She chose the strategy with the most bullet comments.

Two hours? It takes time to get to the venue, time to prepare for various things at the venue, and finally time to go on stage. Even an hour of practice time is too much.

Only Mu-ge is comparable to Yan Hua's Sword Demon; the difference in proficiency is very obvious.

This is so awesome! I just stood up and shouted: How can we lose two to zero?!

Hey, sit down, it's not too late to brag after we win the championship.

"That won't do. The Bluebirds are showing their true colors to the Koreans right now. Let's see if the Koreans dare to let Galio through in the third game."

Qun Yilin Yi Qi Si V Jiu Si Jiu […]

The WLD lounge wasn't filled with a cheerful atmosphere. Even though some people couldn't hide their happiness, they all listened to Su Mu's words and tried their best to remain calm.

In esports, never celebrate halfway through the game until the very end.

Su Mu is perhaps the person in the room who understands this golden rule best, having witnessed countless cases...

Slow down your mindset, stay calm, and treat the third game like a regular match.

"Alright, Yan Hua, don't blame yourself." Su Mu patted Yan Hua on the shoulder.

“But I still failed everyone’s trust…” Yan Hua pursed his lips and shook his head.

If it weren't for her teammates covering for her, her performance with Aatrox just now was, to put it bluntly, unworthy of winning; it gave off the vibe of someone relying on a powerful teammate to carry her.

"We won, how can we say we've let everyone down? Besides, now is not the time to blame ourselves; nobody wants to work overtime," Su Mu said with a smile.

"Oh dear, it's just a little trick. Apart from Sister Wei, who among us hasn't tricked Brother Mu? We've all gotten through it." Deng Jiayu hooked her arm around Yan Hua's neck.

“Now is definitely not the time to blame ourselves. Mu Mu is right, nobody wants to work overtime…” Bai Wei smiled and said, “Let’s discuss the third round instead.”

Yan Hua pursed his lips and nodded emphatically.

……

The atmosphere inside the DBZ lounge is completely different from that of WLD.

The air seemed heavy, and everyone in the lounge was silent, as if an invisible gloom was hanging over everyone's heads.

Yujiko glanced at the head coach out of the corner of her eye and saw her gloomy face. She didn't dare to breathe loudly, for fear of incurring a severe scolding.

Although she knew that the previous match wasn't her fault... frankly, everyone is partly to blame for losing a game.

"We've lost two games in a row..."

DBZ's head coach looked up, his gloomy expression impossible to conceal even with a mask.

Everyone remained silent.

"Nobody's going to say anything, huh? Fine, I'll talk."

DBZ's head coach suddenly stood up, his gloomy gaze sweeping over everyone.

"I didn't put any pressure on you guys after losing the first game, nor did I blame you at all. I just considered it a test to see what WLD was capable of. In the second game, I let you pick the heroes you wanted, just so you could get a feel for the game."

"You lost, and I didn't say anything when you came back, but why are you all silent and unable to analyze the problem?"

"Do you guys want to be tied to a truck by your fans and sunk into the Han River?! Huh?!"

Finally, DBZ's head coach slammed his hand on the table, the sudden loud noise startling everyone.

"First of all, Deadgun, why are you afraid every time Galio uses his ultimate and you don't dare to go up and kill people? If you were playing a champion that can only go in but not out, that would be one thing, but Akali, your best champion, the one you had the best feel for in the World Championship, how come you gave me this kind of performance?"

"KKZ, your ultimate is the only reliable initiator, not something you use to save your teammates every time. It's for engaging the core, do you even know who the core is in WLD?!"

"And you two in the bot lane, think twice before you make a move. Ieran, can you focus more on the mid lane? Is the pressure of laning against Kai'Sa and Rakan really that great? Have you forgotten that you're a support and need to pay close attention to the enemy's strongest mid laner?"

"And lastly, Yukiko, reflect on those two fatal missed ultimates in the last team fights!"

"What annoys me the most isn't that you lost two games in a row, but that you got more and more confused when you were being dominated. Did your brains just get messed up? If you're getting beaten, then find an opportunity and a way to fight back!"

