LOL: My talent is top-tier, my professional skills are unparalleled.

Chapter 197: Only the sound was heard, but no one was seen; only bombs were seen, but no one was seen!
IG's pre-match poster depicts a desolate and ancient battlefield with five blood-stained battle flags, symbolizing IG's invincibility in the Spring Split and their annihilation of all enemies.

At the top of these five battle flags, and at the top of the three middle flags, are three sharp halberds, signifying IG's trident.

On the poster, the tip of IG's halberd points to a distant mountain peak, signifying IG's determination in this battle—to reach the summit and be crowned the new king!

The promotional poster released by EDG's official Weibo account is completely different from IG's ancient-style trident; instead, it has a dark, Western fantasy feel.

In the center of the ancient temple, the black and white logo of EDG is imprinted on the floor, while the five members of EDG sit on the long steps and thrones, each with a different expression.

On the outermost left and right sides are iboy and Holy Gun Bro, their eyes filled with fighting spirit, like the left and right claws of a silver dragon.

On either side of the inner layer are Meiko, who has transformed into Thresh, and Clearlove, who is holding a shotgun, guarding the man on the central throne—Kshine!

Wang Yao's arrogant gaze stared straight ahead, and all living things around him were reduced to lonely ghosts and spirits under his dazzling magic and cannon fire.

The LPL's domineering and villainous aura made a bunch of EDG fans go wild with joy.

"Holy crap! K! Holy crap! Seven!"

"This captivating villainous aura completely outshines the IG trident next door! You guys think you can get into MSI? Don't you know my Seven is a MSI specialist?!"

"We, EDG, are the biggest villains in the LPL!"

"Don't panic, let's wait for EDG to win first. All you EDG fans, get your crystal sliding coffins ready. If things go wrong, just slam them in!"

"When it comes to playing dead, I'm a fan of starch."

"This is the final match of the Spring Split regular season. Let's see who can set the record for the longest winning streak in LPL history!"

Amidst the discussions among LPL viewers, the ultimate battle between EDG and IG officially began.

September 4, evening.

As always, the Hongqiao Tiandi Performing Arts Center was packed with people. Tonight's match between EDG and IG was just as exciting as the pre-Lunar New Year's "Pig vs. Dog" rivalry.

On one hand, Wang Yao is the chosen one, and EDG is currently the best performing team among all-Chinese teams, while IG is the most aggressive team in the LPL.

Such a showdown is destined to attract a lot of attention.

"Welcome everyone to the final match of the 2018 League of Legends LPL Spring Regular Season. Today's match is between EDG and IG!"

LPL veteran commentators Wawa and Miller, along with tonight's guest commentator PDD, will appear on screen together for commentary duties.

"I believe everyone has been looking forward to this match for a long time. The showdown between the All-Chinese Team and the IG Trident has finally arrived."

With a smile, the doll said, "Many people, like me, are eagerly anticipating what new performance Kshine will bring us in the new version, with so many hero updates and changes! There should be a new hero debuting today, right?"

"..."

Off the field, fans of both teams were constantly arguing, fueling the already heated debate surrounding the event.

Meanwhile, in the backstage lounge of the venue, the young and inexperienced Ah Shui was joking and playing around with Wang Yao.

Rookie, who is known as the "Xiao Yang" of e-sports, was happily joking and chatting with Meiko.

The Shy, along with Ning, pretended to be aloof, hands in their pockets, patiently waiting for the match to begin.

Meanwhile, the factory manager, who was in a semi-retired state, was also sharing his competition experience with Xiaotian.

During the regular season, Tian was responsible for EDG's jungle position most of the time, and fortunately his performance was quite good. Tonight, Tian will also be playing.

When the director switched the camera to the players' backstage area, the LPL audience gasped in surprise. It seemed that the relationship between the two teams' players was quite good.

A short while later, under the guidance of the newly appointed female host, Xi Ran, the players from both teams officially walked out of the passage.

When Wang Yao appeared on the broadcast screen, the League of Legends players in the audience erupted in a deafening roar. This highly anticipated event naturally required the proper pre-match ceremony.

"I feel like the highlight tonight will be the mid-lane matchup, K against Rookie, just thinking about it is exciting!"

"Dear fans: My Kshine is a bit rough around the edges, so if she does anything wrong, I hope you Instagram sisters can be understanding."

"I'm really looking forward to seeing the mid laners on both sides. They're both mechanically skilled mid laners. I hope Yao won't let us down."

"..."

While fans of both teams were discussing the match, the players from IG and EDG had already taken their seats and were ready for the pre-match draft phase.

"Alright, let's get back to the game and see how the two teams draft their opponents!" said Wawa.

Although the current season's version has changed a lot, almost every team is certain that they need to target Wang Yao's hero pool when facing EDG.

IG, with the blue side having the first pick and ban, first banned Vladimir, and Vladimir became popular again in the competition, mainly due to the changes to two items.

First, there's the salary item [Spellthief's Blade], whose upgraded version [Twin Shadows] has extremely powerful stats, and almost every mage will consider getting this item.

Secondly, the [Binding Orb] increases the vampire's burst damage upon entering the fray, and there are also changes to the vampire's passive ability, health, and ability power conversion coefficient.

IG certainly wouldn't want to give Wang Yao a carry hero like this who can enter the fray and deal damage.

EDG countered by banning Ryze.

In their second and third picks, IG banned Azir and Camille, while EDG banned Kog'Maw and Rakan.

Here, IG immediately locked in Jarvan IV. Despite the nerfs, Jarvan IV's excellent ganking ability is still very useful.

Moreover, IG's jungler Ning plays a very aggressive style, and under the guidance of the new coach Kim Jung-joo, his performance has been getting better and better.

EDG countered by locking in Sejuani and Ornn, securing the top and jungle duo of tanks. Clearlove is a Sejuani powerhouse, no need to elaborate, and Ornn is also quite formidable in Flandre's hands.

IG immediately picked Varus and Alistar, while EDG locked in Leona as their last pick.

The two sides entered the second round of ban/pick.

EDG targeted the top lane by banning Gnar and Gangplank, clearly aimed at IG's top laner, TheShy.

TheShy, a renowned top laner from South Korea, is directly responsible for IG's outstanding achievements this year.

Of course, Duke's performance was also indispensable; the two of them, one offensive and one defensive, supported the strength of IG's top lane.

IG opted to ban Xayah and Kalista.

Immediately, EDG immediately picked the Ziggs.

Seeing this astonishing scene, Miller's eyes widened: "Huh? Kshine is going to play mid-lane Ziggs this game!"

“This champion… I haven’t seen any mid laner play him since Season 4!” Miller suddenly remembered a famous SKT legend, the one known for his "steady stick" meme.

They could only hear the sound, but not see the person; they could only see the bomb, but not the person.

Is Kshine going to try and bluff like the stun gun?

When the Athene's Unholy Grail wasn't nerfed in Season 4, Ziggs was actually still a viable pick. He could easily out-farm carry mages like Orianna and Viktor in the mid lane.

But after that, no more mid-lane Ziggs have appeared.

(End of this chapter)