She chose the strategy with the most bullet comments.

This is really intriguing! What price did WLD pay to sign the champion mid-fielder from the National College League?

The comment with the most likes under WLD's official announcement post was a question about this reason.

However, there was still no response.

Su Mu has been off-air for quite a while now, and hasn't announced any verified media accounts for the contestants; they're the kind that you can't find anywhere.

Her online forum is active, but few people can provide useful information.

As the leader of Su Mu's fans, Zhang Xiaoyu, who had management authority in the Fish Bar, kept her mouth shut. Even though she knew the truth, she didn't reveal a single word.

Finally, unable to bear the questioning any longer, she revealed some information only after receiving Su Mu's approval.

WLD is negotiating with Shark platform because Su Mu's live streaming contract is very complicated. Even if the negotiations go smoothly, it will take at least some time before he can resume broadcasting.

The official announcement generated buzz for several days, but it has gradually been overtaken by other trending topics. 彡

Su Mu, whom countless people were eagerly anticipating, didn't have much time to pay attention to what was happening online. Right now, she was already following the coaching staff's instructions, training with her teammates and starting to work on team synergy.

To facilitate ranked matches between professional players and teams, the international version recently added a five-player ranked mode and established a custom mode that can only be started by professional teams, similar to the specifications of the tournament server.

One advantage of this is that professional teams generally don't need to specifically schedule practice matches with other teams unless they have a particular need to play against a specific team.

In high-elo five-player ranked matches on the international server, you can not only be matched with high-elo random players, but also with teams from international tournaments.

For training privacy reasons, the international version's five-player ranked mode will hide personal information, including game IDs, and match records will only be visible to the individual player.

Unless you can identify the team based on their playing style, you basically have to guess who your opponent is.

The five-player ranked system is synchronized with solo and duo queues, eliminating the need for additional effort to climb the ranks, making it much more convenient. Players from the vast majority of teams worldwide train in the international server's five-player ranked mode.

After a two-week adjustment period, the WLD coaching team identified several issues and attempted to implement changes based on the provided solutions.

The commander wasn't initially decided upon. Liu Keke actually hoped the support role would take on the main command, but after playing for a while, she discovered that Su Mu's overall strategic vision was far superior to Deng Jiayu's. (End of text)

This result surprised and delighted Liu Keke and her companion. Previously, based on their research of Su Mu's performance in the National College League, they had concluded that Su Mu was inferior to Deng Jiayu in this aspect.

It wasn't until now that I realized Su Mu hadn't performed at his peak in the National College League.

Then there's nothing more to say.

After discussion, and at the suggestion of Su Mu, the chief physician, Lin Yiqi, Wu Jiushi, the internal organization finally decided on a flexible command and operation method.

This implies that Su Mu is the primary commander and Deng Jiayu is the secondary commander, and whoever is in better condition can temporarily take over command.

Once the command issue is resolved, the next step is to find a convergence point where the five individuals' styles can blend together and achieve a synergistic effect greater than the sum of its parts.

This is the hardest part. League of Legends is a team game, and there are only so many map resources. Apart from the support, it's impossible for all four players to be the core carry. Someone has to play a supporting role.

Version changes also have an impact. For example, a version suitable for the bot lane carry cannot exist forever and will definitely be changed from time to time in the top and bottom halves of the map.

At that time, it will also be necessary to test whether the players' style and tactics can adapt to the change, and at the same time expand their hero pool.

166. Team Slot Competition

The game version changes every two weeks, and a new hero is added every two weeks. The speed is incredibly fast.

Clubs that are preparing for the competition know that Riot Games is trying to enrich the available champions for the games, but this is tough on the coaching staff, who have very limited energy.

WLD is doing well, because Su Mu quietly takes on half the work of an analyst, and is able to offer insightful understandings of the new hero, reducing unnecessary research time.

Five weeks later, after finishing all the training tasks for a certain day, Liu Keke looked at the athletes returning to their rooms to rest one after another, and a relieved smile appeared on her face.

Everyone worked very hard and not only found the best direction for collaboration, but the results were also very significant.

They had a 2-1 record in the previous three scrims against a certain team. The loss was due to issues with their lineup and bot lane. If they continue on this trajectory, securing an LPL spot shouldn't be difficult.

For the contestants, the past month or so has also been quite fruitful.

Everyone found what they were best at and integrated into the team, gaining a deeper understanding of each other.

