The first match against TAT Team was smoothly won with Lu Yue playing steadily and Old Cat carrying explosively, leaving the regional fans in tears—it felt like they had endured too long a period where the World Championship only brought shocks instead of pleasant surprises. ZGDX Team's consecutive pleasant surprises made everyone feel like they were Koreans, sege!
Old Cat solo-killed SASALI!!!
Before today, this was something only dared to dream about in broad daylight!
Never mind, let’s say it again: This is LPL’s most promising year!
That’s all.
Amid the jubilant cheers of the masses, the second match began.
ZGDX Team once again rotated Smiling onto the field according to their substitution system—this news wasn’t surprising to the audience. In fact, if it were any other team, replacing the first Mid Laner who hadn’t made any major mistakes and had just won a match with a second Mid Laner would have drawn criticism and backlash… Fortunately, ZGDX, having just reverse-swept OP Team and secured their first victory against TAT Team, was now seen as a god-tier presence in people’s minds. So as long as they won the match—whatever Daddy said went!
Daddy plays whoever Daddy wants!
Commentator D: [We can see ZGDX has subbed in Smiling again. Honestly, I think this makes the match even more exciting—THEI mentioned in an interview a few days ago that this match would determine who is the World’s Best LeBlanc.]
Commentator F: [Wow, hahahahahaha, the tension is thick! As if anyone would willingly let LeBlanc fall into the hands of either of these two players.]
Commentator D: [By your logic, whoever bans LeBlanc first loses. So I’m looking forward to it—if everyone holds their breath and refuses to ban her…]
Commentator F: [Then congratulations, everyone. In this match, following the Riven Demon King in the top lane, another Demon King in the mid lane is about to be released…]
Commentator D: [—Will this Demon King be Smiling or THEI?]
Commentator F: [Welcome back to the 2016 League of Legends Pro League World Championship! Up next is the second match of the semifinals, featuring LPL’s ZGDX Team versus LCK’s TAT Team!]
Following the commentators’ lead, the crowd erupted in cheers as they shifted from rest mode back to esports mode!
Meanwhile, Tong Yao sat in the starting seat.
The passionate cheers of the audience buzzed in her ears—some were probably cheering for ZGDX, and maybe some were shouting for Smiling… probably. Her headphones were already unplugged from the computer and draped over her arm. Her face was tense as she flexed her slightly cold fingers—her gaze drifted past the computer screen to the sea of dark figures in the distance. Many held up light signs, though whether they supported her team or another player, she couldn’t tell… For now, she chose to believe they were cheering for her.
Tong Yao averted her eyes, trying to distract herself from her nerves as she glanced around. “…Captain, do you think they’ll actually let me have LeBlanc?”Lu Sicheng's voice sounded nonchalant: "I don't know, what difference does it make if we don't have Leblanc?"
Tong Yao: "How can you be so calm!"
Lu Sicheng: "Because in the last game, TAT's bot lane was twenty CS behind me at ten minutes. If I'm not calm, who should be?"
Tong Yao: "……………"
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! This confident tone of yours is so infuriating!!!
Tong Yao's gaze flickered, unable to suppress the urge to turn her head and look at the mid lane position of the TAT team beside her—she had done a lot of mental preparation before stepping onto the stage, but right now, in the middle of the match, facing him in person... She couldn't help but recall a few months ago when she had just started her professional career, during her first scrim against TAT—before the scrim, she had heard that A Tai was a pro player with a bad reputation, someone who liked to use opponents' signature Champions to defeat them, completely crushing them psychologically... It was that scrim where Tong Yao vividly remembered picking Azir, only to be repeatedly solo-killed by a Leblanc she thought she knew well, getting completely dominated in lane and becoming the team's weak point—it was almost laughable.
Since turning pro, Tong Yao had seen it all—salary deductions, suspensions, even death threats and cockroaches in the mail—but in the end, the only thing that truly qualified as "a nightmare" to her was that one insignificant scrim.
