All Betrayers Must Die!

"Don't be nervous. Don't put pressure on yourselves. It's only the regular season-we can afford a loss."

"Just play your usual game, everyone. Remember to buy more control wards for vision."

"Don't forget your starting items, and remember your opening positions."

Although he had seemed brimming with confidence earlier, once they actually took the stage, Coach Mafa kept fussing over them like a mother hen.

Rookie smiled. "So, Lu Chen, feeling any pressure hearing all that noise out there?"

The venue was packed, and cheers rang out everywhere.

Even inside their soundproof booth, they could faintly hear them.

"I'm fine." Lu Chen smiled faintly. "I'm pretty comfortable with it."

"Of course." Ning Wang chuckled, his eyes full of excitement. "C God can't get nervous. I'm counting on you to carry me."

In truth, apart from Rookie and Baolan, none of them had much experience in major competitions.

But both TheShy and Ning Wang thrived under pressure. They might have been nervous, but they were probably more excited than anything.

As for Lu Chen, he was simply too steady.

Meanwhile.

As the players prepared, the three casters began warming up the crowd.

Miller spoke first. "So, who do you think has the better chance of winning today?"

"That's a loaded question," Wawa teased. "But if I had to pick, I'd probably back WE. The Red Miracle that blossomed in the spring split was just too impressive."

Rita gazed at the starting lineup on the big screen and smiled serenely. "I'd support IG. I feel like they have limitless potential."

"They do have several new players," Miller picked up the thread. "Especially Chen Yu, who's been getting a lot of attention lately. I've watched his Ranked videos, and his playstyle is absolutely vicious."

Rita nodded, unable to keep the corners of her mouth from lifting. "Yes. I hope he can perform to his usual standard onstage, too."

"Looks like Rita's a C God fan as well," Miller teased.

Rita's expression briefly froze, but she still nodded. "Mm, that's right."

Miller continued, "But on the current patch, AD carries are becoming increasingly important. This match might really come down to how the two bot lanes perform."

Wawa suddenly laughed. "Hey, I just remembered something interesting. IG's TheShy and WE's Ben were actually traded for each other in May. That means they're both facing their former teams now."

"Oh?" Miller laughed as well. "That gives us another storyline to watch. I wonder which team got the better end of that trade?"

As the casters chatted away.

The match finally began.

Both teams entered the pick-and-ban phase.

"All right!" Miller grew serious. "The players on both sides are ready. Let's turn our attention to the stage and look forward to this exciting Best of Three!"

"As we can see, IG on blue side opened by banning Thresh, Kled, and Nidalee."

"And WE on red side banned Caitlyn, Draven, and Zac!"

"You can tell WE did their homework. They've targeted the comfort picks of IG's new players. Clearly, WE are wary of this newcomer, Chen Yu."

The live chat grew excited as well.

"Hahaha, WE's coaching staff, confess! Have you been watching C God's streams?"

"C God's been slaughtering everyone with Caitlyn and Draven on the Korean Server!"

"TheShy was traded for Ben? Feels like IG got absolutely fleeced. This guy gets way too carried away."

"I thought only RNG versus IG was a grudge match. Turns out WE is one too."

"Honestly, WE's lost the plot a little. Instead of targeting Rookie, the guy carrying the whole team, they're targeting a rookie?"

Most viewers' fixed impression of IG was "one god carrying four deadweights."

And to be fair, that had been true for at least the past two years.

It always came back to the same question: whether IG won depended entirely on whether Rookie could rack up kills faster than his teammates could feed.

"Let's take Alistar first." Mafa rubbed his chin. "They'll probably grab Varus. Then we can pick mid and jungle, and hold back our AD carry and top laner. Sound good?"

"No problem." Lu Chen nodded.

"Okay." Rookie nodded as well.

IG quickly locked in Alistar.

As expected, WE locked in Varus, then picked Karma.

"Oh!" Miller smiled. "WE have gone for a classic poke bot lane. How will IG respond?"

"Take Elise and Syndra," Mafa instructed.

"Wow." Wawa's eyes widened in surprise. "IG's mid-jungle picks are really aggressive."

Both Syndra and Elise were all-out offensive picks.

Next, WE locked in Kassadin for mid, making it clear that they wanted their mid lane to hold steady and wait for the late game.

Both teams entered the second ban phase.

IG banned Rumble and Lee Sin, while WE banned Kog'Maw and Shen.

WE then picked Kennen for top, adding teamfight AoE damage and crowd control for engages.

IG picked Cho'Gath for top first, giving the team a sufficiently durable frontline.

At that point, Mafa asked his classic question again. "Lu Chen, what do you want to play?"

After glancing at the opposing lineup, Lu Chen scanned the AD carry pool, a smile curling at the corner of his mouth. "Kalista."

Mafa paused, then nodded. "All right. Kalista it is."

After all the games they had played over the past few days, he was starting to go along with whatever Lu Chen said.

There was no helping it. Lu Chen's champion pool was an ocean-whatever he picked, he could carry, and whatever he picked, he could win.

Any other coach would probably have let him do as he pleased, too.

"All betrayers must die!"

As the raspy voice line rang out, Kalista, the Spear of Vengeance, was locked in.

"Kalista?" At the caster desk, Miller's eyes widened slightly. "Chen Yu is very confident."

On this patch, Kalista had yet to reach her true peak.

She would only become the sole top-tier pick once the World Championship patch arrived and the Ardent Censer meta fully took off-a mandatory ban for the team picking second!

At present, Kalista-

Had a win rate that failed to reach even a measly 50 percent!

And she was extremely difficult to play. Even among professionals, not everyone could use her proficiently, and picking her did not necessarily lead to good results.

With their final pick, WE chose Gragas for jungle.

Both lineups were now complete.

Blue side, IG: Cho'Gath top, Syndra mid, Elise jungle, Kalista AD carry, and Alistar support.

Red side, WE: Kennen top, Kassadin mid, Gragas jungle, Varus AD carry, and Karma support.

With picks and bans finished, the two coaches shook hands and left the stage.

The casters began assessing the strengths and weaknesses of both lineups.

"Looking purely at teamfighting, WE's composition feels much more solid."

"Exactly. Whether it's poke or engage, they have strong options, and Kassadin can take over the game late."

"The two compositions have very distinct identities. IG leans toward the early game, while WE leans toward the late game. As long as WE withstand IG's aggression, the later stages should be very comfortable for them."

Miller and Wawa went back and forth.

It was obvious that they still leaned more toward WE.

They were casters, after all. Apart from their own favorite teams, they naturally tended to favor the more popular side. There was nothing wrong with that.

(End of chapter)