Chapter 289: The fourth seed is awesome!

In the Europe live broadcast room, several commentators were excited, chatting enthusiastically.

The audience also frantically posted bullet comments.

Meanwhile, on Twitter, the topic of G2 1-0 ROX had been pushed to the top of the trending list.

Meanwhile, at offline viewing venues across the West, people began singing and dancing, fully venting their excitement, wildly celebrating.

They didn't care about opening champagne at halftime.

Even if they were later chased three games in a row, it wouldn't stop them from having a blast first!

If one is a fan of Western LoL esports, or someone who knows Western LoL history, they should understand why they're so excited.

Since S1, from S2 to S5, no Western team had made it to the Worlds finals stage until this edition, when G2 burst onto the scene.

In the quarterfinals, they crushed LPL's second seed RNG.

In the semifinals, they again took down championship favorite SKT.

In the finals, they faced ROX, another major championship favorite that boasted four of the world's top twenty players, including world number one Smeb, and they swept the first game.

After five years, a Western team finally came this close to the trophy again.

For a moment, the entire Western online world erupted.

……

The finals venue.

The stage lights were not turned on, but spectators seated close to the stage could see that players from both sides had gradually returned to their benches.

Then cheers rose again, starting with the audience nearest the stage screaming, then gradually spreading upward, layer by layer, until the whole venue thundered.

After taking his seat, Liang Yan did not immediately put on his headset; instead, as in the opening of the first game, he listened to the crowd's cheers, closed his eyes, and adjusted his mood.

This scene was captured by the on-site cameraman and then cut to the live broadcast stream.

Liang Yan's facial close-up appeared on the big screen.

The audience's screams became even more piercing.

Someone then led a chant of Liang Yan's ID, which grew into the whole audience shouting it, some clapping support sticks while shouting, others vigorously waving G2's team flag; looking out, the crowds across the hills and fields merged into a sea of celebration.

Hearing this, Liang Yan opened his eyes, smiled, waved to the left and right stands, then thanked the camera facing him, put on his headset, and prepared to warm up for the human vs. AI match to keep his feel.

The audience couldn't hear Liang Yan's voice, but could tell from his lip movements.

The shouting grew more terrifying, the sound wave like mountains and seas overturning, rolling in, shaking the eardrums with a buzz, even the solid stage beneath their feet trembled slightly.

The LPL commentators stared at this huge, astonishing scene, mouths agape.

Wawa exclaimed in shock:

"Three years ago I also commentated here, but perhaps because no Western teams made the finals, the scene back then, while also lively, was nothing like today!"

"Today's scene is absolutely the most passionate I've ever witnessed!"

"I feel like my whole body is on fire!"

"The spectacle is so huge; I believe the viewers in the live stream also heard it—do you feel your blood boiling?"

"And what makes me most proud is that, although our LPL didn't reach the finals, the people who sparked this frenzy are from our LPL!"

"Have you heard? The whole audience is shouting 'Fire!'"

The live chat audience was infected, a dense barrage of comments covered the broadcast screen, layer upon layer, but basically just two lines:

【Jiao Shen is awesome!】

【The fourth seed is awesome!】

When the excitement finally subsided, the familiar BP interface also appeared on the venue's big screen and the live broadcast picture.

"Alright, the second round of bans and picks begins! In this match, both sides swapped sides, with ROX moving to the blue side and G2 to the red side..."

The finals' side-selection rules differ from the semifinals; in the quarterfinals and semifinals, side selection starts from game two with the loser of the previous game choosing, but in the finals the rule is fixed: regardless of win or loss, the sides alternate.

"In the previous game, ROX left the last counter pick on the red side for Smeb, but he picked Nautilus and it had no effect, so naturally they won't choose red side this game. But I'll be frank: the previous pick wasn't Smeb's fault either, because although he was the counter pick, by the time he chose his champion ROX's lineup was basically set."

"Yes, Smeb's pick was limited by the lineup; looking at ROX's first four picks, it was clear the last top lane slot needed AD damage and also engage, so the champion pool was actually quite small; if they didn't want to pick a meme pick like Pantheon or Gangplank like G2 did, Nautilus was basically the only option."

"Exactly! So let's see how ROX's ban-pick strategy changes after moving to the blue side. For ROX, the good news is that with the blue side they no longer have to bear those version-fixed ban slots, and in this game they first banned Vi."

"G2's double-lock system is indeed incredibly strong—even SKT couldn't last more than thirty minutes against it; it seems a week later ROX still hasn't found a way to deal with it, so Vi would hardly be let through."

"And G2's first ban was to give Perkz, who performed exceptionally well last game, Syndra—you see, the red side's disadvantage shows here: no matter how well you play, you can't get it on red side, so you even have to ban it yourself."

"Well, ROX's second ban was a harmless Karma."

"You can't say that; banning Karma is actually to pave the way for the two AD carries—look, G2 immediately banned Ashe."

Both sides' first two bans:

ROX: Vi, Karma

G2: Syndra, Ashe

Each side only has one ban left, yet many key champions are still available; just mentioning the most crucial ones, there are as many as five!

And only two ban slots remain.

Behind the ROX players' bench, coach Nofe racked his brains, weighing the outcomes and pros and cons of various choices.

Nidalee, Ryze, Jayce, Dragon King (+ Caitlyn), Mang Seng.

These five champions still in play are the focus of the subsequent mind games between the two sides.

Mang Seng mainly must not be given to G2; ROX doesn't necessarily have to take it.

Originally in Nofe's mind, Nidalee's priority was very high, much higher than Smeb's Jayce, second only to Syndra. However, after the previous game's fight, Nofe realized he had still underestimated the influence of mid lane priority on the overall game, so he quickly adjusted and raised the priority of mid lane picks once again.

With Syndra gone, Ryze and Dragon King naturally rose in priority.