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

The countdown to the ban/pick phase began. Liang Shoucheng flipped through two pages of the training team's summary, his brow furrowed slightly. After careful consideration, he spoke:

"First, ban two of Fish's engage supports, then help Star pick Heart of the Storm first to block Fish's heroes."

Shouxin is HY's most commonly used initiation support.

Although Ji Yu usually acts carefree and irresponsible, when it comes to team support skills, he is a formidable player ranked among the top in the WPL.

In the current version, the outcome of a match depends more on the support, so locking down Fish is the best option.

In terms of draft picks, the coach's words always take precedence. After Jiang Xingle locked in Guardian, it was HY's turn to pick a hero.

HY's first two bans were for Jhin and Owl.

Jiang Xingle sarcastically remarked into the earpiece: "This wave of respect for Lychee and River is off the charts. When will I ever be feared like this by the other side?"

Liang Shoucheng was standing right behind him. Upon hearing this, he raised his hand and tapped him on the head:

"There's no need to ban those heroes of yours. Letting you practice initiating team fights would be like doing you a disservice."

Jiang Xingle pouted and retorted in a low voice, "We used to be pretty strong, okay? It's all because of the game version update that we were kicked into the gutter."

He was telling the truth; when he first debuted, the "nanny-style" support role was all the rage.

He played with incredible skill; whenever the game was going well, under his protection, almost no teammates would die in team fights.

Unfortunately, times have changed, and now he has begun to practice team support skills to adapt to the current version.

Although their performance was among the best, they still had a gap compared to top players like Fish who specialize in initiating team fights.

The countdown ended, and HY selected Shadow Blade as jungler and Gale as support.

Everyone in RAK was stunned, and Jiang Xingle stared wide-eyed in disbelief:

"Fish picked Gale? A hero even worse than a support/nanny type?"

Not only them, but the entire scene was in uproar.

The two commentators exchanged glances, and Pepsi spoke first, her tone clearly showing surprise:

"It's been almost two years since I've seen the hero Gale in WPL."

Ke Ke chimed in, "Yes, although Lie Feng made some adjustments to the hero's attributes recently, this is the first time he's appeared on the professional stage after the update."

Liang Shoucheng stabilized the situation and reassured the troops:

"I've heard that HY is developing new tactics, maybe they have a different way of playing. I'm not afraid, innovation can always be risky."

Xie Jichuan pondered for two seconds, then added at the opportune moment: "The cooldowns of all of Gale's skills have been reduced, so be careful not to get caught by Fish."

The second half of the draft was much more conventional. Xie Jichuan picked Shiyue, Li Zhi chose Ye Ling, and Cheng Yi and Ling Wang, as usual, chose two tanking positions.

After the draft phase ended, the two coaches shook hands and the game began.

The lights dimmed, and the live footage of the battle began to play on the large screen on the stage.

Li Zhi wiggled her fingers and looked up at the hero portraits of the opposing OvO.

OvO picked Time Dial for mid lane this game. Its ultimate ability can revert the status of objects and characters within its range to the state of the hero 0.8 seconds ago.

The mechanics sound amazing, but the range is too small and the duration is too short, making it basically an unpopular hero in competitive play.

Li Zhi narrowed her eyes slightly, a bad feeling creeping into her heart.

Lie Feng and Shi Gui, two heroes who have been sitting on the sidelines for years, are suddenly brought out by HY. What is their strategy?

This completely unknown tactic made all the RAK members instinctively wary.

For the first five minutes, both sides were probing each other, neither daring to make a rash move.

Online skirmishes were rare, with junglers occasionally bumping into each other in the river before retreating.

Jiang Xingle lowered his voice in the earphone: "The other side is playing too steadily... It feels like they're holding back some big move."

Xie Jichuan's voice was calm and steady: "Take it easy, don't rush, first figure out what their new tactics are."

Li Zhi controlled Ye Ling to last-hit minions in the mid lane, her eyes never leaving the enemy OvO's Shi Gui.

The game character model was quietly swaying under the enemy tower, clearing lanes and moving in a standard and unremarkable manner.

But the more normal things seemed, the stronger the uneasy feeling in Li Zhi's heart became.

He pursed his lips, said nothing more, and simply sped up clearing the wave, going to support the bottom lane as he usually did in training.

He sent a signal on the minimap: "CY, pay attention to the minimap and the sundial's movement. I'm going to gank the enemy marksman."

Cheng Yi replied, "Received."

HY's jungler showed up in the top lane, and Ye Ling's support speed was extremely fast. In the bottom lane, it was a 3v2 situation, and this gank seemed to be advantageous no matter how you looked at it.

Li Zhi manipulated Ye Ling to crouch in the bushes, patiently waiting for Ji Yu to start the team fight.

But the fierce wind remained steady, pacing back and forth in front of the tower, unmoved.

With the minion wave about to push under the tower, it would be too late if we didn't act soon.

Jiang Xingle volunteered: "The strength of Gale is still too low. Fish probably won't dare to initiate a team fight easily. Let's go and get some health first."

Li Zhi responded with a sound.

Jiang Xingle immediately manipulated Shouxin to unleash a powerful crowd control skill, accurately controlling the opposing marksman and support.

Li Zhi waited for an opportunity to strike, and together with Ling Wang, they stepped forward to provide additional damage.

However, the moment the control ended, Gale suddenly broke free and unleashed his ultimate move.

A strong gust of wind suddenly rose from the ground, forcing the three RAK players back a short distance. Then, without looking back, Gale led his marksman back to the tower.

Seeing that no one had been killed, Li Zhi didn't linger and turned to leave.

"It's alright. I wasn't even thinking of killing him. Suppressing his condition is enough."

Ling Wang's confused voice came through the earpiece: "Did you choose Gale just to play a counter-attack like this? Then why not choose something else?"

Before the words were even finished, a kill announcement rang out crisply—"First Blood!"

Xie Jichuan cleanly and decisively took down HY's jungler, Xiao Ai, in the top lane.

While controlling Shiyue to return to the jungle to continue farming, he gave commands via voice chat:

"Stop thinking about it. Just keep playing according to the strategy used in the practice matches. Overthinking won't help."

Ling Wang immediately obeyed: "Yes, Captain."

Everything was proceeding steadily according to RAK's plan.

The two sides were evenly matched, and the game went on for fifteen minutes without any new kills.

The economic gap remains stubbornly narrow, like a stagnant pool that can't be stirred up no matter how hard you try.

Li Zhi tried to seize the initiative several times but failed to secure any kills. He wasn't used to playing in slow-paced games and was inevitably getting a little anxious.

"Once I get a big item, I can one-shot the enemy carry."

Jiang Xingle responded, "Okay, rain or shine, I'll be waiting for you on the road to sterilization!"

The second half of the sentence unexpectedly turned into a scream.

Two kill announcements sounded almost simultaneously:

【An ally has been slain! 】

[Enemy Double Kill!]

Ling Wang and Jiang Xingle both died at the foot of the tower.