Even Yan Hua, who previously lacked self-confidence, gradually began to smile more when interacting with his teammates, and his personality was no longer as dull as when he first joined the team.

Yan Hua now understood why the coaching staff was willing to sign her, someone who had been rejected by several youth training camps.

WLD's spears are sufficient; it needs sturdy giant shields to make up for the deficiencies.

Just like the composition of the national college champion team, the top lane is also a supporting role.

Yan Hua doesn't mind playing a supporting role; she's just afraid of being useless.

In general, the top laner can be as stable as a turret, or sacrifice themselves for the team, without too much worry about being used as a weak point.

The bot lane duo has an aggressive style, harassing opponents relentlessly. Whenever they have the chance, they'll even trade blows and engage, displaying a volatile and aggressive nature.

The advantage is that it can easily overwhelm people, but the disadvantage is that it can easily attract the enemy jungler and become a weak point.

Fortunately, this problem is no longer a major issue under Su Mu's command system, and everything is developing in a positive direction.

Once the general direction is determined, and there aren't any major version changes in the future, we can simply follow the steps and wait for the competition to begin.

After things settled down, the WLD players trained during the day and streamed for three hours every night, living a regular life.

……

Winter has passed and spring has arrived, spring has gone and summer has come. In the blink of an eye, it's mid-May, and Riot Games has released an exciting announcement.

The professional league will start this year, and teams in each region around the world will need to complete the competition for team slots by June, with the regional quarterly leagues starting in July.

Throughout the summer season, the champion team will represent the region in the inaugural League of Legends World Championship, hosted by Riot Games, and the year will be designated S1.

As soon as the announcement was released, the clubs that had been preparing for the league since the two months of the public beta were all eager to show their skills.

Three days after Riot Games' official announcement, the LPL organizing committee also announced the rules for the competition for team slots.

The requirements are surprisingly lenient; as long as the team's players meet the overall skill level, even teams that are not officially affiliated with esports clubs can participate.

To put it simply, even a team from an internet cafe can secure a place in the LPL as long as they can defeat a regular team and become the final winner.

Whether they can retain their spot in the promotion/relegation tournament the following year is another matter.

Regardless, all the teams registered in the LPL are thrilled, finally able to end their long wait.

Of course, the regular army still has privileges.

The teams that are backed by legitimate esports clubs do not need to participate in the open qualifiers and can directly wait in the knockout stage.

It was unfair, but not many people criticized it; instead, they were quite relieved.

It's like trying to beat someone with a full set of three pieces of equipment with just one Mythic item; the chances of winning are extremely slim.

At the very least, they need to develop their skills in the evenly matched preliminary rounds and grow stronger through battles before they have a slight chance of winning.

The preliminary rounds started on time in early June, all held online simultaneously in multiple locations, with a best-of-one (BO1) match determining who would remain.

It requires a lot of monitoring staff, but thankfully the event organizers are well-prepared and try their best to cover all aspects and ensure the fairness of each match.

It was half a month later when the preliminary rounds were over.

The number of teams in the knockout stage, including those registered LPL clubs, is 136, which can be divided into 17 different groups of 8 teams each.

The grouping was not random; clubs with a strong history were grouped together, while the winners of the preliminary rounds were randomly assigned to these groups, which, in a way, was tantamount to breeding poison.

There is no such thing as absolute fairness in the world, and those who disagree with such rules have not recognized reality, and most of them will not go far.

The group stage will be a BO1 single round-robin tournament, and the team with the most wins in each group will qualify for the LPL professional league this year.

To determine the 17 strongest teams within half a month, the schedule is undoubtedly very tight, and we can only follow the preliminary round format, with multiple groups starting the competition in several batches at the same time.

WLD was placed in the third batch and had several days to watch the games.

With so many matches unable to be commentated on, the default OB system for live streaming on various platforms doesn't provide a very good viewing experience, resulting in a large number of people paying attention to the qualifying matches but very few watching the live streams.

Only matches involving established clubs will see a temporary surge in viewership during live streams.

A week has passed, and the winners of the first two batches have been determined.

Teams like BRS, NTS, TFS, RT, OP, HY, and ESG have more accurately described defending their positions on the professional league stage than securing a spot.

WLD isn't a powerhouse, but it's certainly a veteran team. It also occupies its own group, not grouped with clubs that have a strong history.

After months of training and practice, Su Mu and his four companions were finally ready to embark on their journey.

