What Did You Pick?

The commentators fell silent for a full second before Guan Zeyuan's disbelieving voice rang out.

"What is this? Sylas support or Taliyah support? They didn't pick the wrong champion, did they?"

"Weibo Gaming waited until IG picked their mid laner before locking in Alistar and Ahri, but they didn't expect IG to force the Sylas pick?" 957 was just as incredulous.

"No, what I really want to know right now is whether Sylas can play support or Taliyah can play support," Guan Zeyuan questioned again.

The same topic was being discussed over IG's comms.

"Rookie, which one do you want?" Lin Heng asked.

"Either one works for me, I guess." Rookie had already grown somewhat used to this support's picks and the coach indulging him during their recent scrims.

But now that he was actually sitting onstage for an official match, he still felt a little bewildered.

"Then you take Sylas. This game's going to be a blast for you," Lin Heng said happily.

It really was a great Sylas game. Alistar and Ahri both had T0 ultimates, Wukong had a T1 ultimate, and Varus's ultimate was also excellent for locking people down.

It really was the perfect game for him.

"But can your Taliyah support really work? I haven't seen you play it before," Rookie asked, still uncertain.

"Don't worry." Lin Heng said no more and quickly swapped champions to take Taliyah.

"Huh? Sylas mid, Taliyah support! What is this? Guys, this rookie is starting off with something huge, huh?" Guan Zeyuan was still utterly incredulous. After all, he really had never seen this before.

Guan Zeyuan's questioning also drew the viewers who were still discussing the All-Star Class back to the match.

[This guy's a real talent. Taliyah support.]

[Just because you haven't played it doesn't mean it can't work. I play it in ranked all the time.]

[You're a god too, bro.]

[Is this punishment for God?]

[This is punishment for Lucian jungle. The greatest boomerang in history.]

[This rookie is going to personally arrange God's second retirement ceremony.]

[He hasn't even played one serious match and he's already fucking experimenting.]

[Brilliant!]

[Not brilliant.]

[Actually trash, just fucking around.]

No matter how much the chat questioned it, the lineups were locked in.

IG: Rumble, Pantheon, Sylas, Kai'Sa, Taliyah.

Weibo Gaming: K'Sante, Wukong, Ahri, Varus, Alistar.

Every commentator and co-streamer was questioning the champion pick, especially in the stream of a certain former prodigy—Zz1tai.

Both sides were dear to him. Weibo Gaming had Xiaohu, while IG had Rookie and Uzi, all former colleagues he had been close to.

But this was Uzi's first match since coming out of retirement, so he was obviously leaning a little more toward Uzi's side.

In his stream, Zz1tai pointed at Taliyah and Lin Heng on the screen, his voice full of doubt.

"Picking this fucking thing to support Uzi? Does a rookie really fucking think he's Dr. K?"

Someone in the stream chat commented: [He came from your RNG.]

"Fuck! Someone at my level was Letme's substitute when I was at RNG. What level do you think a guy who couldn't even get playtime on the second team could be? And he's fucking playing this weird shit to make Uzi miserable."

It wasn't just the viewers and streamers who were pessimistic about the support pick. Uzi was a little worried too.

There was no question about Varus's early laning strength. To be honest, with Kai'Sa, a hard-engage support like Camille would have been better. The two of them could have rushed straight in for an all-in and actually fought it out.

But Taliyah was squishy early and did scratch damage no matter how you looked at it. He really couldn't imagine how he was supposed to work with her as his support.

But one person was extremely excited: coach Danny.

The moment Sylas was finally picked and swapped to Rookie, he was so thrilled that his scalp nearly tingled.

That was the Ban and Pick he wanted. He had ten thousand strange combinations in his head, and with players who could bring out enough champions, he believed he could shock the audience countless times, just like with Taliyah support this game.

Once in the game, both sides headed straight to lane, but their priorities were different this match.

Weibo Gaming had picked K'Sante top, so he was obviously going to hold the lane early. The stronger laning Varus in bot lane was their focus this game.

IG, on the other hand, naturally wanted to help Rumble extend his advantage as much as possible and have bot lane absorb the pressure.

Thus, Red Side Weibo Gaming's jungler naturally started at red and cleared downward, while Ning started at red and cleared upward.

The minions arrived in lane earlier, making the first trade between the two sides come especially early. Taliyah put a point in Q at level one and used it to poke Alistar when he tried to move forward.

But seeing how little damage it did, Erha couldn't even hold back a laugh.

As the best rookie of 2025, Erha had put on some outstanding performances in his brief time onstage, and had now secured his starting spot.

957 remained professional at the commentary desk and immediately noticed something.

"Everyone, take a look. Taliyah hasn't taken Phase Rush, Electrocute, or Comet. She's taken Unsealed Spellbook, which was more popular last patch."

"Huh? Spellbook Taliyah? I was wondering why her damage was so low. Then what was the point of picking her? Her poke does no damage, and she's squishy as hell," Guan Zeyuan said, looking at the panel in surprise.

Lin Heng naturally had no idea everyone was questioning his pick. At that moment, he was working hard with Kai'Sa to contest the wave.

Since he was playing an enchanter support—no, this should be called a mage support—it was actually easier for him to contest the wave at level one than it was for the clumsy Alistar.

Elk's Varus had put a point in E at level one to ensure reliable poke, and he was clearly planning to play lethality Varus this game.

His first E easily hit Uzi, while Taliyah occupied the second brush and traded with Alistar in the opposing first brush for quite a while.

Although her Q damage was a little low, she combined it with basic attacks to take nearly a quarter of Alistar's health.

She also tossed a few small Qs to help Kai'Sa clear minions. After Weibo Gaming's bot duo realized they couldn't reach level two first, however, they didn't panic at all, since they would only be one minion's experience behind.

Besides, IG's bot duo didn't have the ability to kill them in lane or chunk their health after reaching level two first.

Sure enough, after IG reached level two first, they didn't attack and instead continued last-hitting.

Weibo Gaming's bot lane duo weren't going to play around. Alistar briefly turned back, then pressed forward, pulling off a small trick. The instant Varus auto-attacked a low-health minion, Alistar had already used W.

Erha's hands flew: W+Ctrl+Q+Q. He leveled Q while closing in on Kai'Sa with W, then used the W-Q combo to engage on her, catching Uzi off guard.

But almost the instant he made his move, a field of rocks appeared beneath his feet.

At the commentary desk.

"Erha goes in the instant he reaches level two. Uzi's positioning is a little dangerous here! Taliyah's reaction is so fast—she puts down Unraveled Earth under Alistar the instant he engages, and Alistar is stunned!"

"And because Alistar was stunned, he couldn't get his Q off, but his W still went through and knocked Uzi's Kai'Sa into a very safe position!"