"Relatively healthy routine! Relatively healthy routine! Relatively healthy routine!" x6
"As today's BO5 goes, I expect we'll very likely go the full distance against them." The moment he opened his mouth in the lounge, Hong Mi gave the players a preemptive warning. "Bai Seyueya's coaching ability won't be bad, but his weakness is obvious too. He likes letting Meta Hot picks through in the first game to see whether his side can handle them. In my eyes, that's just giving away a free win!"
Holding a powerhouse Double C like the Sailor combination also gave Bai Seyueya's drafting a somewhat strange smell.
His idea was simple.
If he could win even after letting Meta Strong picks through, then he could steamroll the following games and establish an innate invincibility.
And if he lost, he could always change up his Formation Array afterward. With a roster full of top-tier talent, he had nothing to fear.
"So we're going Full Power in the first game?" Luo Zhen looked a little excited. A show of force sounded pretty damn cool, didn't it?
"No. More accurately, everyone else will go Full Power. I'll still get you a utility ADC first."
"Huh!?"
A coach had to focus on match drafting onstage, but offstage, he also had to pay attention to the lineup arrangement. Compared to TES, V5's disadvantage was especially obvious: they were vulnerable to Old Man Ao. Looking over TES, there were no veterans at all; their average age was outrageously young. That gave Hong Mi quite the headache.
"Got it. I'm the safety net, right? The kind that never pulls gold in ten draws but reliably gets purple."
After his coach's explanation, Luo Zhen finally understood his role. He was there to cover the bottom line.
Of course, that was how ADCs worked anyway.
Before twenty-five minutes, ADCs barely had anything to do. After thirty-five minutes, everything depended on the ADC's performance. As for where those ten minutes in between went?
Emmm.
Probably getting one-shot, or on the way to getting one-shot. Every team fight was basically Temple Escape.
With their game plan clarified, V5 finally took the stage for the finals.
Before going onstage, Luo Zhen finally met this world's JKL.
He was just as headache-inducing, just as prone to looking puffy, and just as much of a Protagonist Template. The only difference was that the support who looked like Xin Zhao was no longer guarding his side. Instead, it was Zhuo, a support he had barely heard of in his Previous Life.
Noticing his gaze, PPGOD smiled and walked over to elbow Luo Zhen.
"What, trying to take down your senior?"
He knew that look all too well. Almost every new player would have that soul-stirring gleam in their eyes when they saw a Star Player in their corresponding position.
It was ambition, killing intent, and the fearless courage of someone just starting out.
Most young players' vigor was hidden in that kind of gaze.
"Yeah. He's a World Champion, after all. But this isn't like FPX the day before yesterday. LWX and Hang still don't have much coordination, while JKL and Zhuo have obviously had time to build synergy."
"What about us?"
"If you didn't snore when you slept, we wouldn't be too bad either."
"Fuck, can we not bring that up?"
PPGOD had never experienced this feeling before. Maybe the team's previous losing streak had affected the atmosphere, or maybe the former ADC had not been as talkative and noisy as this one. Compared to all his "former ADCs," the person in front of him was unbearably loud, enough to disturb his inner peace.
But...
It was precisely this nonsensical bickering and chatter that made him feel, for the first time, a hint of belonging in this team.
Remembering what the coach had told them yesterday, PPGOD suddenly felt an urge from the bottom of his heart to help this reckless guy pull off an upset.
"Hey?"
"What? Spit it out if you've got something to say. Your dad's getting into the zone."
"If we go crazy, how confident are you?"
"Ten percent, maybe even less. What, scared?" Luo Zhen raised an eyebrow at PPGOD and fearlessly voiced his honest expectation.
The gap was obvious. From his one-on-one scrims with LWX over the past two days, he had deeply realized just how badly LWX had held back against him in the Demacia Cup Semifinals.
Well, it could not exactly be called holding back.
After all, the pressure Rookie and Karsa put on the other side was very real. It was more accurate to say they had been forced to seal away their early-game strength, allowing Luo Zhen to barely come online with time.
But when it came to 1v1 solo customs, Luo Zhen had not won a single game against LWX.
