Chapter 354

"What's there to be afraid of? It's just a jungler!"

"Changzhang saying this himself didn't have much confidence, but as the team captain he had to step up and boost morale,"

"It's just a few practice match losses, I'm telling you, he's not that strong—during the All-Star event he lost a few thousand yuan playing mahjong, constantly giving others cannon shots."

"emmm……"

"Meiko wondered, what does losing money at mahjong have to do with playing games?"

"But for some reason, Changzhang's joke lightened the EDG team atmosphere considerably, making it less oppressive."

"The big screen on site was still playing the pre-match promotional video, but no one could see the situation in the EDG players' seats."

"After the promotional video finished, it was trash talk."

"Right off the bat, it was a king bomb."

"\"Last year I sent my resume to EDG. \""

"Liang Yan sat low in a chair, twirling the champion ring on his left index finger with two fingers; his hair, cut short for a CCTV interview, hadn't grown back yet. Although his eyes weren't visible, one could faintly see the corners of his mouth slightly upturned."

"\"Honestly, I never thought I'd be rejected by the entire LPL. \""

"He lifted his head, smiling as he stared directly into the camera,"

"\"Actually I sent the video along with it, but judging from the result, I estimate no team watched it; otherwise they wouldn't have denied me even a tryout opportunity. \""

"\"Then there's nothing I can do; I can only bring my talent to Europe……\""

"Liang Yan leaned back, spreading his arms onto the armrests."

"The camera pulled back slightly, and the audience saw that he was actually sitting on a dragon throne, and behind the dragon throne stood a towering Summoner's Cup!"

"The trophy had the letters 'G2' engraved on it."

"Liang Yan's smile took on a hint of malice:"

"\"However, I'm the type who holds grudges; the saying that a gentleman can wait ten years to take revenge doesn't suit me. Anyone who's stepped on me, I will definitely step back on as soon as possible. So I've come back. \""

"\"EDG, are you guys ready? \""

"On site, whether it was Liang Yan's personal fans or passersby, everyone was so excited they were incoherent, shouting wildly."

"The faces of EDG fans, however, were as ugly as could be."

"Yet there was no way to refute it."

"They're champions, after all—they have the right to be this arrogant; what can you do about it?"

"But some people really couldn't stand this stimulation, only hearing a sharp female voice ring out from the audience:"

"\"What's with the arrogance?! It's just clinging to a big thigh to leech off a champion!!! \""

"Someone took the lead, and other EDG fans gained courage, so someone followed with a shout:"

"\"Exactly! What's with the arrogance?! If you've got the skill, go get an FMVP!!! \""

"For a moment, the EDG fans were fired up."

"The sound was so loud it even reached the backstage studio."

"The director team leader frowned, turned, and asked a staff member who had just walked in:"

"\"What's going on outside? \""

"That staff member just laughed and said:"

"\"It seems Jiao Shen's trash talk was too effective, making the EDG fans angry. \""

"The director was somewhat speechless, helplessly waving his hand:"

"\"Hurry up and start, don't cause any trouble. \""

"\"Okay. \""

The backstage instructions were relayed to the front stage, and on‑site staff began bringing the roster sheets for the players to confirm; after confirming everything was correct, the referee quickly created a room.

The EDG players may enter the room.

The referee's voice sounded in the headset, and both teams' players quickly entered a custom room whose name looked like a string of gibberish.

After one EDG player entered the room, the referee moved to the spectator seat and gave host privileges to the first EDG player to enter, Mouse.

When the five EDG players filled the five slots on the left side of the room, the five VG players then arrived one after another, filling the empty slots on the right‑hand red side.

After the referee again confirmed everything was correct, Mouse clicked to start the game.

The stirring clash of metal rang out, and the screen switched to the hero ban/pick interface.

At the same moment, the commentators' voices sounded from the venue.

This match is a season highlight; the official arranged three commentators: Chang Mao, Ji De, and Su Xiao Yan.

A few off‑stage remarks: the other day Chang Mao complained in his own livestream, roughly saying that commentating easily offends people, and as a Riot‑affiliated commentator he dares not say anything, while some people speak without filter and drag him into trouble, plus there are viewers whose low level makes them unable to understand his commentary; in short, he's griping about a bad work environment and feeling like slacking off.

Today Chang Mao sat in the middle of the commentator desk, opening with his usual lackluster tone:

Welcome back.

Ah, after watching the exciting match between WE and Newbee, we still have a heavyweight showdown today: last summer's champion EDG versus VG, which, oh wait, not this year but last winter's transfer period saw a massive roster overhaul. EDG's strength needs no elaboration; as for VG, although their performance last year wasn't…… particularly impressive, after this roster adjustment we all expect more from them, because everyone knows that the jungler from last year's world‑champion team, Fire, has joined our VG!

Ji De, fearing Chang Mao would bore the audience to sleep, jumped in with a ringing voice as soon as Chang Mao finished speaking:

That's right! VG's moves this transfer window are absolutely a big deal: they not only brought in champion jungler Fire, but also brought Sima Laozei from OMG and two equally strong players from last year's quarter‑finalist Snake—Sheng Qiang Ge and our very popular Shuijing Ge! So, without further ado, the ban/pick phase has begun; let's see how these two teams, both making their season debut, will adapt in the brand‑new 10‑ban mode. First up is the blue side, EDG: they opened by banning Jesper, apparently wanting to test the BP skill of VG's new top‑lane coach, Long Ge.

Su Xiao Yan followed up:

Coach Nofe's ban/pick has always been steady; even when facing G2 in the Worlds final last year, despite a huge BP disadvantage, Nofe still managed to give his players a relatively complete roster, showing his level is quite OK.

So, is Coach Nofe banning Jesper this time to force the red side VG to shoulder the bans of three T0 heroes alone? What do you think, Teacher Su Xiao Yan?

Hard to say; in VG's first match, nobody can predict how they'll play. Playing it safe, banning all three wouldn't be wrong, but I think…

Oh?! VG banned Syndra—indeed, they're not following the script!

Hmm, EDG also stayed calm; right after VG locked in their bans, they immediately banned a grasshopper, showing they had a pre‑planned contingency.

By this point, Long Ge was starting to find it hard to stomach.