League: I really didn't tank!

Chapter 441 Ingenious Line Switching!

With the general draft strategy finalized, Coach Sin didn't waste any time and immediately began discussing the more detailed draft direction with the team members.

How strong is the top lane Viktor build?

In fact, whether looking at the match data or the ranked data, Viktor in the top lane is practically invincible.

In ranked games, Viktor's win rate in the top lane is unparalleled. In the tier rankings, he doesn't even show the T tier anymore; instead, he's marked with a red "OP" sign.

During the competition, QG had a 100% win rate and did not lose a single game.

Logically speaking, KZ should have banned Viktor this game.

But unfortunately, they had no choice, because this was their right to choose sides.

QG's red side is just too strong; they have to choose the red side and take their spot.

However, the biggest problem with choosing red is that there aren't enough ban slots.

Fiora, Irelia, Ezreal, Kai'Sa.

QG's two main heroes are simply too difficult to deal with. They already have to rack their brains just dealing with these four, let alone adding Viktor.

And even if Viktor isn't banned, how do we limit this champion? That's another question.

The KZ team members discussed the issue at length during their break, and finally came up with a relatively reasonable drafting strategy.

Immediately afterwards, the staff knocked on the door of the lounge, and the competition began.

Coach Sin took a deep breath, pressed his knees as he stood up, and clapped his hands loudly as he shouted, "I think we have a great chance this time! Everyone, cheer up and play well! Focus on the present and take this point! This BO5 has only just begun!"

The KZ members nodded in agreement. During this break, they had adjusted their mindset and swept away the atmosphere of their earlier defeat.

Khan, who had been looking mournful, started laughing smugly, picked up his water glass, and strode out of the lounge.

Coach Sin looked at Khan, hesitant to speak, yet still wanting to.

Soon, the two contestants walked onto the stage from opposite sides, eliciting cheers from the audience!

Chen Dongqing strode back to his seat, carefully placing his water bottle down. Just as he put on his headphones, he heard Xiaohu talking to the coach: "Brother Cui, are you sure we're going to play top lane this game?"

"Hmm, is that the general plan?" Banbazi nodded. "But it mainly depends on whether the other side cooperates. If they don't, then we can only play normally."

"Don't worry." Chen Dongqing settled into his chair and chuckled, "The other side will cooperate. I can figure out their draft strategy even with my ass. That's the only way they can draft. We'll let Ryze out later, then pick Viktor, and they'll definitely fall into our trap!"

The QG members didn't object to Chen Dongqing's words, because it was the result they had just reached through discussion.

What if KZ really has a serious illness and refuses to cooperate?

That's pretty awesome. Since the opponent's draft picks are so erratic, we can just play casually and that's it. There's no need to reveal any hidden cards.

Chen Dongqing chatted with his teammates for a few more minutes, and soon heard the referee announce that the game could begin.

Chen Dongqing took a deep breath and then clicked "Start Game".

In the commentary booth, Guan and Ji quickly got into commentary mode as soon as the ban/pick phase began, and started a passionate discussion about the bans for both sides!

"Alright, the second round of drafting has begun! We can see that the positions of the two sides have been switched in this game. QG is now on the blue side and has banned Poppy as their first pick!"

"Hey, we can see that both sides don't seem to have changed much in their banning strategies from the last game!" Guan Daxiao said. "QG chose to ban Poppy, Zoe, and Taliyah. Compared to the last game, they only changed the ban on Ryze to Zoe!"

Remember to follow up: "On the other side, KZ made no changes, banning Fiora, Irelia, and Ezreal! That means Kai'Sa and Viktor are both available! Will both sides start fighting for them?"

This is the draft decision that KZ came up with by utilizing Viktor.

Send out both Kai'Sa and Viktor, let QG pick one, and we'll pick the other ourselves. That would relieve some of the pressure in the draft phase.

No sooner had the words left his mouth than QG instantly locked down Viktor!

"Huh, Viktor? This champion isn't really worth picking first, is it?" Colonel Guan frowned. "I feel like Kai'Sa is stronger, right?"

Doinb, who has experience with this, said, "Viktor is a champion that can be played in both the top and mid lanes. I think QG is interested in this champion's flexibility."

If we switch the camera to QG's side, we can see that everyone on QG has a bright smile on their face.

Colonel Guan was finally completely relieved.

QG must have their reasons for doing this.

After QG locked in Viktor, KZ reacted swiftly, quickly locking in Kai'Sa and Garrosh.

This choice is both effective and efficient.

By securing Kai'Sa and disrupting QG's Xayah-Rakan duo, they effectively eliminated the second major threat from the previous game.