"Ten percent? That's enough." After doing the math in his head, PPGOD smiled and extended his Right Hand toward Luo Zhen. "Then are you ready to go to hell if we lose?"
"Well, I just climbed out of there. Honestly, I kind of miss it."
The two smiled at each other, then clasped each other's Right Hand tightly.
"Future champion ADC, I believe in you."
"Future champion support, please take care of me."
When You're Out in the World, You Need Influence.
Very quickly, the First Ban Phase began:
TES: Caitlyn, Lee Sin, Xin Zhao
V5: Jinx, Lucian, Draven
Hong Mi directly used all three bans on ADCs. Since they had decided to exploit Bai Seyueya's arrogance, showing weakness in the first game was necessary. He used all three bans on ADCs while leaving only Aphelios open, daring them to take him.
Aphelios was relatively weak this patch because he did not benefit much from Lethal Tempo. But as the only remaining late-game Big Carry outside the Ban Slots, his priority was still extremely high.
The First Pick Phase began:
TES: Aphelios (First Pick) + Thresh, Jarvan IV
V5: Corki, Leona (First Two Picks), Poppy
With just the first three picks and bans, V5 had already set a trap for TES. They let through the Aphelios-Thresh combo, let through Jarvan IV, then First Picked the always-correct Meta Hot Corki and snatched Poppy to counter Jarvan IV's engage.
Even the standalone Leona left TES somewhat confused. They had no idea what V5 was trying to do.
The reason they dared draft like this was simple: Tian's Champion Pool at this point was too shallow.
Lee Sin one way, Jarvan IV the other, Viego if pushed hard enough, and Olaf if he had absolutely nothing else.
Yes, you heard that right. Gao Tiandi's Champion Pool at this point was just that thin. Gao Tiandi's transformation only came near the end of the Spring Split, after TES tried every possible combination and realized Zhuo was the traitor. They sent Zhuo to the Substitute bench, and only then did the whole team gradually recover and begin their Northern Expedition.
And now?
Without Lee Sin and Viego, Tian in his current state could only be considered a second-rate jungler in the league.
Second Ban Phase: Jayce, Jax, Ezreal, Jhin
As always, TES chose to lock down the Bot Lane AD options, while also dismantling the possible Double Poke System. From Hong Mi's second ban phase, it was clear that V5's strategy seemed centered around the Upper Area. Perfect. TES could directly target the bottom half and start ordering their picks.
With Leona already picked as support, what ADC could V5 even bring out that would work with her?
Kaisa?
Kaisa with Leona in this patch? Bring it out and they'd click your head clean off.
For their Fourth Pick, V5 directly locked in Graves.
Qing Tian's Champion Pool could be counted on one hand: Sett, Aatrox, Renekton, Lee Sin. Jayce was banned too. This Graves pick meant TES's comfort picks could not come out, while the picks that could come out were ones they were not comfortable with.
TES clearly hesitated for a moment, then ultimately selected Gnar and Syndra, who worked reasonably well with Jarvan IV.
At this point:
TES: Top Gnar, Jungler Jarvan IV, mid lane Syndra, Bot Lane Aphelios-Thresh combo
A very standard composition.
But... this was exactly what Hong Mi had been waiting for.
"No problem, right, Xiao Zhen?"
"Absolutely, Coach. I'm dying zero times this game, and I'll get an assist godlike!"
"Good. Then take it!"
For V5's final pick, a Hero TES had been ignoring all along suddenly took the stage: Ziggs!
The moment Ziggs's icon appeared, even the Commentator on stage could not help being startled.
"Ziggs plus Leona? No, V5 is giving up bot lane to play around the top jungle?"
"Graves, Ziggs, Corki, plus Poppy to counter engages. Did V5 just draft a triple-poke composition?"
The instant V5's composition was fully revealed, Hong Mi finally bared his drafting fangs.
V5: Top Graves, Jungler Poppy, mid lane Corki, Bot Lane Ziggs + Leona
If TES wanted to contest top mid jungle, they could not win.
But V5's support could roam while leaving Ziggs alone bot. Would Thresh dare leave Aphelios alone in bot lane?
