Chapter 83

After FNC locked down Rek'Sai, G2's one-two lanes finally locked in Zyra+Bard.

Then FNC's mid lane took Shah, and the top lane took Caitlyn.

After G2 Zhong Ren discussed, the third floor gave Lao Zhang Maokai, then the fourth floor gave AP Viktor.

The summer split has been underway for so long, AP's Viktor finally came together, although from his personal perspective he still doesn't really like this traditional mage core, but Viktor is a must-pick for mid lane in the summer split version, so AP had to practice it even if he didn't want to. Actually Shah is the same; AP is still practicing it, but his proficiency is rising slowly.

——So is it really that hard to practice one champion per season?

When the champion's role clashes with the player's style, it really is that hard.

Later everyone says AP is adaptable, his strength doesn't drop when switching from mid to bottom lane; it's all forced out of him, and even when he plays AD he still doesn't take the conventional path, still liking to play weird stuff like Yasuo, Syndra going bottom lane etc.

Play well, Lu Ka, I'll give you all the kills in this game.

Liang Yan said into the microphone.

Perkz instantly jumped up happily:

Really? Give me the kill? Give them all to me?!

Yeah, I'll give you whatever I can.

You're not even eating my minion wave?

... I haven't messed up your lane, have I?

Haha~

I swear, I actually did mess it up!

Lao Zhang, you traitor.

Hahaha~

While chatting and laughing, FNC's fourth and fifth picks locked in Katarina and Jinx respectively.

On G2's side, there was another bout of shouting and yelling.

Holy crap, Kikis is also building it? Does he even know how to play Katarina?

Objectively speaking, his Katarina still has something going for it.

But what the hell is Jinx supposed to be?!

The bot lane took a heavy hit.

I can't do this, guys—I'm not playing anymore! Let's surrender in three minutes!

(The 3-minute disconnect-reconnect mechanism was implemented in the 6.12 patch; the Chinese server got it on 6.13)

Pfft, the announcement said you need someone to disconnect to be able to remake, right? And it's a remake, not a surrender, dude!

Never mind all that, Mithy just pulled the plug!

Damn it, you said surrender, why are you telling me to pull the cable?

Exactly, ZvenBadboy.

Zven, BadBad.

In the headset came a chorus of chatter, and Ka Lao Si heard it with black lines across his forehead.

Stop arguing, guys, the pressure in bot lane is indeed huge—think about what to do. Liang Yan, what are you taking? I think maybe you should still take a long-range Wild Core? The enemy really has long reach, and Shah's counter-engage is also fierce; usually melee junglers can't get into team fights. Plus, if you take Wild Core I can rest easy—if Zven falls, you can add some damage, how about that?

Liang Yan, however, said: "Ka Lao Si, have you heard of 'might makes miracles'?"

Ka Lao Si, who didn't care at all about Liang Yan using his given name directly, heard this, thought seriously for a moment, then asked doubtfully:

No, what does that mean?

What I mean is, you can't get in because you're not tanky enough; against this composition you can't be soft, otherwise the more you retreat, the more aggressive they become.

Everyone: '?'

Liang Yan stopped explaining and simply said:

Give me the fiercest man in the whole league on the fifth pick.

Everyone: '???'

You mean the Barbarian King, Tryndamere?

The Barbarian King only lasts five seconds; that doesn't count as a real man.

Is that Graves?

The male gun is too short; that's also fake tough guys.

Brother, why don't you just say it straight? We're kinda slow...

Obviously it's Olaf!

Nobody caught his joke, Liang Yan felt a bit depressed, wondering if his understanding had gone awry—no way, the fiercest man in the league must be Olaf!

You sure about that, Olaf?

Mithy carefully clicked 'the fiercest man in the whole league' into his selection box, then carefully confirmed it.

Confirmed, that's it.

Mithy turned his head to look at Ka Lao Si.

Ka Lao Si gritted his teeth,

—Believe first, then believe again!

He then firmly clicked to confirm.

Clang!

G2's fifth pick is locked in.

Soon, the casters let out a shout and started yelling:

Berserker Olaf!

Oh my god! They actually locked it in! G2... no, Firrrrrre is just too strong!

"Indeed it's strong, but looking rationally, against FNC's lineup that combines poke and counter-engage all in one, can he really dive in?!"

"Well, I don't know, but because his ID is European Electric, so I…"

"I don't believe it; I think he'll get melted before he even reaches FNC!"

"Wait, you two…"

Sjokz suddenly raised his hand and said:

"I have a question: Can Shah's 【Forbidden Army Wall】 push back Olaf in 【Twilight of the Gods】 state?"

"…"

The two commentators instantly fell silent.

Uh oh, I've hit their knowledge blind spot.

Can it or cannot it?

This is a problem.

In the audience downstairs, some shouted "can", some shouted "cannot". In the livestream chat, it's the same; the number of "can" and "cannot" comments is basically fifty-fifty.

The answer is cannot.

In his ultimate state, Olaf is immune to all control, although he can be trapped by terrain-altering skills—for example, Prince's 【Heavenly Earth Split】 and Ice Bird's ice wall—but Shah's 【Forbidden Army Wall】 before the cast completes is not considered a terrain-altering skill, so when Shah uses 【Forbidden Army Wall】 to push back the ultimate Olaf, the skill passes through Olaf, dealing only damage and no control effect.

But after Shah finishes casting, Olaf cannot pass through the skill, because by then the 【Forbidden Army Wall】 has become a wall, which counts as terrain alteration, so Olaf must go around it.

If you test pro players with this knowledge point, many will be unable to answer, because they haven't had this experience.

The commentators' professionalism is even worse, so no need to say more.

However, the three commentators on stage eventually got the correct answer—the backstage director looked up the answer and told them via the talkback.

By then, both coaches had already left the stage, and the big screen on site showed the map loading screen.

After the fans of both teams downstairs shouted chaotic cheers, the big screen changed, and Summoner's Rift appeared before everyone's eyes.

FNC vs G2, Game 1.

FNC, blue side.

Ban: Ahri, Ryze, Nidalee.

Top lane: Kikis, Fiora.

Jungle: Spirit, Rek'Sai.

Mid lane: Febiven, Shah.

Bottom lane: Rekkles, Caitlyn.

Support: YellOwStaR, Janna.

Coach: Deilor.

G2, red side.

Ban: Ekko, Karma, Vladimir.

Top lane: Island, Maokai.

Jungle: Firrrrrre, Olaf.

Mid lane: Perkz, Viktor.

Bottom lane: Zven, Lulu.

Support: Mithy, Bard.

Coach: ocelote.

The battle officially began.

Both sides bought their items and set out, red and blue signals blinking constantly on the minimap, the dense ping sounds echoing in Berlin Arena.

"Lu Ka, come give a hug."

"???"

AP is allergic to such talk; hearing it, he instantly got goosebumps all over, but after seeing Liang Yan's signaling cooperation, he finally understood Liang Yan's meaning—let's just group up, no need to overthink what to group, just speak up!