Lying in Wait

It was NIP's turn to pick.

Luo Bing thought it over. Since Top Esports had left Vi open, NIP had to take her. They couldn't let Top Esports have a Rumble–Vi combo.

He had Shanji lock in K'Sante first. Then, after checking with Takuya that he was comfortable playing Vi, he had him lock her in.

Hongmi pondered for a moment and decided to pick his bot-lane duo with the second and third picks.

He locked in Varus and Leona.

Varus had no mobility. Luo Bing asked doinb if he wanted to play Akali. She had once been one of doinb's signature champions; taking a drink after a solo kill was one of his iconic moments.

Naturally, doinb didn't refuse. He locked in Akali.

The bans resumed.

Top Esports still needed a mid laner and a jungler. After talking it over with his teammates, Luo Bing banned Sylas and Tristana.

Tristana had a good matchup into Akali, so they weren't giving their opponents the chance to pick her.

Hongmi used his two remaining bans on a support and an AD carry.

He banned Rakan and Ezreal.

Once the bans were done, the red side picked Jhin. The blue side had two picks left, while the final counterpick belonged to the red side.

After thinking it over and consulting his players, Hongmi had them pick Fox and Wukong for mid and jungle.

That combination worked whether they needed to engage or turn a fight around.

Luo Bing had saved his final counterpick for support. After some hesitation, he settled on Alistar.

Wang Duoduo spoke up. "All right, both teams' compositions are set. Let's see what this match has in store! Can rookie jungler Relife keep up his brilliant play from last game? Let's find out."

As soon as the game began,