Thanks to the popularity Su Mu had accumulated before entering the professional scene, WLD now has the feel of a highly popular team, with many people watching every match.

WLD lived up to expectations, winning all eight of their first eight BO1 matches.

If they win just one more game to reach nine wins, then based on the records of the other teams in the group, even if they lose all seven remaining games, they will still be able to secure a spot in the LPL professional league.

Even if you lose, you still have seven more resurrection opportunities.

Despite its high tolerance for error, it hasn't garnered much praise from fans, as it's simply a given.

It's common for professional teams to easily defeat unorthodox teams, and many people even think that the tournament organizers don't need to set up open qualifiers; it would be easier to just let the teams from the registered clubs play.

Regardless, this match, which was crucial for WLD to secure a spot, attracted millions of viewers to its popular live streaming platforms half an hour before the match started.

The Shark platform where Su Mu works has accumulated tens of millions of yuan.

167. New Version of the Bear

[Hurry up, hurry up! I can't wait to see Brother Mu cause trouble!]

Bard mid lane is really tough; there aren't many supports left for Mu to mess with, right?

[Is there anyone who can compile statistics on this?]

It seems that only Braum and Yuumi are left; the rest, such as Thresh, Sona, and Janna, have already been used.

[A true Ha person.]

[Alright, alright, let's begin the business plan!]

The live stream screen, which was originally playing promotional videos on repeat, suddenly changed to the BP (Ban/Pick) interface, showing that the initial game between the two teams had begun.

WLD's opponent in this match, 75Z, is not weak. They are also a formally registered esports club with branches in multiple esports games. Unfortunately, their scale is still quite different from WLD's.

Su Mu and his team shouldn't underestimate such a team, but they also shouldn't feel any pressure; they just need to perform normally.

Liu Keke didn't even open her notebook; she just stood behind the players and let Su Mu, the commander, handle the drafting and banning.

It's worth mentioning that the LPL organizing committee does not use a lagging game version for the matches. In other words, the tournament server will directly synchronize with the current version of the international server.

Today is a coincidence; it's the day that a certain old hero, Volibear, was reworked and released.

Thunderous Roar → Undying Thunder.

At this moment, on the BP interface, Su Mu weighed his options and decided to ask the coach for his opinion.

"Coco, I want to choose the new version of the bear, what do you think?"

Liu Keke was taken aback and asked, somewhat puzzled, "You can only interact with the new version of the bear for that one hour in the morning, right? Is that okay?"

It's important to know that the schedule is very tight, with many matches played in a single day. Even if the matches aren't played consecutively, you still need to prepare well.

Su Mu was in her sight for most of the day, except for the time he went into the training field to play with the new version of the bear in the morning.

"No problem, Coco, don't you know me? I definitely won't speak up about things I'm not sure about." Su Mu patted her chest and turned to Bai Wei with a smile, "Right, Weiwei?"

Bai Wei nodded involuntarily, "I think Mu Mu can be used. She's good at quickly figuring out the right way to play a new hero. Firstly, the strength of the reworked hero is guaranteed, and secondly, in this kind of situation, the opponents basically assume we don't know how to play, so they won't target us."

"It also means that they do not understand the core mechanics of the new hero, which could catch the opponent off guard."

Hearing Bai Wei's words, Liu Keke, who didn't actually object, patted Yan Hua on the shoulder.

Yan Hua understood immediately and helped Su Mu take down the bear on the first floor.

Upon witnessing this move, the dozen or so people inside the 75Z training base all stared wide-eyed.

? ? ? Dove

Seriously, officer? The bear was just reworked today! You dare take this?

Wow, WLD really dared to pick that! Speaking of which, this office worker hasn't had time to play the new Volibear today. Any kind netizens have suggestions on what role this hero should play? (Seven)

[You're supposed to be slacking off at work by watching the game, huh? Nine]

Both top lane and jungle are viable, but I see streamers mostly playing top lane; their level 6 tower dives are incredibly powerful. (Dance)

Huh? Dam

[Fireworks, a support top laner, probably can't play Volibear well, I've never seen her pick a carry champion. To be honest, she has a bit of a pre-rare version of Xiaoyu vibe to her. (帬)]

So that's what Xiaowei uses?

[8. Volibear can also build tanky in the top lane. He can play defensively and not actively trade blows, and still cooperate with the jungler to tower dive and make plays.]

【Omosiroi】