"In this round, YM is on the blue side. They sent Bull's Head to the ban position as soon as they started!"
Ze Yuan was still analyzing the situation. "There's nothing wrong with this choice. Looking at the entire qualifying stage, Alista's appearance rate and win rate are very high …"
"Although the cooldown of the big move [Firm Will] has increased by 10 seconds, it doesn't affect its strength too much," Remember agreed. "Bull's Head's ability is a little too stable. There's basically no way to counter it."
This version did not lack damage output. There were three cores in the top, middle, and bottom. Even the jungler could make up for a certain amount of damage. The only thing missing was the ability to start a team and resist damage.
Alista was almost a perfect fit.
GEN did not hesitate to ban Sindra.
After the Ball Girl was strengthened, her damage to the line was ridiculously high. Lin Yan's hero proficiency was also not a problem. If he was not banned, YM would very likely snatch him if they were on the blue side. If that happened, there might not be any good showmaker juice to eat.
"YM's second ban position is given to Yasso, while GEN banned Galio!"
In the last ban position of the first round, Red Rice chose to ban Kenan.
This was also Cuvee's signature hero. The team felt confident when they brought it out. It was a stable entry in a team battle and could produce tons of damage.
After all, people called him the King of Yodel. Even if Kenan was not an absolute T1 choice, YM still gave Cuvee enough respect.
GEN's coach, Edgar, was still pacing behind the players' seats, recording the BP deduction of the opening match in his notebook.
Since there were three days of rest before the opening match, he was very well-prepared.
Currently, the BP was following the normal procedure, and it was not beyond Edgar's expectations.
According to the pre-match plan, when there was only one ban position left, Edgar could only choose between Ice and Card.
There was no other way. There were not enough bans.
If these two heroes were placed on either side, YM would definitely choose Ice.
Master Ai's priority was ridiculously high. In comparison, card masters needed to cooperate with junglers in the current version. It wasn't that there were no restrictions.
"Disable Eich. The opponent might choose a card system. I'll give Xu Xiu the Enchantress …" Edgar patted his mid laner's shoulder. "Try to restrict him as much as possible during the offline phase."
Xu Xiu swung the heat pack in her hand and said seriously, "I'll do my best."
Although he had been clamoring for revenge for the team and the seniors before the match, Showmaker wasn't that arrogant when it came to the competition.
Xu Xiu knew who she was facing.
The other party was recognized as the world's number one mid laner, and even the number one player in the League of Legends esports.
That was why he used the word 'try'.
"YM decisively snatched Troll!" Remember analyzed. "This is not a bad choice. It can ensure the dominance of the jungle!"
"After Trondell's Q [Sharp Bite]'s damage was weakened, his strength decreased slightly, but he's still out of the Banned position," Ze Yuan said with a smile.
The broadcast showed Troll's stats in the preliminaries. Banned rate: 23.8%, picked rate: 64.2%, win rate: 50%.
This was definitely the T1 jungler that everyone thought he was.
"This hero has strong attacks and is a rogue in the jungle. Moreover, he has E [Ice Pillar] and R [Might Is Supreme] for team fights, which can provide quite a bit of help to the team."
Remember concluded. "Troll is a bit like Eich's Archer position. He's strong in the early game and has utility in the mid to late game."
While the two commentators were focused on Troll, GEN also made their choice.
"Enchantress + Lo!" Ze Yuan's eyes lit up. "This mid laner duo is very flexible and their strength isn't low!"
Red Rice walked to Lin Yan's side and asked him for his opinion. "Do you still want to use cards?"
Now that YM had taken the title of the strongest jungler in the game, they had support in the jungle. Using cards could create a good synergy effect.
"… … No problem." Lin Yan happily agreed.
Actually, Akali could be used outside. Her movements were elegant and smooth, making her the most dazzling existence in the game.
But Lin Yan didn't play to be dazzling, winning was the most important thing.
The cards looked simple and didn't have any difficult controls.
But for the entire YM team, this was the best choice.
Red Rice had him lock Drizzt and then had Phyllostachys Pubescens pick Jess. It was clear that she wanted to raise Jin Gong.
GEN's last pick in the first round was Qing Gang Ying.
Ze Yuan looked over GEN's first three picks. "Enchantress + Lo + Camille, GEN's lineup is very flexible!"
"This should be the reason why they chose Haru in the opening match." Remember said. "After all, if it was head An, it would be hard for him to control this type of jungler."
Since the second half of this summer's tournament, Ahn Bixin had unconsciously retreated to the second line.
He could feel that he wasn't strong enough and his playstyle wasn't suited for this version.
