She chose the strategy with the most bullet comments.

"Thanks so much, Brother Mu and Sister Wei, for helping us win without lifting a finger. I'm treating you to dinner tonight, I promise you'll eat until you're stuffed!"

"Oh? But we'll have to ask Coco first."

"She'll definitely say yes, we beat RT, RT!" Deng Jiayu's eyes sparkled, as if they held countless little stars.

Before this, RT had a three-game winning streak, and all of them were opponents they couldn't beat in three games. Even a two-to-one victory against them would be something to brag about for a long time.

"Let's go shake hands with the RT fans."

As Su Mu and the others moved to the other side of the stage, the two commentators in the commentary booth were also sharing their thoughts on the best-of-three series.

Luan Ming's face showed amazement as he stared intently at the vibrant young women on the stage.

"WLD's overall level far exceeded everyone's expectations. Before the competition, 70% of people favored RT, and WLD's ability to secure 30% of the support was largely due to the success of Su Mu and Xiao Wei."

"Long-time viewers will understand, but for new viewers, let me explain: Su Mu and Xiao Wei had already accumulated a large fan base before becoming professional players, including not only League of Legends players but also many music fans;"

"Their singles 'Chasing Dreams with a Pure Heart,' 'The Unknown,' and their cover of 'Boundless Oceans, Vast Skies' still firmly occupy the top ten of the hit song charts, attracting their fans to learn about League of Legends in a different way."

"It's fair to say that without these two groups of fans, WLD's approval rating would probably only be a pitiful 10%..."

Jian Yun picked up where she left off, remarking with emotion, "But this team, built around the mid-laner of the national university champion team, has three completely new players on the other side."

"They defeated RT, led by Youzi, a legendary player who has won three championships and has made a very successful transition to League of Legends!"

"Judging from these three matches, the five young female players of WLD, who are called 'Thorn Flowers' by fans, may not have reached their limit yet, and have a lot of room for growth."

Jian Yun's words are true. Not to mention Su Mu and Bai Wei, of the other three, only Yan Hua has youth training experience. Deng Jiayu and Yi Lian were recruited from the international server by Liu Keke and Xu Jing.

This is no secret; Liu Keke revealed this during an interview with the WLD coaching staff.

When it was confirmed that Deng Jiayu and another player were both ranked outside the top 5,000 in the international server, countless people admired the WLD coaching team's boldness.

While others are looking for coaches ranked in the top 700 or 800, the WLD coaching staff is different; they're looking for coaches ranked over 5,000.

What's even more astonishing is that this new bot lane duo is quite strong. Aside from their aggressive style that often results in them dying, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to describe their performance as commendable.

The combination of the versatile Su Bai duo, along with a human shield top laner, created a formidable unit that surprisingly unleashed its full potential.

In short, WLD has something to say, and its future is promising.

After evaluation by the referee team, the MVP of this match was awarded to Bai Wei's Kindred.

"That makes sense. Actually, both mid and jungle could have gotten MVP. That 2v5 at the Baron pit was crucial; we couldn't have done it without either of them."

"Now, Summoners, the post-match interviews are ready. Let's turn our cameras to the interview table."

……

The MVP was supposed to go on stage for an interview, but Bai Wei had already done so in the previous match, so it was Deng Jiayu's turn as usual.

Liu Keke was worried about Deng Jiayu's somewhat unruly personality off the field, so she asked Su Mu to accompany her and keep an eye on her.

Su Mu is a highly popular contestant, and the competition organizers would definitely not refuse him unless they were completely out of their minds.

"Welcome to the post-match interview. I'm your host, Yunyi. We're fortunate to have WLD's mid and support players here to say hello to everyone."

The beginnings are all rather pointless self-introductions and expressions of joy after winning the game.

Then, there's the real-time thought process, ideas, decisions, and so on, during key team fights in the three matches.

"That arrow in the third round wasn't just a flash of inspiration from Lian, but was directed by Brother Mu. The tone of her voice when she spoke was so cool!" Deng Jiayu's pupils seemed to turn into stars, making no attempt to hide her admiration.

"What did Sumu say back then?" Yunyi asked curiously, following up on the conversation.

"At that moment, Brother Mu was like a great general in ancient times, strategizing and commanding on the battlefield. With a signal, he uttered two simple yet powerful words—"

At this point, Deng Jiayu tried hard to recall Su Mu's tone at the time, and solemnly imitated it, saying, "Release the arrows!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the female fans in the audience immediately screamed.

Su Mu and Liu Keke backstage both smiled helplessly; this guy was exaggerating again.

"Wow, then we can look forward to the official release of the players' mic frenzy tonight. So, one last question, do you two have anything you want to say to the Thorns fans?"

“Hmm…” Su Mu hesitated, and just as he was about to raise the microphone, Deng Jiayu spoke first.

