Chapter 175: A Battle Destined to Give Birth to a Legend! [Seeking Monthly Votes]

The final moments of the last wave passed in a flash, a sudden and earth-shattering variable occurred; the scene seemed unable to react to the several reversals that had taken place within this half-minute!

The moment the Nexus exploded, time in the Summoner's Rift seemed to stand still.

The atmosphere at the venue suddenly reached a boiling point, the sounds from all around converged, seemingly forming an indescribable, sweltering sensation that spread wantonly throughout the arena!

"Two to zero!!!" Wawa didn't care in the slightest that his voice was distorted and strained: "Three whole championship points, on the stage of the finals! They are already standing at an unimaginable historical juncture!"

Wang Duo was clearly still stunned by the final wave: "Aatrox couldn't save the team! He couldn't stand until the end in this peak showdown, couldn't recreate the miracle of defending the base from the quarterfinals!"

"This time it was Sylas who stood until the end! And it was precisely because he stood until the end that he killed the game in one fell swoop!"

"This showdown, a 'Peak of the Forbidden City' clash, will absolutely become a legendary moment in history!"

He became more and more excited as he spoke: "A result no one could have imagined, and even less could anyone have predicted such an ending."

Miller also took over the analysis: "In this final team fight, EDG was outnumbered, and even with their Sejuani and support caught and instantly killed, they still managed to win this miraculous team fight!"

"I dare say that for ninety-nine percent of teams, they wouldn't have dared to engage like that in the final wave. Even if they knew the effect of Varus's ultimate, it would be the same!"

Wang Duo nodded vigorously: "Yes! But that is why EDG has been able to make it this far!"

"Facing any fleeting opportunity, they are not only able to seize it, but they also display true decisiveness, with the discipline of an army!"

"This is a victory for the team, and also a victory for EDG's shot-calling and decision-making!"

When the observer view saw DRX decisively abandon the tower to Teleport, wanting to use the numbers advantage to hard-engage on the Sejuani and Yuumi.

A loud thud echoed in the hearts of all the domestic viewers.

According to the expected development of that wave, Sejuani and Yuumi would be killed, and the remaining 2 vs 5 on the front line would certainly be unable to continue fighting.

Camille would at most take down one inhibitor lane, but DRX would have won the team fight while at a disadvantage, and by turning around to take the Baron and then the Dragon, they would undoubtedly have instantly turned the situation around!

But who could have known that a variable no one could have imagined would suddenly appear!

First of all, the timing of the engage could not have the slightest hesitation—only when the teammates had not yet fallen to help draw fire could Sylas possibly wait for the stacks of Withered Chains to take effect!

Of course, the truly fatal result was the final 1v1 in the river—if the final winner had been Aatrox, it would have been completely acceptable for DRX.

Don't look at it as just a 4-for-4 trade that also gave up their own bottom lane inhibitor.

What it would have bought them was the qualification for DRX to engage in head-on team fights moving forward!

From Aatrox's performance in the final team fight, it could be seen that the fed Aatrox was actually not that easy to kill, and Kingen's subsequent mechanics fully unleashed the terrifying ceiling of this hero!

And once Aatrox secured a quadra kill and returned to base to buy Maw of Malmortius, Sylas would be helpless against him.

Only then would it be DRX's true time to counterattack!

Yet, it was precisely that final sliver of difference.

With a superior, iron-nerved play, Ye Bo stood until the end, seized the opportunity while Camille was busy with her solo push, and killed the game in one wave.

He forcefully extinguished the glimmer of light that DRX had managed to tear open in the darkness of their desperate situation!

The dense barrage of comments in the LPL broadcast room almost crowded out the screen content.

【EDG! My superman! Master Ye! My god!】

【I said this year's finals would be the least suspenseful one, DRX is clearly the weakest finals team in history!】

【If you could still say that after watching the match, you're just a casual viewer. It's obvious this was the hardest match EDG has played, okay? If it weren't for Master Ye's few tightrope-walking plays, it might have gone wrong!】

【Anyway, with a two-to-zero start, I don't know how they could lose!】

【Don't pop the champagne at halftime. DRX has been reverse-sweeping every day this year. Did you forget they just reverse-swept JDG in the quarterfinals? They also reverse-swept T1, this team is a specialist in playing from behind...】

【If EDG can win another championship, I swear I'll never bash them again! Back in the LPL, they can throw as much as they want! They can even tank next year!】

"My boy! That's my boy!!!"

Ye Ying raised her small fists high in excitement, while the corners of her eyes shimmered with inexplicable silver light.

