League: I really didn't tank!

Chapter 460 Hellish Training

Seeing that Aatrox had actually been reworked, all the top laners present, including TheShy, couldn't help but feel speechless.

It's worth noting that in the previous version, Aatrox was a Tier 1 champion in ranked matches across various servers, and he even made it onto the competitive stage.

In order to keep up with the latest version, the top laners present have practiced a lot.

Doinb even thought this champion could be played in the mid lane, so he practiced several games of Aatrox in the mid lane.

But now things are different. The designers have given a big hand and reworked the Tier 1 hero, Aatrox, with a completely different mechanic and a completely different role. He has been transformed from a light warrior into a heavy warrior, and from a basic attack hero into a skill-based hero.

Everyone should start practicing from scratch!

Moreover, the current problem is that it is still unknown how the new version of Aatrox will perform in matches. Based on their experience in ranked games, this version of Aatrox is not considered strong, and blindly practicing it is likely to be a waste of time.

At this moment, Banbazi continued to flip through the PPT and then said, "You should all have seen the detailed skills of Aatrox, so I won't go into detail. Here is the data of Aatrox in ranked matches, you can take a look."

A downward slant line clearly shows how low the win rate of the old version of Aatrox was.

In version 8.12, the old version of Aatrox was at its strongest, with his win rate even reaching 53%. However, in version 8.13, after Aatrox was reworked, his win rate plummeted to 35%.

The polarity has reversed.

A rework resulted in a 18% drop in win rate.

Seeing this, everyone present couldn't help but laugh.

Based on their experience in ranked matches, they all know that the new version of Aatrox isn't particularly strong.

But they hadn't expected the garbage to get to this level.

It seems they don't need to practice anymore.

"Actually, it's not over yet." Banbazi shook his head: "Actually, this 35% win rate on the first day of patch 8.13 was temporarily patched by the designers on the second day after the update."

Hotfixes are where designers directly modify hero stats individually, without requiring system downtime or maintenance.

The PowerPoint presentation switched to show detailed information about this hotfix.

血量增加30，Q技能伤害增加5点，E技能生命回复提高5%，E技能突进範围增加50，E技能重置普攻，R技能冷却时间160/140/120变为140/130/120。

"Then here are the win rate changes after the hot patch went live."

As you can see, this hotfix is ​​clearly effective. On the day it went live, Aatrox's win rate quickly climbed to 40%, and now it's approaching 45%.

"Isn't this still pretty average?" Xiangguo couldn't help but frown. "What's the point of practicing a hero with a 45% win rate?"

"It's not that simple," Banbazi shook his head. "You have to understand, if the win rate can slowly rise from 35% to 45%, it means that his win rate is definitely more than 45%. I suspect that Aatrox's true hit rate in the last few days has approached or even exceeded 50%."

"But that's still pretty average!" Doinb couldn't help but say, "This new version of Aatrox is too clumsy. He's a heavy armor warrior hero, and I feel that this kind of hero is generally difficult to perform well in competitive matches."

Heavy armor fighters are most notably Darius and Garen.

This type of warrior hero is devastating as long as they can get close, which means they generally perform quite well in lower-ranked ranked matches where distance control is not ideal, and even have a high win rate.

However, in high-ranking matches, or even professional games, heavy armor warriors who can't get close to the carry are generally considered to be useless.

Even though Aatrox has a win rate of over 50%, Doinb doesn't think this champion will perform very well in matches.

Banbazi seemed a bit undecided.

The new version of Aatrox is indeed a tank, as can be seen from his skill set. His Q mechanic is similar to Riven's, but it is obviously much clunky.

However, Aatrox's reach is significantly longer than that of traditional tanks like Darius and Garen, and with two E abilities, he is much more agile.

Both are heavy armor builds, but the Aatrox's mechanics are clearly superior!

Lacking match data, Banbazi couldn't figure it out, so he decided to ask a professional.

"Chen Dongqing, what do you say?" Banbazi asked directly, "Do you think Sword Demon needs to be practiced?"

