League of Legends: Reborn in Season 3, Tuning the Entire League

Chapter 215 NXG Impersonation Show
On the SKT player bench.

Coach Kouma paced slowly behind the players' seats, his pen unconsciously tapping the edge of the notebook he held in his right hand.

"Yanyong, the top lane is key in this game." He suddenly stopped behind Da Mu, his voice as steady as ever. "You don't need to solo kill and suppress the enemy. The key is to withstand the pressure from the enemy's bottom lane duo and mid and jungle. If you can drag it out for fifteen minutes, that's a success."

As he spoke, Koma turned his head to look at the duo's position:

"In Gwangjin, we will allocate early resources to the bottom lane. IG's bot lane duo has limited lane pressure, so we will take the initiative to attack, gain lane priority, and coordinate with our jungler to control the dragon. Their macro play is not inferior to ours, so an early economic advantage is very important."

"Don't worry, Sang-hyeok will definitely get to the mid lane before the other side."

The coaching staff just finished a five-hour debriefing meeting last night.

The training team that joined after the upset in the first round brought a completely new approach—well, rather than a new approach, it was more like a helpless transformation forced to bow to the version.

Unfortunately, the new version severely restricts them. Whether they are playing in the top or bottom half of the jungle, they are struggling because of the disruption in the jungle area.

Riot Games' changes to the jungle economy before the World Championship were like a sharp scalpel, cutting into the lifeline of SKT's tactical system, compressing the survival space of traditional carry-oriented junglers to a suffocating degree.

This isn't to say that the jungler is bad or incompetent.

Benji is definitely a world-class player; his counter-ganking and core-protecting playstyle and overall awareness are still top-notch!
However, it's clear that he hasn't adapted well to the current World Championship version.

Now, with the increase in jungle economy, under the influence of NXG, major teams have increased the option of jungle carry, turning them from guardians of river bushes into plunderers of jungle resources.

For Bengi, who was used to the traditional process of "protecting the lane in the early game, giving up buffs in the mid-game, and controlling the game in the late game," this was like asking a pianist to suddenly switch to playing the drums.

The root of the problem can once again be traced back to the NXG team.

Don't be fooled by the fact that IG was the first to create the "jungle carry" tactical system in the World Championship, which prioritizes giving junglers a lot of resources to carry the game. The real mastermind behind it all was JM!

As a long-time rival in training matches, Koma knows all too well the origins of this terrifying team's tactics.

As early as six months ago in a training match, NXG tried a tactic of sacrificing the AD carry's economy to allow the jungler to reach level six quickly. While Bengi was still farming the three wolves in an orderly manner, the opposing jungler had already transformed into a double-eagle and charged into the jungle with a nuclear weapon.

Besides, even if they don't know NXG, they certainly know IG.

Before the start of this year's Spring Split, IG's jungler was already in the picture. His status in terms of resource consumption within the team was much lower than Bengi's. He was a typical example of someone who "eats grass and produces milk"—or rather, someone who "produces blood."

Fist, you bastard!

The new version changes appear to be beneficial to everyone, further narrowing the skill gap between teams.

But have you ever considered that other teams' training groups have a stronger ability to analyze the current version than us, and that SKT's mid laner is stronger than their jungler? This version update is actually targeting SKT.

The current World Championship group stage feels like a competition to see who can best imitate NXG's version of the game.

The camera cuts to the IG team on the other side.

The team members, who had already secured their spots in the quarterfinals, were casually discussing their dinner plans after the quarterfinals draw in their team voice chat, creating a particularly pleasant atmosphere.

"Hey, Ge Yan, you said you found a pretty good Chinese restaurant yesterday. Is it far from our hotel?" PDD asked first.

"Not far, not far, just near the west coast. Don't worry, don't you trust my ability to order food?" Ge Yan's voice carried a hint of confidence, seemingly quite satisfied with his choice.

"Hehe, speaking of ordering food, Shadow, you'd better keep up the good work today! We're all waiting for you to carry the whole team and lead us to victory!" Support Xiao Wu teased with a drawn-out tone.

He learned a great habit at NXG: always praise his teammates in key positions before the game.

It's like the shadow of someone gradually taking over the carry role from AD.

To be fair, Ming is still strong. It's only been two weeks since Riot Games made the version change, and they've only added one set of jungle monsters, yet they've already brought the jungle carry tactic to the competitive scene.

The perfect opportunity is that their AD carry was already a great asset, and now having an additional carry jungler is obviously a good thing for winning the game.

