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

Chapter 518 If you're bad at it, just admit it and practice more! After all, not everyone has a cheat code!

Looking at the chaotic scene before him, Wang Yao felt a mix of emotions.

Spring comes and autumn goes, and the acquaintances, teammates, and opponents around him have changed one after another.

But most of the contestants knew each other, and they had a pretty good relationship.

However, among the four LPL teams participating in the Rift Rivals, apart from EDG and IG, the other two teams have a serious lack of experience in major tournaments.

Needless to say, IG is a team that has a history of playing. Even the youngest player, JKL, is considered a veteran who has participated in the World Championship.

EDG is the most prestigious team in the LPL in the past three years.

However, JD Gaming and Top Esports teams have virtually no notable achievements, and they don't even have any outstanding players.

Oh, besides JDG, there's also a champion AD carry player, imp.

But imp is no longer the champion AD of Samsung White in S4. His performance has declined far from his peak.

In the past few days, the coaches and players of all four teams have gathered together to exchange ideas and seriously discuss the changes in the version.

Although only a month has passed, the changes in the League of Legends version are so rapid that they can catch people off guard.

Sylas has been weakened.

Perhaps seeing Wang Yao's Sylas making crazy plays on the field, it set other players off and led them to make the same crazy plays with Sylas.

The fist instantly shifted its malevolent gaze upwards, indicating that Sylas's White Shield stats would be drastically reduced in the next patch update.

In other words, Sylas's golden age is coming to an end, and he is about to enter a long and dark period of indefinite nerfs.

Not only Sylas, but Camille jungle has also become a thing of the past.

The changes to Camille in the jungle have completely eliminated her from the jungle role.

Perhaps in the plans of Riot Games' designers, this champion was never intended to appear in the jungle role!

There are some other changes, but none of them affect the overall game process; they are just normal version nerfs or buffs from Riot Games!
As the day draws near, the schedule for the first day of matches has been released, with all four LCK teams—T1, DWG, KZ, and GRF—having games to play.

On the LPL side, there are four matches: JDG vs. Vietnam's DBL, TES vs. KZ, TES vs. EVS, and the final match between JDG and GRF.

Yes, both JDG and TES have two matches to play.

Therefore, everyone focused their main attention on them.

The coaches and analysts were all together discussing strategies. In addition to the coaching staff, the players who were not playing on the first day also received special training from the JDG and TES players.

Wang Yao didn't have any profound martial arts manuals or anything like that he could teach them.

After all, not every player has something like a cheat code.

Moreover, jungling relies more on teammates and the system, requiring a long period of practice and coordination with teammates.

It's not something you can just come up with on the spot and expect to succeed.

As they talked, the conversation turned to the top lane position.

Facing the LCK region, the LPL still faces the same old problem—

The top laner can't beat them.

Of the four LPL teams that came to the Intercontinental Cup, apart from TheShy, the other players—EDG's Flandre, JDG's Duke, and TES's 369—are almost all blue-collar top laners.

The champion pool is mostly limited to Captain, Jayce, and Aatrox.

Saint Gun's performance this year is not as good as his peak last year, so his tactical status in the EDG team has been reduced to a blue-collar top laner.

It mainly depends on having a lot of experience and being able to survive on the road.

But looking at the four LCK teams on the other side, they've developed all sorts of unconventional top lane strategies in just one month of the Spring Split.

There are all sorts of long-range top laners, like Neeko, Karma, and Viktor.

At the same time, there are also heroes like Camille, Fiora, and Kled who can aggressively engage to counter them.

The most frustrating thing for LPL top laners when playing against LCK top laners is that the team's strategy rarely serves the top laner.

In any case, apart from IG, no team in the LPL gives their top laner enough importance.

The top lane champions that LPL players find difficult to deal with all have one thing in common: they generally have a good farming environment and need help from their teammates.

So the crux of the problem isn't what outsiders keep repeating, such as why LPL can't release so many top lane champions.

The real question should be why LPL players can't play these top lane champions.

That's why Wang Yao said that last-minute cramming is useless; if the differences in the overall system are not changed, the players' options will remain very narrow.

If you can play Jayce and Camille, there's no point in playing Neeko; it's incompatible with the team's composition, so the coach wouldn't let the player pick her.

Otherwise, who will go to the front row? Who will sell the goods?

On the first day of the competition, LPL's performance confirmed Wang Yao's concerns.

