LOL: Can’t I play other games professionally?

Chapter 353 I've lost all love for Dota.
Just how strong Lin Ruo is is no longer a question that Dota 2 fans should be discussing.

Since she hadn't yet reached the top of the national server rankings, Lin Ruo significantly reduced her ranked matches, naturally dedicating more of her time to streaming the mobile version of PUBG Mobile with a screen protector.

Lin Ruo, as a practical person, clearly understands the relative importance of becoming the number one player in the Chinese Dota 2 server and making money playing PUBG Mobile.

Playing Dota 2, while showcasing his talent, doesn't necessarily bring direct economic benefits, but streaming PUBG Mobile definitely does.

In this respect, Lin Ruo has maintained her professionalism as a spokesperson from beginning to end.

However, it seems a bit different to Dota 2 players who are unaware that Lin Ruo has become the spokesperson for PUBG in China.

Seeing that Lin Ruo only played a few ranked games for several days in a row, a related post sparked a heated discussion in the quiet Dota 2 forum.

[Is Lin Gou getting bored? He hasn't played Dota 2 much for three days in a row. He hasn't even reached the top of the Chinese server yet. Does he think it's too easy and doesn't want to play anymore... or does he think he can't reach the top and doesn't want to play anymore?]

The single stone stirred up a thousand waves, and the comments in the thread instantly exploded, with Dota players offering their own opinions and perspectives.

[It seems like they've gotten bored and need a break; after all, who can consistently play more than ten games a day for over a month?]

[He hasn't even faced any top professional players yet. I think it's a good idea to back down now and leave a perfect topic of conversation. After all, doing this way will prevent him from being humiliated by getting crushed by professional players later, and it will also prevent anyone from thinking he's not a super genius.]

[What are you saying? Lin Ruo, with over 8000 points, has he ever been beaten by anyone? What's there for him to be afraid of?]

[That's strange. He used to play other games easily, and he'd only get bored after reaching the top of the national server. Why is he already bored even though he didn't reach the top spot today?]

Oh no, does Lin Gou think our knives are less fun than Overwatch and PUBG?

[Don't get me wrong, Lin Gou might not be targeting the knife, but rather because the knife and the map and gameplay are similar, which is why Lin Gou gets bored so easily.]

[Yeah, you know, Lin Gou hasn't played ranked games for who knows how many months. If there's one game Lin Gou is least likely to play on stream, it's definitely League of Legends, no other game.]

[Okay, I get it. Lin doesn't play Dota 2, so it's all LOL's fault because seeing the Dota 2 map reminds him of LOL.]

[What a waste of time! I want to see Lin Gou get stomped by our Dota 2 pros. At this rate, when will he ever get a chance?]

[It'll be soon. It's easy to run into them now that you're around 8000 points, but who will dominate is uncertain, hehe.]

So here's the question: which generates more buzz—Lin Gou dominating our top Dota 2 pro players, or our top Dota 2 pro players dominating Lin Gou?

As soon as these words were spoken, the comments section instantly shifted to another point of discussion.

Indeed, who gets more attention for beating whom? That's a very interesting topic.

At this moment, Lin Ruo was unaware that Dota 2 netizens would discuss such a boring topic; he was still focused on playing the mobile game PUBG.

Before ending his broadcast that night, he specifically mentioned that he would most likely not be streaming the next day.

This is no joke, nor is it an attempt to leave early or slack off; it's because there's a match tomorrow and the live stream can't proceed as usual.

Furthermore, tomorrow's match will not be held at the Shanghai Arena, but will instead take place at Snake's home stadium in Chongqing for the seventh round of the regular season.

If last year's Snake team was synonymous with relegation-threatened teams, then this year's Snake team has been somewhat different since moving away from Ling Shi Road.

It can be said to have been completely transformed.

Snake is currently second in the Western Conference group with a record of 5 wins and 1 loss, ahead of WE, and only behind EDG who have won all six games.

Snake was once considered a team whose tactics revolved around Flandre.

However, in the early part of the regular season, Snak made a major strategic change, switching to a system focused on the mid, top, and jungle, and their playstyle became more diversified.

As a result, the team has seen a significant improvement in both offense and defense.

The Vietnamese bandits are starting to act like humans, but the key is that after Zhu Kai stepped down as head coach and changed positions, Snake's drafting and banning also started to act like humans.

It's clear they successfully uncovered the mole within the team, but it took two years, which is a bit long.

"Get some rest early tonight, nobody stay up late." As it approached midnight, Abu didn't forget to go into the training room and give everyone these reminders.

