Chapter 655

To facilitate communication among the regional teams, the organizers set up two rooms larger than standard classrooms backstage, each able to hold over a hundred people, as lounges.

In the LMS lounge, the four LMS team members who had just learned that the LPL's starting lineup was EDG were nervously discussing the upcoming match.

In the solemn atmosphere, WarHorse (War Horse), who served as both manager and head coach of the Flash Wolves team, spoke first, looking at AHQ team boss Xie Songyou, nicknamed "Crab Boss":

Pretty much what we guessed, LPL didn't send out VG right off the bat, which is good news for us. We've talked a lot about EDG these past few days; this year Ke Lie Er La Wu has retired, so they've lost a rhythm point. Now they're a team that mainly relies on the individual ability of mid laner Scout to break through, with shot-caller support Meiko; their strength has declined compared to last year. Last year you all could beat them, and this year they've lost their core figure, so I believe they'll be easier to beat. So for this match, we all hope AHQ can win it, which would make our later matches much easier. Xie Lao Ban, are you confident?

AhQ's founder and actual team sponsor Xie Songyou, who gave the team the name "Ah Q" after suffering a loss due to lack of culture and has been mocked by netizens ever since, is a fairly open-minded and easygoing person, and he often oversteps his authority to also serve as the team's captain. This Intercontinental Tournament is being held in the LMS home region, and Xie Songyou unsurprisingly leads the team out to battle again. WarHorse, although merely the team manager, has a very senior reputation in the Taiwanese esports scene; in terms of status within the circle, he can actually stand on equal footing with Xie Songyou, so Xie Songyou doesn't take offense at his less-than-polite tone, smiles, and says:

Don't worry, last night we've been scrimmaging against KT and SKT, our feel is hot, my players are full of confidence, plus with the intelligence provided by all of you here, although I can't guarantee a hundred percent win against EDG, we have a win rate of over seventy percent!

Don't be careless.

Flash Wolves' coach Steak reminded,

LPL is just like us; they didn't go all out in the group stage, so our research on their group-stage playstyle isn't really valuable. Although LPL is usually a loose sand, after all this is the Intercontinental Tournament, their four teams definitely have some tactical communication, and 7.12 is a big patch, with the version pioneer VG providing help, so EDG's understanding of the version definitely won't be poor. So my suggestion is……

Steak solemnly looked at AHQ's coach NeXAbc,

Don't hide anything; the first match must be given our all!

NeXAbc nodded seriously: "This is our only chance; we weren't planning to hide anything anyway. We will definitely give our all to win this game, but after that it's up to you!"

JT, founded by Zhou Dong, and the fourth seed M17 are both led by their coaches, with no manager even coming; in terms of strength they are far behind FW and AHQ. Even if nobody says it out loud, it's tacitly understood that these two teams play the role of underdogs in this Intercontinental Tournament journey, so they have little say in the LMS contingent, and at this point there's not much true insight to share, so they just listen quietly.

After a while of discussion here, staff soon came to notify us that the starting players were ready to go on stage.

……

LPL livestream room.

LMS sent out their second seed right off the bat, apparently also hoping to get an opening win to boost their region's morale, but we EDG are also a second seed! For this match, I personally still have confidence we can win; what do the two teachers think?

Um…… I think it's 7-3.

Only 7-3? Teacher Miller is being a bit conservative; I think it's at least 8-2!

Looks like Teacher Zeyuan has a lot of confidence in EDG!

That's a must!

Guan Zeyuan wore a beaming smile, glanced twice at the camera, then turned toward Wawa,

Although we can't deny that AHQ is also a very competitive team among the many teams worldwide, and can even be said to have the strength each year to reach the S-tournament quarterfinals, but times have changed!

How is it different?

You can tell at a glance! Under VG's immense pressure, our LPL teams have trained for one and a half seasons, and their average level has definitely risen a lot!

Oh, you mean VG is like a catfish, and because VG stirs things up, the whole LPL has become more fierce, right?

That's what I mean.

That's partly true, but after all, EDG doesn't have Changzhang here……

Ai Luoli is not bad at all! Although she indeed got wrecked by Jiao Shen in the summer season's opening match against VG, her performance in the subsequent matches against other teams is there for everyone to see.

Emm, I think 8-2 might be a bit high; I'll stick with my judgment, this first game is still 7-3……

Okay!

Wawa suddenly shouted to interrupt Miller's words, turned and faced the camera:

The first match between the two major regions has already begun; let's take a look at the clash in BP between the two sides!

Amid the cheers of the live audience, the BP screen appeared on the big screen.

After a few minutes, the BP ended.

EDG: top lane Ornn, jungle Rek'Sai, mid lane Seraphine, bottom lane Kalista+Thresh.

AHQ: top lane Prince, jungle Spider, mid lane Plane, bottom lane Ezreal+Lux.

Liang Yan couldn't help but frown at the sight of both sides' lineups; Tabe sat beside him and noticed his expression change.

What's wrong? EDG's lineup looks pretty good, quite fierce.

Liang Yan glanced at the opposing side; the EDG team led by A Bu sat over there, most of their faces showing confidence, chatting and laughing, apparently very satisfied with the special training lineup EDG had pulled out, feeling that EDG already had this game in the bag.

Liang Yan let out a light sigh and softly said to Tabe:

Looking fierce won't help; EDG itself isn't suited for this lineup. I don't know what their coach was thinking—giving A Guang Ornn is fine, but giving Zet Boots of Speed is absolutely a huge mistake. Zet isn't our Ma Ge; he can't make use of Boots of Speed, and then they still gave Scout Seraphine, a slow-paced late-game hero……

Saying that, Liang Yan couldn't help but shake his head and didn't say anything further.

Zhu Xiaolong and Gao Jun were listening nearby; hearing that, they became nervous.

Gao Jun gulped and asked, "Do you think…… EDG will lose?"

Not necessarily, but the win rate won't exceed fifty percent.