Being too excited makes one want to cry, especially when one is truly happy for the other person.

Ye Xiong was still looking bewildered—although he had been trying hard to learn this game in his spare time outside of work recently, he was limited by his age and being a technophobe, and had yet to break free from the suppression of {General Difficulty} bots.

He still didn't understand why, a second ago, the person beside him was wailing that something terrible had happened.

The next second, it suddenly turned into passionate cheers!

"What happened? How did they suddenly win?" He could only ask his excited wife beside him in confusion.

"Oh my, I told you to watch more of their match replays! Where did that studious drive you had in school go? I'm starting to wonder how you even got into our university!"

Ye Ying gave him a sideways glance, but still explained it with a simple summary: "Their opponents are really strong too. They spent so much effort digging a hole and almost turned the game around! They even succeeded, but our son turned the fruits of their labor into a weapon to defeat them!"

Seeing that the other person was still looking bewildered and didn't understand.

Ye Ying could only use a vivid metaphor once again.

"It's like you're fishing. You caught more at first, but someone next to you spent all their effort to suddenly catch a king fish. You were about to be overtaken and lose, but you walked up and kicked their fish basket into the river!"

Ye Xiong's sense of immersion instantly kicked in, and his eyes clearly brightened.

"Is it that satisfying?"

"Even more satisfying than that! Our son is better than you; he kicked the people from the other side directly into the river!"

Hearing this, Ye Xiong suddenly turned his head and started shouting toward the stage.

Ye Ying was stunned for a moment, but immediately followed up with a shout: "Go for it, my boy! Beat them!"

Of course, these shouts could not possibly be heard on the stage.

However, it was interesting that this conversation was recorded by a few young domestic fans nearby who were originally filming and taking photos with a "teasing" mindset.

These young people noticed this mainly because Ye Ying was shouting too loudly.

Esports matches are mostly aimed at young audiences, and sometimes when emotions run high, shouting various "direct relative titles" as the highest form of respect is quite normal.

However, this was the first time they had seen a real, living "Mom Fan" in reality.

A post soon appeared on the Tieba forum with the title: 【Whoa, there really are Mom Fans. I thought the Mom Fans on Weibo were all fake.】

The EDG players on the big screen stood up.

Everyone hugged Ye Bo one after another, and Ye Bo also enthusiastically responded to everyone's embraces; no one could hide their excitement.

Hearing the cheers from the entire arena, Ye Bo felt his heart surging with emotion.

"Glad we have you," Jiejie said with a look of lingering fear: "Master Ye, your performance today was truly divine!"

"Just a normal performance!" Flandre revealed a smile without restraint: "What level is Master Ye at? DRX's brains and hands were both suppressed by him!"

Ye Bo grinned and responded sincerely: "But the last wave was really dangerous. DRX's tactical changes were so fast, I didn't expect it... Luckily, Brother Viper helped me kill everyone in the back!"

Viper shook his head vigorously: "Actually, I only killed one, you were the one who was amazing."

"Everyone was amazing, everyone!" Meiko was clearly relieved as well.

As the group walked off the stage, they happened to look toward the player tunnel on the other side.

They happened to lock eyes with the DRX players who were looking back.

Kingen stared straight at Ye Bo, his eyes fierce as if he had been possessed by an unwilling Aatrox, clearly still distressed that he hadn't been able to save everything in the final wave.

Zeka and Pyosik didn't look up, their moods appearing quite low.

Deft managed to squeeze out a smile at the group and nodded at them, before leaning over to pat the shoulders of the mid and jungle duo.

BeryL, on the other hand, looked completely carefree, swinging his arms and walking off the stage with a swagger.

The LCK broadcast room was filled with wailing.

【Sibal! Our LCK region has never been three-zeroed in a final! If you dare to get three-zeroed, just wait when you get back to Korea! Damn Sibal DRX!】

【A fourth seed is a fourth seed! To be honest, it would have been better to let T1 into the finals; if T1 had made it, they would have definitely won the championship!】

【Oh, then why didn't T1 make it? Was it because they didn't want to?】

【Mr. Deft is truly miserable. The closest he was to the championship nine years ago was when he was hard-carried to a loss by the Mid Emperor—nine years later, the 1-to-1 scenario repeats, here we go again!】

【Why does BeryL look like he doesn't care about winning or losing at all? No wonder they can't win! There's a reason this guy was kicked by DK!】

【Don't bash him blindly, BeryL is probably wondering if his resin has refreshed; if it's a three-zero, he might just make it in time.】

The Roaring Emperor adjusted his emotions: "Our opponents are very strong, but I hope our viewers will also applaud for DRX. They really did very well in this match."

