Chapter 235: The Form of the Mountain and Sea Scroll!

The mustachioed European host elongated his tone, his tongue trilling at the end of each ID as if he were rapping.

"Top laner Flandre, jungler Xun, bot lane Deft and support Beryl, and..."

"Mid laner, Ye!"

He clearly did not follow the order of positions on purpose, and what was even more obvious was that the moment Ye Bo walked out, the screams in various languages from below exploded instantly!

Even though they were abroad, it felt as if they had arrived at a home venue; fans from all over the world were cheering in the arena.

Thanks to his charismatic moments on the competitive stage, Ye Bo's overseas fan base was already quite staggering, as evidenced by the fact that at least half of the V5 spectator seats at the venue today were occupied by local European fans.

And this year's Twitch broadcast data for the LPL Spring Split had increased by nearly 200%, with the vast majority of that growth coming from V5's matches!

At this moment, people below were continuously shouting: "Yeyes! Yeyes! Yeyes!"

Overseas audiences naturally had a "bullet screen" culture similar to the domestic one, and this was a recent meme about Ye Bo abroad.

It was probably because "Ye" and "Yes" only differed by one letter—every time Ye Bo made a brilliant play in a V5 match, the bullet screen would be flooded with "Yes! Yes!"

If he died, they would immediately spam "No! No!"

Of course, since Ye Bo didn't spend much time surfing foreign social media, he wasn't very clear about these things and just waved enthusiastically at the audience below.

"The LPL's first seed, V5, has three world champions and even the FMVP player from last year's World Championship! We look forward to their fierce performance today!"

The host waited for the noise at the venue to subside slightly, then took a deep breath again.

"And now, let us once again welcome the second seed from the LCK, T1!"

"Top laner Zeus, jungler Oner, bot lane Gumayusi, and support Keria."

The host repeated the process, shouting with an even more passionate voice:

"Mid laner, Faker!"

Compared to the scene when the first four members of V5 appeared, the reception for the four T1 members seemed a bit colder—after all, the ZOGK quartet had yet to win a World Championship since they started playing together, with their best result being last year's MSI runner-up.

But in stark contrast to this was the even more exaggerated roar of the crowd when Li Xianghe appeared, with many fanatical European and American viewers even standing up to cheer.

Even though the ZOGK quartet hadn't achieved much yet.

Once "F" was added to the mix, the team's total number of championships would instantly almost equal V5's!

It could only be said that the ID "Faker" alone was enough to create a home-field effect in any region across the globe.

The host introduced him in the same way: "As the runner-up of last year's MSI, T1, home to the only active three-time champion, is a force that can never be ignored on the international stage! They have returned today, and surely they are ready to meet this great battle!"

"Whether V5 will continue their winning streak from California or T1 will successfully take revenge and rebuild their dynasty, let us wait and see together!"

The spotlights flickered and crossed, finally converging in the center of the stage.

The MSI championship trophy appeared before their eyes!

The players from both sides took their seats, preparing for battle.

And Beryl, having lost the coin toss before the match, kept muttering, "This coin toss is truly poisonous," as he returned.

The LPL broadcast room had already begun the pre-show.

"Welcome to the live broadcast of the 2023 Mid-Season Invitational!" Guan Zeyuan said, full of energy.

"Everyone has been looking forward to this match for several days; both sides are old rivals, and this is definitely a highly anticipated showdown!"

Jide took over the conversation, speaking eloquently: "It's been over half a year since the two sides last faced each other, and the data from the playoffs until now isn't accurate enough. I wonder if both sides will have brand-new preparations today!"

Rita, sitting beside him, smiled and said: "I personally am quite looking forward to the champion Neeko. No one has brought her out in this stage yet, but actually, I feel this champion's rework is quite interesting."

Guan Zeyuan put on an "expert" facade: "Well, that feels a bit difficult~"

"On one hand, it was just reworked and everyone hasn't had time to explore it yet; on the other hand, this rework actually feels more like a nerf... Oh, wait, it's definitely a buff for ranked! I've been tricked by it several times too!"

What he said wasn't nonsense; it was the view held by almost all teams at the moment.

The focus of Neeko's rework this time was her passive transformation—from only being able to turn into champions, to being able to turn into "almost everything" in Summoner's Rift.

