dealt the most damage.
"That's enough," Mongoose retorted. "If Brother Ran hadn't been helping the top laner, would you have been able to suppress The Sh?"
Jin Gong didn't say anything. He grabbed Tortoise's neck and began to shake him.
"… I can't even tell the truth?"
Xiao Tian was almost shouting "I can't breathe". His face was red as he defended himself.
Xi Ba thought about it and it seemed to make sense. However, he still didn't give up. He gave his own jungler a neck massage before letting Mongoose leave.
The break between the matches was 15 minutes. There was still a small half of it left.
"Does anyone want to eat egg tarts?" Guo Hao carried a bag of opened vegetables. "If you're hungry, you can have one to fill your stomach!"
Lin Yan reached out and grabbed one. He opened the packaging and stuffed it into his mouth.
Although he had won the previous game, he had put in a lot of effort. Song Yijin's mid lane ability was indeed very strong. He had spent a lot of energy. It was reasonable for him to eat egg tarts to replenish his energy.
Jack also grabbed one and swallowed it in one gulp.
Guo Hao looked at the remaining box of egg tarts in the bag and felt a little regretful. "It's a pity that 369 isn't here. He ate it all when he came."
Everyone in the competition department was stunned and laughed out loud.
At the same time, Ze Yuan and the two guests in the commentary section were also expressing their opinions.
Misaya's Ruo Feng immediately became excited when he saw Lin Yan choose the card. This was his representative hero back in the day!
"Brother Ran's Card Master is definitely a teaching game." Although he wasn't familiar with Lin Yan, it didn't stop him from bragging. "The most important thing about Drizzt's hero is his control of the tempo!"
"How to control the tempo to the most comfortable point is a recognized difficulty for card players. Most of the time, the opponent will take advantage of the cooldown period after Drizzt uses his ultimate to counterattack." Ruo Feng spoke with assurance. "But Brother Ran's control in this aspect has reached the realm of perfection!"
"Broiler repeatedly tried to fight Drizzt in the mid lane, but Brother Ran neutralized it. YM's entire team avoided battle and exchanged resources during the cooldown period. Moreover, every time the card's ultimate was cast, he didn't use it immediately. He waited for the best opportunity to use it."
"This allowed him to maximize the benefits of every attack."
Wandering God also spoke up. "This game wasn't Broiler's bad play."
"Card Master is a hero that hasn't been on the professional stage for a long time. When he chose it, he must have caught Broiler off guard." He spoke up for his good brother. "Brother Ran used this hero and didn't play against the lane. This made Broiler's strongest lane advantage unable to be used."
He saw Ze Yuan and Ruo Feng looking at him and shouted calmly, "I think rookie really did his best!"
"YM's cards really played a trick on him!"
In this round, Song Yijin also played quite a bit and even obtained a few kills as a reward.
However, Sindra's hero mechanic was there. If they didn't have much of an advantage in lane and couldn't restrict the card's support, they would be at a disadvantage.
"Let's see what kind of adjustments IG will make in the second game." Ze Yuan was still looking forward to the next game. "After all, this is a top team. After a loss, they will definitely make changes!"
As they spoke, the two teams once again stepped onto the stage under the guidance of the staff. They bypassed the Summoner's Canyon in the middle and went to their own seats.
Lin Yan held a heating pad in his hand and swung it around in the air.
He held the iced coffee and took two sips. His hands were still a little cold. He had to warm them up.
No one was in the mood to chat in the custom room. Everyone just sat quietly in their chairs and waited for the referee's order to start the game.
"Blue Team's GimGoon player, you may start the game."
The female referee's sweet voice entered everyone's ears.
The Xiba player rubbed his knuckles and pressed the button to start the game.
The three commentators were excited. The spectators in Green's Olympic Park stadium were also stirred up!
"The second game of the finals has begun!"
Doll looked at the screen and said loudly, "YM first banned Lo!"
Huan Ling was definitely one of the most familiar heroes in Sapphire.
Lo's performance in the previous game was also very good. There were no problems with the timing of the team battles and it almost caused YM a lot of trouble.
However, in the later stages of the game, Lin Yan used a yellow card to increase the range of his cannon to kill him in the Dragon team battle. He didn't play much of a role.