"From the early game maneuvering, the vision trap three-man gank on the mid laner, the continuous successful attacks on the top lane, the resource allocation to take the Rift Herald, and even this last life-or-death counterattack."

CT also expressed his agreement: "With this performance, we should believe in DRX even more! They have already created countless miracles in this World Championship, and they are also the only team in this World Championship to have completed a reverse sweep!"

"They can definitely do it!"

That's what they said.

But it was obvious that when the two of them said this, they had no confidence at all.

Backstage.

Clearlove and Maokai were waiting for everyone at the backstage entrance, greeting them with enthusiastic hugs one by one.

"You guys are truly awesome! I really didn't think we could go two-zero, too strong!" An excited Clearlove hugged Jiejie while cracking jokes.

"It's just you, Zhao Lijie, this pig of yours isn't doing so well either~"

"Hey Factory Manager, that's not right, this pig is super crucial!" Jiejie said with a straight face: "Without this pig adding a buff, Master Ye might have died in the last wave!"

"I've noticed that ever since Master Ye arrived, you kid have been really itching for a beating lately..."

Ye Bo looked at the Factory Manager, who was flexing his arm muscles, and asked with a curious blink: "What does this mean?"

Flandre hugged him with a mischievous smile: "Little Ye Bo, it seems you're still not familiar enough with EDG's history. Our EDG never getting aced relies on this pig."

After everyone had a good laugh.

Ye Bo was the first to clap his hands, quickly pulling everyone's attention back.

"Alright everyone, we still can't relax. Several waves in this match were actually really dangerous; the opponents really cannot be underestimated."

"For this final game, I think we might need to change our approach a bit."

The key turning points in the second game were actually flashes of inspiration from both sides in the heat of the moment, and there wasn't much point in reviewing them.

But for EDG, this match brought them many key takeaways.

First of all, with this game ending, Yone's poor performance, especially Zeka's understanding and control, clearly appeared stretched when facing Ye Bo.

It is unlikely that DRX will continue to execute this strategy.

And Yone, Aatrox, Yuumi, Sylas.

For both sides, there will be many variables in the draft for this game.

Should they stick to their guns and search for openings, or boldly change their formation and give it their all?

In a match point game, the key might lie in some "surprise moves," which could also be called other variables.

On the other side.

Unexpectedly, the atmosphere in the DRX backstage area is completely devoid of the suffocating repression seen in the third game of GEN.

Deft is smiling, as if the match hasn't even started yet, telling stories to his teammates.

"That was my mindset back then, so I hope you can think the same way."

What he is recounting is the Samsung Blue vs. Samsung White civil war during the S4 World Championship.

Although that wasn't the final, in the minds of most spectators, the champion of that year was almost certainly going to be one of the two Samsung teams, and it was considered the time when the skill gap between them and other teams was most apparent.

More importantly, SSB had spent the entire year beating up SSW! You could say SSB was the true center of attention!

As it turned out, they suddenly had a major collapse at the World Championship; the mid and top laners, Dade and Acorn, fed for three straight games, with several games ending in an exaggerated 0-7 record.

"At the time, I was thinking, if this year doesn't work out, then next year, I'll just come back and win it next year," Deft says with growing emotion, the smile on his face becoming more natural.

"I was certain back then that I would definitely return here in the future and make it to the finals."

"Look, although it took a while, didn't I make it back?"

"The oldest among you is Keria, who has only been playing for four years; the road ahead is still very long," Deft says, patting his teammates on the shoulder one by one: "Compared to back then, no one favored us this time, yet we still made it here."

"So everyone, even if we lose, it doesn't matter. Let's play well next season, even if we aren't together anymore."

Although Deft tries his best to keep his tone cheerful.

The less socially aware Pyosik interrupts at an inopportune moment: "Hyung, will you even have a next season?"

With this question.

The atmosphere, which had finally eased, suddenly becomes uncomfortable and oppressive once again.

Kingen feels a bit speechless, but still pretends to joke as he interjects: "Hyung, you only have a next season if we lose, so we have to work hard to let Hyung retire properly!"

Hearing this, Deft shrugs and replies: "That's right, if we lose, maybe I will have a next season. Looking at the bright side, maybe losing will let me play for one more year."

"Anyway, as long as we each give it our all, no matter the result, it will be the best result."

As he speaks, he reaches out to put his arm around BeryL: "Just like the mid laner on the other side and those magical plays, they aren't pulled off by luck. I heard from Tian Ye that he studies and develops those things every day, just like Keria."

BeryL, who is usually carefree, suddenly feels a bit sad at being mentioned.

