Chapter 283: A Different Leopard Woman

Ah, the opponent isn't playing by the book, what should we do, coach?

Xiao Huasheng said with a smile, revealing two rows of white teeth, looking very cute.

Although the coach said at the start that the opponent would take Leopard Woman, but when Leopard Woman actually ended up in his hands, Xiao Huasheng was very happy.

Dare to ban my Leopard Woman?

Then you just watch with wide eyes!

This is a teaching match!

"Leopard Woman is definitely going to be taken..."

Nofe came back from shock, arms crossed, one hand supporting his chin, brows slightly furrowed, pondering:

"We have two options: either pick Card to control the mid‑game tempo, or pick Karma to guarantee a strong early jungle, giving you ten seconds to discuss."

The ROX members immediately started chatting all at once.

Kuro's opinion is to pick Karma, because Firrrrrre is very aggressive and likely to invade at level three with Syndra's strength to catch Leopard Woman; if Xiao Huasheng's development is severely disrupted, it will be hard to exert influence in the mid‑late game and to drive the tempo.

Smeb, however, thinks picking Card is better, because he can take a strong top‑lane champion to shield Xiao Huasheng, and Smeb promises that as long as Xiao Huasheng clears from bottom to top, he will never let the enemy jungler step into their half of the jungle.

The duo likewise agreed with Smeb's view, considering the lane: the enemy will surely grab Miss Fortune + Janna next; if we put Karma in mid lane, the bottom lane will lack a strong support, the lane will be at a huge disadvantage, which will also affect jungle fights.

The vote was clear, so Xiao Huasheng cleverly cast his last vote for Kuro, giving the latter face without affecting the final outcome.

"OK, three to two."

Nofe made a decision,

"Then we'll take Card, and give Karma to the bottom lane."

ROX locked in their first two picks: Leopard Woman + Karma.

Card naturally doesn't need to be rushed, because the opponent has already taken mid‑lane Syndra, so they can't come after ROX's Card.

The ban‑pick phase is basically clear, and from now on both sides will pick champions quickly.

G2's second pick indeed locked in Miss Fortune + Janna.

ROX then locked in Card + Ezreal.

G2 secured Poppy + Male Gun to lock in their composition.

ROX's final pick, as Liang Yan had expected, was to give Smeb Naar to supplement the team's AD damage and engage ability.

Lao Zhang let out a sigh of relief; this game his top lane is a pressure‑absorbing lane, but he doesn't have to face jerks like Jayce or Kennen, so the pressure is much lower.

"Alright, both sides' lineups are locked! G2 actually released the Leopard Woman from Pinaut, and we ourselves ended up picking a Wild Core to counter them! This has to be said, they're really bold!"

"Indeed they're bold, but I think G2 must have come prepared as well."

Miller couldn't help but remark:

"A year's worth of sweat, how many teams have struggled so long just for this day; now after rounds of elimination, team after team has been knocked out—even last year's champions, SKT led by the Demon King, fell in the semifinals, leaving only these two teams standing on this stage.

"ROX and G2, LCK's first seed versus Europe's first seed.

"In the past we've always had a stereotype that EU‑NA teams are weak, but in fact, if you look through the history of the World Championships, you'll see that Europe's record has actually been consistently good; although they haven't made the finals since S2, they have basically had a team in the semifinals every year, except S4, which was the era of Samsung, and everyone knows that.

"In short, we might need to change our thinking.

"Today's match, Europe's first seed G2 versus LCK's first seed ROX, may not turn out to be the one‑sided romp many expect, and is very likely to be an evenly matched showdown!"

"Well said! Let's see how the result turns out!"

The lineup for this game is as follows:

G2, Blue Side

Ban: Ashe, Dragon King, Jayce,

Top: Island, Poppy

Jungle: Firrrrrre, Male Gun

Mid: Perkz, Syndra

ADC: Zven, Miss Fortune

Support: Mithy, Janna

Coach: ocelote

ROX, Red Side

Ban: Ryze, Vi, Blind Monk

Top: Smeb, Naar

Jungle: Peanut, Leopard Woman

Mid: Kuro, Card

ADC: PraY, Ezreal

Support: GorillA, Karma

Coach: Nofe

The map reading is over, the commentators speak again.

"The audience here is also very enthusiastic, but from the cheering on both sides you can tell that G2 has more supporters; speaking of which, from the perspective of us LPL netizens, it's actually a bit strange, because the NA region and the EU region have always been at odds, and it was the same in the group stage—I remember clearly that when G2 first appeared, the crowd was all booing, which is completely different from now!"

"But unknowingly, it has already turned into a stadium full of cheers."

"So why is that?"

"Or maybe it's because of their strength, I think."

"Right, I also think it's because G2 is performing well now, and to be frank, G2 is a fighting‑style team, and moreover Jiao Shen's mechanics are very flashy, their matches are indeed enjoyable to watch, and this kind of team and player are the most popular in the Western regions."

"Exactly. Let's look at the opening: G2's side is a normal five‑star‑in‑a‑row defensive opening, while ROX suddenly grouped mid, bottom, jungle and support four‑man, apparently aiming to invade and sweep for vision to catch the Male Gun at the start!"

"They came in, but the ping didn't land; Male Gun gave up his position, ROX saw our duo also approach and didn't dare go deeper, just warded over the wall and left."

"ROX still has an advantage in the level‑one teamfight, because G2 doesn't know whether Card has learned its skill; if the opponent suddenly pulls out a yellow card, and we've also given them distance, that could lead to a big problem."

Yes, so G2 cautiously chose to retreat.

Xiao Huasheng threw a dart back, oh?! The dart hit Jela! One HP bar gone!

But there won't be any effect; they can't really fight anyway, it's still early, Mithy can go home to recover his state.

There is still some impact, I guess; this means ROX's duo already has lane priority at level 1.

Um... but Jinx + Jela originally can't beat EZ + Shanzima at level 1.

Is that so?

Yes...... mainly because Shanzima is too strong.

ROX everyone retreated to their own Ye Qu.

Mithy recalled to base from a safe position.

The canyon returned to peace.

Until a solemn female voice shouted the English line:

All forces, advance!