However, Red Rice still banned him as a sign of respect.
"IG blocked Hammer Stone." Mille frowned. "It's exactly the same as the ban choice in the previous game … Are they still trying to restrict Liu Qingsong?"
"But the first game proved that even if Liu Qingsong didn't roam, IG wouldn't be able to handle it."
In the first game, other than raising his shield to help his teammates absorb enough damage in the team battle, the only time Liu Qingsong supported the line was when he ambushed the meat chicken in the wild zone of the Three-Wolves camp in the first half of IG. He also helped Jack to complete a kill.
However, that kill in the jungle didn't actually affect the direction of the game. IG was already on the decline and Liu Qingsong's ambush only sped up their demise.
The three commentators couldn't understand why IG was so insistent on banning support heroes.
"YM banned Yasso as the second hand …"
Happyboy was very effective against heroes like card masters. Red Rice knew that Song Yijin's Yasso was also very familiar with it. Back then, he was able to save Wang Sicong from Old Eight's Secret Burger, so naturally he wouldn't ignore it.
IG banned Troll King.
"Eh?" Doll finally realized that something was wrong.
"IG's BP is going to release all the strong heroes!"
He raised his voice. "I'll release Akali and Ice. Everyone can choose what you want!"
This was the change that Jin Jingzhu made in the second game.
IG was in the red team and was under a lot of pressure.
According to the normal procedure, Akali and Ice had to be banned. Lin Yan's card in the first game was also very eye-catching.
If they were all banned, IG's first three banned spots would all be taken.
Even so, YM still had Lucian, Sword Demon, Do Whatever, and other characters that could be snatched first.
It was too passive.
Therefore, Jin Jingzhu decisively chose to change.
If he released all the strong heroes and gave YM the right to choose first, he would definitely be at a disadvantage. However, he could still take two in the first and second hand, which was still within an acceptable range.
"But is this really going to work?!" Miller was skeptical about this.
Red Rice held his chin as he paced back and forth in the players' seats.
"… We'll ban Akali." He finally made a choice. "Release Akali and Ice, and we'll take Esch."
In his opinion, Esch was a very high priority.
Moreover, if the cards were released to the opponents, they could still counter them. Also, Broiler hadn't used cards in a professional game for a long time, so IG might not use them.
This was the best solution.
Jin Jingzhu, whose body was a bit too strong, said to Broiler, "Ban Eternal Nightmare. If they don't choose the card, we'll take it."
Eternal Nightmare's big move could block the full view of the card. W's [Dark Shelter] could also block Drizzt's yellow card control. At the same time, its ability to push the lane was quite strong. This was definitely the counter position of the card.
Red Rice understood when he saw this.
IG was paving the way for Broiler to choose the card!
"Don't worry about them, continue to take Esch." He didn't care and decided to snatch the Ice Shooter first.
"IG's response is also very good. With the combination of Akali and Lucian, the Holy Spear Ranger, no matter if he goes solo in the top lane or as a support in the bottom lane, his combat strength is guaranteed." Doll nodded in satisfaction. "This is also Broiler's first card game this year!"
"YM was prepared before this. They probably had a set of custom-made cards, but IG obviously had the intention of forcing the selection …" Mille's eyebrows were knitted together. "To be honest, whether a player can take out this hero or not is often not up to him."
The biggest difference between a professional match and a ranked match was the linkage.
Players would make use of minions to make a fuss, cooperate with other teammates, and loot resources on the map.
In terms of skills, there were not many details that could be picked out. It was simple and unadorned, mainly relying on coordination and awareness.
Mille felt that IG's impromptu selection might not be very effective.
"Enchantress and Zhao Xin … YM directly showed their own combination of midlaners and junglers." Remember couldn't be more satisfied with this. "They're really strong!"
Doll agreed with his partner's point of view. "They're basically the best midlaners in this version. They have control and burst, and they're not clumsy. Their chasing ability is also outstanding."
"IG's last pick in the first round, and they got Qing Gang Ying for themselves!"
Jin Jingzhu had made a choice between Boulogne and Camille. In the end, he still thought that Ning Wang's tactical position was more important.
