Chapter 102

"Congratulations to EDG! A clean 3-0 victory in this BO5, proudly advancing to the winner's bracket semifinals!" Guan Zeyuan's tone was high-pitched.

"In the third game, EDG could be said to have all exploded with potential! And the rookie Ye today also continued his hot streak, showing us a completely eye-opening Azir playstyle with multiple physical engages in the third game, proving the gold content of the Best Rookie + Regular Season MVP with his strength!"

Wang Duoduo agreed 100%: "This Everfrost Azir is definitely his exclusive magical understanding; at least on the competitive stage, I haven't seen any player use it, and thinking about it, it really is a playstyle very suitable for player Ye!"

"This player, I really feel like he is constantly improving and transforming. It hasn't been long since the last time I saw him use Azir, but now he is absolutely a different person, a complete change—it can be called 'taking small steps to travel a thousand miles, improving day by day'!"

The freshest thing about the third game was the understanding of Everfrost Azir.

This was also scientific research Ye Bo had done after studying for a period of time; after the practice of this match, he found it really worked!

Currently, the two most common mythic item choices for Azir are either {Crown of the Shattered Queen} for increased error tolerance, or {Liandry's Anguish} for increased damage.

But no matter what he builds, Azir needs at least 2-3 items to stand out and exert power; before that, he mostly acts as an engage tool.

So Ye Bo thought.

Since that's the case, why can't he build Everfrost?

Similar synthesis route to the Crown, similar attributes; the difference is an extra control, and one is for improving error tolerance.

And the reason Azir can't exert power in the early game is that he has no damage, and for control, he only has one ultimate, and the cooldown isn't exactly short; even if he uses it for ganks every time, the efficiency is too low, and it would greatly reduce his self-preservation ability.

At this time, a 30-second cooldown Everfrost can change this status quo!

Azir's long EQ two-stage combo is further and faster than Lissandra's E.

And the key point is that "Azir can cast Everfrost in advance while in the air during EQ."

EQ in, Everfrost in the face, keep the ultimate for self-preservation—it's simply instantly becoming a Lissandra model!

It's equivalent to playing the weak early-mid game Azir as a "functional" hero, and when the strong late-game phase arrives, naturally transform back to the original body.

An Azir with items really doesn't lack that little bit of AP damage.

Anyway, Ye Bo felt this set was a playstyle quite suitable for himself.

The way a hero is played shouldn't be fixed and rigid in the first place; undoubtedly, this is a change very suitable for Ye Bo's style—as long as it works, it's fine.

Moreover, based on past experience, perhaps this playstyle will soon become popular.

"3-0!" Barrier jumped up from his seat excitedly and lunged toward the next room: "Fierce, Master Ye, when did you secretly practice Azir!"

"Haha, that's right, who do you think I am!" Ye Bo deliberately made an exaggerated hands-on-hips pose, joking with him.

Entering the playoffs for the first time, and also winning a BO5 duel for the first time, Ye Bo couldn't help but feel his heart surging.

It was indeed a completely different feeling from a BO3.

Flandre, sitting on the edge, also couldn't hide his excitement, and even the bottom lane duo, who usually had the most indifferent expressions, couldn't help but smile.

For them, the playoff journey had a perfect start, absolutely worth celebrating!

You have to know, the entire Spring Split, the state of the entire EDG roster was incredibly worrying; even Meiko himself admitted when chatting with his old teammate Alpaca that everyone's state had been kept very poor this year, and they could only try their best to adjust for the Summer Split.

If it were back then, they would never have imagined the current situation!

Especially the third game.

The four members of EDG had all been playing professionally for so many years, yet they still had a feeling of "freshness" and "surprise."

How should I put it.

There hadn't been any teammate before who had brought them this kind of gaming experience; it seemed to be a very novel... command style?

Ye Bo turned his head to look at the post-match output panel, and his peripheral vision caught Flandre next to him walking behind him, taking the initiative to reach out his palm.

He turned around and shook it without hesitation, his smile becoming even brighter.

"Played really well," Flandre praised from the bottom of his heart, "It feels like what the netizens said is really true; you can play any hero and make them feel like Akali!"

"Isn't that just 'Aka-Chicken'?" Viper made a humorous wordplay joke.

"I think it's 'Aka-Donkey'!" Barrier echoed loudly: "Those few revolving pushes were simply balder than a Blind Monk!"

"Indeed cool, indeed cool," Meiko nodded repeatedly: "But actually, I think the coolest was the last wave. Ye Bo, how did you get over that river wall? I've seen Scout get caught and die in that position several times before!"

