"Welcome to the third match day of Week Two of the 2017 LPL Summer Split. Hello, everyone. I'm Wa Wa, one of your commentators."
"I'm Miller."
"I'm Rita..."
The LPL commentary desk.
As the teams began entering from backstage to get ready, Wa Wa, Miller, and Rita—the new LPL commentator who'd recently become very popular—appeared on camera in formal attire, smiling.
After a brief opening, Wa Wa got straight to the point. "Today's match is actually very important to a lot of EDG fans."
"Right. Before this, Factory Director returned and helped EDG recover some of their momentum from the Spring Split. But so far, their Summer Split results haven't been promising. They're fourth in the annual standings."
Miller nodded. "Especially since their opponents today, DAN, only just got promoted from the secondary league this Summer Split, yet they've been turning in some impressive performances in the LPL."
"It's that fresh energy you get from new faces... DAN may have come from the secondary league, but several of their players are already good enough for the LPL. And the strategies and playstyles of a new team like this can be harder to read than those of an established team..."
After a brief analysis of the two teams' recent form and the strengths and weaknesses on paper,
the director's voice came through their earpieces. Wa Wa perked up.
"Speaking of fresh energy, EDG have also brought in a highly anticipated rookie for the Summer Split—"
A burst of cheers erupted from the audience.
The players from EDG and DAN entered from backstage.
The camera cut between them before settling on Xu Cheng, standing beside Factory Director.
A close-up of his face appeared.
On the screens of countless viewers, a line of text appeared beneath it—
EDG.Murder.
Along with a handsome official photo of Xu Cheng in his EDG uniform.
"Murder. That ID might sound unfamiliar, but I'm sure everyone knows his nicknames: Data Monster... Grandmaster..."
As expected,
the moment the crowd heard those nicknames, most of the confused viewers immediately started cheering.
Clearly, even those who didn't follow Xu Cheng knew where the nicknames came from.
Wa Wa smiled. "Data Monster, Grandmaster... A rookie who's being called a super talent alongside Ah Shui and the Walking A Monster!"
Rita said, with a hint of nervousness,
"Right. Since making his debut, Data Monster has started a lot of trends off the stage. And the story between him and Factory Director... is pretty interesting too. Anyway, we know that Factory Director succeeded in the end..."
"Haha..."
Some people in the audience smiled knowingly.
"Of course, as a rookie making his LPL debut, how he performs is still an open question. I'm sure everyone who's been rooting for Data Monster is eager to find out."
"We're looking forward to it too... The players are ready. Let's get into the first game of today's BO3!"
The broadcast cut to the next screen.
The BP phase began.
EDG were on blue side, and DAN were on red.
As soon as BP began, DAN banned Factory Director's Rek'Sai, Scout's standout Taliyah, and Meiko's Rakan.
With three bans, they'd precisely targeted EDG's biggest carry threats and their strongest playmakers.
EDG, by comparison, went with more standard bans, removing three of the strongest picks in the current patch. DAN were still relatively unknown, and EDG didn't know much about them.
"Nothing unusual about either side's bans. DAN have clearly done their homework. Factory Director's Rek'Sai from his return match definitely deserves respect."
"Right, but DAN haven't targeted EDG's new player, Murder. That's pretty surprising, considering he was hailed as a carry-style top lane prodigy before he ever played professionally."
Rita was a little annoyed that Xu Cheng was being "ignored" in his debut, so she took the chance to hype him up on the Professional Arena and make herself feel better.
"Uh... It's not too surprising. Rookies usually don't pick heroes with very little room for error in their debut. They tend to play it safe."
Wa Wa and Miller exchanged glances and laughed, smoothly covering for DAN.
Then EDG acted as if they'd heard them and instantly proved them wrong, locking in a champion in the top lane on the first pick—
"Sharp blade, sharp eyes!"
Fiora, the Grand Duelist!
"Fiora! EDG have instantly locked her in as their first pick... That's... unexpected. So EDG are confident in Murder and want him to take on the carry role in his debut?"
"Picking Fiora for his debut..."
Miller, who knew the game's meta well, furrowed his brow.
Fiora was... well...
Ever since her rework in S5, Ma Da Tou had used Fiora to smash LPL top laners at the S Tournament.
The champion had become synonymous with carry top laners, and a taboo pick for top laners in the LPL.
Everyone knew LPL top laners couldn't play carry champions. They didn't even dare pick them!
That was why Fiora's pick rate in the LPL was pitifully low. On top of that, she wasn't even one of the most popular top laners in this patch...
The main thing was, as he'd said earlier, rookies generally tried to play it safe in their debuts. Avoiding mistakes was already a win.
Because if they lost their debut, it would hurt both their confidence in their future careers and the atmosphere within the team.
But...
"Grandmaster! Grandmaster!"
"Holy crap! Sword Immortal!"
"Bro, you really picked her? That's badass! Win or lose, I'm supporting you!"
"How long has it been since an LPL top laner dared to pick Fiora? The Grandmaster really lives up to his name. Fiora in his debut! My take? The originator of Fiora's Auto Attack Flash—look him up!"
The crowd's reaction was enthusiastic.
The commentators onstage understood.
"He's here, he's here... He really did it!"
"The Fiora Auto Attack Flash Grandmaster! I didn't expect it, but... honestly, picking this champion for his professional debut in the current LPL deserves a round of applause."
Wa Wa raised his voice. "Everyone, let's give Murder a round of applause!"
Applause rang out from the audience.
When it finally died down, Miller said, "But now DAN will definitely focus all their efforts on your top lane. They can't let Fiora get the chance to scale."
"Getting relentlessly targeted by the entire enemy team in your very first professional match... That's a big challenge for a rookie..."
"Just as expected! Here it comes!"
DAN's picks were indeed aimed at Fiora. They picked Jayce for the top lane and paired him with Jarvan IV, one of the most popular junglers in the current patch.
Those two picks made DAN's game plan against EDG crystal clear—
Go all-in on top!
"I didn't expect Jayce... What's going on today? Champions like Fiora and Jayce rarely show up on our professional stage..."
Miller looked at DAN's picks, surprised.
If Xu Cheng had a reputation for being good at Fiora, DAN didn't have one for Jayce... To be precise, almost no LPL top laner dared to pick Jayce on the Professional Arena.
After all, Jayce was the classic top lane bully, the Noob Farming Hero. LCK's once-powerful Jayce had left everyone with a serious case of stage fright.
"They just want a favorable lane... Jayce has a much easier time against Fiora early on. Nothing wrong with that..."
Wa Wa smoothly covered for them.
He knew that DAN dared to pick Jayce because Xu Cheng was making his professional debut. Jayce's synergy with the jungler and ability to build a snowball came second.
He'd spotted it. There was no way EDG hadn't.
"So this is what LPL top laners are like? I'm sold. Picking on the weak, huh? Haha."
Meiko made a sarcastic remark, then said to Xu Cheng, "Cheng Zi, teach them a harsh lesson. Show them that not every LPL top laner can play Jayce!"
"This is more fun than laning against Sion or Maokai."
Seeing that the opposing team hadn't picked a passive champion and planned to scale, Xu Cheng actually felt relieved. He'd really been afraid they would try to drag him into a farm lane.
At that point, both teams' lineups were set.
The game loaded in.
"Fresh faces bringing fresh energy. Today's match is a clash of the new..."
"So which side's 'new' will come out on top? The game has loaded. Let's head into—Summoner's Rift!"
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