Head An's playstyle leaned towards map control and he was more used to using characters like Pig Girl. In the early game, he used his vision to frequently swap resources in the jungle, avoiding direct conflict with the other side. In the mid to late game, he could show the strength of a herbivorous jungler.
But now, the jungle was filled with fierce players. Qing Gang Ying, Troll, and Zhao Xin completely squeezed out the space for herbivorous junglers like Pig Girl.
Moreover, the neutral resource swap was no longer free.
Two minutes of River Crab and eight minutes of Canyon Vanguard. Their fists forced you to fight, so Ahn Bixin didn't have time to swap resources at all. As long as he lost the first River Crab and Canyon Vanguard, the jungler and the team would be at a disadvantage in the early game.
Head An had been beaten several times this summer and the situation wasn't good. He quickly retreated and had the team bring up the substitute jungler Haru.
In contrast, Haru's playstyle was more fierce. The hero pool was filled with fierce players like Blind Monk, Nanqiang, Spider, and Poodle. Qing Gang Ying's proficiency wasn't a big problem.
"In this round of BP, GEN first sent Jack's Ember to the ban position." Ze Yuan stared at the BP panel of both sides. "It seems that they still want to be wary of YM's tool ADC."
"YM blocked Lucian because they were afraid that Jess would be suppressed in the lane … GEN is even worse. They didn't even release Verus!"
Red Rice said to Liu Qingsong. "Let's ban Knife Girl. Don't let Cuvee have any advantage in the top lane."
Erilia was still very good at suppressing Jess in lane. Second Battalion Commander Piltwoff was afraid of being attacked by a Warrior. After Knife Girl reached level six, she could kill him with a set of skills.
Edgar directly locked Ruler Emperor with Sunset and formed Legend of the Phoenix with Corejj.
"Although the strength of the Charlo combination in this version is not low, compared to last year's global finals, the gap is a bit big." Remember commented.
Ze Yuan took over the topic. "But now, the price of critical hit equipment is much cheaper. Dusk's equipment is a minute faster than before. Also, Niyu's ultimate move, [Windstorm Feather Blade], can avoid yellow cards when facing a card master. I think that's why GEN chose her."
While they were talking, YM's fourth and fifth picks were determined.
But the heroes that were pulled out were shocking!
"Leona and … Bomber?"
Ze Yuan was in disbelief. "What's going on?
Did they make the wrong choice? "
But under the camera, all the members of YM were laughing. Even Red Rice and Jiang Chenglu were stunned.
How was this a wrong choice?
The scene was in an uproar. Although the Busan Convention and Exhibition Center was not particularly large, nearly two thousand audience members were seated. The noise they created at this time wrapped tightly around the stage!
On the BP panel interface, the director also gave a description of the selection of Bomber.
During the qualifiers, the midlaner of the Japanese team DFM, Ceros, had used Giggs in a game. Unfortunately, they did not win the game.
"This is the first time Bomber has stepped onto the global finals stage after 1471 days!"
Remember to raise his voice. "The last time he appeared was back in the 2014 international competition. The user was EDG's midlaner U!"
"And the user of Giggs in this game will be JackeyLove in the bottom lane!"
Today's LPL livestream was full of people. After all, it was the first day of the official competition. The opening match and YM's traffic made it very popular.
After seeing that Jack had chosen Bomber, the bullet screen was like snowflakes floating by.
[66666, this is really f * cking ridiculous.]
[It's the first day of the official competition, right?]
[This hero is with me, f * ck!
Every time there's a bug, Giggs' Mysterious Store will appear. My teeth are itching to see it.]
[Bomber + Sunshine Girl in the bottom lane … It seems like it's really feasible. If the support adds control, Bomber's skills will not be empty.]
[Leona can also counter Roh. It's really comfortable.]
Gen was confused by the man with the bomb.
Edgar's brows were furrowed.
He had banned Ice, Ember, and Verus. Then, he snatched Dusk. He thought that Jack would definitely use Kesha's stable development to delay the later stages of the lineup.
Who would have thought that YM would pull out Giggs directly!
This completely messed up the team's plan.
However, Edgar was an experienced coach. He knew that he must not panic at this time.
Otherwise, these players who were younger than him would very likely lose their minds.
"Cheng Zhen, what do you think of Sword Magician?" He looked at Cuvee. "Or do you want to use a long-handed top laner?"
Cuvee browsed through his hero pool.
Gnar and Kenan were banned now. The top laner he was most familiar with was Captain.
However, Planck did not have an advantage against Jess. He had no choice.
"Sword Magician it is," he agreed helplessly.