Everyone turned their attention to the first seat in the first row, which was in the corner of the training room.

Feeling the gazes of everyone, Chen Dongqing said directly, "Practice! We must practice, and we must practice hard!"

Unlike Akali and Irelia, who were reworked in the same year, Aatrox didn't reach his peak right from the start; he did experience a long period of being underestimated.

It wasn't until a man brought him to the arena and delivered a godlike performance that people began to change their opinion of the hero. After that, Aatrox was never unpopular again and remained a top pick until Chen Dongqing's rebirth.

That's right, that man is...Zitai.

In the 2018 Intercontinental Cup finals, Zz1tai, playing Aatrox, landed a QE combo on three KZ players in the Baron pit, taking away most of their health, earning him the title of the first generation of god descending to earth.

This version of Aatrox, after the hotfix, is not weak at all, but rather overpowered!

Why is the win rate so low? First, the 35% win rate before the hot patch was really too low, and it was difficult for the win rate to rise in a short time. In fact, the real win rate has long exceeded 50%.

Secondly, this hero was just reworked, and players are not yet familiar with him!

Everyone was somewhat surprised to hear Chen Dongqing's high praise for the new version of the Sword Demon.

However, in addition to the surprise, many people expressed their doubts.

Damn it, have you even played the new version of Aatrox? You've just been practicing here?

At this moment, Xiao Hu spoke up first: "OK, if Brother Shu says we should practice, then I'll practice too."

In Xiaohu's heart, his Brother Tree is the authority, and no one in the world understands LOL better than Brother Tree!

As for whether the Sword Demon is strong or not?

All we can say is that we believe Brother Shu will give them the answer on the field.

Seeing that the top and mid laners of the leading team QG had expressed their approval of Aatrox, the other teams naturally had no reason to refuse him.

"OK, no problem!" Doinb patted his chest and said, "I'll practice these next couple of days, and I should be able to pull it off soon!"

Doinb's main strategy is to use a short-range champion against a long-range one, so a champion like Aatrox is exactly what he wants.

The other teams' top and mid laners had nothing to say and could only nod in agreement.

Banbazi couldn't help but smile as he watched Chen Dongqing easily resolve the Sword Demon's problem with a single sentence.

This is the power of a regional leader.

Of course, Banbazi also had some doubts about this.

After all, he knew that Chen Dongqing had never actually played a single new version of the Sword Demon.

Could it be that Chen Dongqing can determine a hero's strength just by glancing at their skill set and stats?

Of course, Banbazi didn't know that Chen Dongqing had been waiting for this Sword Demon for far too long.

Banbazi reluctantly gathered his thoughts and continued, "Besides that, Pyke, the new champion released in the last version, has also been buffed in this version. However, Pyke's performance in professional matches hasn't been ideal, so let's not discuss him for now; it won't have much impact on us."

"Then, there's a new rune, Hail of Blades, which grants a burst of attack speed to the next three basic attacks. This is worth noting; it's a significant buff for Xin Zhao, a popular jungler in this patch."

Following that, there are various minor changes in this version.

There are actually quite a few, including nerfs to popular heroes.

For example, reducing Ezreal's base armor and Irelia's passive damage are actually minor changes and won't affect these champions' pick rate.

The most fatal blow is the nerf to top laner Viktor.

Viktor, who had been dominating the top lane for so long, finally got nerfed.

As for the designer's approach this time, it's no different from the nerfs to top lane Ekko and top lane Fizz back then—reducing the base damage of skills and increasing the AP scaling of skills.

However, the difference between Viktor and Ekko is that Viktor is supposed to build AP in the late game, so this isn't a complete nerf to the entire playstyle, but rather a reduction in the early game strength of this build, which is still acceptable.

Top lane Viktor is still playable, but he's clearly not as incredibly strong as he used to be.

"That's all for the version changes." Banbazi flipped to the last page of the PPT and said, "Let's summarize and analyze what other changes this version has brought during the training matches."