In the next round of BP, IG chose to ban Cheyenne and Orne. Red Rice, on the other hand, banned Luthien's strong support, Bloom, as well as The Shy's best player, Jess. They were worried that IG would give Luthien to Old Thief Sima and choose a second battalion commander, Piltoff, for Jiang Chenglu.
"IG's fourth pick is Shen." Remember's eyes lit up. "This means that Lucian's lane situation will only be determined in the last round!"
"And Shen can also be used as a swing for the top lane. The Shy has this hero in their hero pool!"
Red Rice was still asking for the opinions of his team members.
"Jin Gong, can you use Kenan?"
At the moment, there were no better top lane characters available. YM was in the blue side, so they had to consider whether IG would swing Lucian to the top lane.
Kenan was considered to have a longer range among the top laners, and he had a certain burst damage. Compared to the top laners with short hands, this was a good choice.
"… Sizzling." Jin Gong nodded in agreement.
Red Rice looked at Tear. "Liu Qingsong, you have to choose a hero that can protect people. Can Tam do it?"
Liu Qingsong licked his lips.
The lineup that IG had chosen now was very violent, and there were many control chains. Tam was indeed a very suitable support for protection.
He did not raise any objections. He quickly found the character in his hero list and locked it in.
"IG's last pick is Verus." Mille finally understood. "This way, they'll still shake Lucian to The Shy, and Bao Lan will use Shen as support!"
The lineup of both sides was confirmed.
The blue side YM: top laner Kenan, jungler Zhao Xin, mid laner Enchantress, bottom laner Eich + Tam.
The red side IG: top laner Lucian, jungler Qing Gang Ying, mid laner Card Master, bottom laner Verus + Shen.
"Why do I feel that YM's lineup won't be easy to play in the middle and late stages?" Remember analyzed. "And Enchantress won't be able to play well in a head-on team battle. IG has a lot of control, and Tam might not be able to protect her!"
"The main thing is that IG's support Shen is very good. YM's front lineup's continuous output is Eich alone, and Shen's W Sword Formation can effectively stop the normal damage in this regard."
Mille added, "At the same time, IG's lineup has the possibility of splitting the flanks in the middle stage. With Card Master and Shen's cover, Lucian can completely dominate the flanks!"
Many of the YM supporters in the stands heard the analysis of the three commentators and felt that this was the case.
The bullet screen also felt that something was wrong.
[Oh no, YM didn't get tricked, did they?]
[WDNMD, how can the blue side's BP be so bad?]
[All you care about is your B Eich. You snatched the card first, and The Shy still dares to use Lucian?]
The coaches of both sides once again stepped onto the Summoner's Canyon in the middle of the stage. After a friendly handshake, Red Rice turned around and left with a smug smile.
Jin Jingzhu also sneered.
Both sides felt that their BP completion in this round was higher.
I have the advantage, I'm full of confidence.
The final result had to be confirmed by the performance on the field.
The dome spotlights flashed with colorful lights, focusing on the Silver Dragon Cup, and the camera slowly zoomed out.
The game had finished loading, and the screen was once again given to the ten players!
"Both sides, buy your equipment and rush to the river!"
The director showed the rune panel at this time.
Mille glanced over and immediately laughed. "The Shy really doesn't like to bring a stealing omen, so he keeps staring at the strong attack."
"It's worth mentioning that Brother Ran didn't choose to purify this round, but to teleport!"
"This is really a bold move." Doll was speechless. "Isn't Brother Ran afraid that Broiler and King Ning will come together to catch him?"
In his impression, as long as the card was fixed on the Enchantress with a yellow card, it could cooperate with Qing Gang Yin's explosion to instantly kill.
Lin Yan's summoner skill configuration seemed to be to prevent the card from frequently wandering to the sidelines.
But at the expense of his own safety.
"YM didn't invade this round, but IG is preparing to break into YM's jungle … Their first-level team strength is really not low!"
Cards, Lucian, Shen, Qing Gang Yin, and Verus. IG had one after another, and they were all good players in the first-level team.
In contrast, YM only had one Ice that was up to standard.
Faced with the enemy's oppression, YM could only withdraw from their own top half.