But behind the scenes, the QG players were laughing even harder.

"Holy crap, you actually predicted Brother Cui!" Uzi exclaimed in shock over the voice chat, "How did you know they were going to steal Luo?"

Banbazi gave a mysterious smile: "Because I've studied their BP (Banbazi's strategy)."

Choosing Luo is indeed strategically significant, as it can both resolve potential threats and provide the team with a powerful initiator.

But once the choice is made, problems are hard to avoid.

This version of Kai'Sa is played by first building Guinsoo's Rageblade and then evolving her E. She is very weak in lane and is a standard three-item power spike champion.

And Rakan is also a support who is weak in the laning phase.

If QG picks a strong bottom lane duo at this point, how would you respond?

The next second, QG's second and third picks were Caitlyn and Janna, instantly maximizing the team's strength!

Upon seeing this bot lane duo, the two elders of the Xuanming Sect broke out in a cold sweat, recalling their glorious days in 2016.

The pressure is immense.

Fortunately, although the bottom lane is under great pressure, as long as the mid lane has enough control, it can still be salvaged.

On the third floor of KZ, they decisively targeted the vampire.

Just as they discussed before the match, they picked a vampire and Viktor to go head-to-head.

No matter where QG sends Viktor, BDD can always secure mid lane control through a counter pick!

Then this draft isn't too bad!

In the second round of drafting, both sides had very clear strategies.

On the blue side, QG chose to ban Sejuani and Galio.

On the other side, KZ banned Camille and Jarvan IV.

With this mindset in mind, KZ naturally locked in a jungler for their fourth pick, choosing Rek'Sai, following the same strategy of strengthening their early-game fighting power.

"Now it's QG's turn to finalize their lineup!" Colonel Guan said. "Let's see what they choose!"

The next second, QG quickly locked on.

First up is the jungler Gragas, used to fill the team's lack of engage potential.

And then, the future guardian, Jayce!

Seeing this, the KZ members exchanged glances and nodded in agreement.

As expected, QG chose to move Viktor to the mid lane and picked Jayce to counter Vladimir!

Coach Sin turned to BDD and asked, "What do you want to play? We're at a disadvantage in both the top and bottom lanes this game, so your mid lane is crucial."

BDD felt immense pressure. He took a deep breath and said, "In that case, give me Ryze. I'm confident I can dictate the pace!"

Coach Sin didn't refuse, after all, Ryze was BDD's specialty: "It's up to you."

KZ locked in Ryze as their last pick, and their lineup is set!

BDD quickly selected the Phase Rush talent, and then took one last look at the lineup.

Blue side QG: Top lane Jayce, jungle Gragas, mid lane Viktor, bot lane Caitlyn vs Janna.

Red team KZ: Top lane Vladimir, Jungle Rek'Sai, Mid lane Ryze, Bot lane Kai'Sa and Garen.

Although QG has a solid lineup, BDD believes that his stage is much bigger.

As long as they control the mid lane, the entire map is under their control!

"This round is all up to you, Pu Cheng." Coach Sin gave his final instructions, with a serious tone reminiscent of the Prime Minister instructing Ma Su to defend Jieting.

Just like Ma Su back then, BDD turned around and made a solemn pledge: "Leave it to me, coach."

Sin still trusted BDD. He patted BDD on the shoulder, then closed his little book and prepared to walk to the center of the stage to shake hands.

Before leaving, Coach Sin took one last look at the grinning Khan and finally couldn't help but say, "Donghe, you absolutely have to stay calm this game. If you stay calm, this game will be much easier!"

Khan's playful expression turned serious. He bumped fists with his coach and said, "Don't worry, bro, I'll definitely hold my own this time!"

On the other side of the stage, unknown to them.

The five QG players were practically grinning from ear to ear.

"Okay, okay, you're really picking Ryze, right?" Chen Dongqing said with a grin, "The other team is really cooperating. So, I'll be playing mid lane this time?"

In fact, Ryze was banned by QG in the first round of the previous match because BDD's tempo control after getting this champion was too strong and difficult to control.

But QG didn't ban it this time.

There's nothing else to it, it was just deliberately released for KZ to choose from.

KZ, unaware of QG's true intentions, naturally cooperated by locking onto QG directly.

This finally gives QG room to implement their player rotation plan.

Are you strong with mid-lane Ryze?

Can you beat my mid-lane Jayce?

Watch how I beat you until you're done for!

Banbazi didn't say much more. He closed his notebook, shook hands gently with Sin in the center of the stage, and couldn't stop smiling.

Coach Sin was quite puzzled when he saw that smile.

Your business plan wasn't that great either. What are you laughing at?

