Chapter 235: Mountain and Sea Scroll form!

The bearded European host drew out his tone, and when he read each ID, he still rolled his tongue at the end of the sentence as if he were rapping.

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

"Mid laner, Ye!"

He was clearly deliberate in not following the order of positions, and what was even more obvious was that as soon as Ye Bo walked out, the screams in various languages below suddenly exploded!

Even though they were abroad at this moment, in a trance, it felt like they had arrived at a home court; the audience from all over the world was cheering in the arena.

Relying on his charming moments on the field, Ye Bo's fan base abroad is now already very exaggerated, which can be seen from the fact that at least half of the V5 viewing area at the scene today are local European spectators.

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

At this time, there were still people below shouting incessantly: "Yeyes! Yeyes! Yeyes!"

Foreign audiences naturally also have a barrage culture similar to the domestic one; this is a meme about Ye Bo abroad recently.

It is probably because "Ye" and "Yes" differ by only one letter—every time Ye Bo has a brilliant play in a V5 match, the barrage will be flooded with "Yes! Yes!"

If he dies, they will immediately flood "No! No!"

Of course, because Ye Bo doesn't surf the foreign internet much, he wasn't very clear about these things, just waving enthusiastically at the audience below.

"V5, the number one seed from the LPL, has a full three world champions, and even has last year's World Championship FMVP player! Looking forward to their fierce performance today!"

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

"Then next, let us welcome together again the number two seed from the LCK, T1!"

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

The host followed the same pattern again, shouting with an even more impassioned voice:

"Mid laner, Faker!"

Compared to the scene of the four people appearing before V5, the four members of T1 seemed even more deserted—after all, the ZOGK quartet had not yet won a World Championship since they teamed up, and their best result was last year's MSI runner-up.

But forming an even sharper contrast to this was the even more exaggerated full-house screaming at the scene when Li Xianghe appeared, and there were even many fanatical European and American spectators standing up and shouting.

Although the ZOGK quartet had no achievements yet.

But once an "F" was added to it, the team's total number of championships would instantly almost catch up to V5!

It can only be said that relying on the ID "Faker" is enough to walk out of a home-court effect in any region in the world.

The host introduced them in the same way: "As the runner-up of last year's MSI, T1, which possesses the only active three-time champion, is always a force that cannot be ignored on the international stage! They have returned today, and presumably, they are already prepared to welcome this great battle!"

"Whether V5 continues the victory of California today, or T1 successfully takes revenge and rebuilds the dynasty, let us wait and see together!"

The spotlights kept crossing and flashing, finally gathering in the center of the stage.

The MSI championship trophy was presented before their eyes!

The players from both sides took their seats, preparing to go to war.

And because Beryl lost in the coin-toss round before the match, he kept muttering "This coin toss is truly poisonous" when he came back.

The LPL live broadcast room had already started warming up.

"Welcome to the live broadcast of the 2023 Mid-Season Invitational!" Guan Zeyuan was full of spirit.

"Everyone should have been looking forward to this match for several days; both sides are old rivals, and it is definitely a duel that is the focus of everyone's attention!"

Jide took the conversation and talked eloquently: "It has been more than half a year since the two sides last met, and the data reference from the playoffs until now is not accurate enough. I don't know if both sides will have brand-new preparations today!"

Rita next to him smiled and said: "I personally am quite looking forward to the hero Neeko. No one has brought her out in the current phase yet, but actually, this hero's rework feels quite interesting."

Guan Zeyuan put on an "expert" pose: "As for this, it feels a bit difficult~"

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

His words were not considered nonsense, and they were also the view of almost all teams at present.

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

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

However, the problem is... what's the use!

At the very beginning, it was indeed very useful.

Whether Neeko followed the minion wave to the lane, suddenly ran to the side lane to gank, or hid in the minion pile in the late game to initiate a team fight, it simply gave all players a bit of PTSD!

But.

Once everyone understood this routine, it became useless.

Everyone who had suffered once would definitely develop the operation of "counting minions" for every minion wave.

A normal wave has 6 minions.

If there was inexplicably one more... then in an instant, five ultimate moves would be thrown into the minion pile!

This is the case in casual ranked, and with the vigilance and discipline of professional players on the field, it would only be harder to sneak up on people.

Plus, when the rework happened, the values of Neeko's three damage skills, Q, E, and R, were all nerfed.

Looking at it, it seemed like a purely entertainment-oriented rework, plus the lowered damage values, so it was not surprising that no one asked about it.

At this time.

In the VIP viewing area, three people whose hair volume was clearly not very sufficient were also discussing this issue.

"CT, it seems your Neeko still has no hope of appearing on the field today~"

"So what, it's normal not to appear on the field; it's just that the players haven't discovered the charm of this hero yet. Then let me ask you, KC, what about your Aurelion Sol?"

"Fuck! It's not the balance team's fault; how can there be a way of cutting twice in three versions!?" KC was poked in the sore spot and couldn't help but swear: "If I were the chief, I definitely wouldn't agree to such a cutting method!"

The completely bald man on the far side glanced at him: "It's a pity you aren't, I am."

