You call this thing stable?

"What do you think?"

"We were all too young, thinking Theshy's playstyle choice was pure trolling, the stupidest decision. But looking at the show's engagement and the bullet screen volume, wasn't it also the playstyle that generated the most comments? In that sense, he's beaten us far too much."

"..."

The worse Graves's equipment got, the more WBG's mid-game damage would fall off. Caitlyn was a champion with long range early, weak damage mid-game, and growing stronger late. So, for the first half of the game, he was on a downward trend.

And as for Corki, you couldn't just rely on a single Yordle Snap Trap to pull off a miracle.

So what could be done?

They could only accelerate the bot lane Caitlyn's farm, dedicating all limited resources to her, at least finding a way to get her online. But V5 knew exactly what they were thinking, so they set up jungle vision early, preparing to ambush the enemy bot lane.

"So, we'll draw their attention, and you're confident you can one-shot her?"

Karsa glanced at Samira's items: Shieldbow, Collector, and parts of Infinity Edge. Currently, the damage seemed sufficient. The key was that she was already level 11, and Samira's level 1 and level 2 ultimates dealt vastly different amounts of damage.

"I can try. I have a really good feeling about this play, let me show off a bit."

"It's not impossible, I'm just a little curious what gives you such a sense of security. Is it the two and a half items in your backpack?"

"No, it's the 'Nine Materials Gun King.' Nothing in the world gives me even a tenth of the security it does."

"???"

The top lane had the Jordan tactic, creating space for head-to-head duels. But for the bot lane, it didn't mean the ADC couldn't be an assassin mid laner.

Besides, once Caitlyn got cornered by other ADCs at point-blank range, wasn't she just a complete piece of trash?

This play had potential!

While having the support scan ahead, Luo Zhen skillfully maneuvered Samira, using the minion wave's vision to sneak into the bush just ahead of the enemy's second bot tower.

He was very proficient at this move.

In his daily ranked games playing Qiyana and Talon mid, he often used this method, hiding in this spot to wait for the enemy backline to come clear waves, and then easily securing 300 gold.

Simply put, it was playing on information asymmetry.

As long as Poppy showed her face in the mid lane, the enemy carries would naturally let their guard down and come to the bot lane to clear waves.

This play, this play was called: The willing fish takes the bait.

At this moment, at the casting desk off-stage.

"Here they come! Our player AK is starting to put on a show again, is he trying to ambush a big fish?"

"With Samira's current items, theoretically, she could take down both enemy carries alone. Can WBG react in time? They can't! Rookie just peeked, they don't sense anything is wrong!"

"Huan Feng is about to fall for it!"

Chapter Twenty: The 'Type Two' Youth

One day, the previously peaceful bot lane was suddenly attacked by an unknown parasitic lifeform!

"Run!"

"But..."

"Quickly find the weakness of the Monster Big V Heavenly Dragon."

Welcome to the next episode of LPL Ultraman: "The Ambush Specialist Arrives."

As a guiltless Huan Feng just reached the second tower, setting up his Q skill to clear a minion wave before returning to mid to help defend with his teammates, Luo Zhen, hiding in the bush, launched his surprise attack at this very moment.

As mentioned before, Samira's "money-grubbing" could stack points.

Thus, a type of bush-ambush, speedy S-rank combo emerged: CTRL2 + Flash + auto-attack + W + E + Q + R.

By the time Huan Feng's Caitlyn realized what was happening, Luo Zhen's Samira had already spun around her like a top. Facing an assassin-type ADC capable of such close-range burst damage, even the "Sea Whip Youth" could only lament his fate.

[V5's AK killed WBG's Huan Feng]

A perfect "Dan Sha"!

As the kill notification for the bot lane appeared above the Summoner's Rift, Coach Homme below the stage opened his mouth as if to say something, but after thinking for a moment, he closed it again.

From a coach's perspective, the ADC going for such a play alone was pure recklessness, and he didn't advocate for it.