For the next two days, apart from necessary filming and training, both sides spent most of their time in practice matches.

The other seven players from the top and middle lanes racked their brains to get the Sword Demon, playing match after match in ranked games and internal training sessions.

But to be fair, after playing it a lot, they had to admit that this new version of Aatrox is actually quite strong!

Brother Tree was absolutely right!

Chen Dongqing also tried out this version of Aatrox in a training match to experience the difference between this version and the Aatrox in later versions.

Although the four skills are similar, the difference between the 18 version and the 22 version of Aatrox is actually quite obvious.

The most obvious difference is that this version of Aatrox has two E abilities, making him more agile. His Q ability's wave clear efficiency has not been weakened, making wave clear very fast. At the same time, his ultimate can also revive him.

These advantages are what allow Aatrox to be played in the mid lane in this version.

However, its shortcomings are also obvious: this version of the Sword Demon's damage is far less than that of later versions, and its lifesteal is barely there, unable to achieve the spectacular lifesteal of 22 years ago where a single hit would restore a full bar of health.

It clears lanes faster and is more flexible, and its ultimate skill can revive you, but its damage is low and its lifesteal is minimal.

Chen Dongqing has been playing Sword Demon for 22 years, so he really needs to get used to this aspect.

Besides internal scrimmages, LPL teams haven't forgotten to scrim with LMS and LCK teams.

In the scrims in other regions, it was obvious that the other two regions did not seem to value Aatrox, and he was never used in scrims.

With the intention of keeping it to themselves, since the opposing team isn't taking it, the LPL teams certainly won't either. This Aatrox is waiting to give the opponent a surprise in the group stage!

However, apart from that, the Korean team seems to have a completely new understanding of the current version, which is mainly reflected in their hero pool in the mid lane.

Riot Games nerfed carry mages and buffed Luden's Echo in the summer split patch to increase the competitiveness of mid-lane mages.

The current mid-lane meta in the LPL follows the meta, primarily featuring matchups between early-game strong mages like LeBlanc, Syndra, and Zoe. Occasionally, team-oriented champions such as Galio, Ryze, and Malzahar emerge, making the mid-lane battles extremely intense.

But this time, the LCK teams took a different approach and forged a new path, choosing to use champions like Irelia and Yasuo in the mid lane.

It must be said that the effect is also very good.

After Irelia's passive was nerfed in this patch, it's become very difficult for her to survive in the cutthroat top lane.

However, when placed in the mid lane to fight against mages, it is still a game-changer.

As for Yasuo, he goes without saying. He's a veteran mid laner, and his Q skill, Steel Tempest, has no mana cost and clears lanes quickly, which fits the current meta where mid lane is highly competitive.

The mid-lane solutions provided by the LCK region quickly influenced the LPL. The LPL mid-laners hadn't even mastered Aatrox yet, and now they had to practice Yasuo and Irelia, keeping them so busy they were dizzy!

Some mid-lane players adapt quite quickly, such as Doinb and Scout. Their champion pool has never been a problem, and they have enough talent. After playing each champion for about ten games and getting familiar with the rhythm, they can basically go to the competition.

But some people learn slowly.

Rookie and Xiaohu are among them.

Rookie is a mid-laner who excels at playing mages. He can play LeBlanc and Syndra without any problem, and he can also play Azir and Orianna with ease.

If you ask him to play Yasuo, he can do it even if he has to hold his nose, and he can even play it quite well. Back in 2015, it was Rookie's Yasuo EQ flash ult that carried IG to the S5 World Championship by defeating three opponents single-handedly.

But if you ask him to play a champion like Aatrox or Irelia that lacks the spirit of mid-lane, then it's simply impossible.

And Xiaohu goes without saying.

As we all know, Xiaohu has always been slow at learning new heroes, and he's not particularly fond of mid-lane warriors, as he's never quite grasped the strategy for trading blows with mid-lane warriors.

Now he practices with Aatrox, Irelia, and Yasuo, but even when he's dizzy and his head is spinning, he still can't find the knack for it, and his skill level is quite average.

