Xia Xue walked onto the stage, and both teams' lineups were complete. The large screen cut to the commentators as the red and blue teams took their respective seats.
There was a ten-minute pre-match discussion and preparation period, during which staff needed to quickly help them set up their in-game IDs.
In the Good Luck team, Qiao Jingjing spoke first: "After the winning players were announced, I looked up this anchor's live-stream videos. He's very skilled, but his hero pool doesn't seem deep. In King Tier matches, he mostly uses Luna, Li Bai, and Han Xin. Their choice of Riding Pig and He Liu clearly indicates they want him to be the Jungler. I suggest we ban his proficient Jungler heroes first, then immediately pick a strong Jungler ourselves. That would effectively neutralize one of their Conqueror-tier players."
Zhou Yin gave her a thumbs-up.
The camera happened to capture this moment, sparking speculation among live viewers.
"What did Qiao Jingjing say to earn praise from my idol?"
"I already thought she seemed clever during hero selection."
"If they win, I might really become her fan."
Qiao Jingjing said cheerfully, "I think we have another big advantage: we know their positions, but they don't know ours. So our win probability is quite high."
It's crucial to boost teammates' morale before a match.
Even the short-haired girl appeared less nervous now.
After further discussion among the five players, the ten minutes concluded, and they formally entered the ban/pick phase.
Following their discussed strategy, the Good Luck team successively banned Luna, Li Bai, and Han Xin. Surprisingly, the opposing team's first ban was Wang Zhaojun.
Everyone was momentarily stunned—this was a highly unconventional ban.
When the second ban went to Cai Wenji, Qiao Jingjing confirmed, "The third ban will probably be Zhang Fei."
Sure enough, the third ban targeted Zhang Fei.
The short-haired girl suddenly understood: "You posted match records of these heroes on your Weibo."
Qiao Jingjing nodded. She did occasionally post match records, but aside from Wang Zhaojun, she was actually quite average with Cai Wenji and Zhang Fei. She'd only posted those when she happened to have good games, never expecting it would mislead the opponents.
"It seems their strategy mirrors ours—they're targeting me specifically."
The short-haired girl grew anxious: "What should we do? Cai Wenji is my best Support."
Qiao Jingjing said, "Then you play Bian Que as Mid-laner, and I'll take Support."
Many of Qiao Jingjing's fans watching the match grew concerned upon realizing their idol was being targeted.
Soon both teams finalized their compositions.
Good Luck Team: Bian Que, Kai, Dong Huang Tai Yi, Bai Li Xuan Ce, Sun Shangxiang.
Star Takers Team: Shiranui Mai, Marco Polo, Zhao Yun, Hua Mulan, Niu Mo.
Qiao Jingjing would play Dong Huang Tai Yi.
The battle began. Without needing Zhou Yin's instruction, Qiao Jingjing expertly moved toward the river at the start, roaming to establish vision.
Zhou Yin felt reassured—you can often tell a player's skill level from their opening moves. Moreover, during the pre-match discussion, he'd sensed the opponents seemed unusually familiar with his playstyle.
Soon, a blue buff contest in the enemy's jungle confirmed his intuition. Their perfect coordination secured both the enemy's blue buff and the Jungler's First Blood.
A perfect 3-buff, First Blood opening.This match lasted twenty minutes and went remarkably smoothly. The two professional players coordinated seamlessly and performed exceptionally well. In contrast, the opposing team lacked synergy, with their jungler taking too much resources, severely hampering the professional players' performance.
Team Good Fortune smoothly secured the first round, with Donghuang Taiyi achieving a score of 5-4-12.
The death count was somewhat high, but Donghuang Taiyi is inherently a trade-off hero. Qiao Jingjing successfully traded three times with the enemy's damage dealers, demonstrating near-perfect execution. One particular play involved flashing into the tower to initiate a team fight, and another where Donghuang Taiyi's orb skill eliminated the enemy's low-health jungler—both moves received high praise from the commentators.
Qiao Jingjing's fans, who had been watching the stream with bated breath, were overjoyed and finally eased their anxious hearts.
However, the most standout performances undoubtedly belonged to the professional players. Zhou Yin dominated the tempo with economic pressure, while Xia Xue secured a quadra kill in the final team fight to clinch the victory. Consequently, some couldn't resist taunting Qiao Jingjing for being carried, but her fans paid no mind—a win is a win, right? Besides, even if she was carried, it still showed foresight and strategy in team selection!
After the first round concluded, the second didn't start immediately. Both teams returned to the center of the stage.
The host first congratulated Team Good Fortune, then adopted a mysterious expression and said, "As everyone knows, this is an entertainment match, so fun is our top priority. The second round will be played a bit differently."
A staff member came on stage carrying a lottery box.
The host explained, "This box contains slips of paper, each granting a specific right. Both teams can draw once and exercise the corresponding right. The winning team draws first."
Everyone looked at Qiao Jingjing, so she stepped up and drew a slip. The host took it and read, "Team Good Fortune's right is to ban one additional hero from the opposing team."
The host nodded. "It seems the goddess has good luck."
Then the opposing anchor came up to draw. The host took the slip and read, "Team Plucking Stars' right is"
The host exclaimed in surprise, "This is interesting. Team Plucking Stars can ban the MVP from the previous round."
Zhou Yin was startled. "Four versus five?"
The host clarified, "It means you must replace the previous round's best player."
The highest scorer from the last round was Xia Xue in the marksman role, who had the most kills. He could only wave to the audience and step down.
The host said, "So Team Good Fortune needs to choose a new teammate. Jingjing, who will you pick? Another from Celestial Palace? But their strongest marksman is Xia Xue."
Qiao Jingjing suddenly asked the host, "Do you remember the official Weibo post saying we can choose teammates from the audience? Can I pick someone non-professional?"
The host was taken aback, then heard the director's excited voice in his earpiece: "Yes, yes, agree to it, agree to it!"
"Well, the official Weibo did say that," he replied. He had mentioned it earlier, but it was more of a witty remark. Feeling a twinge of conscience, he advised, "But are you sure? Even though I don't know who you want to pick, are you certain their skill level will surpass that of a professional player?"
Qiao Jingjing: "I'm sure about the first part, but not the second. Still, I want to choose him because he has always been my teammate, and I hope to fight alongside him this time too."The host was also getting a bit excited: "So who are you going to choose?"
Qiao Jingjing: "Wait a moment, I need to ask my teammate's opinion."
Zhou Yin shook his head to indicate he had no objections—in fact, he was quite curious. The other two teammates also had no objections.
"Then I want to choose..." Qiao Jingjing looked toward the audience, her gaze firmly locking onto the person she had actually noticed long ago.
"Yu Tu."
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