Wild! A blade kept hidden all season!

"Welcome to the opening match of the League of Legends 2017 World Championship Play-In!"

"We're here in Wuhan, China! Welcome, everyone!"

As the casters' voices rang out, cheers erupted throughout the arena, soaring to the heavens!

The audience had waited far too long for this day!

Countless fans had been eagerly awaiting the start of this World Championship, an event that drew the eyes of the entire world.

Now, it had finally arrived!

"Hello, everyone. I'm your caster, Guan Zeyuan."

"Hello, everyone. I'm Xiaosan."

"Hello, everyone. I'm Su Xiaoyan."

The three professional casters stood at the commentary desk, smiling as they greeted the camera.

"Wow, there are so many people here!"

"Yeah, I was startled when I first came in, too. But that's the appeal of the World Championship."

"Let the world feel China's passion!"

As time passed, the three casters steered the conversation back on track.

"All right, coming up is our first Play-In match: IG from the LPL versus LYN from the Wildcard Region!"

"Let's give both teams a round of applause! Hopefully, they'll bring us a fantastic match!"

"Woooooo!!!"

"Woohoo!!"

Thunderous applause and all kinds of screams immediately filled the arena.

The chat in the official livestream began racing by as well.

"Here we go!"

"Let's fucking go, IG!"

"Slaughter them, C God! No need to go easy on our international friends!"

"Sorry, my Latin American bros, but I'm still rooting for IG!"

"Believe in IG! Start things off with a win!"

"Damn, look at that support! That's what being one of the four major regions means! (Leans back smugly.)"

After a while, the screams in the arena gradually died down.

Only then did Guan Zeyuan continue, "Speaking of today's teams, though, I'm favoring IG. They may not have much international experience, but their Summer Split performance already demonstrated some serious strength."

"Same here. Chen Yu's performances in particular were truly memorable."

"Of course, we also hope LYN can bring their best."

"The players are ready, so let's turn our attention to the big screen!"

"Both teams are about to enter the draft!"

In this best-of-one, IG was on red side, while LYN was on blue side.

Right off the bat, LYN banned Corki, Lucian, and Tristana.

Clearly, the Latin American guys had done their homework.

They knew just how hard Rookie had carried on Corki and Lucian during the Summer Split.

But clearly, their homework hadn't been thorough enough.

After all, Lu Chen had been "sealed away" for two months, with West playing most of the Summer Split. That was why LYN had chosen to ban Tristana.

IG, meanwhile, banned Kalista, the undisputed goddess of the meta, followed by Alistar and Jarvan IV.

Soon, LYN first-picked Xayah.

IG locked in Rumble and Elise.

"Huh? IG isn't taking Rakan?" Guan Zeyuan asked. "That's a very confident draft."

Just as he said, when LYN saw IG's picks, they selected Rakan without hesitation, then picked up Galio.

"LYN has practically secured the strongest champions in the meta with their first three picks," Su Xiaoyan added. "How will IG respond?"

Then IG abruptly locked in their third pick-Thresh!

Guan Zeyuan sucked in a breath. "Picking Thresh in this meta? Does IG have something up their sleeve?"

As his words fell, the draft moved on.

Both teams completed their final two bans.

LYN continued targeting Rookie's champions, banning LeBlanc and Viktor.

IG banned Taliyah and Rek'Sai, then locked in Syndra.

With their final two picks, LYN selected Kha'Zix and Orianna.

"Lu Chen, what are you planning to play?" Mafa asked, somewhat puzzled.

It had been Lu Chen who called for picking their support, Thresh, third.

There was no doubt that Thresh's pick rate in professional play was extremely low in this patch.

The Ardent Censer Meta belonged to enchanter supports!

Even so, Mafa had absolutely no intention of stopping Lu Chen.

As always, so long as they could win, he wouldn't object even if Lu Chen picked Soraka support!

"That man, of course." Amusement shone in Lu Chen's eyes as he told Baolan, "Pick Draven!"

"I knew it." Baolan chuckled. Draven's portrait was already on his screen, and he clicked confirm on the spot.

Accompanied by his signature voice line, Draven's portrait was locked in.

"Welcome to the Draven League."

"Draven!" Guan Zeyuan exclaimed. "IG actually picked Draven!"

Su Xiaoyan's eyes widened slightly, too. "I didn't expect us to see this champion in the very first match of the tournament."

Compared to the casters' reactions...

The audience, both inside and outside the arena, went absolutely wild!

"There it is! C God's true signature pick!"

"I still remember those days on the Korean Server. That man with two axes kept slaughtering people in their fountain for two whole months!"

"Wait, isn't this C God's first time picking him in a pro match?"

"He kept that blade hidden all season and finally drew it at the World Championship!"

"Bro, he wasn't hiding anything. When has an opponent ever not banned Draven in a match C God played?"

"True. He probably went on a killing spree in scrims."

"Hurry up, hurry up! I can't wait to watch him chop these kids down, one axe each!"

"LYN, you're about to witness the most merciless slaughter!"

With that, the draft ended.

Both lineups were finalized.

Blue side, LYN: Galio top, Orianna mid, Kha'Zix jungle, Xayah ADC, Rakan support.

Red side, IG: Rumble top, Syndra mid, Elise jungle, Draven ADC, Thresh support.

Both teams entered the loading screen.

The two coaches also walked to center stage, shook hands, and left.

"Honestly," Guan Zeyuan remarked, "if you hid the team names and player IDs, I'd definitely give LYN's draft full marks. IG's, on the other hand, would get six out of ten at most."

"That's right." Su Xiaoyan laughed teasingly. "IG's lineup really does go against the meta, while LYN has almost exclusively picked the strongest champions in the patch."

Xiaosan chimed in, "But this is League of Legends. No draft offers an absolute advantage. Ultimately, the players' skill decides everything. Judging by the IDs alone, I personally still favor IG."

"You can definitely see how aggressive IG's lineup is."

Guan Zeyuan shrugged. "You could say it relies heavily on individual skill to create openings. Still, I think if they dared to pick it, they must have come prepared."

"That's cocky!"

"So what? Against some lousy wildcard team, you should be cocky!"

"That's C God for you! Confidence is his whole thing!"

"The moment Draven appeared, whatever the other side picked stopped mattering."

"I'm calling it: twenty minutes!"

Of course, there were also people predicting disaster.

"Do they really look down on wildcard teams that much?"

"They actually let Xayah and Rakan through?"

"It'll be hilarious if they lose."

"I'd call this IG draft the worst of the year!"

"This is how their coach drafts? I'd honestly do better."

Regardless of what the chat thought...

The match proceeded right on schedule.

"All right! Both teams have entered Summoner's Rift!"

Guan Zeyuan shouted, "The opening match of the S7 World Championship has officially begun!"

"Let's watch and see what kind of spectacular performance these two teams will bring us!"

In an instant...

Deafening cheers once again erupted throughout the arena.

"Let's go, IG!"

"Let's go, LPL!"

"Go get them, IG!"

(End of chapter)