Chapter 466

In the second game of the semifinals, both sides' BP situation is as follows.

WE, blue side

ban: Kled, Shen, Galio; Sheriff, Big Mouth

Top lane: 957, Na'er

Jungler: Condi, Male Gun

Mid lane: Xi Ye, Enchantress

Bottom lane: Mystic, Ice

Support: Ben, Grasshopper

VG, red side

ban: Jinx, Syndra, Varus; Janna, Titan.

Top lane: Flandre, Blue Steel Shadow

Jungler: Firrrrrre, Mang Seng

Mid lane: Easyhoon, Karma

Bottom lane: Smlz, Rat

Support: Caveman, Lulu

"A multi-core system versus a four-protection-one setup, this game looks exciting!"

"The output pressure on Sima Laozei in this game is really huge."

"Ma Ge said I'm not panicking at all; outputting this kind of thing is what I'm best at!"

"Yes, and his teamfight output environment is actually quite good; besides the Enchantress, WE basically has no one else who can reach him."

"Now I understand why VG banned Janna and Titan; it was to remove all output interference for Sima Laozei."

"Indeed, Titan has a hook, Janna has an ult with a huge range, and the Rat's ult burst lasts only a few seconds; output time is extremely precious..."

"That's right! But just looking at the lineup, you can't tell which side is better; ultimately it depends on what tactics the teams devise for this system and whether the players' execution is sufficient. The match has now entered Summoner's Rift; the LPL spring semifinals battle has officially begun. Let's look forward to this exciting showdown!"

The cheering voices of both sides' fans gradually faded, and the arena echoed with signals coming from Summoner's Rift as both sides began executing their opening strategies.

In terms of level-one teamfight strength, VG clearly overwhelms WE, especially in the bottom half; the Karma+Lulu mid-support combo's level-one combat ability crushes Grasshopper+Enchantress, the gap mainly lies in mid lane—a level-one Enchantress is simply too weak, completely incomparable to Karma who already has her ult upon leaving base.

WE also knew they couldn't win a level 1 teamfight, so naturally they had no intention of actively seeking trouble from the enemy. However, before Homme stepped down, he gave the team an idea of turning the enemy's plan against them; at this moment, the five WE members all ran to the lower Ye Qu when they went out.

WE's mid and lower three players took normal positions, while the upper jungle two brothers hid sneakily in the brush right next to the F6 camp; the five were scattered throughout the blue side's lower Ye Qu, making the opening defensive formation like a huge sack—if VG dared to attack, they would surely be stuffed into that sack.

But unfortunately, VG didn't fall for it.

Liang Yan defended his upper Ye Qu at the start, went out to the river slope in front of the F6 camp, stood for a while, saw no enemy, then cautiously entered the river and probed toward the enemy Ye Qu.

Liang Yan held his skill point unspent, ready to learn W to scout and flee at any moment, so he was bold, repeatedly side‑jumping to test the brush at the far end of the left river wall of the blue side's Zhong Lu; finding no movement in the brush ahead, he suddenly lunged forward and face‑checked the brush.

Miller's eyes were sharp; he noticed this detail on the minimap and exclaimed:

"Wait a second! Director, quickly give Jiao Shen the camera! What the hell is this guy doing?!"

The director obliged, immediately switching the camera to Mang Seng.

Wawa burst out laughing:

"Good heavens, someone face‑checked the brush—what guts!"

"Wow~"

The long‑haired person let out a gasp,

"Is this the confidence of the World's No. 1 Jungler? It's indeed intimidating."

"To be honest, if WE had someone camping here, they'd probably have to flash…"

Miller hadn't finished speaking when the director immediately gave a close‑up of Mang Seng's skill point; the camera angle made things quite clear. Miller instantly felt embarrassed, scratched his face, and corrected himself:

"Oh sorry, Jiao Shen had kept his skill point, so it's fine."

The VG fans in the venue burst out laughing.

WE fans, however, had dark faces. Little Jiao brother's behavior was too arrogant—surely someone could punish him?!

Yet there was still no one in the brush.

By this point, Liang Yan had roughly guessed what kind of opening the enemy was running.

With a few pings, Liang Yan signaled his teammates in the lower Ye Qu, indicating that the enemy main force was ambushing there and they should not rashly invade.

Thus WE's trap plan went bankrupt, and the five of them sat alone in the lower Ye Qu.

Moreover, his upper Ye Qu was penetrated single‑handedly by Mang Seng, who placed a ward in the blue buff camp's brush.

In the stands, Ding Jun drew a sharp breath.

He doesn't understand LoL, but he does understand DotA; both are MOBAs, so many things are similar—for example, DotA also has a Ye Qu, and what Liang Yan was doing looked risky at a glance.

But when he thought about the kid's price tag, he felt relieved.

The jungler bought for over ten million was indeed somewhat special!

As the jungle monsters were about to spawn, Liang Yan returned to his Ye Qu, started solo clearing from the red buff downward, constantly keeping an eye on the minimap with his peripheral vision.

The blue buff sat peacefully in the monster camp, while Condi's male gunner never showed up.

Obviously, Condi chose to start from the lower Ye Qu; at the same time, WE's Xia Lu duo went online first, indicating that Condi likewise opted for a solo jungle start.

However, starting solo doesn't really affect the male gunner, since the patch's strongest jungle‑clear machine is no joke—this is also one reason the male gunner rose again later in the spring split of global regions; the main reason, though, is that the Black Cleaver build Liang Yan developed in S6 has been further improved in this patch, making it stronger.

At the start of the spring split, everyone thought this patch's Ye Qu resources were scarce, making it easy for Wild Core heroes to fall behind and struggle to make an impact; but after Liang Yan played a few more games with the male gunner, everyone saw—damn, the effect was outstanding!

Why?

Because Liang Yan further refined the male gunner's item build: after getting a tier‑2 jungle knife early, he heads straight for Black Cleaver, then adds either a small demon‑drinking blade or a yellow fork depending on the enemy lineup, giving him damage, tankiness, and the ability to kite; his mid‑game power spikes off the charts, his completed build costs under six thousand gold, and his power peak comes even earlier than various armor‑penetration champions.

Thus the male gunner became hot again.

Moreover, the male gunner is even more popular in the LCK than in the LPL.

Both sides' junglers were quietly farming monsters, the canyon had no fighting for the moment, and Miller suddenly said:

"Speaking of which, I recall what Jiao Shen said in the pre-match interview; thinking about it, if things really develop that way, it would indeed be a big blow to WE."

"What words?"

"WE never made it to the LPL finals before."

"Ah..."

The WE fans sitting at the venue had originally forgotten about that, but Miller's mention brought panic welling up in their hearts—that really was a nightmare...