Chapter 122: Watching People

"Such a fast Flash and Zhonya's! Fiddlesticks actually forced its way through the layers of ultimate ability obstacles, finally securing a Quadrakill and taking down Baron Nashor along with it!"

"TES couldn't defend either the Baron or their base."

"Two to zero!"

"EDG is the first to reach three match points; they are only one final step away from becoming the kings of the Summer Split!"

"Perhaps everyone had their own predictions for the outcome of this final before the match, but I believe very few would have expected the game's progression to be so completely one-sided in favor of EDG!"

The moment the Nexus shattered, bursts of cheers erupted from the audience.

Especially with the visual impact of that final 【Quadrakill】, the atmosphere inside the venue was instantly ignited to its boiling point.

"Ye Wen's Fiddlesticks is just too terrifying!" Doinb reacted exaggeratedly, his mouth wide open: "Oh my god, he's completely numbed the TES players; they'll definitely have some trauma after this match!"

"EDG is really more suitable after swapping in Ye Wen. Aside from not being good at utility heroes, Ye is indeed more convincing than the 'Little Junior' in terms of both champion pool and mechanics."

He looked like he was giving a serious, objective analysis, but it was obvious he was secretly hinting at Scout between the lines.

Among the "Three Saints," he didn't find the other two very pleasing to the eye.

Perhaps he felt that since everyone was a champion, why did the audience seem to think the other two were better than him!

Previously, Scout's momentum at EDG was too strong, and he didn't dare to provoke him.

So he just kept picking on the honest Rookie, who had been hovering around the playoffs all these years.

But now that Scout had left the team, and his reputation had plummeted due to contract issues and fluctuating form, he had to take the opportunity to step on him a couple of times!

Realizing his hints were too obvious, Doinb hurriedly covered up and changed the subject: "Ale, did you see that? You really need to learn from Brother Shengqiang. Although he doesn't seem to get much screen time, he can stabilize himself completely without relying on teammates, and he can stand up when he's needed!"

Ale, who was sitting silently to the side, was inexplicably brought out as a shield.

Listening to that preachy tone, Ale, who already had a bad temper, didn't even think before retorting directly.

"Heh~ Anyway, you really need to learn from Ye. If our mid laner could have a laning advantage and take lane priority every game, I wouldn't die even if I just pressed randomly in the top lane!"

"And what did you say? Saying others can't play utility heroes... People can play Fiddlesticks clearly; are you sure he can't?"

"People just... don't like to play them~"

Doinb, having been retorted, scratched the back of his reddened ears, feeling like he was being hinted at for not playing his own Fiddlesticks mid well.

He gave two dry laughs to cover up the embarrassment in his heart: "Sorry, sorry... my bad, my bad."

After waiting for a moment, Doinb returned to normal and continued to change the subject.

"Oh my god, look at Tian; it feels like he's not in a very good mood!"

The director's camera in the live broadcast room happened to be locked on the departing TES players, and Doinb suddenly raised his volume: "Oh no! He wouldn't be turning into what he was last year again, would he!?"

Once the words were out, he hurriedly pretended he had misspoken and kept his mouth shut.

The chat was filled with question marks, having been baited.

【Still hinting? Still hinting! Are you really going to nag about this Iceland mess for the rest of your life!】

【Jay Chou's Sunny Day, Karen Mok's Cloudy Day, Stefanie Sun's Rainy Day, none compare to Jin Taixiang's Tian! There won't be such good mid-jungle brothers as Jin Yuliangyuan ever again!】

【Big B is like this; anyway, he must mention popular players in every three sentences. If he doesn't mention them, where would the heat come from?】

【It's really disgusting; he still has to yin-yang my Master Ye between the lines. Just because you can play utility heroes, it means others aren't as good as you, right?】

【Tell a joke: "General-type Mid Laner", "Warrior Version of Faker", "Mid Laner with Self-Contained System"】

【Let's be reasonable, Master Ye is actually the Big B in his own ideal self. Watching people is like projecting himself; anyway, as long as they play the same hero, it's like he shares the honor!】

Tian, who walked into the player tunnel, didn't know he had been hung on the electronic Mount Emei again.

He still had a straight face when he returned backstage.

For two consecutive games, his jungle had inexplicably collapsed.

And in both cases, he felt that he had played with no problems at all!

"It's okay, you've already done great." Although team manager Guo Hao was also a bit disappointed, as the "World's Number One Mouth," he still tried his best to soothe the players' mentality.

The good news was that TES was different from FPX.

