Ban and Pick Wasn't Even Over, and They Were Already at a Disadvantage??

The pre-match commentary gradually came to a stop as the players from both sides entered.

"Here they come! Who will win this top-tier clash between IG and BLG, both of whom are 3-0 in match wins? Let's wait and see."

Ban and Pick began.

BLG chose to pick first for this match, while IG chose the blue side.

Both teams' Ban and Pick phases looked a little different from those of other teams. They had clearly prepared thoroughly.

BLG opened by banning Rumble, Gnar, and Varus.

IG, meanwhile, banned Jayce, Jax, and K'Sante.

The two sides could be said to have banned six top laners in their first three bans, leaving Renekton, who had almost no natural counters, as the only strong pick remaining.

BLG immediately picked Renekton for Bin in the first slot.

Why had Renekton been given priority over Orianna, who was overpowered in the current patch?

It was precisely because of the two teams' styles. Both liked to play for lane and clash constantly in the early game, making Renekton's early-game impact enormous.

Gnar, a counter to Renekton, had been banned.

IG immediately locked in Quinn in the first slot, a pick that made commentator Guan Zeyuan cry out.

"Here it is! Who says Gnar is the only counter to Renekton? TheShy also has his birdman top specifically for fighting Renekton, and he picked her right away! This patch also has Doran's Blade and Statikk Shiv, items that suit Quinn. TheShy!! He's really not afraid to draw his sword!"

IG then picked Orianna without hesitation in the second slot.

BLG immediately locked in their mid-jungle duo in the second and third slots: Nocturne and Taliyah.

"BLG know exactly what they want here. They've gone straight for a double side-lane ganking setup to target TheShy's Quinn. Now Quinn can really only put some pressure on Renekton before level six. Everyone came prepared for this match!" Guan Zeyuan said as soon as he saw BLG's two assassin picks.

"In that case, it feels like picking Quinn so early is actually going to be a little rough for TheShy. Everyone knows what Quinn is like: if she dies once, she could very well disappear for the rest of the game," Rita said worriedly beside him.

"Yeah, these three picks aren't like your Morgana the other day. These champions really can gank Top Lane. BLG have defended against TheShy's ranged top laners extremely well," Guan Zeyuan said.

Finally, IG picked Pantheon jungle in the third slot. He was also one of the best fighter junglers in the current patch.

Guan Zeyuan continued to offer his opinion.

"BLG really came exceptionally well prepared today. On IG's side, it doesn't feel like there was any need to pick Quinn so early. They could have grabbed Orianna and Nocturne in their first two slots. I think they made too much of an assumption here, thinking Xun would definitely choose Pantheon, who's currently stronger.

"IG probably intended to use the Nocturne and Shen combination they played before to protect Quinn in Top Lane, but they didn't expect BLG to see through their plan and snatch Nocturne away. That broke up the Nocturne-Orianna combination, and Nocturne is also a little more direct than Pantheon when it comes to ganking an AD top laner.

"It feels like BLG have won this game in Ban and Pick!"

Once that pick was made, the chat exploded.

[Birdman first pick? Have they lost their minds?]

[Danny has transformed into his demon pill form.]

[Ban and Pick together, OK?]

[Feels like TheShy's gone crazy wanting to play lane. Isn't picking Quinn just giving Nocturne and Taliyah a cash machine?]

[Exactly! What kind of genius could come up with a lineup like this?]

[I'm waiting for the rain this game. Bring on a jar of pomegranates.]

In Zz1tai's livestream, he looked at the comments floating across the screen and was somewhat puzzled too.

"This fucking Danny really swings between genius and disaster. If you take Orianna and Nocturne in the first two slots, can BLG steal your birdman in their second and third slots, or can they ban her? That one Ban and Pick move made my head spin. TheShy's saying, 'I'm not playing anymore. I'll lane until level six and then I'm out.'"

BLG's objective was all too clear: they were going to gank the side lanes this game. That left IG fans especially worried about how TheShy's Quinn would perform.

In a livestream on one platform, a streamer was yelling wildly.

"Ahahahaha, Matou's going to—no, Brother Jiang's going to have a great time this game. What a shame Brother Wei isn't here, or this game would be a double blessing!"

His chat was also flooded with comments that were hard to understand, such as [Stride S], [shop], and [weather in Kuala Lumpur].

An ordinary person entering the livestream probably wouldn't understand these comments. Everyone was posting them as messages of support for the streamer.

Yet these kindhearted comments kept getting banned.

The streamer seemed to be looking forward to TheShy's performance in this game. Whenever the camera showed TheShy, he would suddenly start shouting.

He looked just like a puppy seeing its owner after a long absence.

But no matter what the chat or certain streamers thought of IG's current lineup and the Quinn top pick, Ban and Pick continued.

At present, both teams still had their bottom-lane duos left to pick. But since IG would pick first in the second round, BLG banned the strong Karma and Sylas.

IG, meanwhile, banned Neeko and Bard.

"BLG are very well prepared too. They're worried that after they pick Alistar, Lin Heng will pull the same trick again and go with Sylas. There are some pretty good ultimates in this game too," Guan Zeyuan said.

IG then picked Jhin in the fourth slot.

"It looks like IG have decided to play for the top half of the map this game. They've picked Uzi a champion who can hold his own in lane, but this champion is actually pretty afraid of Nocturne too.

"Let's see what BLG pick here. They lock in Corki and Alistar. This pick is meant to put a lot of pressure on Jhin when he's left alone in bottom lane, because those two can dive the tower."

Guan Zeyuan gave a professional explanation of both sides' bans and picks, but his words suggested he was already convinced BLG's lineup had the advantage in every respect.

Finally, Lin Heng was the only one left without a champion, and Guan Zeyuan's words were full of anticipation.

"Let's see what champion Joker picks last. I'm actually looking forward to it, because in several previous games, Ban and Pick looked like a complete mess to us, but one final pick from Dr. J brought it all together. Let's see what he can pick this time."

Lin Heng hovered Ornn.

"Ornn support? It doesn't really seem to offer much. His W can block Alistar's crowd control, and he can start team fights. Honestly, Nautilus would be more useful."

So Guan Zeyuan said.

In the final second, Lin Heng locked in another champion, leaving the entire venue silent.

Wherever he went, not a blade of grass would grow!

Berserker—Olaf, locked in!

"Uh... what's this? Give me a moment to think. Olaf actually seems all right against Corki and Alistar, but you need to reach level six before that matchup gets easier. Your laning..."

Before Guan Zeyuan could finish voicing his doubts, IG completed their final champion swap.

"Huh? Olaf top, Quinn support? What is this?"