But he soon got the answer.

In the corridor, Coach Sin was deep in thought, constantly rehearsing the draft picks in his mind, but the more he thought about it, the more he sighed.

If they were on the red side, then they would have some ideas and methods for drafting and blocking.

But once they're on the blue side, their drafting and banning becomes completely impossible.

Logically speaking, the blue side should actually have the advantage in the draft phase. The red side should be at a disadvantage.

However, thanks to the individual abilities of their two star players, QG reversed the draft disadvantage and turned the red side into an absolute advantage.

Playing against QG is just too difficult.

Coach Sin returned to the locker room, sat down, and took a sip of water.

Regardless, at least the draft picks were good this game.

Although they are slightly at a disadvantage in the top and bottom lanes, they have an advantage in the mid and jungle, so it's still a viable team.

After finishing his water, Coach Sin turned his attention back to the screen.

At this point, the minions had spawned, and both players slowly moved to the lane following the minion wave.

Coach Sin first glanced at the jungle routes of both teams' junglers.

Because Khan was at a disadvantage against Jayce with Vladimir in the top lane, Cuzz deliberately started with blue buff and farmed top lane with the help of his bot lane duo.

On the other side...

Coach Sin suddenly narrowed his eyes.

What's going on?

Why did QG's Gragas start in the top half of the map? Shouldn't you be farming from the bottom up and then tower diving?

And

Sin was suddenly startled, realizing something was amiss.

No, no, no!

Coach Sin suddenly stood up, his eyes fixed on the screen.

Why is it Xiaohu's Viktor, not Ilex's Jayce, who's helping with the jungle clearing next to Gragas?

Did they switch lanes?

At this moment, commentators around the world also noticed that QG had swapped their top and mid lanes.

At this moment, ilex's Jayce was already on top of BDD's Ryze, using his cannon and hammer to activate Phase Boots, taking away a third of BDD's health in one fell swoop.

"Did QG swap lanes?!" On the LPL commentary booth, commentator Guan Daxiao exclaimed in surprise, "Hey, you know what, that lane swap was brilliant!"

After the lane swap, the lineups on both sides are as follows:

Blue side QG: Top lane Xiaohu Viktor, Jungle Gragas, Mid lane Maokai Jayce, Bot lane Caitlyn vs Janna.

Red team KZ: Top lane Vladimir, Jungle Rek'Sai, Mid lane Ryze, Bot lane Kai'Sa and Garen.

It has to be said that with this change in the top and middle positions, the lineup has really improved!

In the mid lane, Jayce is facing Ryze, a matchup that anyone can easily win.

As for the top lane, Xiaohu's Viktor against Vladimir isn't exactly an easy matchup, but he's definitely not at a disadvantage either; it's just a matter of playing passively!

By simply switching lanes, the pain point of being at a disadvantage in the mid lane was directly solved!

【Mid-lane Tree Bro?】

[Wow, Tree Bro wasn't satisfied with playing mage in the top lane last game, so this time he's coming to play mid lane, huh?]

[But Tree Bro wasn't playing a mage this game, he was playing a warrior!]

Playing a mage in the top lane and a warrior in the mid lane, that's something else!

[That's how Brother Tree is; he only knows how to use long arms to fight short arms, high technology to fight cold weapons, and women to fight men.]

[Women hitting men, right? Which version?]

[BDD is numb, hahaha]

As the comments said, BDD really did go numb.

This mid-lane Jayce was someone he never expected.

He was playing Ryze this game, but against the mid-jungle duo of Gragas and Viktor, he deliberately didn't bring Manaflow Band, but instead brought Nullifying Orb.

The goal is to gain an advantage in the online battle.

But as a result, the opposing team countered with a Jayce in the mid lane.

What's the point of fighting? What's the use of his nullification spell?

The difference in combat power between the two is too great. BDD can't even last-hit minions anymore and can only cower behind the tower, trembling with fear.

Their grand plan, set before the game, to "turn the tide with the midfield and jungle," seems to have failed before it even began.

The middle route has been completed, what about the upper route?

It hasn't been sent yet, but it will be soon.

On the way, Khan was completely numb.

Because of the coach's serious instructions before the start of the game, Khan became unusually steady.

In order to counter Jayce, he started with Doran's Shield and didn't dare to take Kleptomancy as a rune, but instead took Phase Rush, all to stabilize the top lane.

So the opponent turned out to be a B Viktor?

What's the point of his outfit and talent then?

send!

That's enough for today, so I'll keep it short and take a break.

I'll finish writing the second match in one chapter tomorrow.

With this match over, there won't be much more news about MSI going forward; it will be over soon.

(End of this chapter)