LCK won all four matches, but suffered two defeats against KZ and GRF, and against TES and JDG.

On the first day, the LPL teams only managed to secure two victory points against the two Vietnamese teams, who were considered easy targets.

In the match between KZ and TES, although 369 unexpectedly picked Neeko for top lane, KZ's top laner Rascal countered by picking Kled to lane against Neeko, achieving excellent results.

Meanwhile, Deft, the alpaca in the bottom lane, transformed into a relentless damage-dealing machine.

With his Lucian and Yuumi combo, he completely dominated Loken in lane, racking up a perfect 10-1-3 score and earning MVP honors.

JDG fared even worse, losing the game in a near-total rout.

One team was beaten 18-5, and the other was beaten 13-4 – they were in a terrible state.

Unsurprisingly, both JDG and TES were trending on Weibo after their matches.

LPL viewers aren't incapable of accepting defeat; what they can't accept is this kind of crushing defeat—it's too humiliating.

When the players from both teams left the field, they all looked dejected, clearly stunned by the defeat.

Seeing this, Wang Yao could only sigh inwardly and say nothing.

Amidst a tense and unpredictable atmosphere, the match took place as scheduled the next day, with IG easily defeating FW and securing a point.

Wang Yao didn't even bother to check the match results.

There is indeed no need to hold the intercontinental competition anymore.

The LMS region sent two teams, FW Flash Wolves and MAD, along with two Vietnamese teams, DBL and EVS, but without exception, they were all easy targets.

So far on the first day of the competition, none of these four teams have won a single game.

He's just a background figure!
The top team in the LMS region, Flash Wolves (FW), faced SKT on the first day of the competition and almost got completely wiped out.

The next day, they encountered IG again and were crushed once more.

If the leader is already like this, you can imagine what the other underlings are like.

My spirit has been completely shattered.

In the second match between DWG and IG, LCK once again demonstrated its strong dominance, easily defeating IG 16-8.

ShowMaker's Zoe was phenomenal, completely dominating Rookie's Corki and forcing him into the hidden mode of Earthshaker.

The LCK team won all three matches against the LPL team, especially considering that IG was the runner-up in last year's World Championship!
Although IG encountered some controversies this year, the players were all the same, and the configuration and teamwork were top-notch, but they were still defeated by DWG.

This immediately sparked a trending topic on Weibo in China, with countless people exclaiming that the once invincible LCK is back!

"Holy crap, I only missed one day, how did I become 0-3? That's too bad!"

"Hehe, didn't we win one game? We beat our fellow sufferers from Taiwan! (Just kidding!) (Just kidding!)"

"Hmph, they can only bully the weaklings in the LMS region now, they're about to disband! I think the LPL region should just shut down as soon as possible!"

"Sigh, as expected, the LPL family can't function without you, Yao-ge!"

"If Yao Ge is the only one useless player in this intercontinental tournament, and the other three teams all underperform, then even if Yao Ge is the only one who can play well, it won't be enough!"

"I've figured it out, the strong one isn't LPL, it's my Yao Ge!"

"Brother Yao, LPL is in danger, come back immediately!"

"Go EDG! Go Kshine!"

"Go SKT! Go Dafei!"

"..."

While countless Korean fans were praying for SKT and Faker, the group stage match between EDG and T1, an LPL vs. LCK clash, had entered the draft phase.
"Welcome to the group stage of the 2019 League of Legends Asia Rift Rivals, featuring LPL's EDG against LCK's T1! Hello everyone, this is Zeyuan."

"Hello everyone, this is commentator Ji De."

"I'm Rita!"

I remember sighing and saying:
"Sigh, in the past two days of matches, the LPL has suffered three consecutive losses against the LCK. We must take the strength of the LCK teams seriously."

Remembering, his face was full of seriousness.

He didn't care whether his words would incur the wrath of the three fan groups and lead to a backlash.

He is only worried about the future of this LPL regional competition.

Now that all three teams have lost, he only hopes that EDG can win this match, and win as impressively as possible.

We absolutely cannot afford to lose.

He couldn't bear to think about the consequences if LPL started with a four-game losing streak against LCK.

The good news is that EDG and Wang Yao will be playing this match! Wang Yao never disappoints!

On the other side, the LCK region fielded SKT, who had just been brutally defeated by EDG and Wang Yao at the recently concluded MSI Mid-Season Invitational.