The lineups of both sides were decided.
Blue YM: top laner Jess, jungler Troll, midlaner Card Master, bottom laner Bomber + Leona.
Red GEN: top laner Sword Magician, jungler Qing Gang Ying, midlaner Enchantress, bottom laner Lu Xia + Luo.
"Just looking at the lineup," Ze Yuan said after careful consideration, "I think it's still a battle between the midlaners and junglers. If YM can protect top laner Jess, he can form a double poke combination with bottom laner Bomber during the team battle and constantly threaten GEN."
"GEN's advantage is that they are flexible. If they can really play, the upper limit of this lineup is still quite high …" Remember to give a neutral evaluation. Then, he noticed another problem.
"It's worth mentioning that Crab wasn't banned in this game and didn't get a chance to play."
Ze Yuan had wanted to say this for a long time. Now that he saw his partner bring this topic up, he became enraptured. "In version 8.18, Crab received a 5 point increase in base movement speed. It could be said that he was in the limelight during the qualifiers."
"But in today's opening match, no one asked about it. I have to say, there is a difference in understanding between the qualifiers and the official version."
In the semi-finals against RNG, Lin Yan and his teammates used a pulling formation and long laner Lucian to firmly suppress Urgot. Crab's weakness was also exposed.
But in the qualifiers, Crab was still a popular T0 top laner.
There were a total of 42 small games. Crab was banned for 23 games, played 19 games, and won 13 of them. His BP was as high as 100% and his win rate was 68.4%. It could be called a terrifying evaluation.
This was an extremely exaggerated performance. Although it couldn't compare to Leopard Lady in the S6 World Championship and Calista in the S7 World Championship, it was still the strongest hero that could play.
The main reason was that Crab was too brainless. The top laner was a jack of all trades.
As long as the opponent didn't use long laners, even if their jungler didn't come to help, Urgot could still develop steadily.
Using the Unsealed Secret Book to exchange for Ignite, there was even a possibility of solo kills.
Moreover, in a team battle, Crab had a lot of room to play. Once he used [Fear Surpassing Death] to kill an enemy, it would provide a very stable fear control for the team.
If they wanted to restrict Urgot, they first couldn't let him easily enter the field. They had to use their positioning and slow skills to pull. Once Crab was slowed, he would be an idiot.
Even if Crab accidentally entered the field, they definitely couldn't panic.
When the opponent used a big move, they had to quickly pull away or make sure their teammates' health was healthy. They couldn't enter the killing line.
After all, the reason why Urgot was so strong in team battles was because of this big move.
As long as the R skill couldn't kill a hero, then half of his use would be wasted.
YM had already given the answer. If they met Crab, they had to pull him away. If their teamwork was also good, then it would be easy to deal with.
But the wild card teams in the qualifiers clearly didn't have these abilities.
There were many problems with their pulling ability and teamwork. Even if they dominated the local league, when they came to the international stage, their problems would be exposed under the pressure.
Urgot was able to enter the field almost every time, throwing out a big move and using W [Cleanse] to pull back and scare the enemy with low health.
In the face of weaker opponents, the crab was simply an invincible killing machine.
Weak teams didn't know the correct way to eat Crab. Some knew how to deal with it, but they didn't have the strength.
Now that it was the group stage, the average skill level of the teams had increased by a large amount. A hero like Crab wasn't that strong.
Red Rice and Edgar clearly knew this, so they both let Urgot out.
Before the match started, the broadcast cut into an interview.
Showmaker sat in a chair facing the camera.
The narrator's voice sounded. "This time, you will be facing the two time global champion YM in the group stage. Does Showmaker, who is stepping onto the international stage for the first time, have anything to say?"
Xu Xiu thought for a moment before giving his own response. "Ran is a senior that I respect a lot, and also an opponent that I admire. YM is very strong with him.
"Everyone knows what YM's goal is this year … But I will do my best to stop YM from moving forward. I won't let you down, and I'll protect the glory of LCK!" He was determined.
When the Korean audience in the stadium heard this, they immediately screamed in excitement.
For the Koreans, Xu Xiu's response hit the nail on the head.
This year's international tournament was hosted by Korea. They didn't want YM and Lin Yan to continue ruling over League of Legends.
That figure had been sitting on the throne for two years. It was time to give it up!
The camera changed again. Lin Yan, who was much taller than Xu Xiu, appeared on the screen.
There were many Chinese students who came to Busan today. They held up YM's team flag and support items. The moment they saw Lin Yan, they kept tapping their light sticks, cheering for their favorite player!