Hearing this, Barrier immediately had a curious look: "Eh? What happened?"

When Ye Bo was caught, the other three were in the tense and exciting process of stealing the Baron, only constantly switching screens to observe, so they really didn't see the specific process.

They only knew that Ye Bo and Meiko were covering and disguising in the middle lane, and the opponent was desperate to catch them but failed and chased deep, and in the end, not only did they delay until the Baron was finished, but they also directly found an opportunity to counter-push and wipe them out.

"Master Ye was at that river wall at the time, the opponent's Aphelios flashed up to A with the purple blade to slow, and then Tahm Kench directly W-intercepted in the river bush, but I didn't expect..." Meiko got stuck when he said this.

As a support player, he didn't play much Azir.

Anyway, he just remembered that that position was where Scout often got caught and died.

Because theoretically, although Azir's EQ two-stage combo can extend the displacement distance to the limit by "E-ing to a distance infinitely close to overlapping with the sand soldier and then Q-ing," Ye Bo's flip over the double walls in the top lane was completed this way.

But wanting to flip directly across from one river bank to the opposite middle river wall was a completely different matter.

Many Azirs had died in this position because EQ-ing across the wall could only reach the midline, and at the limit, it could only displace to the wall and hit it, then be followed up and killed.

The displacement in the top lane was completed by carding the wall limit, but the river wall was very thin, and it seemed there wasn't much to card...

Meiko really couldn't describe it vividly, so he simply omitted the process.

"Anyway, he flew super far; I feel like his Azir was flying in the sky! The five people on the opposite side thought he EQ-ed into the bush, and Xin Zhao directly flashed W to chase, but he ended up stabbing at nothing and was stunned!"

Barrier's expression could only be described as "don't know why but it feels powerful."

However, the opponent's vague description instead aroused his curiosity, and he pulled Ye Bo, wanting him to explain it.

"It's a bit troublesome to explain this; I have to open a game..."

"Eh, Chen Zebin has initiated an interaction!"

The public chat box on the settlement screen suddenly flashed with messages.

【BLG-Bin】: "Awesome, Flandre, how could you catch me in that wave?"

【BLG-Bin】: "@AkaliKing! How did you know Weiwei was there in the second game? I watched the replay for a long time and couldn't understand."

Chen Zebin didn't use the nicknames currently mainstream among netizens, but instead used the nickname Ye Bo once had in his Bilibili videos.

When the two interacted unintentionally on Bilibili before, that was how they called each other.

Ye Bo felt a sense of intimacy and was just about to explain to him.

However, Barrier chuckled, stopped Ye Bo's hand, and replied on his behalf in his own chat box.

【EDG-Barrier】: "Brother Bin, you can't learn for free; even reading novels requires monthly tickets, and Bilibili requires a 'one-click-three-likes'!"

【EDG-Barrier】: "How about becoming an apprentice~ Join my Calabash Brothers army and let our Master Ye teach you a couple of tricks!"

The broadcast screen at this time had already been cut off; these were internal chats between the two sides.

Chen Zebin really wanted to know.

Although as the "Gangang Double B Brother," he liked to talk trash and show off outside the arena, which complemented the other one who liked to show off in the game.

But he never felt ashamed to ask about questions regarding game improvement—otherwise, there wouldn't have been the conversation between the two.

【BLG-Bin】: "Ye! Master! Hurry up and say it, we have to go to the interview later, it's urgent!"

Barrier was still dissatisfied, feeling he was being slippery, while Ye Bo smiled and told him that was enough.

Ye Bo actually always felt that this game had no "secrets"; even the level 7 techniques he mastered, dare he say that among the tens of millions of League players worldwide, not one understood them?

Obviously impossible!

Taking a step back, even if it were true.

But these were also techniques Ye Bo had already used in front of the public; as long as one went to review and study after the match, there would definitely be people who knew them coming out to popularize them.

And in fact, no matter how secret the techniques and operations were, as long as there were enough matches, they could eventually be mastered.

That is the so-called "one-trick pony."

It's just that normal professional players are unlikely to play like this, and even if they know, thinking of it at the right time in actual combat and successfully using it without error are two completely different things.

Ye Bo then briefly explained the mechanism and principle of "Shrouded Seeking Enemies."

"Damn! So that's how it is; I really didn't know this!" Weiwei on the BLG player bench looked surprised.

"Don't talk about you, I didn't know either..." Bin was also very surprised.

This was one of the two questions he was most confused about in this match.

There was another question, which was Flandre's guess in that wave.