Going forward, V5 had Leona to start team fights. Going backward, they had Poppy to shut down team fight initiation. Opportunities could be handed to Corki with his Yordle Snap Trap. Wave issues could be handled by Ziggs's ultimate. Once TES's top laner had no Teleport, V5's long-range Wave Clear Ability alone would be enough to make TES run themselves ragged, let alone take team fights.
Even more deadly, this composition cleared waves quickly. TES could not even push in their waves if they wanted to force an engage. In theory, it was unsolvable.
Well, only in theory.
Because the composition's weaknesses were also obvious. Other than Leona, it had almost no Hard CC in the early game, making it difficult for the jungler to make plays. In small-scale fights, if they did not have a numbers advantage, they could not win. And it still depended on the players' performance and whether they lost their minds. But based on Bai Seyueya's personality, this was already the most suitable first-game draft Hong Mi could make for V5's current players.
In one sentence: hand the tempo to the Upper Area.
Even as they were about to leave the stage, Hong Mi kept reminding the players.
"Although you aren't the core this game, Xiao Zhen, your task is very important."
"Try not to die in bot lane. If you feel danger, you can give up farm. As long as you stay alive—stay alive—you'll keep Creating Advantage for your teammates."
"Likewise, the Upper Area must establish an advantage as early as possible and relieve the pressure on bot lane."
"The core of our macro this game is the minion waves. Use the waves to make them move, make them run themselves ragged, then let Rookie's Corki with the Yordle Snap Trap deliver the deadliest blow."
"Whether we can take this game is crucial to whether we can win today's match. Believe in each other's coordination and effort. Focus, kids."
With that, the match began.
The moment they left base, both sides spread out in a line to prevent invades. Strictly speaking, neither composition had the ability for a Level 1 Invade. The most basic requirement for a Level 1 Invade was sufficient crowd control, and neither side had that.
But as the minion waves were about to meet, Luo Zhen still had PPGOD follow the coach's instructions and hover near mid lane first, checking whether TES would enter their Upper Jungle to cause trouble.
As always, at the start of a game, they first had to understand both junglers' paths.
Karsa's Poppy planned to start at F6 this game. Poppy's early jungle clear was slow anyway, and starting F6 before pathing upward would maximize her early Combat Power. At the very least, unlike starting blue, she would not run into a small jungle skirmish and be too afraid to fight.
But if she started F6, TES could very likely come disrupt her and throw off her jungle path.
"Will they come?"
"Given Xiao Tian's state, I think they might invade to help their jungler gain an advantage. Let's wait and see. Bot lane is Ziggs anyway."
"No, what's wrong with Ziggs? Believe it or not, I'll steal your First Blood Tower gold with one AW combo in the mid game."
"Enough, enough. Focus. Whether we can profit big from the opening depends on this."
Aside from Ziggs standing in the bot river and Poppy standing at F6 to draw attention, the rest of V5 hid in the brush outside Red Buff. From where they stood, the jungle entrance all the way to F6 was completely visible. If TES dared invade V5 territory, they would be sent fleeing in defeat.
And from God's perspective, under the eyes of countless viewers, TES really did gather their top mid jungle trio. It looked like they genuinely wanted to pull off a Level 1 Invade and disgust Karsa.
The atmosphere gradually grew tense.
Holy shit, a bunch of Old Sixes!
They're coming, they're coming! TES won't really run straight into them, will they?
Was this Hong Mi's prediction? A top-tier coach was this terrifying?
Always remember: in this world, through wind and rain, only Old Six will always be waiting there for you.
Under countless watchful eyes, the TES group led by Jarvan IV ultimately chose to invade V5's Upper Jungle. Looking at Poppy in Hammer Form dancing alone at the mouth of the F6 pit, Xiao Tian even felt that the opening was secured as he prepared to drive her away.
The next moment...
"Rustle, rustle, rustle~"
As the river brush shook, Corki, Graves, and Leona—three mighty champions—completely sealed off TES's retreat path.
At that instant, Karsa could finally no longer hold back the corners of his mouth.
Before you continue