The narrator changed the question. "Earlier, Fist announced the top 20 players participating in the 2018 Global Finals. How do you feel about being crowned as the strongest player for a second time?"
This year's top 20 players were all from YM. Lin Yan was number one, Mongoose was number four, Jack was number seven, Liu Qingsong was number eight, and Jin Gong was number ten.
They took up half of the top ten players!
When Lin Yan saw this ranking, he felt like Fist had given up on themselves.
This was a well-known toxic healer ranking. The players who were on it all pulled their legs. The two exceptions were S5's Faker and S7's himself.
Lin Yan suspected that Fist had been angered by YM's Murong Fu's playstyle in the summer and didn't know how to weaken them. In the end, he decided to play with toxic healers. He wanted to use this trick to kill YM.
"How do you feel?"
Lin Yan answered calmly. "I don't think it's that strange. This isn't my first time at the top of this ranking."
"In this Global Finals, I'll show my dominance as usual." He paused for a moment before continuing. "Let's start with GEN. I haven't seen them for a year. I heard they have a new mid laner …"
"Then let me see how strong they are. Don't let me down."
[Crazy Crazy Crazy Little Ran is here.]
['Let me see how strong they are.' Are you trying to draw aggro?]
[It's fine. GEN's players are all wearing headphones. They can't eavesdrop on the interview. They don't know about it yet.]
[It's useless even if they eavesdrop. GEN doesn't speak Chinese. Do you think they're playing LMS?]
The chat was still going on. Summoner's Canyon descended on the Busan Convention and Exhibition Center!
The signal rang through every corner of the venue!
The ten players all left the spring and walked toward the river.
"Both sides have chosen their best lineups. To be safe, they've chosen to line up along the river to defend …" Remember breathed a sigh of relief.
Now, the Global Finals had finally begun.
"Brother Ran's main line is still the [Unsealing Secrets]. His secondary lines are the Taste of Dominator's Blood and the Ultimate Hunter," Remember said as he looked at the rune configuration given by the director. "This is also his standard when facing the long-handed hero."
Ze Yuan raised his own doubts. "But Little Beauty is an assassin after all. If she doesn't have Skeletal Plating and Chrysalis, will she be in danger after reaching level six?"
"But we all know Brother Ran's playstyle. He won't let the opponent's mid laner threaten him so easily," Remember said with a smile. "I think this game is still a test of whether Showmaker can seize the opportunity."
Mongoose decided to farm from bottom to top. Anyway, his bottom lane had Bomber and Leona, so there would be no problem.
"Haru also used the help of the duo to farm from the bottom lane. After all, the efficiency of Qing Gang Yin farming alone is still too low."
Lin Yan, who went out with Straw Shoes, followed the minions to the middle lane. He still stood in the middle, wanting to see Xu Xiu's movements and make countermeasures.
Showmaker moved left and right as if he was hesitating.
Lin Yan took a step back and began to farm.
Xu Xiu frowned slightly.
He had carefully studied the video of Lin Yan's game against Broiler in the Summer Finals. He knew that when the opponent played cards, he liked to control the lane and develop to level six in front of the tower.
"Brother Min Sheng, come over and help catch him after you reach level three." Xu Xiu felt that he needed to give Lin Yan a set meal. "Just force him to flash."
Haru agreed in the team voice chat. Hearing his teammate's request, he planned to change his farming route.
After farming the blue buff in the bottom half, he would go eat the Demonic Swamp Frog and farm the River Crab.
This was the fastest way to level up to level three. He could learn the third skill in about two minutes and thirty seconds.
"Showmaker is starting to push the line …"
Lin Yan pushed behind his ranged soldier and noticed that Little Beauty was moving forward. He immediately began to choose cards and locked on when the color turned yellow.
Xu Xiu clicked his tongue.
Little Beauty only had a W [Specter's Perplexing Track]. Due to the W's displacement and damage radius, it was much further than the normal attack of the card. Xu Xiu originally planned to exhaust the opponent a little. If he could use the W to rub against the opponent, that would be comfortable.
However, Lin Yan's sense of lane was terrifyingly strong. If he made any movements, the opponent would immediately come up with a countermeasure.
If he stepped forward now, he would get a yellow card. It was definitely not worth it to just trade health.
He could only bitterly give up.
However, after thinking about it, he had another idea.
"Little Beauty still wants to farm, but Brother Ran is very thorough in his farming. He rarely uses normal attacks to interfere with the health of the minions."
At this time, Lin Yan also received the signal from his teammates in the bottom lane. Corejj's Charlo had left the lane and stuck to the river.