It was at this moment that Xiaohu finally realized the difference in talent.

Why do some people never have the problem of having a large hero pool?

"Is this version targeting me?" Li Yuanhao was still complaining at dinner the night before the match, "I can't play any of these mid laners at all!"

Hearing this, Doinb couldn't help but sneer.

Now you know, right? Who is the strongest mid laner in QG's history!

Fortunately, Li Yuanhao has a father.

In QG's team, there just happens to be a monster who is proficient in all three: Irelia, Yasuo, and Aatrox!

"It's nothing." Chen Dongqing didn't seem to care much about it. "After we finish eating, I'll give you some special training."

"Special training?" Li Yuanhao took a bite of rice, wondering what this special training referred to.

After dinner, since the competition starts tomorrow, getting a good rest is the top priority, so there were no practice matches after dinner.

Everyone stood in the QG row, watching Chen Dongqing give Xiaohu special training.

The training content was also very simple—SOLO.

Both sides used the same hero for solo play until they had mastered one of the heroes before switching to other heroes.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Hu turned and tried to run away.

Damn it, am I an M? You want me to solo with Brother Tree?

But how could he possibly escape at this point?

Uzi slammed down on Xiaohu, forcing him back into position, and said sternly, "No, you have to practice! You don't want to hold us back in tomorrow's match, do you?"

Holding someone back?

Upon hearing this, Xiao Hu gritted his teeth and picked up the mouse and keyboard.

Damn it, let's practice!

SOLO begins.

The first hero I need to practice is Yasuo.

Chen Dongqing doesn't actually play Yasuo very often; he usually picks him as a counter to Gnar.

However, the scene of Chen Dongqing using Yasuo to get a pentakill in Chicago during the quarterfinals in 2016 is still fresh in the minds of all the players present, and no one doubts his Yasuo skills.

And so began a humiliating beating.

While Chen Dongqing was slinging Xiao Hu around and beating him, he also started giving him instructions.

Chen Dongqing first controlled the minion wave to the tower, and waited for Xiaohu's Conqueror status to disappear. Just as the third wave of minions arrived, he used his E skill to move forward, using the third wave of minions as a stepping stone to chase after him. Relying on the combat power advantage brought by Conqueror, he easily completed the first solo kill.

"No way, you're such an amateur. Yasuo's first power spike comes after he pushes the lane, using his E combo on the minions to chase down the enemy. You don't even know that?"

Without saying a word, Xiaohu started the second round.

"No, Yasuo can't just Q people directly, it will attract the minions' aggro. You have to Q people through minions. Oh dear, you Yasuo, I really can't say anything about it."

"Wait, are you really a professional mid laner? How could I steal three Qs in a row? And I was still at full health!"

"No way, you couldn't even predict my obvious EQ flash?"

"no."

Amidst Chen Dongqing's constant complaints, Xiaohu lost game after game.

The other contestants behind them couldn't bear to look at such a tragic scene.

Xiaohu's Yasuo might not be considered strong, but he's definitely not bad either. However, in front of Chen Dongqing, he's practically a toy.

Xiao Hu was so dizzy from the beating that he didn't even know who he was anymore.

Chen Dongqing was very understanding and let Xiao Hu digest the information on his own for a while before continuing his solo performance.

Xiaohu continued to lose game after game.

But it's clear that Xiaohu's Yasuo is gradually getting stronger.

The basic mistakes made in the previous games never happened again.

After playing countless games, Chen Dongqing finally said, "OK, your Yasuo is good enough now."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Hu finally couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief.

Actually, he hasn't won a single game yet, so that's fine, right?

"Not being able to beat me doesn't mean anything," Chen Dongqing laughed. "Beating BDD is enough. BDD's Yasuo is about the same level."

Xiao Hu scratched his head, unsure of what to say for a moment.

The other contestants were speechless for a moment.

BDD is an LCK champion mid laner, how can you say he's completely useless?

"Is the special training over?" Xiao Hu asked.