"And you didn't say that when you nerfed Irelia back then."

These three were KC, the designer of Aurelion Sol; CT, the designer of the Akali and Neeko reworks; and the "Three-Ring Brother" who loves designing three-ring heroes.

The matches held in European and American countries were very close, and the recent projects of the three had all landed, so after discussing it, they accompanied each other to the scene to watch the match.

Of course.

Although CT said he didn't care.

But seeing Neeko, whom he had worked day and night to rush out just to catch up with MSI, now being ignored, he was still somewhat "lost."

He could only look at a figure in the center of the arena, expecting the other party to... today...

First round of bans for both sides:

T1: Akali, Vi, Annie

V5: Ahri, Jayce, Xayah

"T1 first-picks K'Sante! Although he has experienced multiple rounds of nerfs, this hero is still an object that teams are fighting for!"

"They didn't ban Sylas; the last ban should also be a game of chess. If V5's last ban position was given to K'Sante, presumably T1 would have snatched Sylas themselves."

K'Sante, who is also "hated by thousands," has a situation that is worlds apart from heroes like Aurelion Sol.

His status has almost not changed at all.

In the final analysis, the designers still haven't realized that this hero is strong not just because of his values, but because of his mechanics!

It's just that before, it was a double heaven-defying combination of values + mechanics.

And Sylas also had some nerfs in this version, and because Sylas has no way to play against K'Sante, stealing the ultimate move is still a negative improvement, and he can't push the lane either.

So T1 finally gave the ban position to Annie, for whom there was no other way.

"V5 backhands and snatches Nautilus + Jin Kesi!"

"Jin Kesi is no problem; she also just experienced a big buff and is definitely a leader in this big-carry AD version!"

"Nautilus might be a flex pick for the mid lane. In the matches of the past few days, many teams have already brought out Nautilus to deal with the K'Sante matchup!"

It is worth mentioning.

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

It's just that from their incomparably "green" usage results, it is clear that the practice sessions were not many, and it is very likely that it was just an experimental attempt.

If you really want to push forward, there were precedents for mid-lane Nautilus long ago.

Even 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 purely because later value nerfs led to him not being able to beat people in lane, so he could only crawl to the support position.

And the reason why he can suddenly be played in this version—mainly stems from the designers' previous strengthening of the "Hard Support Version," in which Nautilus also received a big buff.

The most critical E-skill mana cost reduction + damage increase, his lane-pushing ability has returned, and only then did he have the theoretical basis to return to the lane.

Of course.

Caps in that G2 match also proved that Nautilus is still a distance away from being able to counter K'Sante.

And including V5 and T1, the mid-lane players of all teams only started emergency training on this hero in the past few days, regarding him as a choice that can be used to deal with mid-lane K'Sante.

The good news is that Nautilus seems to be a hero that "anyone with hands can play" in everyone's eyes, and it doesn't take much time to practice.

And, Ye Bo has an "unexpected" special advantage.

"T1 snatches Aphelios for Gumayusi, and then gets Kindred for Oner!" "Of the three big-carry heroes in the version, Gumayusi's priority is Jin Kesi and Aphelios. The selection on the blue side in the first game is still very comfortable!"

It needs to be mentioned that Varus almost "retired from the environment" overnight in the MSI version.

Except for value adjustments.

This is mostly because Varus is not a main-carry type AD; in terms of output, he is inferior to the three major picks of the Moon-Ze-Jin era. He lacks mobility and is prone to sudden death, which does not fit the trend of the current version.

And the thickness of the team composition in the current version has risen a bit, and Varus's most comfortable poke flow is not easy to exert force.

As for Kindred, she is a hero who has eaten the version dividend like Kha'Zix and Nidalee.

The jungle area has been reshuffled in this version. Among the old strong heroes, only Wukong and Vi are still standing firm—this is mainly thanks to the nobility of "Divine Sunderer."

As the two heroes that best fit this piece of equipment, their strength is still online; at most, there is no need for them to be "must-ban-must-pick."

As for Kindred, since V5 has a mature system for this hero, it is only natural and reasonable for T1 to snatch it away.

V5 backhanded and selected Kha'Zix on the third floor.

Entering the second round of BP—

V5: Tahm Kench, Renata Glasc

T1: Galio, Rakan

"V5's fourth floor... selected Renekton! They still chose to leave the counter position for the support!"

"T1 is supplementing with Lulu, and is it Gragas top lane?"

V5 did not leave the counter position for the top lane, besides hoping to play a counter in the support position.

Actually, there is another reason.

T1, who went to the play-in stage, was baptized by two BO5s and exposed some things.

For example, some of their "tactical adjustments" in this version.

The V5 crowd discovered that T1 started very actively giving Zeus tanky meat top laners in this version. In the 6 matches of the play-in stage, they selected a full 6 matches of Ornn, Sion, Gragas... and even one match of Malphite!

Those who don't know would think that if this "Zeus" is translated into Chinese, is it three Arabic numerals!

The V5 crowd didn't know the reason.

But this was enough for them to make some targeted designs.

"V5's last pick is actually Blitzcrank!"