Therefore, EDG has a certain psychological advantage when facing SKT!

With EDG's starting lineup confirmed, Ji De's nervousness finally eased considerably.

Wang Yao no longer rotated with the factory manager in the jungle position, but instead secured a starting spot.

The rest of the people remained unchanged.

This also shows that EDG attaches great importance to this match and is determined to win.

Even if you lose 0-8, you still have to go through the knockout stage, just like in the LMS region, no matter how badly you lose, you will still participate in the knockout stage as the third place in the group stage.

But it doesn't look good on the surface!

Under the director's camera, the SKT players all looked very relaxed, after all, the LCK logo below their team name showed 7-0.

Meanwhile, the players on the EDG side looked very serious, after all, the LPL they represented had a total record of 3-3!

Immediately, BP officially began.

SKT is on the blue side, while EDG is on the red side. SKT has the first ban and first pick option.

SKT didn't hesitate and immediately banned Sylas.

Although Sylas has been nerfed, the main impact is still on the mid lane.

This weakens Sylas' laning ability, but he is still quite good in the jungle.

It can still be used and won't be crippled by a single blow.

Moreover, as Wang Yao dominated the jungle with Sylas, more and more professional junglers began to practice Sylas diligently to expand their champion pool.

Subsequently, Aatrox and Ezreal, two relatively overpowered heroes in this version, were also banned.

After MSI, the jungle champions that Wang Yao picked out were basically all nerfed. It can be said that Riot Games nerfed all the champions that Wang Yao played well.

This gave SKT a lot of confidence, and apart from Sylas, they dared to let all of Wang Yao's signature heroes play.

This is also the intention of the LCK coaching staff; they are now certain of advancing to the finals.

SKT could be used as a guinea pig to test the current competitive state of Wang Yao and EDG.

When it was EDG's turn to draft, they responded in kind.

Ban Jayce, they just won't let him go!
Karma was banned on the second floor. Karma has been greatly buffed in this version and has re-emerged as a viable mid or support champion.

While it's unlikely that SKT will give Faker a utility mid laner, Khan in the LCK has also played Karma in the top lane before.

EDG eliminated Tahm Kench on the third floor; this champion has an extremely high margin for error!

The selection process then continues.

SKT has locked in LeBlanc on the first floor!
"My god, SKT picked LeBlanc for Faker on the first floor! They're really trusting Faker!"

I remember exclaiming in surprise when I saw SKT unleash their power.

"Yeah, they picked LeBlanc right away on the first floor. Looks like SKT's temper is pretty high!"

Rita chimed in from the side.

EDG then disregarded everything and unleashed their ultimate move.

Nicole on the first floor!
The policewoman on the second floor!

"Wow, EDG's got a lot of temper here too! They've locked in Neeko and Caitlyn. Which lane is Neeko going to?!"

Rita was also surprised by EDG's choices; this lineup didn't resemble EDG at all.

"This Neeko pick should be considered. Wang Yao has played Neeko in the jungle, Scout has played Neeko in the mid lane, and Neeko can also be played in the top lane now!"

Zeyuan stroked his chin and began to analyze.

Before he could finish his analysis, SKT continued to unleash their ultimate moves.

The cat and Lucian locked it in without even thinking.

The hero Yuumi was officially launched on the Chinese server on May 15th, and immediately gained popularity among countless female players.

No need for much skill, you can win the game just by attaching yourself to someone else. Where else can you find such an easy hero!
Immediately afterwards, EDG locked in Lux as their last pick in the first round of the draft!
The Caitlyn + Lux combo is one of the best ranged bot lane duos, and it's specifically designed to counter Lucian + Yuumi.

Then came the second round of BP.

SKT continued to ban Jarvan IV and Lissandra. Kkoma looked at EDG's lineup, which included Neeko and Caitlyn, and even their support Lux had some damage potential.

Therefore, it is worth considering that the mid and jungle players may strengthen their team composition for initiating team fights.

EDG banned Rek'Sai and Irelia to limit the number of overpowered junglers in the jungle.

At the same time, Khan will not be allowed to get Irelia.

Therefore, it's highly likely that Neeko, the champion EDG picked first, will be in the top lane!
Immediately afterwards, EDG's fourth floor player selected Orianna as Scout's champion!

This move was unexpected; Scout, contrary to his usual style, picked a farming mid-laner.

SKT seemed to have planned their tactics and lineup before the match, locking in their last two picks.