He was very convinced that he hadn't made a mistake and exposed his position in that wave; he was quite sensitive to distance control and it couldn't be because he pulled too slowly and exposed his vision.

However, seeing that the other side didn't reply, he guessed they might have gone to accept the winner's post-match interview, so he didn't ask further.

"Eh, where's Scout?" Bin turned his head and looked at the open door; the sofa in the next room was empty: "I still wanted to ask him why that Azir could fly over like that in the last wave; I remember he had died in that position."

"He..." Teapot, who walked in, had a strange expression.

"Don't know, he ran out the door as soon as the last wave was finished; maybe he was a bit hit."

"What's there to be hit about?" Bin, who was good at "I will return," didn't understand, shrugged his shoulders, took out his phone, and opened the live broadcast room.

Teapot said casually: "You're not afraid of being hit, but when you find someone who is even more proficient at your most proficient hero, and even things you couldn't do before, others can do..."

The match live broadcast room was conducting the post-match segment, while EDG on the other side was preparing for the post-match interview.

And the selection of the MVP once again sparked controversy.

It was neither given to the Azir who roamed the whole map, nor to the Viego whose rhythm exploded, nor to the Camille who solo-killed several times, or the Ziggs whose tower demolition and AOE output were off the charts.

Although in such a big advantage game, theoretically giving it to anyone seemed reasonable.

After all, the audience couldn't hear the communication in the team voice at this moment and didn't know the source of those key decisions that happened in this match.

But giving it to the Water Ghost still seemed strange!

【No way? They can give the MVP to the Water Ghost!】

【I'm numb, kill count is not as good as Viego, assist count is not as good as Azir, death count is not as good as Ziggs; there's not a single place that stands out, why?】

【Don't tell me... just because of that hook at level one that looked like a robot? That wasn't purely relying on him either!】

【Three heroes fight Lu Bu, and as a result, the horse won!】

【Don't be biased! As the MVP with the highest gold content, kill count is not important! Assist count is not important! Death count is not important! The audience's opinion is even less important—what the judges think is important is the most important!】

【No, no, I get it! No wonder the Thief Saint didn't play in the third game... he hid in the judge's seat; it was he who stole the MVP!】

The EDG members didn't see the post-match data at the end and had already arrived together at the curtain room set up in the base to wait.

Playoff matches should theoretically have higher standards than regular season matches, but because they were online matches, many processes had been extremely simplified and could only be raised in places that could be set up in the base.

Like interviews, for example.

EDG was accepting the post-match interview as five people together; anyway, they were all in the base, so they might as well go together.

As for the home field, they saved where they could, and the screen of the three commentators sitting down after the transition soon appeared on the connection.

Guan Zeyuan and Wang Duoduo were both wearing formal suits, while Rita was wearing a gem-green scarf off-shoulder dress, sitting sideways with a blanket covering her thighs.

"Welcome to the post-match interview! Once again, congratulations to EDG for advancing to the winner's bracket!"

Guan Zeyuan spoke first: "Then let's interview the MVP of this match, Meiko. You chose the rare Pyke and performed excellently; it feels like the proficiency is very good. Is this the secret weapon you prepared for the playoffs?"

Meiko first showed a look of confusion about the attribution of the MVP, then scratched his head and said honestly: "I wouldn't call it a secret weapon. Actually, I still don't play Pyke very well, but there is a Pyke master in our team, and the effect of his special training for me is quite obvious."

Meiko's hooks were actually very accurate; after all, he was an old support player and had played Thresh back in the ancient era, but he had been unable to keep up with the current roaming hard-support ideas in recent years.

Guan Zeyuan nodded and continued to ask: "Then, both sides made wonderful level-one games in each of these three matches, and EDG also conducted several wonderful lineup changes. I want to know if this is the tactical reserve you prepared for this playoff, or a tactic specifically designed for BLG?"

This question really stumped Meiko.

You ask me? I don't know!

I'm just a emotionless tactical execution machine right now...

"For this question, you have to ask him; Ye Bo is our commander now~"

Meiko smiled and tilted his head to signal, handing the microphone to Ye Bo.

Guan Zeyuan also turned his head to look at the other party.

"Well, there was indeed a deliberate targeted design, because BLG's team style is good at playing the top side, so our main layout was the restriction on the top side..."

After Ye Bo finished speaking, Wang Duoduo took the next topic:

"Since we're talking about the top lane, let's interview Flandre!"

"Flandre contributed wonderful solo kills multiple times in the third game, exerting strong restraint in the side lane, and also used Camille, which the opponent is also good at. The most important change is clearly the game prediction of that vision-blocking wave!"