"If you lose the will to win and the courage to get revenge, it doesn't matter what lineup or heroes you use, you'll still lose."

"Think about the third game that will start in just a few minutes, and think about the consequences of being swept by WLD, going down in history, and being remembered by the whole world!"

"The first team in the history of the League of Legends World Championship to be swept in the finals, there will be no predecessors to cover for you, and it is even unlikely that any successor will achieve such a result."

"How shameful it would be to be remembered by the whole world as a ridiculous loser!"

"If you don't want to be remembered this way, then show me the courage to fight with your back to the wall. There are mountains of knives and seas of fire behind you. Is there any room to retreat? Even if you have to step on spikes, you have to move forward. If you can't walk, then crawl. Even if you lose, at least you have to take a few pieces of WLD's flesh!"

"Did you understand?!"

The players, who had been thoroughly scolded by DBZ's head coach, especially those who had been utterly crushed by WLD in two consecutive games and were completely stunned, slightly raised their downcast faces.

They gritted their teeth and clenched their fists, roaring in almost unison.

"understand!"

Seeing the expressions on everyone's faces, DBZ's head coach realized that his long speech had not been in vain.

"Very well, there's no need for any more tactical discussions. Go do what you're supposed to do, and in a few minutes, bring your fighting spirit and be in top form when you go on stage to compete."

"..."

318. Mid-lane Aatrox

The scene of the game.

LPL commentary booth.

"Alright, everyone, welcome back! We are now in Seoul, South Korea, for the BO5 of the League of Legends S1 World Championship Finals!"

"WLD is currently leading 2-0, and they are just one win away from winning the first League of Legends world championship for an LPL team!"

"The ban/pick phase has begun, and it's quite different from the first six bans in the last round. DBZ is on the red side and has banned Galio, which Su Mu played exceptionally well in the last game."

"Since there's no way to deal with or counter it, banning it is a wise choice. WLD, seeing that they couldn't pick Galio, just shut down DBZ's flexible Akali. No problem."

"..."

DBZ's head coach stood behind Deadgun, staring at Aatrox's icon, hesitant as he saw that WLD's three bans had been confirmed.

Yukiko isn't afraid of playing Aatrox in the top lane, but what about in the mid lane?

What are the chances of Su Mu picking Aatrox in the mid lane?

"Coach, shouldn't Rakan be banned?" Deadgun asked.

His thoughts were interrupted. Recalling Deng Jiayu's brilliant assist to Luo, the DBZ head coach frowned and had no choice but to put aside his hesitation.

"Ban it."

Judging from Su Mu's match records, she rarely plays top lane champions in the mid lane; her most frequently used champion is Renekton.

Aatrox is a champion who needs to focus on farming in the early levels and then dominate once he levels up. The mid lane is short, and he may encounter long-range mages, so playing him in the mid lane doesn't offer much of an advantage.

There can't be such a monstrous talent in this world, right? Being able to play Galio is already the limit, adding another Aatrox would be excessive.

We can only gamble on one thing: that Su Mu won't take the Sword Demon even if he does, and even if he does, he won't know how to play it.

Of course, even if WLD picks Aatrox, it's most likely he'll let the top laner play it.

Although Yanhua had an explosive early game in the last game, he played flawlessly before making a mistake in the 1v1 laning phase. His team fight performance improved in the mid-game, which might give the WLD coach the illusion that he was effective with Aatrox.

At that time…

Before DBZ's head coach could finish thinking, he saw WLD lock down the Sword Demon on the first floor.

"..."

It's so annoying.

“I want to use Irelia,” Yukiko said.

"You guys quickly discuss what you want to use. If the top laner wants to play a carry role, someone in the other positions has to sacrifice."

"Can we pick Riel first when the countdown ends, and decide whether to jungle or support depending on the situation?" Ieran asked.

"can."

DBZ's head coach continues to ponder the future of Sword Demon.

Giving players advice on drafting and banning isn't important. I said before going on stage that I would give them most of the freedom in the last game. In the decisive game, I can only trust the players and let them choose the system they want.