Whether it was the management of Guo Hao and Coach Maokai, or the fun-loving characters like Da Huang, JackeyLove, and Mark who loved to talk nonsense, they could all keep the atmosphere within TES relaxed.

Because of this, in the year Tian came to TES, he hadn't entered the second form of "Depressed Tian" for a long time.

Tian still couldn't help but speak his mind: "I don't quite understand. When we played EDG in the regular season, the mid lane was a 50-50 split; both games were lost due to roaming and support strategies..."

"Is it... did something go wrong somewhere?"

"K-Huang, is your laning pressure very high in these two games?"

In the two games the two sides played in the regular season, one with Zoe and one with Pyke, Ye Bo did not create too many rhythm points in laning or mid-jungle.

At that time, the main battlefield for both sides was the bot lane.

It was also because of this that TES, having learned from the pain for this final, specifically formulated the tactical thinking for this BO5 based on the experience of that match.

Since they had suffered losses at the hands of their opponents in the bot lane rhythm, they would change their thinking and start with the opponent's rhythm core, the mid laner!

But the results of these two games had already proven it.

This instead caused their own mid-jungle to frequently suffer setbacks in the early game, which in turn led to the bot lane's rhythm being unable to exert any force!

Left Hand, who was asked this, was slightly stunned, hesitated for a moment, and gave an ambiguous answer.

"It's... still okay..."

JackeyLove took the initiative to help translate and expand on Left Hand's words: "That chase and counter-kill with Sylas in the last game, you guys actually played quite well; that was my problem, don't blame K-Huang."

"No, no, no, that was my problem!" Mark, how could he bear to let his brother take the blame, hurriedly spoke up to carry it.

"And then this Fiddlesticks, it should have been countered, can't blame K-Huang either... No way, this guy's champion pool is too deep; he can even play Pyke mid, who would have thought he could pull out a Fiddlesticks!"

JackeyLove's way of sprinkling salt and reconciling actually made the expressions of Left Hand and Tian much better.

Left Hand also followed up by speaking his true feelings: "Actually, I feel that compared to the him in the regular season, he's not quite the same."

JackeyLove spoke up again to translate: "Right, actually this is the main reason!"

"He has clearly evolved."

As opponents, they could feel the changes more than the audience and those in the spectator perspective.

When Ye Bo encountered TES in the regular season, it was just his fourth game of his professional career.

At that time, he really felt a bit unable to find Left Hand's laning flaws; unless he could get his most confident hero, he really had no way to deal with the opponent, and could only play the roaming rhythm.

But after a whole summer of training, and then the continuous improvement after entering the playoffs.

Even Ye Bo himself hadn't noticed it.

In addition to the refinement of basic skills, more importantly, it was in champion pool, global command, overall layout, and on-the-spot adaptability... everything was undergoing a qualitative leap in a subtle way!

After all, in the eyes of others, this was just a summer of less than three months.

But for Ye Bo—this was 30 hours * three months of day-after-day polishing.

The raw jade finally had its shape at this moment.

Guo Hao applauded at the right time and also encouraged Tian: "We haven't been eliminated yet; it's not like there's no chance for a comeback!"

"JDG was able to let two and chase three against us, and we also let two and chased three against FNC in the S10 quarterfinals! This is nothing difficult!"

Guo Hao actually couldn't figure out why there was such an obvious gap between the two sides.

But now there was no point in saying more; all they could do was pour chicken soup for the players and strive to improve everyone's on-the-spot state.

Coach Maokai also echoed deeply: "Exactly, we were on a Northern Expedition in both spring and summer; no one would have thought we could enter the final and guarantee at least a runner-up, right?"

He called on the players to gather in a circle, and everyone stretched out their palms to the center.

"Everyone, calm down, just fight to the end with the opponent in the last game, don't forget what our slogan is!"

"Fight without regrets!" *4

"Fight without regrets!" *1

And on the other side, EDG backstage.

Ye Bo's smile was incomparably bright, and he was leisurely warming up his hands in front of the screen.

Having won two games in a row, his mentality was very relaxed now.

Next, as long as he won one more small game, he could draw a perfect period for this Summer Split and walk into the S-series with the proud position of the first seed!

And the harvest of this game was also quite substantial.

"Scientific Research" was not a universally applicable function; after all, it was still a temporary external object, and both pure understanding and pure operation would have some drawbacks.

Just like many operations of Fiddlesticks in this game, considering that his control was not enough, he tried his best to use "relying on himself" operation choices for several waves.