I have to take a flight to Chongqing early tomorrow morning. The journey isn't short, and there's the added stress of traveling. If I stay up late tonight, it could easily prevent me from maintaining my best form for tomorrow afternoon's match.

Everyone else in the training room was very obedient and got off the plane before midnight.

that is…

Abu looked at the very conspicuous seat, feeling a mix of emotions.

"Damn it, where is everyone?"

Only after asking did I learn that Lin Ruo had already gotten off the plane at 22 p.m. to go back and rest. Such a high level of health awareness, coupled with her status as a professional player.

Abu, who had encountered this type of person, didn't know whether to be happy or not.

He used to not believe that professional players could maintain a regular schedule, but now he truly believes it.

Lin Ruo, you're a real talent.

Well, Abu felt he should go back and rest early, otherwise it would be hard to keep up with young people like Lin Ruo who were very conscious in the future.

……

On the morning of March 12, the early risers of EDG packed their things and boarded a flight to Chongqing around 3 a.m.

The home-and-away system does improve the viewing experience for the audience, but it is also very tough on the athletes. After all, they have to travel all over the country every now and then, so it's impossible not to be tired.

Not everyone is like Lin Ruo, who can go to bed early and get up early every day and be in good spirits.

Arriving at Chongqing Airport around noon, the group first found a place to eat before heading to the competition venue in the South Entrance Hall of the International Expo Center to prepare for the competition.

Their match is at 17 PM, and there's still a lot of waiting time. What can they do during that time? Certainly not strategize.

Instead, rest whenever possible.

Feeling refreshed, Lin Ruo took out her phone and quietly played two more rounds of PUBG in the lounge on silent.

A classic veiled opening, which shows he's in great form, and his chances in the upcoming regular season are practically guaranteed.

At 17 p.m., the match between the two sides kicked off on time amidst great anticipation.

Today's game, which is crucial for the battle for first place in the Western Conference, is sure to be full of exciting moments.

After the removal of the Sightstone jungle item in patch 8.3, leaving only the Red Smite and Blue Smite jungle items, the newly released patch 8.4 also features numerous changes compared to previous patches, affecting more than 30 champions.

While the designers at Riot Games are racking their brains, they are also presenting a top-level challenge to coaches and players at various clubs.

In particular, the rule that the Rune Stopwatch can only be used after 10 minutes has greatly changed the game's ecosystem, meaning that in the upcoming matches, many players will abandon the option of using the Rune Stopwatch.

The introduction of the new rune Bone Plating has made it a must-have for all top laners.

In terms of hero skill synergy, activating the stopwatch will cancel Ryze's ultimate ability while it's being activated, leaving the split-pushing king, who has been dominating for over two months, feeling a bit frustrated.

Also.

Popular picks from the previous version, such as Zoe, Gangplank, and Ornn, have all been nerfed to some extent.

Ornn can still manage to stay competitive, while Zoe's nerfs make her unlikely to be played again. With such significant changes, today's Western Conference top seed match also carries a hint of previewing the current meta.

In the commentary booth, the duo of Remember and Rita were still responsible for commentating on both matches today.

After the usual opening remarks, the two first introduced the characteristics of Chongqing before returning to the main focus of analyzing their chances of winning the game.

The analysis leads to the conclusion that Snake should wash his neck and wait to be veiled.

Although the two teams may seem to differ only in a single game, the actual difference is enormous, because their opponents are different.

EDG's perfect record of six wins was largely achieved by defeating strong teams such as RNG, IG, and OMG.

Snake is different.

In six matches, they faced IG and were defeated 2-1 after being down 1-0. The strongest opponent they faced in the other five matches was JDG, a brand-new team ranked fourth in the West.

The reason they were able to achieve a record of five wins and one loss is not only because they were in good form, but also because of the favorable schedule.

However, it doesn't matter. Even without the advantage of a favorable schedule, the outside world believes that the possibility of Snake defeating EDG is extremely small.

After a series of procedures, the two players took their seats on the stage amidst cheers from the audience.

Nominally, this is Snake's home ground, but in reality, apart from having more banners planted here, it has been completely taken over by EDG fans.

Zhu Kai, the Snake team's life administrator, was quite helpless in response. Did they have one-fifth of EDG's fans present today?
He thought it was reasonable to ask EDG for a home venue rental fee later.

After all, whoever has the most fans in the venue is the home team, and Snake didn't even get the home team treatment, so can it be considered a home team?
...

After a brief preparation, the draft phase for both teams began in a sudden and rapid manner.