Because YM's Explosive Man and Leona were not as strong as Charlo, they definitely did not have the right to farm. However, GEN's duo was pushing the line, and it was a slow one. Coupled with Corejj's movements, this made him wary.
If Haru was farming in the top half, theoretically, Charlo would not dare to push the line so slowly.
After all, YM's jungler, Leona, and Troll had the opportunity to gank the bottom lane. If they pushed the minions slowly, by the time Troll reached level three, the minions would not be able to enter the tower.
At that time, if they were caught, they would have to flash.
Lin Yan played three stars, from S6 to S8.
Although the club changed its name, the personnel configuration did not change much.
He knew this team too well.
No matter what version, the three stars' tactical style was to play by the rules.
If I don't do nothing, then I won't make a mistake.
Iron Tortoise Style.
Specialized in defense and counterattacking.
If the jungler was not in the bottom half, GEN's push was giving him an opportunity.
Lin Yan judged that Haru was most likely taking down the River Crab.
The reason why GEN's duo pushed slowly was to protect the jungler from eating the vanguard.
After all, without the support of the right to farm, it was impossible for Qing Gang Yin to win against Troll in the early game.
"Xiao Tian, look at the top lane." Lin Yan did not rush to a conclusion. He still let Phyllostachys Pubescens confirm.
Xiao Tian had not eaten the River Crab yet. After getting the red buff, he went to the top half of the blue zone.
When he heard Lin Yan's words, he pulled the jungler to the top lane and then looked over the wall.
"The River Crab is still there."
When Lin Yan heard this, he locked onto Haru's position.
With the right to farm in the middle and bottom lane, you can't not eat a single River Crab, right?
Then why did Haru use this kind of farming route?
If Qing Gang Yin farmed in the early game, the speed would be very slow. It would take about four minutes to finish six groups of jungler + River Crab.
This would make Cuvee's Sword Demon very uncomfortable in the top lane. He could not provide shelter for the top lane.
Sacrificing so much, for what?
Liu Qingsong's Leona was in the bottom lane. GEN could not cross the tower, so they could only come to catch him.
Lin Yan wanted to go up at first to avoid being caught by Qing Gang Yin.
But he also wanted to beat him at his own game.
"He is in the bottom lane. You can come and see me." Lin Yan commanded Xiao Tian.
"But I can't reach level three." Xiao Tian hesitated.
Because he finished the red buff in the bottom half and ran directly to the top blue zone, it was a long way and wasted a lot of his time.
This caused him to be a little slower in reaching level three.
If he followed Lin Yan's idea and came directly to the middle lane, then he would only be level two.
Haru, on the other hand, could level up to level 3 by farming in the same area.
If the level was behind, there would be a gap in combat power.
"It's okay. You can do it." Lin Yan said.
Seeing his insistence, Phyllostachys Pubescens still went to the middle lane after eating the blue buff.
Lin Yan also pretended not to notice, and his position was still the same, so that Qing Gang Yin could catch his angle.
"Come on, I will be level three soon!" Xu Xiu was eager to try.
Because Lin Ran had been pushed out, he was currently only at level two.
Haru also felt that this was a great opportunity.
When the minions entered the tower, he stood in YM's camp and directly hooked his hand and kicked Lin Yan's card for the second time!
"Little Temptress W stepped forward, EQ successfully hit the card!"
Lin Yan, who was under the tower, was stunned in place and could not avoid the skill.
"Drink the blood potion and use the time distortion tonic to recover half of the blood!"
After Lin Yan recovered from the stunned state, he immediately began to draw cards!
Although he was immediately fixed in place by Little Temptress's Phantom Chain, he could still attack.
At the moment when the yellow card was locked, Xiao Tian also appeared from behind.
Phyllostachys Pubescens's counter squat ruined GEN's plan!
This was a variable.
"How did he know?"
Haru did not understand. When he saw the level two double buff Troll, he knew that the other party intended to do the counter squat.
"Retreat, retreat, retreat!" Xu Xiu immediately commanded her teammates.
Although YM's Nakano was only level two, they had the help of the tower after all!
It was impossible to win.
"But Brother Ran's yellow card has been thrown to Qing Gang Yin!"
Haru quickly flashed and ran, crossing the wall back to YM's camp.
"The card made up for the damage of the all-purpose card. Xiao Tian also flashed over the wall, and AQA hit Qing Gang Yin!"
The strong attack was triggered, and the red buff was also applied to Camille!
"We can't escape, Haru just took the tower, and his blood is not much!"
Haru was alone and helpless, and he could only be chased to death by Troll!
"First blood in hand!" Remember shouted, "GEN still wants to take the mid lane, this is called going for wool and coming home shorn!"