But the effect... was surprisingly good.

Without the long-range Caitlyn, Corki alone couldn't manage both wave clearing and poke. Facing V5's aggressive charges, WBG naturally became hesitant. After all, before, when the enemy charged, they charged two targets simultaneously, splitting the pressure.

But now, the enemy only needed to charge him.

Who could possibly withstand that!

So WBG chose to give up. V5 seized the opportunity to push down WBG's mid-second tower. Once that tower fell, it meant WBG's jungle vision was completely lost, and they would face a jungle governed by the law of the dark forest.

This spontaneous ambush achieved a miraculous effect that even sophisticated macro play couldn't match.

To a coach like Homme, it felt similar to a student using Chinese phonetic spellings for English words – the English teacher would be furious, but would also realize it was surprisingly effective.

It left him in an awkward position.

[Dan Sha!]

[Deng Huang, Ah Shui, Xiang Zhangmen, and Huan Feng – four veteran ADCs have already fallen to AK's steals, and his march continues!]

[Xiang Zhangmen probably doesn't count. That's just feeding moves at best, he trains his disciples himself.]

[Got it, LWX is using borrowed knives to kill.]

Such a spectacular scene immediately amused the trolls watching the game. After taking down the opponent's mid inhibitor tower, V5 didn't show any mercy and went straight for Baron Nashor, using it to force a team fight against the outnumbered enemy.

WBG immediately buckled under the pressure.

If they went to contest, the enemy team would charge in, initiating a fight in an instant, and they would lose because they were outnumbered.

But if they didn't go, securing Baron Nashor would likely mean the end of their game.

The problem of the carries dying in the mid-game was evident here. Not everyone's team was like Mr. Duy's, already accustomed to their ADC gifting a wave in the mid-game and thus prepared. WBG hadn't expected Huan Feng to suddenly die, leaving their minds in a complete mess.

Ultimately, they chose to fight.

They were going to die either way, so they might as well gamble. What if he flanked successfully and stole Baron?

Then, Vex's sorrow arrived.

As the only Poppy in the Poppy family who specialized in magic, Vex's unique strength lay in her powerful support and GANK capabilities, and of course... her ability to instantly kill.

Vex, who was heavily farmed, was terrifying at this moment.

Facing WBG's tankiest jungler, Trundle, she still managed to blast away more than half of his HP with a quick WEQ combo upon landing.

Before WBG could even set up their defense, 369, who had been waiting in the jungle, charged out. Looking up, he was met with a sky full of lightning!

Yes.

V5 had no intention of taking Baron this time.

In a team like Coach Homme's, which emphasized Steady play, a full team rush for Dragon would only happen in two situations: either the team was at a significant disadvantage and had to force a rush for a comeback, or they were certain the enemy couldn't interfere due to minion waves and could safely secure Baron.

In a situation where the enemy could contest and their own team had a massive advantage...

Rushing Baron with full force?

That would be pure self-torture. They weren't EDG; they wouldn't make the mistake of frequently giving the opponent a chance to come back.

With 369's crowd control, the rest of V5 quickly followed up. This time, they had no intention of giving the enemy any breathing room. They chased down WBG's remnants all the way to their respawn fountain.

Then, after wiping out the enemy team, they proceeded to destroy the enemy turrets and Nexus right in front of WBG's eyes.

The scene was akin to forcing WBG to buy Qiege.

One slice: Jack Ma weeps. Two slices: Jianlin's heart breaks. Three slices: Tengxun kneels. Four slices: Qiangdong confesses. Five slices: Gates cripples himself. Six slices: Earth shatters. Seven slices: Universe collapses. Eight slices: Farewell to heaven.

As for whether there were zombies after the eighth slice, I couldn't say...

With the final auto-attack landing.

1:0

V5, making a strong comeback, once again defeated their formidable opponent WBG, securing victory in the first game of the BO3!

"Alright, another 1:0 win!"