Including minions, traps, wards, jungle monsters, plants, and even summoned units.

But the problem is... what's the point!

At the very beginning, it was indeed very useful.

Whether Neeko was following a minion wave to lane, suddenly running to a side lane to gank, or hiding in a pile of minions to initiate a team fight in the late game, it gave all players a bit of PTSD!

But.

Once everyone understood this trick, it became useless.

Once everyone had been tortured by it once, they would definitely develop the habit of "counting minions" for every wave.

A normal wave has 6 minions.

If there was inexplicably one extra... that would instantly result in five ultimate abilities being thrown into the minion pile!

That was how it went in solo queue, and with the vigilance and discipline of professional players on the competitive stage, it would only be harder to ambush people.

Plus, when she was reworked, the damage values of Neeko's Q, E, and R abilities were all nerfed.

It looked like a purely for-fun rework, and with the reduced damage values, it was no wonder no one cared about her.

At this moment.

In the VIP box, three people with clearly thinning hair were also discussing this very issue.

"CT, it seems your Neeko still has no hope of appearing today, huh~"

"So what? It's normal that she didn't appear; it's just that the players haven't discovered the charm of this champion yet. Let me ask you, KC, what about your Aurelion Sol?"

"Fuck! It's not my fault, it's the balance team! Who nerfs a champion twice in three patches!?" KC, stung in a sore spot, couldn't help but swear: "If I were the lead, I definitely wouldn't agree with this kind of nerfing!"

The completely bald man on the far side glanced at him: "Too bad you aren't, and I am."

"And you didn't say that when you nerfed Irelia back in the day."

These three were KC, the designer of Aurelion Sol; CT, the designer of the Akali and Neeko reworks; and the "Three-Ring Brother," who loved designing champions with three-hit passives.

The competition held in Europe was close by, and all three of their recent projects had been released, so after discussing it, they decided to accompany each other to the venue to watch the match.

Of course.

Although CT said he didn't care.

Seeing the Neeko he had worked day and night to finish just to make it in time for MSI now being completely ignored, he was still a bit "disappointed."

He could only look at a figure in the center of the arena, hoping that the other party would today...

First round of bans for both sides:

T1: Akali, Vi, Annie

V5: Ahri, Jayce, Xayah

"T1 first-picks K'Sante! Despite experiencing multiple rounds of nerfs, this champion is still a target for every team to fight over!"

"They didn't ban Sylas; the last ban should also be a mind game. If V5 had used their final ban on K'Sante, T1 would surely have picked up Sylas themselves."

The K'Sante who was "hacked a thousand times" was in a completely different situation from champions like Aurelion Sol.

His status had barely changed at all.

Ultimately, it was because the designers still hadn't realized that this champion was strong not just because of his numbers, but because of his mechanics!

It was just that before, it was a double-whammy of broken numbers and mechanics.

Sylas also had some nerfs this patch, and since Sylas had no way to deal with K'Sante—stealing his ultimate was a negative gain, and he couldn't out-push the wave either.

That was why T1 finally gave their last ban to Annie, for whom they had no other choice.

"V5 back-to-back picks Nautilus + Jinx!"

"Jinx is no problem; she also just experienced a major buff and is definitely a standout in this hyper-carry AD meta!"

"Nautilus could potentially be a flex pick for the mid lane. In the matches over the past few days, several teams have already brought out Nautilus to counter K'Sante in the mid lane!"

It is worth mentioning.

The mid-lane Nautilus at this MSI was indeed first used by the European and American regions in this patch.

However, judging from their incredibly "green" (inexperienced) results, it was clear that they hadn't practiced it much, and it was very likely just an experimental attempt.

If one were to look further back, there were precedents for mid-lane Nautilus long ago.

In the ancient era, top-lane Nautilus and mid-lane Nautilus were the mainstream; there was no such thing as support Nautilus at all!

It was simply that later numerical nerfs led to him being unable to win lane, forcing him to crawl to the support position.

And the reason he was suddenly playable again this patch—mainly stemmed from the designers' previous buffs to the "hard-engage support meta," which also included a major buff to Nautilus.

The most critical part was the reduced mana cost and increased damage on his E ability, which brought back his wave-clearing ability, providing the theoretical basis for his return to the lane.

Of course.

