Group Match: Against BLG

"Oh? Play through Top Lane?" Danny clearly hadn't expected Lin Heng to say that.

After all, no matter how he looked at it, Xun was the easiest member of BLG to target, and targeting him would yield the best results.

"Yeah, it'll depend a little on Shy's form that day, but I believe the 2023 TheShy could bring Bin back to reality. Now, with our Ban and Pick helping him, he can do the same." Lin Heng spoke softly, but with complete conviction.

Sometimes, there really were matchups in Top Lane where one side countered the other.

Those counters came from habits.

When you understood your opponent and the champion they picked well enough, the habit they couldn't break would become your sharpest weapon.

Afterward, Lin Heng and the others began simulating Ban and Pick and vision setups against BLG.

That same day, after BLG's match against Top Esports ended, Bin gave an interview.

Over the two games, Bin had practically whipped 369 around like a spinning top, so he was full of confidence in his post-match interview.

When the host asked Bin if he had anything to say about facing Invictus Gaming in two days, Bin lived up to expectations with another confident statement.

"I'm not the same person I was in 2023. TheShy is old. This really is my era now, and this time I'll crush TheShy to prove myself."

Bin only said that because he respected TheShy as a senior. If it had been another top laner, Brother Bin might merely have asked with disdain where they had crawled out from.

Bin had also said more than once that he considered the TheShy of the past the strongest top laner.

As Bin's interview built anticipation, viewers looked forward to the clash between the two teams more and more.

Both teams drew huge amounts of attention, regardless of whether it was good or bad.

And as things stood, both sides had a 3-0 match record. The outcome of this match could even affect the two teams' standings in the Summit Group.

Early on match day, Guan Zeyuan posted on social media to build hype.

[Guys, Sister Tazi and I will be casting the big match between Invictus Gaming and BLG at seven tonight. Don't miss it.]

This match truly had become the most anticipated one before the New Year.

If Invictus Gaming won, it would mean they had a chance to fight for first place in the Summit Group.

Before the match even began, discussions online were already blazing.

The most active discussion was under a post titled [What are Bin's odds against TheShy?]

[Can you even compare the current TheShy to Brother Bin?]

[?]

[Did you catch Brother Bin's arrogance?]

[You really can't compare them. Brother Bin starts the game two knives ahead, and now he's got an arrogance lead too. How do you play against that?]

[He hasn't been rammed by a goat yet this year, so Ze Bin isn't hard.]

[Feels like TheShy probably won't play tanks on this patch.]

[That depends on who he's facing. With Brother Kang's current skill, he can only be good and play a tank against my Brother Bin, right?]

[Didn't 2023 bring you BLCs back to reality?]

[If BLG had gone up in 2023, they would've won the championship already.]

[Stop arguing. It's just a tryout to pick Brother 69's toy.]

[?]

[?]

[?]

It was clear that in the current League community, fans of the old kind were becoming fewer and fewer.

Nowadays, fans liked to make jokes about their favorite players while baiting fans of the players they disliked.

But what of it?

Compared with the old days, when people had to argue over who was stronger, there was a lot more fun to be had.

Esports brought viewers more than just excitement now; it brought them laughs too.

There were also plenty of posts discussing the other lanes.

[I really don't know what Uzi is going to use against Viper.]

[His hands, obviously. What else, his feet?]

[Feels like all of Invictus Gaming's lanes are going to blow up during laning. They can only hold steady and win through teamfights later, like last year.]

[Last year they still had Gala to rely on in the late game. Who can they rely on this year? Uzi? Wait for Uzi to get three items~]

[...]

[Actually, I don't think that's necessarily true. God J has been top-tier these past few games. He might be able to hold his own against BLG's bot lane duo.]

[Stop making Brother On laugh. Of the teams Invictus Gaming has beaten so far—Anyone's Legend, JingDong Gaming, and Weibo Gaming—which one has a strong bot lane?]

[One lesson from Brother ON and Brother Viper's Elise and Caitlyn will set them straight.]

[Why is everyone talking about top and bot? Why is no one talking about the mid-lane matchup?]

[Mid lane? Who's BLG's mid laner again?]

[Stop discussing it. I'll just say one thing: 17 > 16, so Invictus Gaming wins.]

[Whoever went last year would've placed seventeenth. What's there to talk about?]

[At least Invictus Gaming got to meet your Brother Faker. Some people could only arm-wrestle an Indian top laner—uh, and they didn't even win.]

Amid everyone's anticipation, the battle between the new Invictus Gaming and the new BLG finally began on January 20.

In their pre-match interviews, the players from both sides said their teams were very confident they could beat the other.

And on Invictus Gaming's submitted starting roster for the first game today, Ning was in the jungle.

At the casting desk, Guan Zeyuan had already begun his pre-match analysis.

"I'm genuinely looking forward to this one. In Top Lane, we have the representatives of the old and new generations of aggressive LPL top laners. In the jungle, Ning and Xun represent two generations of Invictus Gaming junglers. In bot lane, Uzi versus Viper is a clash of top-tier AD carries. But the most interesting matchup has to be the two supports, Dr. O and Dr. J. They're both mechanically skilled supports who are very good at getting results with unconventional picks. I'm really looking forward to these two teams' performances today."

"What about mid lane?" Rita asked.

"Didn't I mention mid lane just now? Then let me say it again. In mid lane, we have the representatives of the old and new generations of lane-focused mid laners. No problem with that, right?" Guan Zeyuan said with a smile.

"No problem." Rita smiled in agreement.

"Also, I've received some fairly reliable information that I can share with everyone now." Guan Zeyuan sounded rather mysterious.

"Oh? Tell us." Rita played along professionally.

"As everyone knows, a lot of teams make calls by having everyone relay information, with two or three people sharing the shot-calling duties.

"I don't know if you've heard Invictus Gaming's post-match comms. They also have a lot of people giving information, and Rookie and Joker usually handle the shot-calling.

"But! There's a 'but' here. I watched their first few matches, and every time Joker made a decisive call, the other shot-callers would immediately stop exploring other options, so I made a point of asking around.

"Invictus Gaming made it very clear to me that their strategy is to have Joker as the team's primary shot-caller. If there's any disagreement over a decision, once Joker makes a call, they follow it."

"Wow, so Invictus Gaming really trusts Joker's judgment and shot-calling ability," Rita responded.

"Yes, it really is fairly rare. And Joker is a rookie serving as the primary shot-caller on a team with four veterans. That takes not only extremely strong shot-calling ability, but also a great mentality and nerves of steel."

Guan Zeyuan smiled, then continued.

"So, a lot of people are putting the outcome of today's game on Top Lane. But in my view, the key to victory is which side's support can work with their jungler to get the tempo going."