Just like that face-to-face corner vision-blocking E-Flash, the operation principle was actually very simple.

But the key was that corner of vision-blocking, which required exquisite control over the vision mechanism and distance points; these were the real difficulties and key points.

"Awesome, brothers, winning is too easy, right!" Ming Kai, who rushed into the backstage through the staff tunnel, was full of red light at this time.

"TES isn't very resistant to beating either!"

Ming Kai had full confidence in his own team before the match.

Because compared to outsiders, he actually knew his team's growth and reserves this year better.

Even for this BO5 final, EDG had a small tactical point before the match—on the premise of ensuring a win, expose as little of their tactical reserves as possible.

There was no other reason.

This time, they were really studying their opponents for the S-series!

But after the final really started, Ming Kai was still moved by his team's violent, storm-like offensive.

In front of EDG, TES was simply like a sieve, as if full of loopholes!

It even made people wonder if this was really a final between the strongest in the region.

In the two duels, the match duration was less than 30 minutes, which was definitely god-speed in the current version!

But thinking about it again, the final of the LCK next door seemed to be such a one-sided three-game situation, so it was inevitable to wonder if the so-called "team restraint" theory existed...

"Little Ye Bo's hand feel is really hot today~~" Ming Kai's eyes looking at Ye Bo were full of admiration.

Obviously, Ming Kai and the entire EDG team's real confidence was the brand-new change to the team after the new mid laner joined.

Ye Bo deliberately crossed his arms and held his head high: "Hmph! I said that wasn't trash talk; if I say I'll prove it, I'll prove it!"

Barrier couldn't help but be a bit cheeky: "Hehe, Factory Manager, look, this is the art of Chinese; there is still a difference between proving and proving..."

"Zhao Lijie! You sit at that seat outside the door for dinner tonight!"

Ming Kai, who was in a bad mood, was about to leave.

Suddenly he remembered something and stopped to ask: "Hey, by the way, Zhao Lijie, how did you find out there was a ward in that position? That wave where F6 pretended to go top, I couldn't understand that wave."

Barrier pretended to be mysterious and put his hands behind his back: "Oh, I have to sit at the door to eat, my memory might not be very good~"

(ˉ. ￣** ) Ming Kai stared with a death gaze.

There was a burst of laughter in the lounge.

But Ming Kai, looking at Ye Bo, who Barrier was leaning on carelessly, vaguely guessed something.

"Alright, alright, get ready to go on stage; I'm going back to the audience to find your uncle and aunt." Ming Kai patted Ye Bo on the shoulder.

Only then did Ye Bo suddenly remember that his mom and dad were still in the audience.

He would instinctively focus all his attention and discard distractions as soon as he entered the game, and he was even more excited and hot-blooded after the second game, feeling the distance that seemed to be only a step away.

"Factory Manager, hey, did my dad... mom say anything?"

Ming Kai smiled and said truthfully: "Auntie was watching very excitedly; you were just wearing headphones and couldn't hear, otherwise, oh boy, she was shouting louder than me!"

"As for Uncle, his emotions didn't seem to fluctuate too much... but I saw it, he kept giggling."

Ye Bo didn't care if what the other party said was true or not.

Anyway, hearing this, he couldn't stop the joy in his heart.

"I'm leaving, everyone, fight to the death for me! Strive to get off work on time!"

"Welcome back to the live broadcast of the 2022 LPL Summer Finals!"

Guan Zeyuan, seeing EDG leading two to zero, had a brighter voice at the opportunity to get off work early.

"Currently, EDG is leading with three match points and has already reached the match point game!"

Remember echoed from the side, and then offered advice to the disadvantaged side: "TES must think deeply about their tactical focus for this game; the failure of the mid-jungle confrontation in the early game for two consecutive games is a significant pressure for them, as they are already standing on the edge of a cliff!"

Wang Duoduo also nodded in agreement: "Player Ye, both games were his key breakthroughs; in fact, TES had an advantageous composition in both games, but neither game successfully achieved the effect, which is also the key to their rhythm discontinuity..."

The director aimed the camera at Ye Bo.

In the picture, his smile was bright, and his slender fingers were tapping on the keyboard, looking like he was still typing and interacting with opponents in a custom room.

The audience in the stands recovered after a short delay and shouted the names of their favorite players one after another.

Among them, Ye Bo, the MVP of the last game, clearly occupied an undeniable weight.

And Ye's mother was even waving a 【YE】 flagpole that she didn't know where she pried from, looking more energetic than the young people beside her!

Until a crisp, powerful sound came.