EDG, on the blue side, took down Jayce, Fiora, and the newly emerging Sion mid laner first.

Sorry, Snake.com, they only ever target Flandre's champion pool.

Snake, on the red side, didn't back down either, banning Camille, Cassiopeia, and Galio.

In the first pick phase for the blue side, EDG prioritized picking Ryze, Scout's signature champion.

Although Ryze lost the joy of split pushing and escaping due to the Stopwatch rework, it doesn't significantly affect his current meta core.

Because Archangel's Staff has been buffed, Ryze can now deal even more damage after buying this item.

Therefore, its status in this version has not decreased but increased, making it arguably Riot's new generation of favored child.

"Snake has also locked in the current meta's strong Azir paired with Olaf, which actually seems a bit..."

Remembering hesitated for a moment, then couldn't help but ask a question: "Since we're going to pair with Azir, wouldn't it be more suitable to pick Sejuani, who has strong crowd control?"

Yeah, isn't Sejuani better than Olaf?
I remember thinking that Zhu Kai had returned to the team as head coach.

In response, Rita thought for a moment and said, "I think SoFM's choice was probably to guard against something else. He might be worried that if he locks in Sejuani, he will be attacked by Lin Ruo in the early game."

There's no need to elaborate on how fierce Lin Ruo is as a jungler; in the last match against IG, Ning's Sejuani pick was completely countered.

As a man who watched the game, SoFM was still shaken.

However, he felt much more at ease after picking Olaf. If Olaf could be invaded in the jungle, he would have retired on the spot, okay? There was simply no such possibility.

What's more, EDG then secured Sejuani on the second floor, a champion they hadn't yet picked.

This makes it even more impossible; why would Sejuani invade Olaf's jungle?

SoFM rubbed his hands together, determined to invade the jungle today and raise a brood of pigs in Sejuani's den to avenge last year's humiliation.

After locking in Sejuani, EDG promptly picked Tristana on the third floor.

As I said before, as long as iboy doesn't die in the bottom lane, Lin Ruo doesn't need him to carry.

With Snake securing Kog'Maw, both sides quickly moved into the second round of banning.

Braum, Ornn.

The two tankiest EDG players were both eliminated.

Snake countered by removing Kled and Rakan to prepare for potential team fights from EDG.

In the second round of selection, Snake, positioned on the fourth floor, locked in Alistar as their last initiator in the bottom lane.

As we all know, the pig-cow duo is incredibly strong, so the bull's head absolutely cannot be given to EDG.

On the other side's turn, EDG countered by locking in Shen paired with Gnar as their top and support.

"Is it Shen as support again?" Rita in the commentary booth was taken aback. Shen does not have an advantage as support, but EDG has been particularly fond of using Shen as support recently.

The purpose of selecting them is actually only one thing: to launch a massive support attack.

As for who to support, of course it's Lin Ruo, who loves to invade the jungle.

But... is Sejuani going to invade the jungle too?

SoFM, sitting on the Snake bench, frowned, sensing something was wrong. What did the other team mean? He had a bad feeling about this.

This pig probably doesn't eat meat.

No way. Even the biggest pig that eats a lot of meat wouldn't eat Olaf, would it? Absolutely not.

SoFM was completely skeptical until he saw top laner Flandre forced to pick Maokai.

He got pushed up in the top lane...

"No, why are you playing with the big tree?" SoFM's face darkened.

Saint Gunner's expression froze for a moment; that was clearly my line.

There's nothing we can do about it. Jayce and Fiora have both been taken down, and Gnar has been picked off first. There's really no other top lane option that can compete with them right now.

Therefore, offering up a large tree is a helpless move after weighing the pros and cons.

SoFM thought about it and realized that was indeed the case, but it didn't matter. Even if he was pushed back in the top lane, he didn't believe Sejuani would dare to invade his jungle.

"So the lineups for both sides have been selected. EDG, on the blue side, has Gnar in the top lane, Sejuani in the jungle, Ryze in the mid lane, and Tristana and Shen in the bot lane."

"Red team Snake, top lane Maokai, jungle Olaf, mid lane Azir, bot lane duo Kog'Maw and Alistar."

"Without further ado, let's dive into Summoner's Rift in patch 8.4 and see what surprises today's Western Conference showdown will bring us."

Remember when the words were spoken.

The cheers at the scene were deafening, and Snake's subtle words of support were predictably drowned out by the sea of ​​people.

Zhu Kai, in the lounge, turned on his phone, still wondering whether he should call Abu to demand the home game loan fee.

(End of this chapter)