"IG wants to take over the top half and drive Xiao Tian out. This way, they can create a good and stable early game environment for their top laner, Lucian!"
King Ning had another layer of consideration.
That was Jack's Ice.
Because Ash could use E [Eagle Soars the Sky] at level two to explore the opponent's jungler's movements.
Many times, this divine skill would disrupt the jungler's offensive rhythm.
King Ning chose to use a more violent way to forcibly solve the peeping of the Ice Archer.
That was a blatant invasion.
No need for Eagle Soars the Sky. I'll tell you directly. I'm going against your jungler. What can you do to me?
"Xiao Tian can only choose to start with the red buff in his own bottom half. It looks like he has to start with a buff."
And 1 minute and 27 seconds later, the first wave of minions also reached the middle lane.
Lin Yan controlled Little Temptress to come to the line with her staff.
Broiler and Lin Yan did the same thing in the previous game. They stayed behind the long-range soldiers and prepared to release the minions.
Lin Yan knew what Song Yijin was thinking.
After all, King Ning's Qing Gang Yin had already invaded the top half of YM, and Xiao Tian was destined to be in the bottom lane.
Now, Jiang Chenglu's top laner, Lucian, had absolute control over Jin Gong's Kenan.
In this case, King Ning was destined to successfully eat the top River Crab. Broiler decisively released the line to ensure his own safety as much as possible.
Lin Yan was not polite. He raised his hand and attacked the minions. At the same time, his whole body was still moving down.
In this way, the distance between him and Qing Gang Yin, who was in the top half, was widened. Song Yijin's idea of cooperating with King Ning's second-level grab was useless.
At this time, under his scattered normal attacks, YM's minions were gradually gaining the HP advantage.
Lin Yan adopted a more conventional operation of hoarding the line. The normal attack was on the long-range soldiers, trying to keep the close-combat minions' HP.
Broiler looked at the situation of the minions. He did not want Lin Yan to easily hoard a large wave of minions and push them in. Therefore, he also stood in a safe position and wore down the minions bit by bit.
Lefran did not use W [Demon Shadow Perplexing Track]. The card's ability to clear the line in the early stage was much stronger than Little Temptress.
Lin Yan could not do anything about it.
Little Temptress was like this.
The second wave of minions came to the middle lane. Lin Yan was the first to level up to level two. After learning Q [Mark of Malice], he wanted to take advantage of the gap between the opponent's last hit to wear them down.
However, a tri-colored light flashed above Song Yijin's head.
This directly dissuaded Lin Yan.
If QW went forward, it would be terrible if he got a yellow card.
After attracting the minions' aggro, he would not be able to win even if he exchanged HP, and he would also waste too much mana.
However, Lin Yan did not sit still and wait for death.
He quickly came up with a plan.
"After Ice leveled up to level two, he shot an Eagle Soar into the Sky toward his own jungle area. He wants to see King Ning's farming route!"
He just happened to catch a glimpse of King Ning, who had YM's blue buff mark, eating the Demonic Swamp Frog and was heading toward the Three Wolves Camp.
When Lin Ran received this information, he immediately took action.
He, who was originally close to the bottom, suddenly took two steps forward and came to a place that was separated from IG's Sharp-Beaked Bird Camp by a wall.
Little Temptress was very cautious. She just moved forward and then immediately moved back to a safe position.
"He's here …" Broiler marked his own F6 Camp.
When King Ning heard this, he immediately responded.
"I'll come and catch him after I finish eating the river crab!"
In this version of the game, the midlaner only had one accessory eye four minutes ago.
And Ice's E skill had already been cast.
In his opinion, there was no reason for Lin Yan to get his tracks again.
"King Ning ate the river crab and walked to the middle lane … It's already been two minutes and fifty seconds!"
Lin Yan and Broiler had already leveled up to level three.
Little Temptress now had a preliminary combat ability.
"I'll give him an opening. If he can't kill me, I can just use Flash." Song Yijin was still reminding him. "If Zhao Xin counter-squats, don't hesitate and just leave!"
He was in front of the tower, so even if he was counter-squatted, his life would not be in danger.
And King Ning had E [Grappling Hook] and Flash, so it was impossible for him to die.
A wave of conspiracy against Lin Yan was unfolding!