Chapter 738: Against the Wind

A few minutes later, both teams' lineups were locked.

VG, Blue Side

ban: Big Mouth, Galio, Karma; Rosy, Luo.

Top lane: Flandre, Jayce

Jungle: Firrrrrre, Pig Girl

Mid lane: Easyhoon, Airplane

Bottom lane: Kryst4l, Varus

Support: Caveman, Ox Head

Coach: Loong

WE, Red Side

ban: Little Cannon, Snake Woman, Big Tree; Rambo, Big Bug.

Top lane: 957, Shen

Jungle: Condi, Wine Barrel

Mid lane: Xi Ye, Syndra

Bottom lane: Mystic, Jinx

Support: Ben, Lulu

Coach: Homme

VG fans' cheers faded——perhaps they couldn't hear WE fans' cheers, maybe the match was too hot to get tickets？——the commentator's voice rang out again.

"All right! Welcome to the Summoner's Rift, the battle has already begun!"

While VG fans were cheering, Wawa, who had muted the mic and cleared his throat fiercely, now sounded full of vigor.

"Let's first take a look at both sides' lineups; by the way, it's been a while since we've seen Jayce appear on the stage. What do you two think of VG's lineup for this game?"

Rita already had a clear plan; right after Wawa brought up the topic, she immediately continued: "This Varus is definitely going the armor-piercing build. With Jayce plus the airplane plus armor-piercing Varus, it can be said to be a very complete poke composition."

Wang Ji's voice rang sonorous: "Moreover, it's especially solid! The front line formed by Pig Girl and Ox Head is like two great mountains, able to withstand and initiate."

Wawa: "So you both are very optimistic about VG's lineup?"

Rita pondered for a moment: "emmm... but I can't really understand. Clearly VG themselves popularized the incense-burner system, yet now everyone uses it, so why is VG themselves not playing it? And frankly, the poke system's strength in this version is merely average, because tanks are too tanky, plus the support's incense-burner shield, poke power is greatly weakened."

Wang Ji said: "That's right, this is also the reason Jayce's pick rate has plummeted in the current version. VG picking such a lineup is objectively going against the wind."

Although the number of WE fans in the livestream and at the venue is small, however they listen, it just doesn't sound right; these few commentators, while saying on surface how VG's lineup is this and that, actually one can tell they still secretly favor VG.

"Could it be that WE really has no chance to win at all?!"

"Actually, not to mention the commentators, even Homme, who had returned to the backstage lounge, was puzzled: why did VG suddenly pick a reverse-version poke lineup?"

Homme slightly turned his head, secretly glancing at the back of that man sitting in front of the computer screen——WE club boss, Human Emperor Sky.

"Could it be that the boss paid VG money?"

"No, that's not right either; VG now has so many sponsors they can't pick them all, they're not short of money……"

"No no no!"

"Homme suddenly felt as if struck by lightning, came to his senses,"

"He made a mistake again!"

"No matter what lineup VG picks, don't try to guess their intentions!"

"Otherwise you'll only lead yourself into a pit!"

"Phew……"

"Homme lightly inhaled, forced himself to stop thinking, and began to focus on the game screen."

The few people behind, however, stared wide-eyed, looking at the back of Homme the coach who had just slapped himself, feeling uneasy, wondering if Homme had suddenly discovered a fatal flaw in the WE lineup he had chosen.

……

"Actually, VG doesn't have any deep intention; they simply thought that taking the airplane and Varus, then adding Jayce would perfectly complete a poke system, and besides Jayce matches up well against Shen, that's all."

"Fu Lan Duo's champion mastery is also nothing to worry about; after Liang Yan and Zhu Xiaolong's joint coaching, this guy's champion pool is deep enough to be described as unfathomable."

"As for whether it's a reverse-version system, VG simply doesn't care at all."

"This match, which is crucial for many people, is in VG's eyes just an ordinary Bo5."

"The barrier disappeared, and VG's five members simultaneously rushed out of the fountain."

"Both sides' lineups have roughly equal early-game teamfight strength, but VG's opening strategy is superior; at the start, the five members grouped together and invaded the red side WE's upper jungle, placing two wards."

"But WE's counterattack was also very decisive."

"957 and Condi, who were defending in the upper lane, detected VG's grouping move; after communicating with teammates, Condi simply went down, grouped with the three mid and bottom teammates, also rushed into the blue side VG's lower jungle, and strongly demanded to swap jungles at the start."

""Alright, let's just swap.""

"Through vision provided by teammates, Liang Yan saw that WE's three jungle players had not left their own jungle, naturally understood WE's intention, and quickly made a decision."

"Such a jungle swap at the start is actually slightly disadvantageous for VG, because VG's support is a melee Ox Head; even paired with a stronger early-game Varus, against the enemy's Jinx + Lulu double long-range, they still gain no advantage; if WE couldn't guess where Liang Yan would start jungling, perhaps WE would still have to be wary of Pig Girl teaming up with Ox Head to hit level two and unleash a double‑cast ability to gank bottom lane, making Mystic and Ben hesitant to play too aggressively early on; but now Liang Yan's Pig Girl has openly started in the upper lane, so WE's bottom lane can freely exploit their level‑1 range advantage to seize and suppress the second wave."

"Liang Yan naturally could see the early‑lane state of the bottom lane, and made some arrangements:"

""Let the bottom lane push the wave first; Xiao Duan can afford to lose a little health, try to keep the minion wave in front of the tower, don't give the Wine Barrel a chance to gank, then basically there won't be any problems.""

""OK!" Xiao Duan readily agreed, full of confidence."

"VG's duo has weaker early strength than WE's, that's true, but WE's duo also lacks the capacity to completely crush, because Jinx + Lulu at level one have no burst tools, all their damage is controllable, so Xiao Duan has the opportunity to trade health for lane control—controlling the wave is also a way to grasp lane priority."

"Moreover, the Ox Head itself has healing ability; if there's no intention to clash head‑on with the enemy, losing a little health in the early lane is harmless."

"WE's side isn't stupid either; Mystic, seeing the enemy Varus come in and only last‑hit each time, immediately understood, so he turned the tables, switched to a faster‑attack‑speed Gatling gun to speed up the minion wave, planning a fast push, aiming to press VG's duo under the tower and beat them there, and if the chance arises, he can even call Condi over to dive the tower for a kill."