[Esports] Team Leader Xie, your mid laner is causing trouble again.

The two parted ways at the bathroom door. When Li Zhi came out again, Ice was leaning on the sink, staring at herself in the mirror, lost in thought.

Water droplets slid down his chin, indicating that he had just washed his face.

Li Zhi walked over, turned on the tap and started washing her hands. Through the reflection in the mirror, she could see that Ice seemed to be in a bad state.

He paused for a moment before saying, "Anything is possible. Try your best next time. You'll never know if the outcome will change until you give it your all."

Ice anticipated that Li Zhi would initiate the conversation. Looking at Li Zhi's profile in the mirror, he suddenly smiled:

"To encourage one's own opponent?"

Li Zhi dried her hands, turned around and leaned against the edge of the sink: "No, if I had to say something, it would be that I really admire your gaming talent."

Ice chuckled again, a self-deprecating smile playing on her lips: "Is that so? But no matter how talented I am, I'm unlikely to be the champion tonight."

Li Zhi tilted her head and looked over: "You've already given up before the game is even over?"

Ice paused for two seconds, then lowered his eyes: "The team's damage output isn't good today."

The words were spoken in a veiled manner, but Li Zhi understood them.

The biggest test for a dual-C team is the feel and form of the two core players during the game.

UUC has always placed the marksman in the core damage output position, but today 369 was clearly out of form, and was the first to be killed in several key team fights.

He hesitated for a moment, but still asked the question that had been lingering in his mind:

"I heard you were really good at playing assassin mages before... why don't you deal damage yourself?"

Ice gave a wry smile and shook her head.

In an era dominated by utility mages, no club would allow a player who wants to play assassin mage to be in the starting lineup.

He admired Li Zhi and respected his courage to stay true to himself in this version, while he had given up much earlier.

"That was two years ago, and I'm afraid I don't have that mindset anymore."

Ice washed her hands, turned around and walked out first, but paused at the door:

"If I want the championship and the team's success, I have to give up that part of myself. But Lychee, I hope you can keep staying true to yourself. Esports needs people like you."

After saying that, he left first, his footsteps fading into the distance at the end of the corridor.

Li Zhi remained where she was, staring at the ground in silence for a few seconds.

He recalled how he used to stare blankly at the screen in the training room late at night, and how he could only fall asleep after each training session by checking his past performance records. He had almost lost his way.

In the esports world, results are extremely important.

It's so heavy it can bend a person's spine, forcing them to gradually cut away their original shape in their pursuit of victory.

But he is determined to carve out his own path within these numerous rules and frameworks.

At the end of the corridor, the door to the lounge was ajar, letting in warm yellow light.

Li Zhi exhaled and walked towards the light.

The break was short, and the contestants quickly returned to the stage.

In the match point game, UUC was noticeably more cautious during the draft phase.

Shi Kai stood behind the contestant, his brows furrowed. After whispering a few words of advice to 369, he finally locked in Lie Yu.

A marksman with built-in mobility and a shield has extremely strong survivability, which is obviously a compromise made for 369's performance tonight.

Ice picked the utility mage Qinghe, who has both wave clear speed and team fight poke ability, while Chi Lie chose Shadow Blade.

Judging from the lineup, UUC plans to let the bottom lane fend for itself and focus all its efforts on the mid and jungle duo in this game.

On RAK's side, Liang Shoucheng asked, "Take Cassius? He can also play a mid-jungle duo."

Li Zhi paused for two seconds, glanced at the opposing team's lineup, and then spoke:

"Coach, I want to play with Firefly."

Ying, a popular hero in the Master Tournament, has a core mechanic that allows her to become invisible and attach herself to teammates.

They have long reach and are good at kiting, but due to their inconsistent damage output, they are rarely seen in professional leagues.

Jiang Xingle was the first to become alert: "Lychee, although I've taken advantage of you for two games, I still have to remind you, this is the final match point game. Have you ever played Ying before?"

Kuriyuki immediately pre-selected Hotaru and snorted, "Just wait and see, you'll get another win."

Liang Shoucheng frowned and thought for a few seconds, then tapped his fingers lightly twice on the training notebook.

As a coach, he knows the depth of each player's hero pool and knows that Li Zhi can play well, so he doesn't pick blindly.

After a two-second silence, he nodded: "I've thought about it, and it seems feasible. Are you sure you want to take it?"

Li Zhi immediately locked the lock: "Don't worry, the captain and I are old partners."

Xie Jichuan chuckled softly beside him.

Jiang Xingle: "Old partners? When did you guys secretly start practicing this combination?"

Xie Jichuan: "Back in the youth training team, it was a fixed combination."

Jiang Xingle then realized what was happening and immediately chuckled:

"Looks like UUC is going to lose again this round."

At the start of the game, Chi Lie played extremely fiercely with his Shadow Blade.

With Qinghe's quick wave clear, Xie Jichuan's Dark Fang was forced into the jungle, and the enemy invaded twice to steal the blue buff.

At the same time, Ice's Qinghe skill has an extremely high hit rate, completely exposing Ying's early-game weakness.

Pepsi's tone in the commentary booth carried a hint of worry:

"UUC's mid-jungle synergy was too tight in this game. RAK's early game rhythm was clearly suppressed. Ying's early game damage is really limited. If they can't get their items, RAK will be in big danger this game."