"So Flandre, why did you discover the opponent's intent in that wave? I saw your action, it was very confident and decisive!"

Li Xuanjun took the microphone that hadn't even warmed up yet.

Hearing this question, he instantly seized the opportunity to be lazy.

"For this question, you also have to ask him; he told me the opponent was in that bush."

The three on the opposite commentary desk showed slightly surprised expressions.

Ye Bo took the microphone handed over by the grinning Flandre and began to explain again: "I just said that playing BLG is playing the top side, right? The top lane is easier to find a breakthrough, so we did a lot of review and research on player Bin. I just happened to have watched the video of his match, um, so..."

Chen Zebin, who was watching the live broadcast in his spare time, felt quite proud when he saw the first half.

Master Ye, you understand the game; you really know who is carrying!

As a result, hearing the second half, his face immediately turned black and red.

What do you mean "the top lane is easier to find a breakthrough"!

But Chen Zebin was more shocked in his heart; he only knew at this time that he had been discovered by Ye Bo, who was far away in the middle lane, in that wave?

No way, brother, you can still switch screens to watch other lanes while laning!?

Are you Erlang Shen!

Then... that wave of Akali pulling the Crocodile, wouldn't he also be switching screens?

Originally, the next one to be interviewed was Ye Bo, but because he saw him talking all the time, the third interviewer, Rita, turned the topic to Barrier.

"Then the third question, Barrier's spiritual game of turning to counter-gank the bottom lane, haha, this wouldn't also be..."

Rita was just making a joke.

As a result, she didn't expect Barrier to be very righteous and not even take the microphone, leaning his head close to the mid laner.

"For this question, you really have to ask him!"

"..."

Ye Bo raised the microphone helplessly.

Damn, why do I have to do all this work!

Ye Bo briefly described the process of thinking about the game through Seraphine's mana, as well as Tahm Kench's hero characteristics, who was not good at roaming but better at tower-tanking coordination.

This time, the three commentators and everyone in front of the screen were filled with incomprehensible astonishment.

【No way, brother? Why do you do everything! Are you a Transformer!】

【This is our mid laner player; teammates just need to listen to the command and do things. Mid laners have to consider more things, have to lane, have to BP, and have to command. This is 'the greater the responsibility, the greater the ability'!】

【Whatever, what does it have to do with the mid laner? A certain mid laner can't say a few words in a whole match, he just lies on the teammate's corpse like a dung beetle and sucks!】

【Laugh to death, doing the work of five people on the field, and still have to do the work of five people in the interview off the field! Really miserable.】

【Can the streamer teach Xiaofei how to play Zoe and Azir? Xiaofei is embarrassed every time he gets solo-killed. Xiaofei clenched his fists, his face flushed, and finally could only say, I was solo-killed, meow~】

【What about those who said Ye would reveal his true colors when he reached the playoff BO5? Get out and talk to me! He evolved directly to the second stage in the playoffs!】

It was clearly a group interview segment, but it almost turned into an "exclusive interview."

Because no matter what question was asked, it seemed like it could be turned to the middle lane—after all, the facts were indeed so.

The EDG members were all happily enjoying their leisure; the interview work was thankless anyway, and saying good or bad things didn't work.

It was only hard on little Ye Bo, doing the whole team's work alone!

"Then the last question, regarding the upcoming winner's bracket opponent in the semifinals, are you more optimistic about JDG or TES... let player Ye Bo answer."

Ye Bo had never felt the interview segment was so long; at this moment, he finally felt it was about to end, and without thinking, he said directly: "Anyone is fine!"

"I mean... Factory Manager often taught us that if you want to prove you are number one, you have to defeat all opponents! So it doesn't matter who comes up, we all have confidence in ourselves!"

"Our goal is to aim for the Silver Dragon Cup!"

Ye Bo skillfully made up two sentences, and the teammates beside him were all giggling.

However, everyone gave him face and followed behind, shouting the goal together, shouting out the team's confidence and momentum!

Mr. Clearlove, who had suddenly had a stomachache, was humming and walking out of the bathroom at this moment, preparing to go upstairs to see how the interview was going.

With so many people in the group interview today, how could anything go wrong?

"Achoo!!!"

"Damn, which kid is thinking of me..."

The recording of this playoff semifinal match was soon uploaded to major platforms shortly after the match.

Various secondary creation analysis bloggers quickly jumped on the bandwagon, and major teams also began to analyze intensively.

And the echoes and repercussions triggered by this were unexpectedly unprecedented!

(End of chapter)