"Of course not." Chen Dongqing grinned. "Yasuo's gone, but we still have Irelia and Aatrox, right?"

Little Tiger felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave: "Huh???"

"Alright, alright, that's enough." Linko couldn't stand it anymore. "Xiaohu has a match tomorrow, don't mess with his mentality. If he breaks down, how will he play against BDD tomorrow?"

"Let's leave it at that." Chen Dongqing shook his head. "We'll talk about the rest of the special training later. As for Xiaohu's Yasuo, there shouldn't be any problem picking him tomorrow."

And so, today's special training has come to a temporary end.

Looking back at the scene before him, JackeyLove couldn't help but feel a chill of fear.

Being on the same team as Tree Bro means we'll have to solo him every day, right? That's terrifying!

"Is he always like this?" JackeyLove asked Doinb, who was standing next to him. "Has he ever soloed with you before?"

Doinb reflected on the days of 2016.

At that time, Kled had just been released, and Chen Dongqing simply said to him, "Big B, practice this hero, I think he's very suitable for you."

Then, it was gone.

You call me Big B, but you teach Little Tiger step by step, right?

Thinking of this, Doinb said coldly, "Heh, never."

JackeyLove turned his head to look over.

If it's not there, it's not there. Isn't that a good thing? What's with this strange sour smell?

After a night's rest, the day quickly came to July 7th.

The players from the four LPL teams stood backstage, waiting to go on stage.

Standing backstage, Chen Dongqing could clearly hear the surging cheers coming from the audience not far away!

The Asian Games are being held at the Dalian Sports Center Gymnasium, which has a maximum capacity of 1.8 people and is currently fully occupied!

"Alright, welcome to the 2018 Asian Games!" LPL's official tournament host, Ren Dong, strode onto the stage and shouted in his deep voice, "This is Dalian, China!"

Nearly 20,000 spectators applauded and cheered, adding to the excitement of the opening ceremony of this intercontinental competition!

"Last year, LPL emerged victorious at the inaugural Rift Rivals, ascending to the pinnacle of Asia. Now, we participate in the second Rift Rivals as the host nation and defending champions!"

"Next, let's welcome the team to the stage!!!"

Ren Dong shouted, and then introduced the seeds one by one, starting with the fourth seed.

"First up is the fourth seed from the LCK region, who finished fourth in the Spring Split—SKT!"

The SKT team, led by Faker, slowly walked onto the stage and stood tall.

It's safe to say that SKT really messed up this year; fourth place is their worst result in the Spring Split in recent years.

Looking at Huni in the top lane and Blank in the jungle, everyone thought that this team was probably beyond saving.

According to the Spring Split rules, during the group stage, SKT will face off against the fourth seeds from LMS and LPL in turn to accumulate points for their respective regions.

Ren Dong quickly continued shouting, inviting SKT's opponents onto the stage as well.

MAD from the LMS region.

And the fourth-place finisher from the host LPL region – EDG.

Scout, the current core player of EDG, adjusted his glasses and went on stage with his teammates.

The moment EDG entered the stage, the cheers from the audience suddenly grew louder, and many people applauded in celebration.

Scout looked quite serious, and he had made up his mind.

Although EDG won the championship alongside LPL at last year's Rift Rivals, they failed to gain the approval of the audience.

There's really nothing else to it, mainly because EDG lost both the group stage and the finals.

There's a saying that goes, "Winning isn't scary, but it's embarrassing if someone is missing."

I thought everyone else was pretty good, so why did you fall short?

With this record, even if EDG hadn't gone to Kaohsiung last year and instead played against the other three teams, with EDG automatically forfeiting in matches, LPL could still have won last year.

Chun Chun is suspected of participating in the Intercontinental Championship.

This year, Scout is determined to change that!

Immediately afterwards, Ren Dong invited the three fourth-place finishers off the stage, and then invited the third-place, second-place, and champion finishers from the three competition areas all back onto the stage!