"I protest against the name 'thorn powder'."

"Oh?" Yunyi glanced sideways. "Why?"

"The reason is simple: aren't my brother Mu and sister Wei beautiful? One is dashing and heroic, the other is gentle and captivating. Although Lian and Yan Hua are a bit ordinary, their personalities and appearances have nothing to do with thorns. Not to mention me, a super cute twin-tailed beauty who, while not as good as brother Mu and sister Wei, is just as adorable~"

"How can you call us five beautiful roses thorns? Can we exchange them... Waaah—"

Before Deng Jiayu could finish speaking, Su Mu promptly pulled a piece of chewing gum from his pocket, unwrapped it, and stuffed it into her mouth.

"...We understand what our fans mean. The flower language of thorns is an untamed and strong soul. No matter how harsh the environment, it is difficult to stop them from blooming. Thank you for calling yourselves thorn fans. May everyone stay true to themselves. Thank you."

Su Mu slowly put down the microphone.

188. The Change from Using War to Sustain War

As the buzz surrounding WLD's victory over RT in China swept across the country, and the Bloodseeker Mordekaiser build began to appear in various ranks on the international server, many teams in several major international regions received a package of data.

Those were three matches between WLD and RT, including video recordings, player analyses, and more.

There's a lot of content, but the level of detail varies.

RT Esports Club is like the two musical giants, already attracting a huge amount of attention. Every game in the LOL professional league, win or lose, is studied by foreign teams.

Upon learning of RT's first defeat, some teams were initially surprised at how they lost. However, after reviewing the match records and learning who WLD's mid and jungle players were, their surprise gradually faded.

It turns out they were those two top players from the international server who had kept their identities a secret for so long. Oh well, it's alright now.

Of course, not all teams knew that Su Mubaiwei had signed with WLD, and were quite unfamiliar with those two IDs.

After studying this BO3, some teams went on to review all of WLD's other matches, and the more they reviewed, the more they felt that this team was difficult to deal with.

Ingenious tactics, unconventional playing styles and strategies, and well-defined teamwork...

Money talks, and the more financially powerful a club is, the higher its chances of attracting talented players. This is a universal truth in esports.

Internationally, RT is known as one of the established powerhouses in the Chinese esports scene. WLD, who managed to defeat them in a League of Legends tournament, can be said to have initially qualified as a strong team.

If WDL does represent LPL in the future, they could be a very troublesome opponent that needs to be taken seriously.

Foreign teams study WLD, and naturally, WLD's coaching staff will also study them.

A week after winning against RT, the coaching staff has gained two more people: an assistant coach and another analyst, which can lighten the burden on Liu Keke and Xu Jing.

Liu Keke regrets that she still cannot find a decent substitute. After consideration, she gives up on this idea and instead sets out to build a youth training camp.

Most teams have youth training camps, and WLD is no exception, but their League of Legends division doesn't...

If all goes well, we might be able to discover promising new talent through this route.

Days passed, and the summer season was halfway through, but WLD did not perform as well as fans had expected.

……

Su Mu and his five companions followed a schedule that had been adjusted multiple times, keeping a low profile and maintaining a fairly regular routine on days without matches.

I get up at 9 AM to exercise and eat a nutritious meal. In the morning, I practice in five-player squads on the international server. I have an hour's rest at noon. In the afternoon, I schedule practice matches with other teams; if not, I continue playing on the international server. From 4 PM to 6 PM, I review the day's training.

We eat and rest from 6 to 7 pm, then start live streaming from 8 pm to 11 pm, after which we have free time.

The schedule wasn't originally that tight, but as the competition progressed smoothly, even though Su Mu and his five teammates were cooperating better and better, they still couldn't win every match.

Teams with the potential to secure a spot in the LPL are not to be underestimated. The more matches you play, the more your opponents will study you, making it easier to find weaknesses and target them.

To put it bluntly, it's about exploiting information asymmetry. What you think is a viable strategy is practically transparent to others, making it easy for them to counter.

For example, the opponent might exploit the aggressive play of Yi Lian and his partner in the bottom lane, and take advantage of Yan Hua's weakness in offense but strong defense, to create an opening in the top lane.

Even Bai Wei's rhythm would be disrupted due to Su Mu being relentlessly targeted.

Needless to say, Su Mu is even worse off. Once she is targeted and rendered ineffective, she will only have a chance if Bai Wei takes on the core role in the later stages.

In the bottom lane, you often die suddenly. (Neighbor)

In many of the games they lost, Su Mu bore the brunt of the pressure, resulting in his teammates getting caught out and feeding the enemy team in team fights. (Qi)

Yes, I'm talking about the bottom lane. (Dove)

Everyone is making progress; according to the theory of canyon relativity, the one who isn't is essentially regressing.

