LOL: What is a concept player?

Chapter 363 The tip of the needle versus the awn of wheat

As Chu Ran finished speaking, the scene and the live broadcast room erupted like boiling water, with cheers and shouts coming one after another, sweeping towards the crowd in the competition area like a deadly chant.

[6666! God Chu is mighty!]

[This is Chu Shen. I admit your internet cafe team making it to the World Championship is impressive, but in front of me, even dragons and tigers have to cower.]

[You son of a bitch, that beast is really too arrogant. Does he really think he's invincible?]

[What? Am I, Chu Shen, not invincible? If you're so capable, let your master defeat Chu Shen.]

[This is ridiculous! How many championships do I need to win to finally shut you all up?!]

[It's useless. No matter how many championships you win, it won't stop them. These haters just love to spew nonsense all the time, unless the person on stage is their favorite master, like some kind of Void God, Jade Syndrome, or a membership card expert.]

The barrage of comments was infuriating, fueling the anger of GSL fans and their haters. They now truly hated Chu Ran to the extreme.

Because of Chu Ran's existence, they would be criticized for anything they said on the forum, unless they joined the camp praising Chu Ran and IG. It was actually a bit like the time when RNG was praised in S7 and S8.

At this moment, they are just waiting for IG to be defeated by DWG and become a laughing stock in the LPL.

In the LCK region, many Koreans were even more indignant.

Once upon a time, their LCK region was the world's number one, firmly holding the top spot in the League of Legends professional league. But now, they are being trampled on by a noob mercenary region year after year, which is naturally unbearable.

Their cheering grew louder and louder as they frantically cheered for DWG, hoping that DWG could crush the man who had brought endless darkness to their LCK for the past few years.

"Wow, Showmake and Chu Shen have both made bold statements. One wants to rebuild the glory of LCK, and the other says, 'Then prove it to me.' It's clear that both sides are very confident in this match. I think we don't need to say much more. Let's hand the stage over to them and look at the draft picks for the first game!"

Guan Zeyuan roared, and the camera switched to reveal the BP interface to everyone.

In the first game, a coin toss determined the outcome. IG was on the red side and DWG was on the blue side, and both sides made their first three moves very quickly.

DWG's main strategy was that since they couldn't limit IG's champion pool, they would ban the champions that IG often used for flex play.

The first three picks were Qiyana, Irelia, and Sylas. As the red side, the reworked Pantheon is a must-ban, as he has an invincible mechanism, with unparalleled poke, burst damage, and support capabilities.

With one less ban slot available, Daney opted to ban Gangplank and Ezreal with the remaining two.

In this version, the Kleptomancy rune has also been adjusted, making it even more powerful and exaggerated than last year. With good luck, heroes like Gangplank and Ezreal can get hundreds of gold with just a few Qs.

Economic advantage will eventually translate into online and tempo advantage, and both heroes are considered very popular in this version.

Of course, another very popular point is tanky mid laners like Nautilus and Poppy, who focus on pushing the mid lane to hold their ground and then using a four-man gank to create an opening in the bottom lane.

However, Daney believed that Showmake's hero pool was basically limited to these heroes, so they were not considered for the first game.

"Oh, DWG's decision here is very smart. They are targeting the champions that IG can flex. If IG can't pick these flex champions, then the draft will be much easier."

Miller exclaimed, "IG has banned several popular heroes, which is a fairly standard choice. Now we'll see what heroes DWG will pick first."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Uzi immediately chimed in, "Then we'll definitely pick Jayce. If IG doesn't ban him, then DWG will pick him to flex between the top and mid lanes. Besides, Nuguri and Showmake are both excellent Jayce players."

"I really don't understand why IG didn't ban Jayce. Logically speaking, Jayce should have been banned, and sure enough, they did." Uzi punched his fist heavily. "Jayce is here. It feels like IG has slew their own hands."

Seeing DWG pick Jayce as their first pick, Daney and the others weren't too surprised, as if they had already expected it. They played it safe and directly helped Jackeylove and Meiko secure the Xayah and Rakan combo.

Xayah is one of Jackeylove's signature champions, and his forward flash was frequently brought up for review last year. As for Meiko's Rakan, there's no need to say more; he's a champion skin owner.

This combination brought out an overwhelming advantage in the bottom lane, immediately putting DWG and countless Korean players on edge.

"Damn it, we can't let the enemy team have Xayah and Rakan, what are we going to do about DWG's bot lane? We can't ignore their bot lane just because IG is a top-mid-jungle team."

On the LCK commentary booth, the "Roaring Emperor" roared impatiently, "Damn it! Wait a minute, DWG's two picks, Jhin and Graves?!"