Luo Zhen, who was eagerly anticipating his kidney-tonifying soup that night, cheered as usual. New players were like this; every game seemed to ignite their passion when they first entered the LPL.

"Be steady, the camera's watching."

"It's fine, let them watch. Showing off has a cooldown. I've figured it out. I'll celebrate during the regular season when appropriate, and save the big displays for the major stages. This way, I can show my growth and maintain my cool image. It's a win-win!"

"???"

If contemporary youth were divided into five types: Zen, Confucian, Magic, Immortal, and 'Type Two', then Luo Zhen's performance in the team's voice chat was a perfect example of 'Type Two'.

Or, more accurately: the idiot type!

It's worth mentioning that SN was quite strong during this period of the Spring Split regular season. In the original timeline, Huan Feng was even nominated as the most likely ADC to represent the LPL at Jakarta. However, in the Summer Split... well, everyone knew what happened.

After Huan Feng suddenly exploded in the second game, the match was pushed to a third game.

This time, Coach Homme finally couldn't hold back and prepared to target the bot lane's champion pool.

"Ban ADCs, focus on the bot lane. No problem, Xiao Zhen?" Feeling the anger from everyone in the room for not being able to drink their kidney-tonifying soup immediately, Coach Homme steadied himself and asked Luo Zhen with a kind expression.

"Uphold loyalty and maintain humility." Luo Zhen bowed, indicating he had no issues.

"In that case, let's... start the slaughter!"

Chapter Twenty-One: For the Greater Good

As the match entered the third game of the BO3, the live audience felt they had gotten their money's worth.

The first two games had provided the audience with many surprises. Whether it was V5's full-on aggression in the first game or the individual player skill bursts from WBG in the second, both contributed to what might be the most exciting match of the past few days.

[I feel like both V5 and WBG are so strong, truly the Galactic Battleship of the new season.]

[Huan Feng's explosive performance in the second game was a bit too much. In comparison, AK seemed quiet in the second game.]

[How are they supposed to play? Karsa is always top lane, Sofm is always bot lane. Even Uzi would struggle bot lane against this.]

[The main issue is Rookie and Karsa's fluctuating form. These veterans seem to either dominate or get lost. Could WBG actually outlast them in this BO3?]

As mentioned before, V5's weakness lies in the players' form.

Their foundation is definitely solid, and everyone knows their peak strength. The only problem is their highly fluctuating form, which makes them unpredictable. Even Coach Homme couldn't come up with a quick fix for this situation.

What should they do then?

Should they shift the focus back to the bot lane?

If it were S7 or S8 RNG, they might have done just that. But this was Coach Homme. He would rather lose the game than let the mid, top, and jungle players fail to regain their form on their own. He absolutely could not let the players develop a mentality where they wouldn't take responsibility for the team if they were out of form.

Don't ask why, just know it's the stubbornness of a top-tier coach!

Until the third game.

The moment the audience, commentators, and opponents saw the V5 players' mental state before taking the stage for the third game, everything changed.

Momentum is a rather mystical thing.

During the Demacia Cup finals, the V5 players had a momentum called resilience.

Now, for the third game, the V5 players also had a momentum, and this time, it was killing intent!

"What's going on with V5?" WBG's coach was completely stunned.

He knew that in a crucial game of a BO3, coaches would definitely give their players a motivational speech. But in the regular season, it usually wouldn't be too exaggerated. After all, hype also has a cooldown; no one can continuously burst into form.

But this was just the beginning of the regular season, so why were they bursting into form now?

Had they triggered some taboo for V5?

While they were completely clueless, the BP for the third game began.

Round of BANs:

WBG: LeBlanc, Lee Sin, Lucian

V5: Caitlyn, Jinx, Aphelios

V5 directly banned three primary carries, forcing the opponent to pick a utility or tempo ADC to clash with V5 head-on. It wasn't that he feared the opponent's ADCs; rather, if those three champions were picked, the game would generally be dragged past 30 minutes, which was too long.