Caps' match on G2 also proved that Nautilus was still a long way from being able to counter K'Sante.

And including V5 and T1, the mid laners of every team had only started urgently practicing this champion in the last few days, viewing him as an option to deal with mid-lane K'Sante.

The good news was that Nautilus seemed to be a champion that "anyone with hands" could play, and it didn't take much time to practice.

Furthermore, Ye Bo had an "unexpected" special advantage.

"T1 picks Aphelios for Gumayusi, and then gets Kindred for Oner!" "Of the three hyper-carry champions in the meta, Gumayusi's top priorities are Jinx and Aphelios; picking them on the blue side in the first game is very comfortable!"

It should be mentioned that Varus had almost overnight "fallen out of the meta" in the MSI patch.

Aside from numerical adjustments.

It was more because Varus was not a hyper-carry type AD; in terms of output, he couldn't compare to the "Big Three" (Jinx, Aphelios, Zeri), and lacking mobility, he was very easy to burst down, which didn't fit the current meta trend.

And with the team compositions in the current meta becoming a bit more durable, Varus's most comfortable poke style couldn't exert much pressure.

As for Kindred, she was a champion that benefited from the meta, just like Kha'Zix and Nidalee.

The jungle had been reshuffled this patch; among the old powerhouses, only Wukong and Vi remained strong—this was mainly thanks to the nobility of the "Divine Sunderer" item.

As the two champions that best utilized this item, their strength remained, at most just losing their "must-ban or must-pick" status.

And since Kindred was a champion for whom V5 had a mature system, it was reasonable for T1 to pick her up.

V5 countered by picking Kha'Zix on the third rotation.

Entering the second round of bans and picks————

V5: Tahm Kench, Renata Glasc.

T1: Galio, Rakan.

"V5's fourth pick... they've locked in Renekton! They still chose to save the counter-pick slot for the support!"

"T1, on the other hand, fills in with Lulu, and is that Gragas top?"

V5 didn't save the counter-pick for the top lane, and aside from wanting to use it in the support position,

there is actually another reason.

T1, having gone through the baptism of two best-of-fives to reach the play-ins, has exposed a few things.

For example, some of their "tactical adjustments" this patch.

The V5 team discovered that T1 has started very proactively picking tanky top laners for Zeus this patch; in the 6 games of the play-ins, they picked Ornn, Sion, and Gragas for a full 6 games... and there was even a Malphite game!

Anyone who didn't know better would think Zeus's name translates into three Arabic numerals!

The V5 team didn't know the reason.

But this was enough for them to design some targeted strategies.

"V5's final pick is actually Blitzcrank!"

"That really works! As long as the hook isn't aimed at the sky, Blitzcrank is the natural counter to soft supports like Lulu, and a sharp weapon to break a 'protect the carry' composition!"

"So in the end, it really is Nautilus mid? Did Master Ye actually practice this in just these few short days?"

Both sides' compositions are locked in.

《Blue Side: T1 vs Red Side: V5》

【Top: Gragas vs Renekton】

【Jungle: Kindred vs Kha'Zix】

【Mid: K'Sante vs Nautilus】

【ADC: Aphelios vs Jinx】

【Support: Lulu vs Blitzcrank】

Bengi was still rubbing the mid laner's shoulders before stepping off the stage.

There seemed to be some worry in his eyes.

Li Xianghe shook his wrists and tilted his head, giving a look of reassurance.

Meanwhile, the official stream chat was already in an uproar, with everyone arguing over the two compositions.

【What on earth is the V5 coach doing! Why pick a clunky hero like Nautilus for Master Ye!? Who is going to carry!? Are they trying to take the space elevator?】

【Oh, Master Ye picked it himself, then it's fine... If he did this, there must be a reason!】

【But I saw Nautilus play against K'Sante a few days ago and it was just okay, it really wasn't that good, was it?】

【I actually really want to ask, what is the T1 coaching staff doing? Why not pick a carry for Zeus to crush the opponent? This is clearly a huge advantage in the top lane, what are they thinking?】

【Flandre: Oh? What champion are you?】

【Ah yes, yes, yes, the chat experts know everything, the T1 coaches are all idiots and are truly inferior to the chat!】

On the other side, Ye Bo finished adjusting his runes and masteries, selected the "Mountain and Sea Scrolls" skin, and then "closed his eyes to rest" in front of the screen.