After losing three best-of-three series, WLD discovered many previously unseen hidden problems.

Liu Keke finally made up her mind to conduct special training targeting the players' weaknesses. These shortcomings were as serious as a skilled player's hero being banned – instantly dropping from a high rank to a low rank. This couldn't be allowed to continue.

This is also why Su Mu and the others' schedules are becoming increasingly tight; high-intensity training has both advantages and disadvantages.

The advantage is that it is becoming more and more adaptable to dynamic game versions, and with Su Mu having hidden advantages, it can undoubtedly lead all teams in this aspect.

With an expanded hero pool, players can utilize a wider variety of team compositions, and their weaknesses in areas where they are not proficient are gradually being addressed.

The downsides are certainly not negligible.

Prolonged high-intensity training, unpredictable adjustment periods, and a life that feels much like working on an assembly line can lead to psychological exhaustion.

This applies not only to the players but also to the coaching staff.

The newly arrived analyst, Jiang Mingshi, is not only responsible for the project advancement of the youth training camp, but also has to make corresponding adjustments to the direction based on the athletes' training indicators, taking on some of Xu Jing's responsibilities.

Needless to say, the workload of the two coaches is almost doubled with the adoption of the dynamic version of the competition. If it weren't for Su Mu being able to share some of the burden, and the fact that the new assistant coach He Lin has some unique insights, they would probably be even more exhausted.

From the players to the coaching staff, almost everyone was under such immense pressure. How could they not be exhausted?

In the process of competing with opponents to see who can improve faster, developing and refining different playing styles is undoubtedly quite grueling and unstable.

In the second half of the regular season, it was already quite an achievement for WLD to maintain a winning record with fewer losses.

Fortunately, the changes in the players are quite encouraging. Yan Hua can start to pick some carry heroes, and the bottom lane has also reduced the number of times they get caught out and die. They have even started to use some functional combinations to adapt to the current meta.

Effort doesn't guarantee a reward, but without effort, there is definitely no reward.

After a stunning shutout victory against a team ranked in the middle of the standings, Liu Keke realized that the changes she had made during this period had yielded initial results.

It was this victory that allowed WLD to secure a spot in the later stages of the playoffs if they won just one more BO3 match.

Because there is no double-elimination format, the later stages of the tournament are like the difference between the qualifying rounds and the group stage in the World Championship, giving them an inherent advantage of playing 1-2 fewer BO5 matches.

"Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown." WLD is currently firmly in third place in the LPL standings, and its entry into the playoffs is a foregone conclusion. However, there are still many who want to take its place, all in order to gain an advantage from the start.

The next BO3 opponent, DTG, should not be underestimated; their current record is 10-4.

If WLD wins this crucial BO3, even if they lose the remaining two matches, they will still have to play two fewer BO5 matches based on the point differential.

189. Bathhouse

A passenger plane landed smoothly at Xi'an Xianyang International Airport. The WLD team went straight to their hotel for the away game. After a brief meeting, the players spontaneously began training.

Liu Keke stood behind Su Mu and the others, walking slowly. Looking at their expressions, she couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

Their underlying mental state was quite tense, except for Su Mu, who seemed to be fine.

Fortunately, Su Mu was there to stabilize the contestants' mentality when they encountered setbacks; otherwise, it wouldn't have been so easy for them to get to where they are now, and there would definitely have been many variables along the way.

Becoming a top esports team is a much, much harder road than you might imagine…

Liu Keke understands that veteran players who sign contracts with higher fees have their advantages, while newcomers, although they also have their advantages, are objectively less stable.

Newcomers have to endure the brutal competition, which tests their perseverance, mentality, and courage to keep going.

The coaching team has certainly put in a tremendous amount of effort to get to this point, but the players have been the ones who have worked the hardest.

Especially Su Mu... Don't be fooled by her seemingly unaffected appearance. As someone who's been through it all, Liu Keke understands that Su Mu is simply taking on most of the negative feedback to alleviate the pressure on her teammates.

As the core and soul of the team, she cannot be allowed to have any problems in any aspect; she is the one who works the hardest.

Since we've come this far, let's hang in there a little longer...

Everything requires a balance of relaxation and moderation, but for athletes who are under constant high pressure these days, this concept is completely irrelevant.

It seems that after this game, win or lose, we need to take the players out to relax. Otherwise, if they can't release the negative emotions and pressure they've accumulated, it will be too easy for problems to arise in the playoffs.

Liu Keke made up her mind.

……

After dinner.

"Stop training, everyone. You can do whatever you want with the rest of the time, just go to bed on time." Liu Keke stopped Su Mu from calling the others to continue preparing for tomorrow's competition.

Everyone seemed a bit off, and she had a feeling that something might go wrong if they continued practicing.

Xu Jing glanced at Liu Keke without saying anything, but deep down she agreed.