The next second, the big screen locked onto Jhin and Graves, causing many people to freeze in surprise. Even Guan Zeyuan exclaimed, "My God, it seems like DWG is planning to let Canyon play a jungle carry in this game. They might consider a tank champion for the mid lane, and Jayce will go to the top lane."

"IG's third pick also noticed this. So, is Rooike going to play a tanky mid laner? But Jayce is still a possibility to be played in the mid lane."

"If you pick a tank to counter Jayce, it will be very difficult to lane until you get tanky in the early game. This has really put IG in a tough spot."

After Guan Zeyuan finished speaking, Uzi next to him beamed with joy, "That's why I said IG's decision not to ban Jayce makes absolutely no sense."

But before he could finish speaking, the hero icon for IG's third pick changed instantly.

The image of Lucian, the Purifier, appeared prominently on the big screen, causing Miller's eyes to widen instantly. "Lucian! We all overlooked this champion! DWG picked Jayce as a flex pick, so we IG picked Lucian as a flex pick! And IG's top and mid laners all know how to play Lucian! Not only the top laner, but the jungler does too. And Chu Shen gave us a very classic Lucian matchup against Jayce back in the day!"

"So it turns out IG wasn't unprepared; there was a reason they let Jayce through!"

Upon seeing this, Uzi immediately shut his mouth, and his chubby face turned visibly red. Guan Zeyuan glanced at him and felt his flank rapidly heating up.

The live broadcast rooms of major domestic sports events were suddenly filled with cheers and laughter.

[Stop barking when you're taking a bath. You don't understand, you just bark.]

[What?! A top 16 team's draft picks guaranteeing a top-four finish? Where do they get the nerve?]

[Jian Zihao, you'd better go back to your circus and perform. Without you, the circus won't sell any tickets.]

[Haha, I reckon the bathing dog is already famous.]

[Now that you're famous, hurry up and take a shower. Are you going to broadcast your shower live from the commentary booth?]

At that moment, in the LPL commentary booth, Uzi clenched his fists, wishing he could kill Daney.

Why pick Lucian when you could pick anything else to embarrass him?

Which bastards brought Lucian to the top and mid lanes in the game? Uzi has only ever let this champion play AD and jungle.

When IG picked Lucian, everyone in DWG was quite shocked. They never expected that IG had such a hidden move.

More importantly, no one expected IG to dare to take it.

Lucian is a champion who is strong in the early and mid-game but weak in the late game, regardless of which position he plays. He is okay in the bot lane with a support, as his safety is guaranteed, but he is weak in the solo lane.

That extremely fragile body would die from the slightest touch.

It can be said that choosing this hero is a double-edged sword; it may give the team an advantage, but it also has a high chance of causing the team to collapse.

“Give me Jayce, I’m not afraid of his Lucian, and Lucian is easy to gank top lane,” Nuguri said. On the other side, TheShy was equally excited, “Not picking Lucian? You’re an idiot!”

With both sides having their own agendas, the second round of bans and picks quickly began. DWG targeted Chu Ran's jungler, banning Elise and the reworked Xin Zhao, while IG banned Nautilus and Poppy.

Judging from DWG's lineup, there's a high chance they'll pick a tank in the mid lane. Daney frowned; he hadn't expected DWG to catch him off guard in the first game.

Showmake playing with a tank was a scene that no audience in the world had expected.

Because the two mid laners who loved playing tanky champions in this World Championship have already gone back to their home countries, and both of them were making their first appearance in the World Championship.

The first one is Doinb. His tanky mid laner skills are indeed exceptional, but unfortunately, the team didn't have enough synergy in the group stage, and ultimately they suffered a crushing defeat in the round of 16.

According to the original script, FPX would have struggled to advance from the group stage, played better and better in the subsequent matches, and then won the championship. However, the script has long since changed.

As for the other one, that's Chovy, who is only 20 years old and is also entering the World Championship for the first time. He played Porzingis very diligently, but he was still crushed by Rooike.

So, each team has its own experience and feels that tanky mid laners are not the way to go in this version, but DWG's decision to go against the grain is indeed a bit puzzling.

Shocked, everyone looked at IG's fourth pick, and the moment the Nidalee icon appeared.

The entire world's major competition regions were alarmed, and intense discussions erupted both online and offline.

"My God, is Easy going to pick Nidalee?!" the commentators exclaimed in the North American region. "Canyon said he was the best Nidalee player, and it seems Easy is going to prove him wrong in the first game!"

"Locked out! God, Nidalee jungle, easy!"

