Chapter 839

"... I feel that between Prince Gari Ao and VG, we need to ban one, or not banning is fine, we can also grab one; in short, we absolutely cannot let AHQ get both."

"I'd rather VG grab the Prince."

"The key is AHQ would never give Prince Gari Ao to you."

"That's right."

"The camera cuts to VG's player bench."

"But it's not aimed at the two coaches; instead, it's filming Liang Yan's face with a grudge."

"Countless fangirls in the venue scream loudly."

"Liang Yan doesn't realize the cameraman is filming him; he watches the screen where Jess is locked in the third Small Black Room by the blue side, his eyebrows slightly raised, his eyes showing a hint of interest."

"He had actually planned that if AHQ bans Jess, our side would ban the Prince and dismantle the T0 Top-Jungle Combination."

"But AHQ was too decisive."

"It looks like they came prepared, having already devised this BP strategy, and they anticipated that VG, out of confidence, would not ban Prince Gari Ao."

"Even knowing this, AHQ still shows a strong intention to grab Prince Gari Ao."

"This makes Liang Yan inevitably curious and eager; he wants to see what trump cards AHQ really has, and wants to see how they would play after getting such a good hand."

"Not banning the Prince?!"

"Zhu Xiaolong's face is full of shock; he exchanges a glance with Tabe, sees the same bewilderment on the other's face, and realizes Tabe also can't fathom Liang Yan's intention to release Prince Gari Ao plus the Prince."

"Liang Yan didn't elaborate further, just suggested banning the Gem."

"When the red side's third ban slot locked onto Gem Knight Taric, Su Xiao Yan exclaimed: 'What? VG actually isn't banning Prince Gari Ao?!'"

"Guan Zeyuan: 'Huh? What does this mean? Intentionally releasing a strong combo to put pressure on ourselves? Or does it mean we want to grab the Prince?'"

"Miller mused: 'Um… actually, no matter how you look at it, VG shouldn't ban the Gem... uh, Taric, I also can't figure it out.'"

"After the Gem Knight was reworked, its name changed; although everyone is still more used to calling it Gem Knight, its official name is now Shield of Valoran, and it even got a pink skin, which is… flirtatious? All in all, the reworked Gem Knight, aside from not being straight, is pretty good; in this version it returns to the hotspot of the arena thanks to the censer and its unique group invulnerability mechanism."

"The Gem Knight is indeed quite strong, but according to my observation, this hero's error tolerance is actually low, because it's a short-range champ, and laning is relatively weak. In the preliminaries, no team could play this hero well; it feels only strong teams picking it would be somewhat threatening. AHQ can't be called weak, but logically VG shouldn't fear it at all; obviously Prince Gari Ao poses a greater threat."

"No doubt… it looks like we have to grab it ourselves."

"But this would definitely be a loss for VG, because although AHQ's first pick can only take one, right now there are still Pig Girl, Shen, Syndra, and Xayah—these are strong champs worth grabbing. If VG doesn't ban the Prince, their first pick can only get two, while AHQ can later grab two more..."

"The commentators chattered on, and the live audience likewise had plenty of high-end players and even pros; the murmurs of countless people gathered into a low rumble."

"In several nearby commentator desks, commentators from other regions also felt puzzled by VG's BP, but their attitudes differed."

"The European commentators seemed to have a blind confidence in VG, praising whatever VG does."

The LCK commentator, speaking from his own region's team's standpoint, thought VG's deliberate release of a strong combo must have some ulterior motive; feeling uneasy about this unprecedented and unimaginable turn, he wore a solemn, grave expression.

The North America commentator merely said VG was overly arrogant, and the probability of a crash had greatly increased……

Amid the clamor, AHQ locked in their first pick without question, instantly snatching Garen.

VG's first pick was also very fast, locking in Maokai and Lulu.

These two picks alone caused all the regional commentator desks to explode.

Thanks for the big gift!!

The North America commentator Pastrytime stared wide-eyed in shock,

"VG actually didn't take Prince!"

"Did they deliberately give it to AHQ? Too arrogant!"

"I have a feeling VG will crash in this opening match!"

They weren't wrong; VG indeed released Prince out of confidence. More precisely, it was because of Liang Yan's confidence.

Among the LPL commentator desk, the three commentators furrowed their brows deeply.

Guan Zeyuan: "This BP... what do you think, Teacher Miller?"

Miller: "Just watching... alright, I don't get it."

Guan Zeyuan looked at Su Xiao Yan, who also shook her head: "I don't get it either; I feel... is VG being overly confident?"

Miller let out a light sigh and said: "Maokai in this version is really just average; it's what we LPL like most, but given VG's style, they shouldn't be superstitious about Maokai."

Su Xiao Yan nodded: "Yes, from the play-in stage, Maokai's strength is quite average, so its popularity has plummeted; although it's still among the top lane hot picks, it's far inferior to Shen and Nasus, and possibly even Naafiri's priority is higher than his."

Guan Zeyuan said: "Actually, this version's top lane environment is relatively balanced, with many top lane champions to choose from; aside from Jayce being worth a targeted ban, the others aren't worth a first-round ban, at least judging from the play-in stage……"

The trolls in the livestream got excited.

【It's started, it's started~】

【Surely VG can't escape the First Seed curse either, are they starting to mess up?】

【Classic First Seed: strong in internal matches, weak in external ones】

VG's move of giving Prince, AHQ also didn't anticipate it at all.

Originally in their plan, the jungle position had another secret weapon, which AHQ discovered as a clever trick while scrimmaging with a play-in qualifier team.

But since VG released Prince, AHQ had no reason not to take it.

The blue side's second and third picks were quickly locked in.

"Prince plus Zilean!"

"Then Garen is going top lane!"

"Good heavens, this top-mid-jungle..."

"Perfect. I can only say that if this top-mid-jungle combo went to VG, this game would already have lost its suspense. But the ones who got this combo are VG's opponents……"

"Let's see how VG will handle it."

"Move Maokai to support, take Naafiri top, I think; stop forcing the incense burner comp."

"Huh? This idea is great! Without Jayce, it's easier to deal with Garen and fits the meta, so it's Naafiri. Surely they wouldn't put Yasuo top, right?"

"Don't mess around, Yasuo... AD Kennan has been nerfed, so it's Naafiri."

However, VG third floor finally locked a rosy cloud.