And now, the perpetrator of that nightmare was sitting just ten meters away from her on the opponent's side—these days, people who had caught wind of Tong Yao's interviews and pre-match trash talk had become a little too obsessed with the so-called "Tong Yao and Li Mintai saga," spinning tales of love-hate relationships, destined rivals, and whatnot. Every time she saw such nonsense, Tong Yao couldn't help but feel her stomach churn... What kind of delusional fantasy is this?! This isn't some cheesy CEO romance novel! This Li Mintai, no matter how good-looking he is, is a full-blown villain, okay?!
...A villain who must be defeated!
Her heart roared, but her face remained expressionless—
Tong Yao was lost in thought.
Until she felt someone adjusting the headset on her arm. She trembled slightly and looked up, only to feel the headset being lifted and placed over her ears. The noise from the audience and the casters' commentary instantly vanished... Tong Yao froze for a moment.
She turned to look at Lu Sicheng. The man pointed at his own headset and put it on—none of the other teammates had put theirs on yet, so the comms channel only had the two of them. His calm, deep voice came through: "Close your eyes, take a deep breath, and relax... Even if you can't win, it's fine. I'll carry you."
His gentle voice was like a shot of adrenaline, the cool medicine injected into her restless heart... Tong Yao did as he said—leaning back in her chair, closing her eyes, taking a deep breath—and when she opened them again, the uncertainty and unease in her eyes had magically faded a great deal.
...The second match officially entered the Ban & Pick Phase. As the two teams took turns banning champions, the audience—reminded by the commentators that aside from this match, there was also a battle of honor at stake—grew increasingly hyped... Every time a champion other than the Deceiver LeBlanc was banned, the venue erupted in commotion... Until TAT Team's final ban, Zilean, sent the crowd into an absolute frenzy—six ban slots, and not one was LeBlanc. LeBlanc was actually left open!
The audience's minds were flooded with endless strings of "66666666." They craned their necks, eagerly anticipating, until they saw ZGDX Team, on the blue side, first-pick LeBlanc without hesitation... Not just the audience, even the commentators nearly jumped out of their seats!
Commentator D: ["Smiling got LeBlanc! Smiling got her LeBlanc! This champion hasn't been left open for her since the Group Stage!"]
Commentator F: ["THEI has locked in Azir. Honestly, Azir might not be the best pick against LeBlanc... Uh, wait a minute! I think I’ve heard rumors that their rivalry started with LeBlanc and Azir..."]
Commentator D: ["Who’d have thought we’d witness a grudge match in the World Championship semifinals..."]
Commentator F: ["A father-son duel. If the players weren’t wearing headphones right now, I’d love to ask if they really agreed that the loser has to call the other 'Daddy' or 'Mommy'?"]
Amid the commentators' excited chatter, the champion selection phase concluded smoothly and swiftly. The big screen showed the players loading into the game... Lu Sicheng turned to glance at Tong Yao. "You actually made that bet with him? I thought you were just joking."
Tong Yao raised her hand, making a traffic cop’s "stop" gesture to signal Lu Sicheng not to talk to her—Lu Sicheng: "What’s wrong?"
Tong Yao fanned herself with her hand. "Nervous. It’s happening again. I’m afraid if I open my mouth, my heart’s gonna leap right out."
Lu Sicheng: "..."
Little Fatty: "Our Mid Laner’s mental fortitude is seriously lacking—you should learn from Lu Yue sometime. Steady as an old driver, more unshakable than a turret, calmly weathering the storm while waiting for teammates to carry him to victory. Never carries if he can avoid it..."
Just then, the game loaded in.
Tong Yao frantically scanned her screen and blurted out something shocking: "Where’s my mouse? I can’t find my mouse!"
Lu Sicheng sighed. Mid-match, he lifted one hand off his keyboard and covered Tong Yao’s wildly flailing claw with his own large hand. Her fingers felt ice-cold to the touch—"The cursor’s here, see?" The man guided her hand calmly. "Relax. It’s just A Tai. You’ve died to him so many times already—what’s one more? Weren’t you all bold and confident when you accepted his Challenge?"
Tong Yao shook off his hand. "Is that supposed to be comforting?"
