Chapter 205: No Need to Reveal Your Hand Against This Kind of Opponent

On stage, the players were still nervously preparing.

The camera occasionally swept over the player benches, with players from both sides chatting while smiling.

The match was estimated to need a bit more preparation before it could start, and the feed cut back to the commentary desk again.

In the LPL broadcast room, AP habitually rubbed his hands, possibly because as the LPL's most official commentator of the Fist he hadn't managed to get onto a more important commentator seat and could only spout nonsense here in the commentary area, making AP feel a bit embarrassed; thus his smile now seemed a little awkward, and what he said was also pointless drivel.

"Both sides are the last hope of the whole village; no need to say more, the heat of this match is definitely off the charts—saying it's under global scrutiny is not an exaggeration.

"However, neither side looks tense at all; RNG seems confident here, but what exactly is G2's mindset right now? How do the several teachers see it?"

The four commentators are:

AP, Ji De, Su Xiao Yan, and the special guest PDD.

PDD is an old hand in the LPL official tournament broadcast room; he previously served as a special commentator for the LPL Summer Finals, co‑commentating with Wawa and Miller, and is one of the special commentators most loved by netizens—whether it's match analysis or typhoons, he's always popular.

However, his build is truly overly burly, taking up almost two spots by himself; compared to the slender Su Xiao Yan beside him, the image is simply excessively impactful.

PDD skillfully picked up the topic AP had just thrown over:

"RNG is surely confident; G2 isn't nervous either—I feel it's likely because they've gone all‑in, 'stick your head out or shrink back, it's the same blade'—so let's be decisive, come out and pull off a big play; if we can win, great, if not, there's nothing we can do—just go all out.

"So I think the score of this Bo5 is very likely to be 3‑0, or perhaps RNG starts off a bit careless, letting G2 snag a win early, but once they get serious afterward, G2 will have no chance at all."

Nobody knows how true these remarks are.

As the most popular livestreamer across the entire internet, with hundreds of thousands of genuine fans, PDD couldn't possibly be a completely guileless person; a naive individual could never sustain such high popularity for so long without showing any signs of decline.

In short, RNG's fans love hearing these lines, and the bullet screen is buzzing.

【Nobody has worried about G2; they just want to hear Teacher PDD's analysis of the semifinals!】

【Yesterday's SKT looked really strong, so RNG really needs to be careful—today they must avoid revealing too many trump cards and try to win with a steadier lineup.】

【Yes, against this sort of G2 you don't need to show your hand; otherwise SKT will study it.】

After a while of wrangling, the big on‑site screen began to play the pre‑match promotional video.

The final scene once again featured AP appearing, and he recited a line of Chinese poetry once more:

"With vigor already capable of dispelling rouge and powder, raising a cup can swallow Wu and Yue!"

The meaning is that RNG is unable to withstand a single blow; as long as I let out even a hint of domineering aura, RNG will hear the wind and lose courage, meekly admitting defeat.

You can't say that—when this clip was filmed, the surrounding G2 members laughed until they couldn't, but Perkz's expression and demeanor were indeed full of flavor; the director didn't even get a chance to call NG, and it passed in one take.

After the promotional video they aired more pre‑match trash talk, and this time it was the bottom‑lane duo's turn to show off—though they were just borrowing someone else's aura to do so; the gist of their words was basically: "I admit Wu Zi is strong, but my thigh is fiercer than yours."

When it was RNG's turn to speak, they didn't say anything particularly harsh, but one could sense an aloof, superior vibe from their tone and demeanor.

Malaxiangguo is an exception; in front of the camera he appeared somewhat nervous:

"When facing G2, I think one thing is that we mustn't be careless……

"I have some experience—we've clashed in ranked before, and he's indeed quite strong……

"League of Legends is a team game, and the jungle is a very special position; as long as we gain the advantage in lane, I don't need to fuss with him too much……

When the video ended and the live feed switched back, the ban‑pick phase had already begun.

"Welcome back!

"This is the LPL commentary desk bringing you live coverage from the Chicago Theater; hello everyone, I'm Wawa!"

"Hello everyone, I'm Miller!"

"Good morning, I'm commentator Zeyuan!"

Starting from the quarterfinals, in any match featuring an LPL team, the Wawa‑Miller duo known as the Haier Brothers basically have their seats glued to the commentator desk, and the final commentator spot is usually filled by a higher‑popularity analyst, typically chosen from among Su Xiao Yan, Zeyuan, and Ji De.

Today's commentator is Guan Zeyuan.

Guan Zeyuan only made his debut on the LPL commentator desk as a newcomer in last year's summer tournament; being a native of old Beijing gives him a truly authentic Beijing accent. He had dreamed of becoming a professional esports player from an early age, but after being eliminated in the 2012 WCG League of Legends offline tournament preselection, he finally realized he lacked the talent, decisively gave up, and turned into one of the earliest domestic self‑media video creators. Later discovered by PLU, he became a professional commentator, casting for various Warcraft and Hearthstone tournaments, then in late S4 shifted to become a commentator for the League of Legends Pro League, and within half a year rose to the top‑tier LPL commentator seat.

Guan Zeyuan's commentary style is highly distinctive; early on he was known for skillfully using idioms and speaking fast, and now, after half a year on the LPL commentator desk, he has grown into a remarkably well‑rounded commentator—sometimes in lower‑popularity LPL matches you can even see him taking the main host seat in the middle of the desk.

But if we had to say what leaves the deepest impression on viewers, it would still be his quick wit and the astonishingly impressive teamfight "dish‑naming".

—Guan Zeyuan is the first official commentator who has memorized the official Chinese translations of all hero abilities and can fluently employ them in commentary.

Furthermore, Guan Zeyuan is straightforward and unrestrained in character; although he hasn't yet left the newcomer commentator category, his popularity among the many LPL commentators has already surpassed that of many veteran commentators who just go through the motions—his personal Weibo follower count has even exceeded that of the officially certified fist‑gold‑medal commentator AP, which is the most remarkable.

Nowadays, the cooperation between Guan Zeyuan and the Haier Brothers duo is already remarkably harmonious.

After Guan Zeyuan finished introducing himself, Wawa immediately chimed in:

"Ah, that's right! Although it's getting dark over here, the match was supposed to start at five but the ban‑pick only began after six; domestically it's still morning, though, and thanks for sticking with us in front of the screens—on a big Saturday you were probably hoping to sleep in, huh, haha.

"Alright, let's cut the small talk—whether you're already seated in front of the screen or watching our stream on your phone under the covers, the match has now officially entered the ban‑pick phase……

……

……

Tomorrow I'll take a day off to think about how to play this Bo5.