Chapter 837: The child of history

The five members of VG walked to the front of the stage and stood in a line, their bearing heroic and upright.

The camera closed in on his face; Liang Yan slightly lifted his chin and casually waved his hand toward the stands—just that one motion again drew screams from the whole venue.

Afterwards, the five VG players returned to the red side player seats and stood ready; the host began introducing the five VG starters one by one, and each announced ID provoked cheers like a mountain‑shouting, sea‑roaring tsunami from the crowd. The people from neighboring AHQ watched this frenzy, envying them beyond compare.

They never dared imagine they could win more popularity and applause than the LPL teams on an LPL home stage, but it's heartbreaking that even in the LMS region they had never seen such an astonishing scene—not even the LMS big brother FW had.

How could they not be envious, jealous, and hateful?

"Kill them!"

After returning to the player seats and sitting down, the jungler Mountain said fiercely.

"Good." Ximen Ye said in agreement, "Then let's unleash our secret weapon."

"Agreed, give it our all!"

"OHHHHHHHH! Destroy VG, make a name for ten thousand!"

At this moment Ren Dong had just finished delivering the opening ceremony speech:

"Sixteen teams!"

"One shared goal!"

"Heroes, aspire to legend!"

"The flames of the group stage! Now, officially! Ignite!!!"

……

The camera switched, and Wawa appeared on screen with two guests.

Both guests were prominent figures.

One was Shen Chao, representing the professional field.

The other was a little celebrity who, under the urging of his agent, paid to appear on the show as a mere decoration to gain exposure. The opening match plus VG—this appearance doesn't come cheap.

"Welcome to the commentator's desk, everyone, I'm Wawa!"

"Good afternoon, I'm Shen Chao."

"Good afternoon, everyone, I'm Balabala, balabala……"

The little celebrity spoke in a script‑like manner, and Wawa, after he finished, immediately jumped in, looking even a bit impatient: "All right, today we'll keep the chatter short, because the BP is about to start, and the audience friends can be said to have waited with bated breath for this day, so let's just chat a couple of things……"

Wawa turned to look beside him: "Shen Chao teacher, what's your take on this match?"

"As for the outcome, I think VG winning 10‑0 is no problem; the key is how we play—whether to bring out something new or stick with the old tactics we've shown before."

"So do you think VG will pick it?"

"Uh…… if we want to play it safe, we should still pick it; but if we want to keep more trump cards for the later knockout stage, then the group stage would have to take a risk."

"All right, then in your view, how should this version be played exactly?"

"Actually, compared to our playoffs, the environmental changes aren't big—from hero selection to playstyle, they're not much different. The LPL playoffs used patch 7.16, S7 used 7.18; although it spans two patches, Riot might also be wary of changing too much and causing issues, so the adjustments are actually few, mainly just minor tweaks to hero and item stats, not affecting the overall environment. However, there are also some adjustments worth noting……"

Shen Chao was clearly well‑prepared, his thoughts clear, speaking calmly and confidently:

"One is that in patch 7.17 EZ received another buff, his Q skill's attack damage gain increased by 0.15—don't let the small number fool you, the impact is big because EZ's skill cooldown is very short, so I think EZ jungle could become more popular in this patch."

"Then come several key adjustments in patch 7.18."

"The health bonus of Molten Shield (jungle item) was cut, and stacked with the 7.16 price increase of 75 gold, its cost‑effectiveness is now much lower than before. This hits Rek'Sai, who fits the item best, extremely hard—its priority must drop a lot, and it definitely won't be as hot as in the playoffs. Likewise, several other tank junglers are affected; although tank junglers still suit this patch best, I think other jungle types might also get some playtime."

"And another is that Snake Woman was nerfed, her E skill damage reduced……"

"Hey, I know this one!" Wawa interjected loudly.

Shen Chao nodded, said a lot while getting a bit thirsty, then took the chance to mute the mic and sip water.

Wawa then said: "This nerf to Snake Woman in 7.18 is actually just rolling back the buff from 7.16, meaning it's basically reverted to the Snake Woman of 7.15."

"That's true, but I think Snake Woman's priority in 7.18 might be lower than in the 7.15 version."

"Huh? Why?"

"Because this patch is actually mainly about nerfing tanks, and Snake Woman is specifically for countering tanks. Now the frontline's tankiness has decreased, making it easier to handle, so the necessity of picking Snake Woman naturally isn't as high."

"Oh……" Wawa pondered, then her eyes lit up: "Hey, does that mean Skate Shoes are even stronger now?"

Shen Chao was speechless for two seconds.

He knew what Wawa was thinking.

Sima Laozei's Skate Shoes are naturally extremely strong.

But who doesn't know that nowadays?

Shen Chao thought for a moment and said: "Even if tanks weren't nerfed, Skate Shoes are still very strong; VG already proved it in the 7.16 playoffs, so the group stage would hardly ever see them released. In fact, I think Skate Shoes could make history, becoming the first champion ever to achieve a 100 % ban rate in the main stage of the World Championship, because it's just that outrageous."

"... That outrageous?"

"Yes, look at the play‑ins: they played it in five games, four wins one loss, an eighty percent win rate. No matter the lineup or support, the lane is a complete beatdown of the opposition, and it ignores skill gaps. Once you get it, you basically win; even in the one loss, the bottom lane crushed the enemy—it was only because the top, mid, and jungle exploded that they lost."

"Heavens, this is too terrifying!"

"That's just how terrifying it is."

The little celebrity never spoke, a qualified flower vase—just a slightly awkward facial expression, and in the end simply kept quiet, head down, picking at his nails.

……

Tabe followed closely behind Zhu Xiaolong's steps, walking out from the backstage passage exit and arriving behind his own players in the dim environment. The BP stage allows at most two coaches, a new rule enacted as the official substitute quota increased to two; in previous Worlds only one coach could go on stage, and before S5 coaches weren't even allowed to appear.

After many years, returning to this level of stage once more, Tabe stood behind the player seats, lifted his head to gaze at the distant stands, seeing the light sticks and various support signs flashing like stars in the night sky, and a myriad of feelings welled up in his heart.

World Championship, I'm back!