He suddenly regrets not practicing more in ranked and playing fewer mobile anime games; perhaps he could have done better in the match just now—even though he actually hadn't practiced little.

Deft knows this partner best.

He knows that although the other party doesn't do rank training, the time spent on training is no less than theirs; it's just done in his own way.

Those key macro adjustments, exquisite on-the-spot designs, and flashes of brilliant decision-making are all things he has mastered by watching countless video replays and developing "instinctive reactions" to be able to think of and execute them in actual combat.

Deft has heard Meiko marvel at Ye Bo's daily routine.

In his view, the seemingly "high-risk" plays the other party makes are actually instinctive actions honed through thousands of repetitions.

They aren't "unlucky" to be reversed by the opponent's high-risk plays one after another—it's that when the opponent reaches that scenario, they are guaranteed to be able to pull it off.

Because this scene may have already appeared in their past training or experiences.

"Alright, let's talk about the match," Deft says, gently clapping his hands to gather everyone.

"Let's talk about next year next year. It took nine years to reach a final like this; I don't want to just walk away so easily~"

BeryL nods: "When I was walking off the stage just now, I was actually thinking about whether they would make any changes this game, but we must make sacrifices in the draft."

The brief halftime passes quickly.

Under the space-crossing view of the world, the two backstage areas seem like parallel reflections.

Ten palms stack together in the air, then press down heavily.

Truth be told.

Everyone has their own reason for not being able to lose.

For themselves, for their dreams, for their persistence, for their fans and supporters, and even to avoid disappointing those who love them.

No one is nobler than anyone else; every reason is a monumental one.

And in the end, there can only be one winner; this is the charm and meaning of competition.

Both sides arrive at the player tunnel.

Step by step, they ascend the stairs under the gaze of the world.

The lights inside the Chase Center become scorching hot again, and the roar of the crowd from all directions surrounds them.

The local English-language casters are shouting in passionate tones.

"Meiko and Deft meet on the stage again after 7 years! BeryL stands opposite EDG, the team where he once fell, for the second consecutive year! A battle for the historic title defense of the entire EDG roster! The beginning of the legendary career of the young player Ye is imminent! Zeka and Kingen, two dejected souls who traveled far to return, seek to prove themselves..."

"Will EDG achieve an unprecedented back-to-back championship for the LPL region, or will DRX realize an equally unprecedented, legendary miracle as the fourth seed!"

"This will be a battle destined to give birth to a legend!"

"Let us wait and see!"

The clanging sound echoes.

The draft panel is pulled up!

"It's here! Everyone, please cheer for EDG! I hope we can witness this historic moment together!"

After Wawa finishes shouting excitedly, he focuses his full attention on the draft panel.

"DRX bans Sylas right away! This is the ability of player Ye; as long as you don't believe in evil and let him have it, he can use his skill to make you ban it back in the next game!"

"As for EDG's ban slots, there doesn't seem to be much change."

While backstage, both sides carefully thought about the previous game.

For both teams—actually, the previous game was acceptable!

For DRX, it was simply because the mid lane became a weakness again, which was the biggest problem—but this was also the reason they were able to get Aatrox in the last game and achieve such effects.

And for EDG, the same logic applies: you can't have your cake and eat it too.

At least on the red side in this version, they didn't have enough ban slots to target both the top and bottom lanes simultaneously. By comparison, they were already familiar with Kingen's Aatrox, so there was no need to take the risk of testing the more "unknown" bottom lane.

First round of bans for both sides—

DRX: Sylas, Sejuani, Yone

EDG: Caitlyn, Heimerdinger, Ashe

"DRX has compensated for the draft trap of the last game, because they didn't expect the opponent not to ban Yuumi and Aatrox last game, so they deliberately didn't target the strong heroes, wanting to pick later, which gave the red side so many opportunities to counter-pick!" Miller says.

"However, because Zeka's Yone clearly couldn't withstand Master Ye's firepower, they still had to use a ban slot to deal with it!"

"It's here! Zeka picks Akali! DRX still believes in the Akali that has shown many brilliant performances along this journey; they believe in their teammate!"

The caster's words are biased toward the spectacle.

In fact, those who understand can see that Zeka's mindset must be having some issues.

In other words, whoever comes to this stage, full of ambition and high expectations before the match, only to be solo-killed four times in two games, would be affected!

This is why DRX chose to handle this ban slot this way—because they had to get Zeka either Sylas or Akali.

Only by getting one of these signature heroes, and not giving the opposing mid laner a chance to pick a counter,

can Zeka possibly stabilize his performance under this mindset.

