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

Chapter 377 Battle against WE! Xiye? Xila!

Wang Yao stepped off the bus carrying his backpack, waving to the fans around him with a smile, which attracted even more fans to gather.

"Brother Yao! Can we leave work early today?"

"Absolutely! EDG's motto is 'Never work overtime'!"

"Brother Yao is awesome! Today, beat Xi Ye into trash!!"

With the sounds of fans all around him and fans constantly coming up to ask for photos and autographs, Wang Yao didn't want to waste too much time.

However, RNG's home stadium can only accommodate a few thousand spectators. Of the many fans present, only a minority have tickets.

Some fans came to the venue even though they didn't have tickets, just to catch a glimpse of the contestants before the competition. He couldn't bear to disappoint these fans, so he could only try his best to meet their requests.

After finally emerging from the crowd, Wang Yao arrived backstage and, as usual, sent his peripherals for inspection and had the makeup artist touch up his makeup before he could return to the backstage lounge.

But that doesn't mean he can rest. Maokai will definitely need to make tactical arrangements and plans before the game.

Fortunately, Maokai didn't make any overly complicated arrangements, mainly because he knew that advancing today wouldn't be too difficult.

EDG defeating WE will be a piece of cake; they just need to help the players get back into form.

A short while later, staff members came to inform the contestants to prepare to take the stage.

The semi-finals naturally didn't have as many fancy stage performances, but the audience still gave the players the biggest cheers and applause the moment they stepped onto the stage.

WE fans are already quite satisfied; they've reached the semifinals, what more could they ask for?

Once seated, Wang Yao put on his headphones to block out external noise and entered the official custom room to begin final adjustments.

Meiko then started chatting with Xiye; the players all seemed to have a good relationship off-screen.

The esports scene is small, and with frequent player turnover, anyone could be your potential 'future' teammate.

Don't be fooled by the fact that pigs and dogs are fighting so fiercely, like oil and water.

Who can guarantee that Uzi won't join EDG someday?

However, Mingkai will definitely not join RNG, after all, he is a shareholder of EDG, and what shareholder would lead the way to defect to the enemy?

"Welcome everyone to the live broadcast of the 2018 League of Legends Pro League Summer Semifinals! We are your commentators for today: Wawa, Miller, and Rita!"

The commentators were the same familiar faces: the Haier Brothers and Rita.

"Actually, I don't need to say much, everyone knows that there isn't much suspense in today's match."

Wawa said with a smile, "But there's one thing I can mention in advance: EDG is our Spring Split champion and has 90 league points."

"If they win today and make it to the Summer Finals, they will secure first place in the league standings, thus securing at least a 'second seed' status in advance."

"Of course, we also know that EDG's goal is definitely to compete for the Summer Split championship and the number one seed."

"I'm mentioning this to let the fans know that EDG won't be under any pressure regarding World Championship tickets. The players won't have to bear any extra pressure, which will help them perform well on the field."

Then came some data analysis of both sides during the regular season.

This is basically not a useful reference.

EDG managed to secure first place in the highly competitive Eastern Conference, so their statistics naturally completely overwhelmed WE.

A comparison of the data reveals why no one in the world is optimistic about WE. Even the most senior 60E fans can't honestly say that WE can win.

Basically, winning one game is considered a success. EDG had the right to choose sides, and Maokai directly chose the blue side.

He chose to ban Tahm Kench, Taliyah, and Camille, while WE chose to ban Irelia, Jayce, and Gangplank.

"Huh? WE released both Aatrox and Akali?"

Miller looked quite taken aback. "Didn't they see Kshine's Akali performance at the Asian Games? She completely crushed the Korean team."

"Uh, maybe I really haven't seen it?" Rita said weakly.

Miller and Wawa rolled their eyes. Viewers might find it troublesome to go online to find game videos, but how could the coaching staff find it troublesome to collect information?

"WE must have been prepared."

EDG won't be polite to WE. If Akali is released, they'll definitely pick her instantly!
EDG immediately picked Akali, and WE immediately countered by picking Aatrox and Rakan, clearly indicating that they wanted Xayah and Rakan for the bot lane.

If it were a previous version of the game, EDG would have had to pick Xayah to break up the opposing Phoenix Legend duo.

But Mokai didn't think that way at all, or rather, he already had a better solution.

Although Phoenix Legends are still a top-tier bot lane duo, their dominance on the field is no longer as terrifying as it was in Season 7.

Aside from version changes, the biggest change is in the bot lane ecosystem.

In Season 8, a lot of "dirty stuff" appeared in the bot lane, with mage carry bot lanes led by Ziggs!
Xayah's range is the shortest among marksmen at 525 yards, which means she's destined to be bullied by poke-heavy champions like Ziggs.

Furthermore, these two heroes cannot take Fleet Footwork and lack sustain in lane; they will lose their fighting ability after being pokeed a couple of times.

Yesterday, IG bullied RNG in this way, and even Uzi was helpless against it. Of course, Mystic couldn't break through such a tactic.

Therefore, Maokai indicated that he should lock onto the Bomber first, and then lock onto Xin Zhao!
Sure enough, WE's last pick was Xayah!

Both sides entered the second round of drafting and banning.

WE mainly focused on top lane champions, banning Ornn and Gnar to limit Jimu's options as much as possible.

EDG, naturally, targeted the opponent's jungler by banning champions like Nocturne and Sejuani, who possess strong initiation capabilities.

This forces WE to choose Gragas, who also has strong engage capabilities, for the jungle position.

EDG subsequently selected Leona, one of the best partners for Ziggs, who can reliably provide pinpoint control to improve Ziggs' hit rate, and then picked Sion for the top lane.

WE then picked Galio as their last pick!
"Huh? That Galio pick... I think I understand why WE dared to let EDG give up Akali!"

Miller quickly understood, "Look everyone! Rakan and Galio are two heroes with super strong control abilities, Gragas can also add a control effect, and his ultimate can also cut through the battlefield."

"This way, Akali, who is venturing too far alone, will be focused down by the rest of WE! And Xayah has her ultimate, giving her some room to make flashy plays with Akali!"

Miller's understanding of the game is decent, and his analysis is indeed spot on.

That's indeed WE's idea.

Akali is great at diving the backline, so just pick a system with a super strong control chain, control her the moment she charges in, and completely shut her down.

Open the Twilight Shroud? Galio can just charge up his W and taunt Akali until she auto-attacks and appears. Akali's fragile body can't withstand being focused down.

This is one possible solution!

(End of this chapter)