Chapter 130: Always Growing

On the commentator's bench, Jankos wore headphones, chatting and laughing with his commentator partners about the match content, and didn't hear PiraTechnics's shout at all.

But Sjokz, sitting at the other end of the commentator's bench, suddenly saw PiraTechnics waving and reminded Jankos.

Jankos immediately turned his head to look.

Then the smile on his face froze—through the live broadcast sound in his headphones, Jankos heard PiraTechnics's teasing.

Of course, everyone watching the match heard it.

The venue erupted with booming laughter.

In the livestream, comments flew like snowflakes.

【hhhhhhhh】

【Poor little sheep】

【PiraTechnics is too nasty!】

【Jankos had already forgotten it, but now he probably will never forget it for life】

【I have a suggestion: when these people face G2 again, they should still not pick Thresh, otherwise they'll be left with a lifelong shadow】

The director was worse, intentionally cutting to a small replay window in the lower-left corner showing a close-up of Jankos's expression shifting from grinning to an awkward smile.

From then on, European netizens' emoticon collection gained another classic animated image.

The instigator, PiraTechnics, gave a fake cough twice, unable to continue tormenting Jankos, and then turned his gaze to the big onstage screen:

"Let's cut the chatter and bring the topic back to the match—Firrrrrre is finally going home, he should have plenty of money on him; let's see what he can build."

"We can't just straight up give him another big item, can we?"

"That's impossible..."

Liang Yan indeed had plenty of money, but directly adding another big item would be too exaggerated.

The director's camera focused on his spider.

Upon returning to Quan Shui, the spider's equipment slot suddenly gained a Burning Gem and a Lifesteal Gun—no big item yet, but only a combine cost away from crafting a Rocket Belt.

This means he will at latest complete a two-item set with Tier 2 Boots around the 18-minute mark.

On the commentator's desk, another round of noisy chatter erupted.

After leaving, Liang Yan went to the bottom half of the map and began clearing his own third red buff.

Immediately after, the camera switched to the top lane, where Wunder, who had gone out to place a ward, was caught by Na'er in the Triangular Grass; he tried to flee with his ultimate blocking the path, but lacking a flash, he was still clung to by Na'er and continuously auto-attacked, dropping Wunder's health to half; Perkz's Rock Sparrow, stepping on a floating stone, clung to the wall behind Da Long Keng and burst out of the fog, unleashing an EWQ combo.

Wunder was lifted by 【Rock Thrust】, and before he could land, Lao Zhang snatched the kill with a returning boomerang.

The whole fight lasted less than ten seconds.

"Wunder went down again!"

"The lane economic gap is too huge, and Na'er has already built an Ice Hammer, his stickiness is very strong, plus Perkz's Rock Sparrow has fast follow‑up speed, so Wunder will be in great danger if he gives even the slightest opening."

"All he can do is hide within the range of the second tower to last‑hit minions; otherwise, stepping out means certain death."

"There's nothing to be done; that's how a disadvantaged Rumble is."

"Actually, looking at it objectively, having reached this state, SPY can already consider giving up the fantasy of fighting G2 in the mid‑game."

"That's right—originally the top and bottom lanes were their mid‑game pillars, but now Rumble is useless, Kobbe's Ezreal is constantly being pressured, his development is also mediocre, and in such a big disadvantage it's absolutely impossible to rely on him alone to prop up SPY's mid‑game."

"So SPY must look to the late game."

"But Trashy's Thresh only got two stacks at sixteen minutes, died twice, and cleared little jungle—he's basically useless; SPY's only hope is Sencux's Viktor, their sole late‑game guarantee."

"If they can really drag it out, perhaps SPY could still find a sliver of a comeback chance thanks to their lineup's late‑game advantage."

"However, G2's purpose in picking this lineup is crystal clear—they are a lineup where everyone focuses their strength in the early‑to‑mid game; with such a huge advantage now, I don't think they'll give SPY a chance to drag it out."

"This is also G2's most commonly used tactic when Firrrrrre is present."

"Exactly so—Firrrrrre is undoubtedly G2's sharpest spear, while SPY's walls look far from sturdy—I mean, even setting aside the current disadvantage, SPY is a lineup completely lacking a front line..."

Backstage, in the SPY lounge, coach YamatoCannon buried his face in his palms.

He hadn't lifted his head to look at the screen for several minutes, but the livestream audio kept coming, gradually drowning his hope.

Is it that he doesn't want to pick a better lineup?

Does he not realize how bad this lineup is?

YamatoCannon could later join the LCK region as head coach of the SB (Sandbox) team, and as a coach he obviously has some ability.

The reason he chose this lineup is precisely because YamatoCannon was unwilling to surrender, wanting to grasp at a sliver of a chance to beat G2, hence this strange move.

To say which European coach has studied G2 the deepest, YamatoCannon would absolutely claim first place—no one knows, but in fact, once the regular season entered its latter half, YamatoCannon had already begun researching G2.

And the more he researched, the more despairing he became.

Because YamatoCannon discovered that his research findings and all his ideas for countering G2 were futile.

——G2 has been constantly changing, improving, growing.

The G2 that swept UOL 3‑0 in the semifinals is completely a different team from the one that started the summer split.

G2 is not merely an increase in team strength.

Each player's individual strength at every position is also surging.

CyanideFI is a prime example—his progress is so obvious even non‑players can see it.

In YamatoCannon's view, the current CyanideFI is even capable of standing shoulder‑to‑shoulder with Jankos as a top‑tier jungler, only their styles differ.

YamatoCannon of course knows who brought about this change for G2.

Hence he feels even more despairing.

"Firrrrrre came alone to place wards, Trashy popped out from the grass, and Sencux from under the tower also moved in……"

YamatoCannon heard the sound, lifted his head to look at the screen, and then his pupils contracted sharply.