Chapter 71: Too steady, Zven!

Both sides' lineups have been locked.

G2, blue side.

Ban: Shah, Viktor, Wheel Mom.

Top lane: Island, Big Tree.

Jungle: Firrrrrre, Thousand Edges.

Mid lane: Perkz, Karma.

Bot lane: Zven, Ezreal.

Support: Mithy, Braum.

Coach: ocelote,

H2K, red side.

Ban: Cougar, Ryze, Spider.

Top lane: Odoamne, Ekko.

Jungle: Jankos, Barrel.

Mid lane: Ryu, Old Father Time.

Bot lane: Freeze, Lu Xi An.

Support: VandeR, Bard.

Coach: pr0lly

Both coaches have left the stage, the battle is about to begin.

"Do you have tissues, Liang Yan? Give me one to wipe my hands."

"In the G2 player bench, Lao Zhang asked Liang Yan."

"No, I never carry tissues in my pocket…… Are you nervous?"

"A bit, haha."

"Mainly because Lao Zhang thinks he performed too well last game; if he messes up this game, he'll lose face and give people a bad impression of being a 'nerve knife'."

"Liang Yan looked at Lao Zhang and smiled:"

"It's not that bad; you're pretty familiar with playing Big Tree against Ekko, just play normally, in team fights just charge forward, it's not difficult."

"Okay!"

"Lao Zhang wiped his hands on his pants, shifted his butt to straighten his chair, lifted both hands to adjust his headset, then suddenly recalled the player rules Lao Li had mentioned, and asked Liang Yan a bit nervously:"

"By the way, if I adjust my headset now, will I get penalized?"

"We haven't entered the game yet…… probably not, right?"

"Are you sure?"

"Lao Zhang still didn't dare to touch it."

"Liang Yan simply asked the referee into the microphone:"

"Referee, can I adjust my headset position now?"

"The referee standing behind immediately answered:"

"Yes, as long as you don't pull the headset apart, it's fine before any records are made."

"Lao Zhang embarrassedly gave a hesitant hehe, then placed his hand on the headset."

"The support Mithy's voice sounded:"

"Dude, this is your first time playing professionally, are you this nervous?"

"Zven immediately retorted:"

"You're being rude; he really is."

"Sorry, I forgot, haha."

"Then AP's voice chimed in, starting to talk about how when he first stepped onto the stage, right from his debut he crushed opponents so hard they lost their gear, etc."

"Then he was mocked by the two bot lane players."

"Liang Yan actually thought AP wasn't exaggerating too much; after all, given AP's talent, playing in Europe's secondary league would really be no pressure, and G2 is just where he came up through practice, right?"

"The battle horn blew."

"Each bought their starting items and rushed to their frontline positions."

"On the upper and lower rivers, the blue side dropped four wards in a row with a reckless abandon (though the trinket wards are indeed free), leaving the commentators bewildered."

"Wow, G2's early-game defense feels like even if Jankos turned into a mosquito, he still couldn't fly into G2's jungle!"

"Their protection of Thousand Edges in the early game is too thorough."

"That said, the invading ability of the jungle Ghoulsas (Barrel) isn't that strong; relying on him alone probably couldn't pose a big threat to Thousand Edges, is such tight ward placement perhaps overly…… uh, cautious?"

"You're wrong, PiraTechnics."

"Huh?"

"Never underestimate Ghoulsas's damage; although he mostly serves as an engage and rhythm tool in the jungle, his early-game damage is high and his chase potential is strong."

"Is that so?"

"Of course, and besides Ghoulsas, H2K's laning on all three lanes could potentially win lane, though it depends on the players' performance, but at least bot…… huh?"

"He hadn't finished speaking when Drakos suddenly showed a look of surprise."

"Because he saw a strange phenomenon."

"G2's duo is crossing the jungle horizontally heading upward! What's going on? Is G2 trying to swap lanes?!"

"Huh? Is the pressure that great?"

"Good heavens, in the previous game they 2v3 crushed the enemy jungle's Zven, and now they actually want to actively lane swap to avoid H2K's duo? Should we say he's clear-headed or……"

"Steady, too steady Zven!"

But the decision wasn't made by Zven.

But the decision wasn't made by Zven; it wasn't that Ka Lao Si had given prior instructions, so Ka Lao Si, who was sitting backstage watching the livestream, was also a bit confused. Since he couldn't hear the players' communication, Ka Lao Si had no idea what was actually happening on stage, which led to Zven suddenly wanting to switch lanes.

On the other hand, Tang Anna had a vague guess:

"Could it be... Liang's idea?"

"Why? Why do it like that?"

Ka Lao Si didn't understand at all, his brows furrowed tightly—in his view, switching lanes was cowardly, which wasn't a good omen; moreover, he never liked cowardly people, and he disliked cowardly tactics even more, even if theoretically doing so would be more advantageous.

Tang Anna thought carefully for a moment, then explained in a tone that wasn't entirely certain:

"Maybe it's because of the top lane."

"What?"

Ka Lao Si completely couldn't understand,

"What does this have to do with the top lane? Isn't it because of the bottom lane?"

"Part of the reason is to look after the bottom lane, but I think the main reason is still the top lane—I mean, how much can two heroes do for the team when they're severely behind in development?"

The lane switch was proposed by Liang Yan.

But the decision was made together by everyone.

At first, Zven said:

"Jungle buddy, I'm under a lot of pressure in the bottom lane, you need to come help me more."

Liang Yan had a flash of inspiration at that moment:

"If there's pressure, we can actually try the lane-switch tactic."

The Ou Mei players all like to have fun; upon hearing this kind of thing they get excited, and Zven immediately asked eagerly for details:

"Lane switch? Can we? Can we lane switch?"

"Really possible."

Next, Liang Yan explained his idea to everyone in detail.

There are three benefits to lane switching.

First of all, it can greatly ease the lane pressure on the bottom lane. EZ + Bu Long versus Lu Xi An + Bard, the pressure is indeed huge, because the enemy's long-range support is too slippery, and Bard's Q skill (which randomly selects a reward) is extremely threatening, combined with Lu Xi An's super burst damage; if the G2 duo's positioning is slightly off and they get stunned, even if Bu Long has a shield, they will still lose a lot of health.

Second, as Tang Anna said, the lane-switch strategy will inevitably cause the development of both top laners to fall far behind the schedule, because whether it's Maokai or Ekko, when facing the pressure of a duo lane, they definitely cannot farm in the early game; and when both top laners are severely underdeveloped, their contribution to the team is completely equal.

The premise for a tank Ekko to be strong and have output is that he must have equipment, at least a normal development tier, to be able to exert his due effect; otherwise, as a hero that is originally not a normal playstyle, he would become a waste that has no output and cannot tank.

Relative to that, Maokai is much better; even without equipment, he also has a reliable crowd-control lock, and his ultimate is an area damage reduction; in team fights, even if he just locks someone and then flashes back to unleash his ultimate, the effect of initiating fights and steadily reducing damage for teammates does not diminish with equipment quality.

Third reason: proactively switching lanes always allows one to gain a small advantage; the later the enemy reacts, the more advantage one can gain.