Chapter 789: Star Exhibition Match

Kun Ge usually gives the impression of being generous and lively in later life, but I never expected that even when he first debuted he also had this 'bashful and shy' side, which Liang Yan found quite interesting.

After all members of the Surpass Team had made their appearances, it was the Cool Team's turn, repeating the same segment as just seen with the Surpass Team.

Just the player introductions took over ten minutes.

Figure: 2017 Star Exhibition Match

When both sides' players finally entered the player seats and sat down in their gaming chairs, the time had already come to past six in the evening.

The organizers were fairly considerate, giving the audience some intermission time during the players' preparation, so those who wanted to use the restroom could go, those who wanted to eat could go eat, and those who wanted to take a couple of puffs could step out for a couple of puffs.

When both sides' players finally entered the player seats and sat down in their gaming chairs, the time had already come to past six in the evening.

The organizers were fairly considerate, giving the audience some intermission time during the players' preparation, so those who wanted to use the restroom could go, those who wanted to eat could go eat, and those who wanted to take a couple of puffs could step out for a couple of puffs.

When the break ended and the BP screen appeared on the big screen, the audience in the venue had hardly dwindled, with 99% of the seats still occupied.

"Welcome back!"

The venue's big screen and the broadcast picture switched to the commentator desk, but the people on the commentator seats were no longer the few who had commented on the bubble match before; instead, a new batch had taken over. The first to speak was Wang Ji, who would be hosting this match, while Rita and Guan Zeyuan stood to the left and right.

Figure: 2017 Star Exhibition Match Commentary

When the camera just switched to her, Rita lowered her head shyly, her cheeks slightly flushed, she dared not look directly at the camera, and didn't even know what they had just been talking about.

"What's about to begin is precisely the showdown of today's most anticipated star summoners on our sixth-anniversary celebration; so without further ado, the match's BP has already started—let's wait and see, and together let's see what interesting preparations the two temporarily assembled teams have made for today's match!"

"That's right." Guan Zeyuan quickly chimed in, "The ID prefixes on both sides are also quite interesting—over here on the Surpass Team they're all 'Strongest on Earth,' hey, we've already won in terms of momentum!"

"Haha, huh? Wait, what's with the ID of Surpass Team's top laner Cai Kun Kun, jntm… what does that mean? Does it have any special significance?"

"Oh, that's the pinyin abbreviation of the title of a new song Kun Ge recently released, called 'Jini Tai Mei'. I personally think it fits my taste very well, the rhythm is very strong, quite good to listen to, and if you're interested you can also go give it a listen."

"Jini Tai Mei? Duang-duang, duang-duang~"

"Haha, yes, that's the official one."

The commentators pretended to talk about Kun Ge's ID, but it was actually a pre-arranged soft advertisement. Kun Ge is appearing on the show for a fee, so naturally he came with promotional needs.

(Ps: Don't tear up over the meme, I know jntm wasn't out back then. Also, I'm a fan of Kun Ge!)

"Alright, let's cut the chatter and look at the BP. The Blue Side's Surpass Team went first and banned a big tree. What do you think of this BP, Brother Guan?"

"Well, actually we just talked about this; objectively speaking, looking at the players' lineups, the Cool Team side is stronger, after all they have three professional players, and according to rumors, our star players Ya Qian Ge and Pi Ji Wan are also high-ranked players with solid skills, whereas the Surpass Team side… in any case, raw strength still favors the Cool Team, so under these circumstances the Surpass Team's BP is very hard to pull off, and since there's not much research on the opponent it's also hard to target. I think the key for the Surpass Team is to give the two pros, especially Jiao Shen, a comfortable champion to play, only then do they have a chance to win."

"Actually, whether the left side can win depends on how those two pros perform."

"Yes. However, we often watch Wai Te Teacher's streams, so we have a fairly good grasp of his skill; in this situation he can indeed be considered a relatively stable carry, since he's laning against non‑professional players, but Wai Te has been retired for many years now, and we all know his ceiling. So the variable actually lies with Jiao Shen alone—if his AD play can reach half of his jungle skill level, then I still think there's hope for this game."

"This is also Jiao Shen's first time playing a position other than jungle in a public match, so I'm personally really looking forward to it."

"That's right—this is the kind of match where we can see Jiao Shen playing a position other than jungle, and we might not get another chance like this; from this angle, today's match is indeed extraordinarily meaningful."

"That's right, you didn't see when we were just talking about Jiao Shen—Teacher Rita got so excited her face turned red."

"I... I don't! Don't spout nonsense!"

"Haha~ alright, let's keep looking at the BP. After the Blue Side banned the big tree, the Red Side's Cool Team immediately followed up by banning Kalista…"

"I'll add one thing: Uzi actually plays pretty well with his skate shoes, I've seen him stream with them, but today he still banned them himself."

"After all, it's the Red Side—with the meta answer and Jiao Shen's ID placed here, we have to show some respect."

"That's right."

The Cool Team's coach is A Bu, and he's the one who made the BP. Unlike the Surpass Team side, A Bu actually has real authority within the Cool Team.

By contrast, the Surpass Team's coach Weili is just a figurehead—whether it's the training camp of the past two days or today's BP, Weili is basically just a figurehead.

As for today's BP, the returning veteran A Bu had studied it seriously, and his view exactly matches Guan Zeyuan's: he believes Liang Yan is the sole variable.

Therefore, although Liang Yan is playing AD today, A Bu has already prepared a special package for him, intending to completely strangle this sole variable!

"Rosy, still banning AD?!"

Two minutes later, both sides had used up their three bans in the first round.

The Red Side's Cool Team banned AD three times.

The audience in the venue erupted in a sudden commotion.

The commentators also widened their eyes, their voices full of shock.

"No, this BP…… I just can't make sense of it!"

"Exactly, could the director have messed up? Maybe the Blue Side is actually the Cool Team and the Red Side is the Surpass Team? Clearly Uzi is on our side, so why keep banning AD?"

"Three AD bans, that's too exaggerated…"

"Super exaggerated—I can only say that the fame of a person casts a big shadow; Jiao Shen's pressure on the Cool Team is too great. Even though today is his first time playing AD, the Cool Team still gave him a high level of respect! And I can tell they really want to win."

"There's a whiff of gunpowder in the air."

"Look at the camera—Zhou Dong's expression is a little anxious."

"Both sides really want to win!"