Chapter 393: Damn your six-four, VG ten-zero open!

The break ended, the stage lights came back on, and spectators seated higher in the stands could see the players already in their places on the bench.

Fans from both sides shouted a few slogans in disarray; the WE fans' voices sounded a bit weak, while the VG fans were like wolves and tigers, howling that they wanted to eat people.

If VG could beat WE 2-0 today, it would naturally prove VG's true strength far surpasses last year's; although the upcoming schedule isn't necessarily smooth sailing, at least VG fans dare to say on the tieba with confidence: 'VG will at least secure a semifinal spot in the spring split.'

In the livestream, the chat was bustling, with the numbers of '2-0' and 'come from behind to win 2-1' messages roughly even.

At this time, Crackdown on gambling by Riot wasn't as strict as it would become in later years; on domestic and foreign streaming platforms, it was common to see gambling sites occupying high spots on the gift lists of top streamers.

On a certain fish platform, the LPL unofficial commentator nicknamed 'Oxygen Tank' Haokai boldly chatted with fellow commentator Zhihuan about gambling.

"VG is talking so big, why haven't the odds dropped? They're still 1.1—damn, could there be some insider thing? Hey brother, what do you think?"

"There are still some professionals on the gambling sites, and they have wide channels, knowing more insider info than us; the odds not dropping likely means VG's actual win rate in practice matches against WE isn't that high, so just be careful."

Haokai replied to the chat: "Of course we're not betting; we're commentators, and betting would be against the rules. We're talking about this so the brothers in the stream don't lose money."

He then continued Zhihuan's topic: "That makes sense; the gambling folks are surely more resourceful than us, more professional, so I withdraw my earlier prediction—this match probably won't be 8-2, feels like 7-3… no, 6-4."

"I also think it'll be 6-4, with VG having a slight edge."

Zhihuan said, then quietly glanced at his phone, only to find that VG's odds hadn't dropped but had actually risen by ten points, from 1.1 to 1.2!

Accordingly, WE's odds fell from 1.3 to 1.2!

"Holy shit?!"

Zhihuan exclaimed, his mind heated, and on the spot he placed several bets on VG to win!

After placing the bets, his head felt even hotter; Zhihuan lifted his head, face flushed, and unable to restrain himself, he waved his fists at the camera, shouting excitedly:

"Damn your 6-4, VG 10-0!"

Haokai, who was linked mic with him, noticed something off about his state, pondered a bit, and privately sent Zhihuan a WeChat message:

【"Brother, did you get in?"】

【"I got six in."】

【"WE?"】

【"Screw WE, Jiao Shen is invincible!"】

【"Then I'll get in a bit too!"】

……

On stage, the second game's ban-pick phase had already begun.

"Welcome back, WE versus VG, game two!"

"This game VG swapped to blue side… a bit strange, they banned Ashe right off the bat, feeling like Mystic's Ashe didn't have much impact last game either."

"Didn't you notice VG swapped a player?"

"Huh? Oh, sorry, my bad, hahaha…"

Gangzi's role on VG is to be sent in when they want to troll; this 'trolling' doesn't mean playing something really offbeat, it's just used to describe unconventional compositions.

For example, in this patch the bot lane mainstream relies on basic attacks for income—attack-speed carries, short for 'basic attack' champions; picking a non-basic-attack champion counts as an unconventional composition.

The champions Gangzi currently practices are mainly Draven, Jinx, Ezreal, and lethality Varus; these champions of course still need basic attacks to deal damage, but fundamentally they rely on the champions' mechanics rather than the traditional hyper‑carry that wins with attack speed.

This is no secret in the LPL; after all VG has played plenty of matches, plus scrim exposure, Gangzi's champion pool style has long been figured out by LPL coaches, and even commentators who've done their homework can guess it eight or nine times out of ten.

So when Guan Zeyuan reminded them VG had swapped a player, he immediately realized it.

Of course, Gangzi not playing Ashe doesn't mean VG must ban it; there are other considerations naturally.

Redmi's first ban of Ashe against VG was somewhat surprising; they patted 957 on the shoulder and said to ban Sion, then turned to Ben and said:

"Our Ashe is gone; you bot lane can discuss what to pick later."

The bot lane duo began whispering in Korean to each other.

VG side pondered a moment, then Zhu Xiaolong banned Grasshopper as his second pick.

WE immediately sent Orianna to the red side's second ban slot.

"Huh?"

Zhu Xiaolong blinked in surprise, instinctively turned to look at Liang Yan, and said:

"Are they trying to swap players with us?"

Xiao Duan shouted:

"I told you, they're going to troll; trust my gut, Long Ge!"

"Duan Delian, hold your tongue."

Zhu Xiaolong still looked at Liang Yan,

"How so, swap with them?"

Liang Yan didn't rush to give his answer, instead guiding Zhu Xiaolong to think:

"The key is, if we swap, how do we choose who to bring in, and what priority is higher?"

Zhu Xiaolong thought for about ten seconds, then said:

"Definitely Qing Gang Ying fits our composition better."

He was referring to VG's lineup when Gangzi is on stage, because at that point the bot lane's core status slightly declines, and VG's overall playstyle leans more toward top/mid/jungle.

Zhu Xiaolong had already given the correct answer; Liang Yan needed say no more.

"Then let's swap."

"Should I ban Caitlyn?"

"Why ban Caitlyn?"

"The enemy probably won't have an open slot to grab an AD carry first, so we can snatch Varus on our second pick, with Fanzi playing lethality to hold the line—what do you think?"

Zhu Xiaolong's train of thought was clear.

Liang Yan felt approval and nodded:

"Pretty good."

Zhu Xiaolong grinned like a child who had just been awarded a little red flower.

VG's final ban went to the female police officer.

However, unexpectedly, WE's final ban slot went to Varus.

"Hiss!"

Guan Zeyuan drew a sharp breath from the crowd, exclaiming:

"This doesn't make sense, ah, WE's BP is too weird! I can understand WE picking Blue Steel Shadow and Enchantress, one on each side, you know. But the final ban on Varus..."

"However, as everyone knows, Shuijing Ge only plays the armor-piercing Varus build, and the armor-piercing Varus build is actually not that strong, so what's the point of WE banning him?"

"It feels like WE is about to pull some weird trick!"

"It kind of means that."

It's kind of... that.