This was a special skin easter egg obtained after the championship skins were released.

Perhaps it was because the Mountain and Sea Scrolls skin series originated from the same source as the EDG championship skins; strictly speaking, they could even be considered the same series of skins.

Coupled with the special nature of the two championship skins, a synergy was triggered.

This was also the first time Ye Bo had unlocked an easter egg by "acquiring a skin"!

【Eastern Myth · Mountain and Sea Scrolls】

【Practice speed for heroes owning {Mountain and Sea Scrolls} series skins increased————Using this series of skins in battle will be governed by the Candle Dragon, possessing Akali's operational form.】

Coincidentally.

The first version of the Mountain and Sea Scrolls series skins released in '21 happened to include both {Neeko} and {Nautilus}.

Ye Bo's preparation pool for today also happened to have Neeko!

It's just that this hero is impossible to be banned right now, so there was no need to rush to reveal it while the hero pool was still abundant in the previous games.

The match finished loading, and the ten players stepped into the Rift.

The venue erupted with cheers and shouts, the explosive noise deafening!

The LPL broadcast channel was surging with people, all shouting and cheering for their home team.

The commentary desk also quickly entered the zone, all paying attention to the level-one movement of the V5 team.

"With the 'Double Hook' composition on the red side, plus the team name V5, they really have to make a move at level one!"

"T1's positioning looks quite steady, though..."

Nautilus + Blitzcrank + Jinx, three T0 level-one heroes; T1 didn't even think about engaging.

A standard long-snake formation, with multiple people guarding the key entrances.

But, there is no wall in the world that doesn't let the wind through.

With a level-one composition like this, V5 didn't need to think about complex designs; as long as they caught someone, they were almost certain to get a kill!

Leaving the fountain, the entire V5 team ran toward the bottom half of the map with a clear goal.

There was no other reason.

Gumayusi is definitely one of the players with the worst "discipline" among "Korean-style ADCs"; the number of cases where he gave away first blood due to inexplicable level-one positioning errors is simply countless.

Perhaps not great yet, but he at least deserves the title of "Brother"!

On the other hand, even if they didn't find an opportunity in the bottom half, V5 would just take the opportunity to invade and swap the bottom jungle, gaining offensive control of the bottom half.

"Lee Min-hyeong, standing there is a bit dangerous."

Gumayusi, who was standing in the tri-bush defending, hurriedly responded to the mid laner's "patrol warning" and immediately wanted to retreat.

But at this moment.

A Nautilus, whose appearance time was clearly off, had already appeared within vision!

You have to know, because the red side had to cross an extra river, they should still be crossing the river at the time the ADC took his position!

Fortunately, he received the warning in time.

Gumayusi immediately turned to the left with detail, leaning toward the wall.

This was clearly a smart move.

Blitzcrank was clearly still some distance from Nautilus; at this time, he only needed to walk against the wall and use the fastest time to approach the corner, and he could immediately use the wall as cover.

Even if the opponent wanted to Flash-hook, he would have sufficient reaction time!

Aphelios had already reached the corner of the wall.

And Nautilus, still unconcerned, threw his anchor 【Dredge Line】 forward, hooking toward the wall.

Gumayusi, who had clearly witnessed everything within his vision, felt not a ripple in his heart; after all, there was already a jungle wall in front of him for protection.

But the next moment.

His eyes suddenly widened in astonishment!

He saw the hooked anchor————it was as if it had "passed through the wall," hitting Aphelios through the wall, pulling him back "out of thin air"!

"Huh!?"

"What is Gumayusi doing!!!"

Aphelios's body was pulled up through the wall, the brief knock-up control making him unable to act, and even rapidly pressing 'F' had no response.

And the 【Rocket Grab】 that had been flashed out was already flying in!

The 【Flame Chompers!】 thrown to predict the landing spot while the hook was in the air was done in one go; Aphelios had just been dropped by the hook when he was immediately clamped down hard again!

Looking at the five burly men in his face, Gumayusi had already taken his hands off the keyboard, giving up the struggle.

But he was truly a bit stunned.

What just happened!?

Could there really be a wall in this world that lets the wind through!?

(End of chapter)