"EDG doesn't have many strong heroes they can grab; we mainly have to see if they still want Yuumi... They took it!"

"EDG still locks in Yuumi! Continuing to implement the successful system from the last game, no problem!"

"It's just that their choice this game is... Kalista!?"

Ye Bo made modifications for this game.

The main issue in the last game was Yuumi's roaming deficiency, but that is a problem inherent to the hero that cannot be solved.

Since that's the case—pick Kalista, a "solo hero" with a strong laning phase, to force the laning situation in the bottom lane!

If DRX picks Varus + a laning enchanter support, they could easily find an advantage in the bottom lane—but for the threat of the opponent's roaming and Yuumi's mid-game capability, it is absolutely worth it!

"DRX picks very quickly, Aatrox and Viego together! Viego can limit the opponent's top and jungle; they didn't pick Varus!"

"Wait? EDG picks Fiddlesticks on the third rotation!?"

"Mid lane Fiddlesticks against Akali? Could it be player Ye's secret weapon!"

"As the player who understands Akali best in this World Championship, we can absolutely reasonably suspect that this is a secret weapon he prepared specifically!"

Exclamations erupt from both caster desks simultaneously as they frantically discuss the significance of this pick.

Zeka's expression freezes for a moment, then his eyes suddenly widen slightly.

Second round of bans—

DRX: Fiora, Maokai

EDG: Sivir, Varus

"EDG picks Ornn on the fourth rotation; there's no other way, there's nothing else to use. Flandre has clearly become the sacrifice for the draft."

EDG could have actually picked Fiora on the third rotation and then Fiddlesticks to bait a ban, but they didn't do that.

This was a decision Flandre made himself when facing Ye Bo's inquiry.

Fiora against Aatrox is a reverse counter that has been shown many times in the World Championship—unlike Yone, this is not a 100% stable matchup; it can only be said to be 6-4.

And most importantly, picking Fiora would affect team fights.

It could even be said to completely ruin the team composition!

By comparison, although Ornn has a very difficult time laning against Aatrox—compared to the Camille from the last game, even if he is "targeted" like that, he can still hold his own!

It still comes back to that.

Someone always has to make a sacrifice.

In the pick-and-ban duel between these two teams, both sides are facing a situation where they cannot have both the top and bottom lanes.

"Their team composition... Jin Hekui, do you want to try Bard?" Deft suddenly took the initiative to suggest at this moment.

"None of their four members have displacement, and it can also deal with Fiddlesticks."

"Bard... huh."

Beryl thought for a moment, and his eyes suddenly lit up.

"It really could work, but you'll have a hard time... because their Kalista is looking to help Yuumi make up for the laning phase, and there will be a threat of tower dives."

Deft nodded firmly: "There aren't many ADs left. Our top, mid, and jungle composition is very comfortable, so we can't worry about the bottom half of the map anymore."

"For the sake of team fights."

The fact that DRX didn't pick Varus in the first few rounds of this game actually made it quite obvious that they weren't prepared to play for lane.

Beryl's idea was simple—he just wanted to let Yuumi through and continue to carry out the roaming strategy from the previous game.

Even taking roaming to the extreme and abandoning the laning phase!

It's just that his original idea was even more extreme... he wanted to pick Blitzcrank directly!

So they were originally prepared to give an AD like Varus, who has no displacement and is slightly uncomfortable when left alone, to the opposing side.

Anyway, Yuumi paired with Varus doesn't have much tower-diving capability.

But Beryl didn't expect the opponent's thinking to evolve just as rapidly, realizing they could use Kalista's laning pressure to maximize Yuumi's tower-diving kill potential.

"Bard!?"

"Beryl has picked Bard, a champion no one has selected in this World Championship! It seems both sides have secret weapons this game!"

"Bard paired with Ezreal; regardless of anything else, DRX's bottom lane survival ability is maxed out."

On the other side, EDG was clearly very surprised as well.

Ye Bo was certain that Beryl hadn't picked Bard even once throughout this entire season.

"Master Ye, with Bard, can we still go with Nocturne in this composition?" Jiejie asked the architect of this team composition.

"Hmm... I even feel like it might be even better."

The group didn't say anything more, and EDG locked in their target for the fifth pick.

Both team compositions were finalized.

《Blue Side: DRX || Red Side: EDG》

【Top: Aatrox vs. Ornn】

【Jungle: Viego vs. Nocturne】

【Mid: Akali vs. Fiddlesticks】

【ADC: Ezreal vs. Kalista】

【Support: Bard vs. Yuumi】

(End of chapter)