In a brief half-minute, both Irelia and Riel were ultimately chosen.

WLD seemed to act without thinking, giving up the hero the moment DBZ picked up Riel. The two heroes confirmed their picks within a second, ending the first round of picking.

Kai'Sa, the Enchantress.

The former is no surprise, as Lian is a hot ADC player who can unleash his power with just two items.

The latter, however, attracted considerable attention and surprised many.

LeBlanc's current stats are abysmal; she wasn't even buffed in patch 2.17. Picking her before DBZ has even confirmed his mid laner is likely to be a bitter pill to swallow.

"Trust Su Mu. The fact that she dared to pick the Enchantress on the final stage shows that she is confident in herself," Luan Ming's voice rang out.

"Now there are quite a few mid laners who play LeBlanc, including a few who are strong in the current version."

"The most likely candidate is Yong... Oh? Lissandra... It's confirmed!"

"Lissandra is indeed a good matchup against LeBlanc. She has an advantage in lane control and teamfight utility, and her overall strength is pretty good in the current version. She is a top choice for a support mid laner, but now there are more carry mid laners."

"..."

When the DBZ members saw this LeBlanc pick, they all secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

With LeBlanc appearing, it means that Aatrox can only be played in the top lane.

This hero can be played in various ways: AP burst damage, AD burst damage, or even the now-difficult-to-play Statikk Shiv build. The gameplay styles have been thoroughly explored.

It's not the known strength of an opponent that we should fear, but the unknown strength.

In the second round of the draft, after the four ban phase was over, KKZ decided to pick Camille jungle, a champion he also knew how to play, in order to counter LeBlanc even more effectively.

Alistar and Gragas have already been banned, leaving very few junglers who can counter Camille's ultimate.

KKZ stared intently at the siren's image, recalling many things.

The scenes of being crushed and toyed with in the first two games, and even the humiliating defeat when I first encountered her in the international server, all flashed through my mind like a movie replay.

"Su Mu, your days of using all sorts of bizarre heroes to mess with people's mentality are over! Now obediently accept my revenge!"

The thought flashed through his mind, and he locked up the blind monk on the fourth floor of WLD.

Ha, the blind monk?

This version is too weak and not difficult to deal with, so let's reveal the support hero as well.

With Rakan gone and Alistar gone, the only viable champions left to pair well with Kai'Sa are Titan and the like.

Their lineup this game isn't afraid of Titan. The ADC can stay in the counter position, and they can decide what to pick based on WLD's support.

With the same mindset, everyone in DBZ kept a close eye on the fifth floor of WLD.

When the hero's portrait appeared, before they could even frown, the doubt on their faces instantly turned into astonishment.

Lock down Malphite directly?

No... you're using this as a support?

Is Liu Liner's father looking down on people?

DBZ was bewildered for quite some time after being bombarded with three question marks, and finally chose Samira, who had the best effect when paired with Riel.

"Putting everything else aside, let's do our best, everyone."

After finishing his final pre-match instructions, DBZ's head coach took off his headphones, took a deep breath, turned around, walked towards Liu Keke, and shook her hand.

Looking at the composure and smile on the other person's face, I forced a smile and nodded in greeting.

We've done everything we can against this competitor; the rest is up to the player.

However… Upon returning to the lounge and learning about the fates of the WLD heroes, DBZ's head coach's heart sank once again, and his lips trembled slightly.

The worst-case scenario has finally become a reality…

The lineups for both sides in the third game are as follows:

Blue side WLD: Top lane Malphite, Jungle Lee Sin, Mid lane Aatrox, Bot lane Kai'Sa, Support LeBlanc.

Red team DBZ: Top lane Irelia, Jungle Camille, Mid lane Lissandra, Bot lane Samira, Support Riel.

Leaving aside the fact that Malphite wasn't a support and LeBlanc wasn't a mid laner, it's surprising that Aatrox was actually played by Su Mu.

Even with the old version of Aatrox, no one has ever seen Su Mu play it in the mid lane, including in ranked games during streams.