Coca-Cola was equally nervous: "The hero Ying has too many unpredictable factors. Will Lychee show us a different playstyle?"

Within the game, UUC continues to exert pressure.

Chi Lie's Shadow Blade invaded Xie Jichuan's jungle again, this time pushing even deeper than the previous two times, almost stepping into the bushes of RAK's second tower.

He was betting that Xie Jichuan would choose to save his life and give up farming jungle camps because of the early disadvantage.

But as soon as he stepped into the grass, a pale blue arc of light appeared on his body.

Ying possessed An Ya's body and silently squatted down beside Xie Jichuan.

Chi Lie reacted extremely quickly, using his displacement ability to retreat, but Xie Jichuan's Dark Fang had already closed in.

With Dark Fang's passive stacked to three layers and the added continuous burning from Firefly, Chi Lie's health was reduced to almost zero in just two seconds.

Even after using his mobility skill, he was still accurately killed by Kuriyuki's long-range bullet.

Xie Jichuan: "Chi Lie is gone, we can push the bottom lane."

Jiang Xingle and Ling Wang immediately pushed back the minion wave in the bottom lane, pinning 369 under the tower and preventing him from moving.

UUC's tense early game rhythm was disrupted, but their counterattack was equally fierce.

Ice once again coordinated with Chi Lie to launch another mid-jungle gank, this time targeting Ling Wang.

Qinghe's control skill hit first, Chilie's Shadow Blade cut in from the side, and Lingwang's Purify was half a second too slow, so Ice finished him off with a combo.

UUC capitalized on the opportunity to secure the dragon, widening the economic gap back to 1,500.

Chi Lie and Ice's teamwork was visibly seamless, which suggests they practiced for quite some time.

Twenty minutes later, UUC's five players gathered and pushed down the middle lane.

Ice used her control skill, and Li Zhi silently possessed her and became invisible, disappearing from sight.

Chi Lie searched for his target in the crowd, but could not find Ying's location.

Three seconds later, Ying detached from Dark Fang and landed diagonally behind UUC's back row, interrupting Ice's casting with a precise shot.

Immediately following up with Ying's ultimate skill, the continuous area damage bloomed in the UUC formation, forcing 369 to use his shield and Flash, and Ice's health was reduced to below half.

Xie Jichuan's Dark Fang seized the opportunity to cut in, first killing Ice, then chasing 369.

But Chi Lie did not retreat. Instead of chasing after the low-health enemy, he cut into RAK's backline.

Shadow Blade's blade precisely hooked onto Ling Wang, unleashing a burst of damage that brought him to near-death before finishing him off.

In a team fight, both sides traded one for two, with neither gaining a clear advantage.

As the game progressed into the later stages, RAK's lineup advantages became increasingly apparent.

However, UUC's tenacious counterattack from the mid and jungle slowed down RAK's push pace by two waves.

Xie Jichuan: "No rush, the Dragon Regiment is coming."

The game had dragged on to the final Baron fight. UUC had the terrain advantage, and Ice and Chi Lie ganked Ling Wang from two sides.

Li Zhi's firefly detached from An Ya and possessed Ling Wang half a second later, allowing Ling Wang to absorb Ice's burst of power without dying.

Xie Jichuan seized this opportunity and set his sights on Chi Lie.

The two junglers clashed at the edge of the dragon pit, their health bars dropping simultaneously. In the final blow, Xie Jichuan gained a passive shield and killed Chi Lie with a sliver of health remaining.

It's a major taboo for the jungler to die first in a dragon fight.

RAK rightfully won the Baron Nashor, and with all the buffs combined, they won the team fight in a 5v4 situation.

The moment the crystal exploded, the words "RAK 3:0 UUC" on the big screen illuminated the entire stadium.

Pepsi almost cracked his voice:

"A clean sweep! RAK achieved a clean sweep in the finals! This is the first clean sweep in WPL finals history!"

Coca-Cola followed suit: "This is RAK! This is our new force! Let's congratulate RAK on becoming the champions this season!"

The cheers from the audience were like a tsunami, and golden ribbons poured down from above the stage, landing on the five people.

Li Zhi took off his headphones, and the belated excitement finally surged up like a tide, enveloping him completely.

Before he could react, Jiang Xingle, who was closest to him, grabbed him and hugged him tightly.

Jiang Xingle's voice was hoarse from shouting, but she was still screaming desperately, "Captain! Ling Wang! Cheng Yi! Come quick!"

The next second, Li Zhi felt his feet leave the ground as the four people together threw him into the air.

Golden ribbons floated down from above, and the lights made his eyes a little blurry.

My ears were filled with the excited shouts of my teammates and the deafening "RAK! RAK! RAK" echoing throughout the stadium.

He laughed out loud in mid-air, but his eyes involuntarily stung, and his voice spread out amidst the cheers:

"We are the champions!"

Then he fell into a warm and broad embrace.

Xie Jichuan caught him steadily, tightened his arms, and spun him around in place.

Golden sequins fell densely on the two people's hair and shoulders, as if they were draped in a layer of scorching gold.

Li Zhi looked up and met a pair of smiling eyes.

Xie Jichuan looked down at him, his eyes reflecting the lights of the arena and Li Zhi's face. His voice was enveloped by the cheers, yet each word clearly reached his ears:

"Yes, we are the champions."