Lee Sin! Camille!

When Coach Maokai saw the jungler champion SKT had chosen, his heart skipped a beat!
Lee Sin is Clid's signature champion in matches, and his highlight reels are countless.

Khan picked Camille again for the top lane. Although Camille has been nerfed in the jungle, the nerf is to the damage of Camille's W to jungle monsters.

Camille hasn't been nerfed in the top lane.

The fact that these two heroes were chosen shows that SKT wanted to show EDG what serious mode is right from the start!
Maokai looked grim; he felt his draft picks had focused too much on gaining an advantage in lane.

Although Neeko in the top lane is a ranged opponent against Camille, Caitlyn and Lux ​​in the bottom lane are also among the best ranged bot lane duos.

In addition, the mid laner picked a farming Orianna, making this lineup look too soft and not in line with EDG's usual style.

On the contrary, SKT's lineup is somewhat reminiscent of EDG; if they can't win in lane, they still have a last resort of initiating team fights!
However, after careful consideration, Maokai ultimately gave the hero selection opportunity to Wang Yao for the final counter pick!

"You decide which hero you want to play, I trust you!"

Wang Yao seemed thoughtful: "If that's the case..."

Wang Yao's mouse hovered back and forth over the portraits of several jungler heroes.

The other EDG players sitting in the player's seat also knew that this lineup was a bit strange from the start.

Being too focused on lane dominance can actually cause you to lose sight of your own strengths.

Top lane Neeko, mid lane Orianna, bot lane Caitlyn Lux, and jungler is hard to play no matter who you pick!

Choosing a carnivorous jungler makes the overall team composition too fragile, and no one can withstand a second of damage in team fights.

They picked heroes who could set the pace of the game, but there was no coordination in lane.

Therefore, Wang Yao's choice of jungler hero in this game was very deliberate.

You can't choose heroes that slow down the pace of the whole game; you need to ensure the development of all three lanes and also play your own role!

But the next second, Wang Yao made a hero choice that shocked everyone!

"Sejuani, the Wrath of Winter!"

Good guy!
Seeing Wang Yao's hero selection, not to mention the commentators and the viewers in front of the live stream, everyone was stunned.

Even his own teammates and coach Maokai were completely shocked!

Especially Coach Maokai, he let Wang Yao choose any hero, but he didn't let him play Sejuani.

I never expected Wang Yao to be this steady!

Picking Sejuani as a jungler? That's a completely haphazard game strategy!

But Wang Yao has been playing Sejuani and Gragas for almost a month since he returned from the MSI Mid-Season Invitational. He doesn't get tired of playing them!
Meanwhile, Ji De and Ze Yuan couldn't help but burst into laughter after seeing the hero Wang Yao had chosen!

Over the past month, Wang Yao and his team have watched at least eight or ten games of Pig Girl's gameplay.

Their assessment of Wang Yao's Sejuani hero can be summed up in one sentence: "Picking her is purely for casual play, leaving everything to your teammates to carry."

Even though he was facing Wang Yao's jungler, Clid's wariness dropped considerably when he saw EDG's hero picks, which made him feel intimidated even before the game started!
She's just a pig girl, we haven't really explored her potential yet!
Although Clid was mentally broken by Wang Yao at the MSI Mid-Season Invitational, after a month of adjustment, he felt he could do it again.

Moreover, in this game, he picked Lee Sin, a perennial favorite in the jungle and one of his signature champions.

He's confident against Sejuani, so Wang Yao's jungle becomes Clid's pig farm.

After seeing Wang Yao's choice, EDG's coach Maokai took a closer look at EDG's lineup and breathed a sigh of relief.

EDG is currently lacking a champion like Sejuani.

All three lanes require heroes that consume resources. If we don't sacrifice a Sejuani, how will the other lanes get fed?!

"Wang Yao truly is Wang Yao, sacrificing himself to benefit his teammates—what a noble character!!"

Maokai frantically filled in the blanks in his mind.

At this point, the hero selection was over, and Maokai could only encourage the EDG players to do their best in the match.

EDG (Red Team) fielded Neeko (Top), Sejuani (Jungle), Orianna (Mid), and Caitlyn and Lux ​​(Bot Lane).

SKT (blue side) fielded Camille (top), Lee Sin (jungle), LeBlanc (mid), and Lucian + Yuumi (bot).

(End of this chapter)