For Him, This Counted as a Conventional Support

As the second game began, Mao Mao used his own understanding to speculate about the Ban and Pick for this game.

"Last game, JingDong Gaming built a lineup for big teamfights, but Invictus Gaming easily countered it with Morgana and Blitzcrank. Will they change their approach a little this game and pick some champions who can create tempo early?"

"Mm, Junjia is actually very good at Jarvan IV too. After all, he came out of Edward Gaming playing Jarvan IV. I think they could give Junjia a champion like that who can create tempo early. He also likes looking for opportunities to do that in the early game," Tong Xi analyzed based on her own understanding.

"Right. I don't think they should play nothing but safer lineups just because the team was recently formed. That won't let the players show what they can do individually," Mao Mao added.

JingDong Gaming dealt with Rumble and Jayce in the top lane as usual, then banned Vi, a champion Xiao Wei liked to play.

Invictus Gaming banned Varus and Sivir in the first three bans, then showed V some respect by banning Nautilus, a champion he played well.

JingDong Gaming then picked Orianna for HongQ in the first slot. She was strong in the current patch.

Invictus Gaming didn't hold back either. In their first two slots, they picked Akali for Rookie and secured Nocturne for Xiao Wei, breaking up the Orianna-Nocturne combination.

Akali did have a slightly tough time laning against Orianna before level six, but after level six, she could usually go even, and might even have a chance to solo kill him.

Once the mid laners moved to the side lanes, Akali had a very good chance of solo killing Orianna. That was why many players who excelled at Akali chose her into Orianna.

JingDong Gaming picked Jarvan IV in the jungle to pair with Orianna and secured Neeko as support.

Neeko was a champion many teams would pick with their first selection, yet JingDong Gaming had been extremely hesitant when facing Invictus Gaming.

To put it this way, Tabe would have preferred Invictus Gaming to take the champion. That way, at least his support wouldn't have to face some bizarre champion.

TheShy then locked in Ambessa. In the top lane, Ambessa was only a little wary of Renekton and could play into basically any other top laner. Renekton had already been used in the previous game, so Invictus Gaming locked in Ambessa in the third slot.

In the second ban phase, they immediately banned Jax. They also banned K'Sante, a champion Xiaoxu played quite well.

JingDong Gaming had learned their lesson this time. They banned Karma, who was strong in the bot-lane matchup. For their other ban, they no longer targeted conventional supports. Since that probably wouldn't work anyway, they simply banned Shen, whom Invictus Gaming had paired with Nocturne against Anyone's Legend in the previous round.

Invictus Gaming then secured Kai'Sa in the fourth slot. Hypercarry ADs like Jinx and Aphelios were actually pretty good in this patch too, but Uzi didn't like playing those champions as much. Although he was practicing them, his performances on them generally weren't as good.

JingDong Gaming really didn't need to agonize over their AD choice. Between last year and this year, Gala had overcome his mental block and practiced quite a few AD champions.

In the end, JingDong Gaming locked in Miss Fortune and Yone for the top lane.

Finally, it was Invictus Gaming's turn to choose their support in the fifth slot.

Mao Mao began interacting with the chat.

"Come on, it's time for a guessing game, no prizes. What champion will Lin Heng choose to play support?

"One, Alistar. Two, Rakan. Three, Ambessa. Four, unknown."

[First, rule out one and two.]

[Ambessa really could work, right? Her W shield lets her trade, and after level six, Kai'Sa can fly in when Ambessa lifts someone.]

[Wouldn't Alistar and Rakan actually be really good here? Invictus Gaming's lineup wants to dive in. Alistar or Rakan would be a really good pick.]

[JingDong Gaming didn't even ban Alistar or Rakan. Guys, what does that mean? It means this guy might not have played a conventional support like that in any of the scrim information they have. That's ridiculous.]

[Wait, last time I said he probably couldn't play conventional supports, I was joking. He can't actually be unable to play them, right?]

[Don't know if he can, but he definitely won't.]

[Hurry up and experiment while you're stomping weak teams in the LPL. Once you get to Worlds, just wait for Dr. K to stomp you.]

[Holy crap, man, you're already predicting Invictus Gaming will make Worlds?]

[The LPL is so bad right now. Is making Worlds that hard?]

[Our team is already studying its Mid-Season Invitational opponents.]

[Come on, man, First Stand hasn't even been played yet, and you're already talking about MSI.]

[The top laner finally isn't playing a ranged champion.]

[Oh, two generations of LPL Kai'Sa kings are meeting!!! But this time, the original Kai'Sa king has the ball!!!]

[Wait, whose Kai'Sa skin was it again?]

[...*******]

Amid the viewers' friendly exchanges, Lin Heng locked in his champion.

"Precision is the difference between a butcher and a surgeon."

Camille, the Steel Shadow, had been selected.

"In his hands, this counts as a conventional support," Mao Mao said, giving his assessment.

"True. Compared with his previous picks, both Blitzcrank and Camille today count as conventional supports," Tong Xi commented.

The two lineups were finalized.

Invictus Gaming: Ambessa, Nocturne, Akali, Kai'Sa, Camille.

JingDong Gaming: Yone, Jarvan IV, Orianna, Miss Fortune, Neeko.

The champions picked this game were meant to fight. Both sides had lineups packed with proactive options.

Invictus Gaming had picked five diving champions to target Orianna and Miss Fortune, neither of whom had a mobility ability.

JingDong Gaming, meanwhile, had a standard lineup that could handle both small and large teamfights. Jarvan IV and Neeko's engage, combined with Orianna and Miss Fortune's ultimates, could produce some spectacular teamfights.

All three lanes had something worth watching this game. In the top lane, the new champion Yone would face the popular Ambessa.

In mid, there was the assassin Akali, while in bot, there was the question of what role support Camille would play. There was plenty to watch for.

Just as the chat had said, Alistar and Rakan would both have been excellent support picks for following up on engages this game.

But Camille had her own obvious advantages: her early damage was very respectable, and she was strong at engaging from long range and keeping enemies from escaping.

At the very start of the game, Xiaoxu provided a moment of comedy in the top lane.

When the minions arrived, he hugged the wall on his side near the river and slowly followed his minions into lane.

When the observer showed it, the viewers and casters immediately burst into laughter.

"Xiaoxu, what are you doing, Xiaoxu? He's running Ignite and Hail of Blades this game. There's no way he's coming top to mess with you again, right?" Mao Mao grinned from ear to ear.

The sight of Yone striding along so imposingly with his spear, paired with Xiaoxu's somewhat timid behavior, was especially funny.

That was right, Xiaoxu was indeed scared. He was genuinely afraid the support would come straight back top and hit him with an E kick and three Hail of Blades attacks.

If he used Flash, Ambessa couldn't really follow up with enough damage. But if he didn't, that E and three Hail of Blades attacks would take a third of his health, and he'd fall behind in lane again.

It had taken Lin Heng just one game to put a mask of pain on Xiaoxu's face and make him cautious from then on.