Lu Sicheng chuckled lazily, straightening up and returning his hand to his keyboard... Tong Yao took a deep breath and headed to her lane, where Azir was already waiting on the other side.Azir is a stable, scaling, and pressure-resistant champion; Leblanc also needs to farm peacefully at level one, so both players remained relatively calm at the start, standing behind their minion waves and occasionally poking the opponent when they stepped too far forward—both reached level two at the same time, allowing Tong Yao to start using QW to harass... She landed two hits but missed one because A Tai was exceptionally skilled with Azir, slippery as an eel and nearly impossible to pin down! Instead, Tong Yao took a few retaliatory jabs from him, and if she hadn’t chugged a health potion beforehand in one skirmish, she might have been poked to death!
With Azir in the game, taking the mid-lane turret early is difficult, so ZGDX Team didn’t plan to focus too much on mid in the early game... At four minutes, the top and jungle duo coordinated—Old K’s Nidalee and Old Cat’s Rumble tower-dived the enemy top laner, who had overextended and couldn’t retreat in time, securing First Blood!
“Screw you! Look down on a blue-collar top laner, and I’ll wreck you with Rumble!” Old Cat pocketed the 400 gold, cleared the wave, then grumbled as he ducked into the brush to recall. “Dare to leave Rumble unbanned? If you do, I’ll pick him, and once I do, I’ll kill you. What now?”
“...” Tong Yao muttered, “You’re so salty today. Our team’s temper is running hot.”
Little Fatty: “The rage of a blue-collar worker, hahahahahaha!”
Lu Sicheng: “Getting old. I really don’t understand you youngsters’ passion.”
As he spoke, he pinged a signal. Little Fatty’s Tahm Kench flashed forward and swallowed the enemy AD Carry in one gulp. The enemy, caught off guard, froze for a moment—Little Fatty slowly waddled back and “vomited” the enemy AD right into Lu Sicheng’s face. At the same time, Old K’s Nidalee arrived, dropping her trap while Little Fatty landed Exhaust. The enemy AD had no choice but to flash away—only to land directly on the Caitlyn trap Lu Sicheng had placed almost simultaneously, instantly losing their life!
Both top and bot lanes were thriving!
Old Cat: “Nice!”
Old K: “Nice!”
Little Fatty: “Nice!”
Lu Sicheng: “Elemental Drake.”
Old Cat: “Mid, keep an eye on Azir and don’t let him and their jungler come over...”
Lu Sicheng opened the scoreboard and glanced at it: “Five minutes in, 0/0/0, and down five or six CS... Mid? Are you AFK?”
Tong Yao: “You’re getting cocky. Shut up.”
Lu Sicheng: “You’re playing Leblanc with the same finesse as Lu Yue. Come on, after this Infernal Drake, look for a fight. If you lose, it’s just 300 gold—I’ll get it back for you.”
Tong Yao: “...”
Little Fatty: “This is the World Championship, not some casual Bronze carry-a-girl game on the Chinese server. Get a grip.”
As soon as Little Fatty finished speaking, Tong Yao hit level six. She went QRWE, Ignite, then Q onto Azir’s face, instantly reducing him to a sliver of health. Azir retaliated with his ultimate, shoving Leblanc back—Tong Yao immediately flashed away.
Old K: “Oof!”
Old Cat: “Oof!”
Little Fatty: “Oof! That flash escape was chef’s kiss —perfectly showcasing our mid laner’s newfound survival instincts after being bullied by OP Team’s Jin Yuguang’s counterplay style: Counter-kill? Not happening.”
Tong Yao: “………………He built a Ruby Crystal? Testing my math skills? Damage was just short. Next time I land the combo, he’s dead. Bye-bye!”Lu Sicheng: "Juggling tricks."
Eight minutes into the match, ZGDX held a temporary lead of one thousand gold, having secured the first Infernal Drake. Their Mid Laner hadn't been solo killed yet, making the situation quite optimistic.
Author's note: ........................I'm losing all my hair. Writing match scenes is truly painful. The problem is, for the World Championship, there's nothing else to write about besides the matches. How about we adopt a concise and straightforward style moving forward?
OpenNovel