At this point, you can directly see the rankings of the top four teams in the spring season of the three regions.

The LMS teams are: FW, FRX, M17, and MAD.

LCK consists of: KZ, KT, AFS, and SKT.

Finally, Ren Dong shouted, "Alright, in closing, let's welcome the LPL Spring Split champions! QG!!!"

The order of appearances was arranged so that QG would be saved for last as the grand finale, and the entire audience was waiting for this moment.

Ren Dong elongated the team name QG, causing the nearly 20,000 audience members to erupt in cheers!

Hearing the cheers, Chen Dongqing strode into the venue with a smile and waved to the audience below the stage.

It's worth noting that Chen Dongqing hasn't played for more than half a month.

Countless spectators in the audience stared wide-eyed, finally seeing their beloved Brother Shu on the big screen, and the cheers reached an even higher level!

[Holy crap! A tree!]

[Sister Wang is back!]

[So, Brother Shu only plays in crucial matches now, and he doesn't even care about playing in the regular season anymore, he's going straight to the Intercontinental Cup.]

[The main problem is that playing three games at the same time is too much for even an iron man.]

It will be better after the Asian Games.

On the other two sides of the venue, Flash Wolves and KZ watched QG take the stage, their expressions complex.

They all recalled the MSI not long ago, where QG swept through the competition, achieving a sixteen-game winning streak to win the championship.

Those were truly painful memories.

Once all twelve teams from the three regions have taken the stage, this year's Asian Games will officially begin!

The opening performance was, of course, given that it was our host country's number one seed who was in charge.

Chen Dongqing didn't leave the stage at all. He stayed on the stage, looked at the KZ members who also didn't leave the stage, and grinned.

Hello again, Dragon Ball.

Ren Dong shouted "Let's all look forward to seeing who will reach the pinnacle of Asia!" before turning and walking away.

Chen Dongqing turned around, sat down, quickly logged into his competition account, opened a custom mode, and checked his peripherals and game settings.

Xiaohu sat back down in his chair, switched to training mode, and played a round with Yasuo, reviewing the results of last night's special training.

Xiao Hu slid around in training mode for a bit, but still felt unsatisfied. A fan of pre-match solos, he hesitated for two seconds, then turned to Shu Ge and said, "Hey Shu, wanna have a solo match?"

Even last-minute cramming can be effective, and both sides want to put some pressure on themselves before the competition.

The people backstage at LPL listened to the team's voice chat and were at a loss for words.

Are you suffering from PTSD from all this torture? Didn't you get enough torture last night?

Chen Dongqing raised an eyebrow and said decisively, "Come on, let's finish this quickly!"

Chen Dongqing quickly engaged in a simple Yasuo solo match with Xiaohu.

Both players moved incredibly fast this time. As soon as the minion wave appeared, they used [Steel Slash] to trade blows and whittle down the enemy's health.

Unfortunately, just like before, Xiaohu's health inexplicably fell behind as the fight progressed.

Then they made sounds like "Holy crap!" and "Wow, how come your Q is so accurate!"

Although the other LPL players backstage couldn't see the screen, they could tell from the sound that Xiaohu was definitely going to lose again.

As expected, Chen Dongqing quickly seized an opportunity, and Yasuo, with the wind at his back, used his E skill to dash in.

Xiaohu didn't dare to take the EQ combo, so he could only flash away. But Chen Dongqing was on the second level, so he didn't use EQ at all, but instead used a regular EA.

After Xiaohu used Flash to create distance, he used E on a minion followed by Q Flash, executing a smooth EQ Flash to knock Xiaohu into the air. He then followed up with his ultimate and a basic attack upon landing, securing a solo kill.

Despite being defeated once again, Xiao Hu was not discouraged this time. Instead, he withdrew from the competition with a smile.

It must be said that stress training is indeed effective.

After being tortured once, he's in amazing shape now!

Just then, the referee in the back announced that the match could begin.

Finally, Khan, the top laner from the blue side, clicked "Start Game," and the draft phase officially began!

(End of this chapter)