"My God! In the very first game, Chu Shen is going head-to-head with Canyon. You say you're the best Nidalee player, then I'll beat you with Nidalee. That's so Chu Shen!" Guan Zeyuan shouted, raising his arms.

In an instant, many domestic contestants and spectators were stunned by Chu Ran's move.

Only Chu Ran would have the courage to use Nidalee as a jungler in a world-class tournament.

From any perspective, in the current version, it's okay for Nidalee to occasionally appear in some less important games, but every game in the World Championship is of utmost importance.

There's almost no reason to pick a Nidalee who's inconsistent.

The current Nidalee is not the mid-lane Nidalee of the past. Her javelin has a much longer range and a wider detection range. If you weren't fast enough to move left or right, you couldn't dodge Nidalee's javelin.

It may look like a thin stick, but it can actually cause a large area of ​​damage.

But things are different now. While Lucian is only weak in the late game, he has maximum dominance when playing solo lane. Nidalee, on the other hand, is a pushover in the late game if she doesn't have an advantage in the early game.

This is mainly related to the damage mechanism of the champion Nidalee.

The early game is fine. Although the javelin hit rate is low, everyone's damage is not high. Nidalee can pounce on the enemy with her decent damage in the early game, but in the mid and late game, she is just a kitten.

If the javelin hits someone, that's fine. If it doesn't, either stay in the back and observe, or charge straight in.

Then, once controlled, they were instantly killed.

The hero's role is awkward. Although he is a mage, he can't go into the back row to kill people like an assassin, nor can he do finishing blows, and he can't maintain distance and continuously output damage like a traditional mage.

Therefore, Nidalee is a high-risk, low-reward champion in competitive play, and very few people would recommend her for the World Championship.

At this very moment, at the DWG booth.

Canyon and the others exchanged bewildered glances, completely unprepared for Chu Ran to pull out the Nidalee.

"It's alright, playing Nidalee is my specialty. If they want to demoralize us by using Nidalee in the first game, I can only say they picked the wrong opponent," Canyon said confidently.

Amidst the heated discussion, DWG's final two hero picks have surfaced, and they are somewhat similar to what many people have guessed.

"Oh, Showmake picked Galio, but Galio can't use W-Flash in this version, which makes him much weaker. But it's still a good choice. We're leaving the last pick to support Beryl!"

"Let's see which hero this player will choose. Beryl is the player who likes to take unconventional approaches. You could say that his support picks often surprise us."

as predicted.

After Guan Zeyuan finished speaking, the audience members at the scene and in the live broadcast room all widened their eyes and were suddenly in a daze.

The reason was that on that big screen, DWG's last pick prominently featured Bard's image.

The first game was all about ultimate moves!

DWG didn't hold back at all; Bard's support caught everyone off guard.

"Holy crap, no, buddy, Bard support!" Meiko exclaimed. "Wenbo, you're not going to keep getting hit by Qs like crazy, are you?"

In an instant.

The entire stadium erupted in cheers, and the Korean commentators in the LCK commentary booth were incredibly excited!
"Bard! Beryl has brought out his ultimate weapon. DWG is going to take the initiative and win the first game with a strong attitude. Beryl's Bard is his absolute specialty!"

"DWG's win rate has reached 70%!"

Beryl's Bard was highly praised on Korean online forums, while Miller and Guan Zeyuan, the LPL commentators, were somewhat stunned, and Uzi took the opportunity to express his 'concern'.

"I didn't expect DWG to play so aggressively in the first game, letting Beryl pick Bard directly. If Bard gets going and starts roaming, IG will have a very difficult time!"

"Now the question is, what will Rooike play? Rooike is known for his aggressive style, so there aren't many heroes that are good against Galio."

Meanwhile, on the IG stage, Rooike spoke rapidly, "I'll pick Orianna. Nidalee's AP damage is inconsistent, so I'll add an AP carry."

"No need, trust me, you can consider playing tank, leave this game to us."

"Since Chu Shen says so, I'll give it a shot!" Rooike didn't waste any more words. "Sion, activate!"

IG's final pick was Sion for the mid lane, which was a slap in the face for Uzi and surprised many viewers.

"Wow! Who said Rooike had to play an aggressive mid laner? Rooike said he can also play tank mid laners and will hand over the stage of this game to his teammates!" Guan Zeyuan's impassioned words came down.

After swapping heroes, the final lineups were determined.

DWG (Blue Side): Top lane Jayce, Jungle Graves, Mid lane Galio, Bot lane Jhin and Bard.

IG (Red Side): Top lane Lucian, Jungle Nidalee, Mid lane Sion, Bot lane Xayah and Rakan.

(End of this chapter)