The panel appeared, instantly inciting deafening cheers from the whole audience.

"BP started, Brother Xianghe." Oner turned his head to shout at Lee Sang-hyeok, who was typing rapidly on the keyboard in front of the computer screen behind him.

Lee Sang-hyeok clicked to exit training mode.

The hero selected on the screen seemed to be a strange figure surrounded by crows, withered and thin.

"They wouldn't be three-zero too, right..."

Oner said while drinking a mouthful of strawberry-flavored protein powder, suddenly realizing he had misspoken after a brain boost.

After all, they had just been miserably three-zeroed by Samsung in the final.

Talking about others seemed a bit like picking at his own scars.

"Three-zero is also very normal; there is a gap in overall strength, and this team on the opposite side is too unstable overall." Lee Sang-hyeok evaluated objectively and calmly.

"Yes, we have also watched the games of this team in the semifinals; in fact, there were times when they performed well, but why is the gap between the upper and lower limits so large?" Benji, who was recording with a notebook on the side, was also a bit puzzled.

"Let's see if EDG can pull out something new; it feels like they have a lot of tactical reserves hidden..."

First round ban—

TES: Akali, Renata, Sylas

EDG: Wukong, Poppy, Taliyah

"TES, on the blue side, actually took the initiative to ban Sylas! This... isn't this also Left Hand's specialty! Why did they ban it themselves!"

"However, TES also grabbed Zeri, who has the highest win rate in the playoffs, for JKL on the first floor!"

"Oh! This might be wanting to release Kalista to the opponent; Kalista is not easy to pair with Yuumi, so TES can choose the most comfortable combination for the bot lane!"

TES's BP strategy was highlighted by being stubborn.

But this was also because Top Esports was as pure as a white lotus; they only had one trick, and it was laid out nakedly in front of everyone—bot lane takes the advantage, mid-jungle links up to do things, and they use the advantage opened up in the mid and bot lanes to group up and push.

They didn't have time, and they had no tactics to change.

However, TES had a certain design in BP; they released Kalista and chose a double-charge composition to target it, strengthening the targeting of the bot lane to the greatest extent.

But since EDG had already mastered the system the opponent was good at, they naturally had a response.

"Left Hand chose Ahri... wait a minute! Galio!?"

In fact, when Ye Bo saw this lineup, he had already thought of choosing Galio.

Although Ye Bo didn't like playing this hero very much, he didn't give up practicing because of his preferences.

After all, this was a hero that played a key role in the face of specific heroes and specific lineups—just like this strong-charge system on the opposite side!

Not to mention that even if he didn't choose it, being able to practice and understand it more deeply would be more conducive to his response.

It was a very simple truth.

If one day Ye Bo could train Galio to a seven-level level, relying on his mastery of Galio, perhaps he could find flaws in some impossible matchups.

But obviously, that was not an easy thing; with limited time, it could only be an idea for the time being.

It's just that.

Just after the opponent locked in Ahri.

In front of Ye Bo's eyes, a prompt for the diary "Hidden Quest" actually popped up...

"What will Left Hand's Ahri and Galio have?"

Ye Bo was full of question marks.

He thought about the last time he played against Left Hand, the opponent actually chose Ahri, but nothing triggered any hidden quest at that time.

Could it be because of the difference in the level of the regular season and the current final?

However, since it was delivered to his door, Ye Bo already had the idea of choosing it, so naturally, there was no reason to hesitate.

The lineups of both sides were confirmed.

【Blue Side: TES || Red Side: EDG】

【Top: Ornn vs Kennen】

【Jungle: Vi vs Xin Zhao】

【Mid: Ahri vs Galio】

【ADC: Zeri vs Kalista】

【Support: Yuumi vs Amumu】

"This lineup, it feels like the right side was brought to life by a Galio; why didn't the blue side ban it in the second round?" Benji rubbed his nose while looking at the lineups of both sides, unable to figure it out.

"Could it be that they think this person can't play Galio?"

Benji guessed right.

Ye Bo's Galio had only been chosen once in the Summer Split, and his performance was not bright.

This was also the basis for what Doinb said, "He can't play utility heroes."

Coupled with Ye Bo's usual image, it seemed that he didn't like playing this type of hero.

So TES naturally thought that he couldn't play Galio!

Benji turned his head to ask the person next to him: "Xianghe, Galio against Ahri, I remember it's very hard to play, right?"

Lee Sang-hyeok paused.

Looking at the ID on the screen, he thought carefully for a while before answering.

"Watching people."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 123 =====