"It really works! As long as the hook isn't crooked to the sky, Blitzcrank specializes in hitting soft supports like Lulu, and is also a sharp weapon to break the four-protect-one lineup!"

"So in the end, it really is a mid-lane Nautilus, right? Master Ye actually practiced it in these few short days?"

The lineups for both sides were determined.

"Blue Side: T1 vs Red Side: V5"

【Top: Gragas vs Renekton】

【Jungle: Kindred vs Kha'Zix】

【Mid: K'Sante vs Nautilus】

【ADC: Aphelios vs Jin Kesi】

【Support: Lulu vs Blitzcrank】

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

There seemed to be some worry in his eyes.

Li Xianghe shook his wrists and tilted his head to give a reassuring look.

And the barrage in the official live broadcast room was already noisy, all arguing about the lineups of both sides.

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

【Oh, Master Ye chose it himself, then it's fine... If he does this, there must be his reason!】

【But I saw Nautilus playing against K'Sante a few days ago and it was just so-so, it really wasn't that easy to play, right?】

【I really want to ask, what is the T1 coaching staff doing? Not picking a carry for Zeus to beat the opponent to death? This is clearly a big advantage in top lane strength, what on earth are they thinking?】

【Sheng Qiang Ge: Oh? What kind of champion are you?】

【Ah, yes, yes, yes, it's all been understood by the barrage experts, the T1 coaches are all idiots, really not as good as the barrage!】

On the other side, Ye Bo adjusted his runes and talents, and after selecting the "Mountain and Sea Scroll" skin, he "closed his eyes to rest" in front of the screen.

This was a special skin easter egg obtained after the championship skin went online.

Perhaps because the Mountain and Sea Scroll series skins originated from the same source as the EDG championship skins, and strictly speaking, they could even be said to be skins of the same series.

Plus, the special nature of the two championship skins created a linkage.

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

【Eastern Mythology · Mountain and Sea Scroll】

【Practice speed for heroes with "Mountain and Sea Scroll" series skins increased—using this series of skins to fight will be driven by Zhulong, possessing Akali's operation form...】

Coincidentally.

In the first version of the Mountain and Sea Scroll series skins released in '21, there happened to be two heroes: "Neeko" and "Nautilus."

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

It's just that it's impossible for this hero to be in the ban position now, so when the hero pool was abundant in the first few matches, there was no need to be in too much of a hurry to expose it...

The match loading was completed, and ten people stepped into the canyon.

The scene immediately erupted with cheers and shouts, and the exploded noise was deafening!

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

The commentary desk also quickly entered the state, one after another paying attention to the level-one team movement of the V5 crowd.

"This red side possesses a 'Double Hook' lineup, plus this team name V5, they really have to make trouble at level one!"

"T1's positioning looks very steady..."

Nautilus + Blitzcrank + Jin Kesi, three T0 heroes for level-one team fights, T1 didn't even think about engaging at all.

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

But, there is no wall in the world without cracks.

V5 possesses such a level-one team lineup, they no longer need to think about too many complex designs; as long as they catch someone, they can almost certainly kill them!

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

There was no other reason.

This player Gumayusi is definitely one of the "worst disciplined" among the "Korean-style ADs"; the cases of him inexplicably giving away first blood due to level-one team positioning errors are simply countless.

Perhaps not great enough yet, but he has to be called "Brother" to some extent!

On the other hand, heading to the bottom half, even if they didn't find an opportunity, V5 would just take it as an opportunity to invade and swap the bottom half jungle, to swap for the offensive power in the bottom half.

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

Gumayusi, who was standing at the tri-bush defending, hurriedly responded under the "patrol reminder" of the mid laner, and immediately wanted to retreat.

But at this moment.

A Nautilus whose appearance time was clearly wrong had already appeared within the field of vision!

You know, because the red side has to cross one more river, at the time when the ADC is in position, they should still be crossing the river!

Fortunately, he received the reminder in time.

Gumayusi immediately turned his head to the left in detail, leaning towards the wall.

This was clearly a smart move.

Blitzcrank was clearly still a distance away 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.

This way, even if the opponent wanted to flash and 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 to hook the wall.

Gumayusi, who had clearly witnessed everything within his field of vision, had no ripples in his heart; after all, there was already a jungle wall in front of his face as protection...

But the next moment.

His eyes suddenly widened in surprise!

He saw that the hooked anchor... actually seemed to "pass through the wall" and hit Aphelios, pulling him back "out of thin air"!

"Eh!?"

"What is Gumayusi doing!!!"

Aphelios's body was pulled up across the wall, and the short knock-up control made him unable to operate, letting him press "F" rapidly, but there was no reaction.

And the 【Rocket Grab】 that was flashed and thrown had already flown over!

The 【Flame Chompers】 thrown while predicting the landing point in the air was done in one go. As soon as Aphelios was dropped by the doll, he was immediately clamped hard again!

Looking at the five strong men in front of his face, Gumayusi had already taken his hands off the keyboard and given up struggling.

But he was truly a bit stunned.

What happened!?

Is there really a wall in the world that can be cracked!?

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 236 =====