The usually reserved Yingzi's ears were slightly burning. He wasn't used to the training team entrusting him with such an important carry role. He never liked making boastful claims before matches, and even though he was full of determination, the words that came out of his mouth were just a short but firm reply: "I'll do my best!"

Listening to the players' conversation, head coach Xiaoyan rubbed his temples and gave a helpless, bitter smile.

The team's unique sense of relaxation is ingrained in their bones and has continued from the early days of the team. He has long given up on changing this unique team culture - it's okay to chat before the game, as long as it doesn't affect the quality of the training matches, let them be.

As he was complaining, his gaze, which had been casually fixed on the mid-laner's position, suddenly stopped.

The list of heroes on the screen kept changing as the mouse was moved back and forth.

The boy's back was ramrod straight, his eyes were fixed on the screen, and even the ends of his hair exuded a competitive spirit.

"Even though the team members were happily discussing what to have for dinner, Zz1tai didn't join in... He must be under too much pressure."

In the first round match against SKT, although IG won the game, Zz1tai's mid lane was essentially destroyed by Faker's Gragas.

This is what players often refer to as winning the game, but losing in the mid lane.

Most players wouldn't find this situation unacceptable; at most, they might feel a little annoyed for a couple of seconds about the opposing mid and jungle players being inseparable.

However, for a talented young man like Zita, who is also known for his skillful maneuvers and strong competitive spirit, that would be a disgrace.

"Want to get revenge?" Xiaoyan leaned down and asked in a low voice.

"Um, Coach, can I choose the assassin this game?" Zita asked the coach for his opinion.

"Of course, our original plan for this game was to give our mid and jungle players some experience, wasn't it?"

Xiaoyan still clearly remembers a sentence JM said in his opening remarks when he was receiving training from the NXG coaching team.

"The primary goal of a professional coach is always to lead the team to victory."

"When there is no need to consider the outcome of the game, in addition to the draft phase, player management is also an indicator of whether a player is qualified or even excellent."

For a team, it's a good thing that its players have a desire to win.

It's even more wonderful when the player also has the ability to match him.

How could he, as a coach, possibly extinguish the burning desire for victory in a BO1 match that has nothing to do with rankings or advancement?
Winning can help a genius overcome their inner demons;
Even if we lose, we can use this BO1 match, which has nothing to do with the rankings, to patch up the team's existing shortcomings.

The World Championship is a journey with no turning back. You either keep evolving and move towards the finish line, or you stagnate and are eventually defeated by your opponents.

……

"Alright everyone, the final group stage match of the 2013 League of Legends World Championship is about to begin!"

"This match has nothing to do with rankings or advancement. Let everyone cheer to their hearts' content." With Miller's rather formal voice, the second round match between IG and SKT officially began.

The lineups selected by both sides are as follows;
Blue side SKT: Top lane Renekton, Jungle Lee Sin, Mid lane Ahri, Bot lane Caitlyn and Zyra!

Purple side IG: Top lane Rumble, Jungle Elise, Mid lane Gragas, Bot lane Corki and Sona!

Once the lineup was confirmed, the live stream of TGA in China was flooded with comments from players.

[Wuhu, IG, go for it! Advance with a perfect record in the group stage!]

As a long-time fan of IG, seeing Shadow pick a jungler like Elise one day evokes a strange sense of nostalgia.

[Hey IG, how could you pick Sona? What were the coaching staff doing? Don't they know IG's Sona is missing an ultimate?]

Oh, so the support player on stage now is Xiao Wu, not Xiao Xiao. Oh well, that's alright.

[Square Dragon: Please turn on your microphone to communicate.]

After a brief loading period, both teams' heroes spawned in the fountain!
Inside the lounge on the right side of the Riot Games headquarters studio.

"The lineup is a bit too AP-heavy!"

"Indeed, with Rumble in the top lane and Elise and Gragas in the mid and jungle, if Renekton rushes a Spirit Visage early, it will be difficult to win team fights on the right side."

"This doesn't feel like the level IG coaching staff should be at. Are they holding back their strategies?"

"If you replace Gragas with a physical assassin like Zed or Talon, the team composition would be much more forgiving."

"Definitely. It's just the last group stage match, and it won't affect their ranking in the knockout stage, so there's no need to reveal too many tactical reserves. They definitely won't show their tricks. On the other hand, SKT picked Lee Sin for Bengi in the jungle position, which is probably because they want to use the hero's attributes to make up for the disadvantage in the role."

