Spring split

The FKL spring split was divided into three rounds, beginning on January 31, and used draft mode, global BP mode, and free-pick mode.

The participating teams were randomly drawn into three groups for a single round-robin. The top two teams entered Group S, third and fourth went to Group A, and fifth and sixth went to Group B. In the second round, each of the three groups played its own single round-robin.

The top four teams in Group S entered the winners' bracket. The fifth- and sixth-place teams played each other, with the winner entering Group S and the loser entering Group A. The fifth- and sixth-place teams in Group A played each other, with the winner entering Group A and the loser entering Group B.

The second- through sixth-place teams in Group B played, with the winners entering Group B and all losers eliminated. In the third round, Groups S and A played single round-robins. The top four teams in Group S entered the winners' bracket, while the fifth- and sixth-place teams in Group A were eliminated. The fifth- and sixth-place teams in Group S and the top four teams in Group A entered the losers' bracket.

GOD's first match was against WSK Team. WSK was a rising star of the past few years and was naturally not as strong as the older teams, but its results over those years had been impressive, and its strength was not to be underestimated.

So, as soon as everyone returned from the New Year holiday, Coach Ming held a brief meeting. Afterward, Wu Jin returned to her seat and pulled up videos of WSK's matches to review.

Smiling, Shi Mu poured a glass of milk and set it beside Wu Jin on her desk. Their little top laner really was serious.

On match day, GOD had barely stepped out of the van when the fans' frenzied screams drowned them out.

Wantonly greeted the fans with practiced ease while security guards on both sides struggled to keep the crowd under control.

Although it was Wu Jin's first time seeing a scene like this, she barely reacted. Her face impassive, she kept her head down and hurried through the crowd beside Shi Mu.

In the lounge, Wantonly was especially excited. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, it's Little A Jin's debut today! I'm so nervous!"

Clear snorted. "She isn't even nervous, so what the hell are you nervous about?"

Shi Mu leaned against the sofa with his arms folded and turned his head slightly to look at Wu Jin. The girl drank the yogurt in her hand without expression.

Standing apart from the hubbub, he suddenly chuckled. Good, she was in a good state.

Brother Qian paced back and forth nervously too. A debut was important to every player, especially a controversial one like Wu Jin.

Although she had gained a small following through her skill while livestreaming games, any mistake she made would be blown out of proportion, and she would have to endure abuse beyond what others could imagine. It was a tremendous test of a player's mental fortitude.

So even though Brother Qian had complete confidence in Wu Jin and GOD, he was still a little worried.

Bin toyed with his phone, his lips curling disdainfully. "Why get nervous over playing some small team? It's not like we're going to lose, is it?"

Wantonly glanced at him disapprovingly but ultimately said nothing.

The host's voice rang out, and the lights in the enormous venue came on in an instant, converging on the stage. The audience cheered without pause. A scene like this never failed to set one's blood surging. The camera switched to the commentary desk on the other side.

[Qingqing: Welcome, everyone, to the first match of the S21 spring regular season! I'm your commentator, Qingqing! Let me hear you cheer!]

[Wu Hu: Hello, everyone! It's great to see you all again. I'm your commentator! Woohoo!]

The venue erupted, and the fans in the audience waved their glow sticks and fan support items.

[Qingqing: Speaking of today's two teams, one is a dark horse that has fought its way to prominence in recent years, and the other is an ace star team. Both performed brilliantly in last year's matches, but unfortunately, Yun was still around last year. This year, Yun has retired and gone back to be with Cat, hahaha.]

[Wu Hu: Ah, speaking of GOD Team, I'm really looking forward to the newcomer Jin. I hear she's an exceptionally fierce top laner. As one of only two female players currently competing, she really has us looking forward to her performance today!]

[Qingqing: That's right, so let's hand the camera back to the host and look forward to everyone's performance today!]

The host took over again. "Welcome, everyone, to the S21 spring split. Now, let's give GOD a warm welcome!"

"Mid laner-Clear!"

Clear strutted onto the stage and waved to the fans, who shouted his name from the audience.

"Support-Wantonly!"

After putting on another round of weight over the New Year, Wantonly looked even rounder and cuter when he smiled, making him especially comical.

"ADC-bin!"

Bin smiled and greeted the fans before taking his seat.

"Top laner-Jin!"

When her name was called, Wu Jin was just about to walk onto the stage when she heard someone in the audience shouting her name at the top of their lungs. She suddenly stopped in her tracks.

"Jin!! You can do it! Mommy's here watching you!"

"Baby Jin, fly bravely!! Your wife will always follow you!"

Shi Mu stood behind Wu Jin, his voice low and tingling. "Go on up. They all want to see you."

Wu Jin's eyes darkened. She walked onto the stage, light falling on her face. Fans in the audience held up support signs and shouted her name. She looked at the girls below the stage and waved to them.

The fans below suddenly met Wu Jin's gaze and stared with their mouths open. Jin had seen them! She had even waved to them, aaaaaah!!

"Jungler-TIME!"

The moment Shi Mu's name was announced, the venue erupted again, louder than before. Smiling, Shi Mu pulled Wu Jin, who was still standing, over to her seat.

"Still standing there because you want to steal your Brother Mu's screen time?"

Wu Jin murmured, "Oh," then sat down and put on her headset.

The fans watching online all noticed that little gesture. They were shipping them like crazy, going absolutely crazy! Ebony Meets Spring had finally given them some sugar!! The CP fans really had met spring now!

"Let's give WSK Team another warm round of applause!"

Once both teams' players were in position, their head coaches took their places as well, and the BP phase of the first game began.

[Qingqing: Let's see which hero GOD will ban first. Ah, it's Lili. As expected, this support is a regular in the ban slots.]

[Wu Hu: WSK has used its ban on the jungler Fulina, our Time's signature hero. Sure enough, Fulina never gets to appear in a match when Time is playing.]

Coach Ming looked at the tablet in his hand and thought for a moment. "Ban Twisted Fate. Give bin Rat Child."

[Qingqing: Hmm, banning Twisted Fate is probably meant to give bin more room to deal damage. Twisted Fate really is difficult to lane against this season. The other side banned Shaman? They're actually targeting the top lane. Could it be that our Jin's Shaman has made WSK feel threatened?]

[Wu Hu: Hahaha, I know about this one. GOD ran into YH during a livestream once, and Jin's Shaman put on such a dazzling display that YH couldn't keep up. Looks like WSK has done plenty of research on GOD's new top laner too.]

Wantonly exclaimed, "They're already targeting our Little A Jin in her first match. Tsk, tsk."

Shi Mu said, "It's all right. Our top laner has plenty of strength and tricks."

Clear protested, "Why aren't they targeting me? Come on, target me!"

The next second, the other side banned Fledgling Phoenix, the very hero Clear had just kept saying he wanted to pick.

Shi Mu said, "Ask and you shall receive."

Clear: ...Screw off.

GOD banned Aobei'er.