"IG's mid laner's Gragas pick was quite interesting."

"Are you saying that Zz1tai is challenging Faker?"

Amidst the rising and falling discussions, the members of the six teams waiting for the quarterfinals draw off the field were also watching the game closely.

After all, the two teams currently battling it out on stage are very likely to become their opponents in the next round.

As the contestants chatted, their eyes couldn't help but frequently drift towards the man in a custom-made suit on the right side of the lounge.

JM!

He is currently recognized by players as the best player in the league, and is also the core leader of NXG, the unofficial world's number one team.

In fact, in the S3 World Championship, it was not uncommon for players like JM to also be team owners. For example, the "Gorilla Captain" of the home team TSM also played the role of mid laner and was also a member of the management team.

However, compared to JM, in terms of individual honors, team performance, and club operating scale, the latter is far behind.

Compared to JM, Captain Gorilla seems rather insignificant.

"The difference between people can sometimes be greater than the difference between a person and a dog," one contestant suddenly remarked in a low voice.

Jiang Ming was unaware that he had become the subject of discussion among other teams in a short period of time; his attention was mostly focused on the match between IG and SKT.

Koma's idea was quite good, or rather, SKT's training team was very capable. Based on their past experience in scrims with NXG, they were pushed along and managed to develop such a versatile lineup from the team's tactical system in a limited amount of time.

If Benji can't carry the game, then try to control the pace of the game in the early stages and end the match.

"LPL teams are focusing on late-game strategy and macro play, while LCK teams are forced by the meta to constantly find ways to end the game in the early game."

"puff……"

Jiang Ming couldn't hold back any longer and burst out laughing.

Level 1: Both sides invade each other's red zone.

Each player lands to scout vision and monitor the enemy jungler's position.

In terms of the exchange, IG, being on the purple side, is at a slight disadvantage.

After all, in the early game, Rumble faces a strong combination like Renekton and Lee Sin. Without vision protection in the upper half of the map, Poppy with Flamethrower is easily caught and killed.

"Oh dear, SKT's bot lane duo has gone to the top side of the map to help Lee Sin with his blue buff. They're trying to switch lanes."

"However, IG's support is very experienced. When faced with your invasion in the top half of the map, they placed a ward directly in front of your bottom half of the map's high ground tower. Although Pyke's Renekton tried to move back very carefully, he was still detected by IG's vision."

"The duo lane here is coordinating with the spider to invade the red buff, so it's time to swap jungle camps."

In terms of the level 1 strategy design, SKT did not suffer a major loss against IG's lane swap, but in terms of lane matchups, SKT achieved its own goal.

Zyra, the female police officer, went to suppress Rumble's development and casually accelerated the tower push. Bengi's Lee Sin was responsible for protection. Pyke and Renekton were in the bottom lane to withstand pressure. After the dragon spawned, the bot lane duo could switch back.

PDD pursed his lips. Thanks to Riot's earlier minion spawn speed, by the time they saw the crocodile in their vision, it was too late to switch back. They had no choice but to place a trinket ward in their own jungle before going online to check Lee Sin's movements.

Two minutes and fifty-two seconds.

The first wave of cannon minions is about to arrive on the lane. After completing their double buffs, Lee Sin and Elise move in unison to the enemy Krugs. After eating a small Krug, they reach level three and prepare to launch the first tower dive against the top laner.

A classic lane swap and tower dive combo from the NXG team!
"Looking at the minion wave, both junglers have their eyes on the top laner. Because PDD placed vision in advance, he retreated to the second tower before the minion wave arrived. Benji had no choice but to use a Sonic Wave to slightly reduce the opponent's health."

"On the other side, the Corki and Sona are about to send a huge wave of minions into the tower. SKT's DaMu didn't choose to leave. Are they trying to force a kill?"

The saying goes that fortune favors the bold, and Pike's current actions are risking his life to close the development gap with Rumble.

As long as he doesn't die under the tower, and gets some minion gold and experience, he can rotate back to lane and suppress Rumble.

"cross!"

Seeing the shadow in place, Xiao Wu marked the crocodile and said.

Sona tanked the tower first, and Kid's Corki went forward to deal damage.

However, due to the increased damage from the turrets, the time it could withstand three hits was reduced to two.

"The spider walked into the tower, ready to throw its E at the enemy's face, but the crocodile, who was already at level two, used its E to move outwards... Oops, it dodged the spider's cocoon."

"The plane's Q skill also missed, Maru's tower dive was a mistake."

(End of this chapter)