Chapter 254: Linglong Tower Five-Zero Hongguang! Chovy Dry-Heaving!

"Two to zero! V5 has reached match point!!"

The "Hale Brothers" on stage were red-faced, excitedly raising their fists together.

"This game was another Perfect Game! GEN couldn't even stop a single push! This is our number one seed!"

"I don't think anyone could have imagined before the match that the battle of the titans between the number one seeds of the two major regions would end like this. GEN has been held down by V5 the entire time, unable to move or fight back!!"

【Perfect Game! So you're the one they call the number one seed?】

【A Perfect Game means no dragons and no towers—so if there are no dragons, no towers, no kills, no Rift Herald, and you still haven't won the best-of-five: shouldn't we call this a 'Five-Zero Hongguang'?】

【V5 and Ye Bo are truly malicious and heinous!! First they set a record against T1, and now they've given GEN a 'Five-Zero Hongguang'! They really are going to destroy the LCK!】

【How on earth did they beat T1 and JDG? Why does it feel like they have no power to fight back at all?】

【Haha, it feels like these five people are about to cry.】

The five members of GEN stood up, their faces pale, looking dejected and listless, even trying to avoid the live broadcast cameras.

The pressure was simply too great.

With T1 already home, GEN was the last hope for the entire region, and the coach had even placed high expectations on this match.

Yet, as the number one seed, after a crushing defeat in the first game, they had suffered an even more painful loss!

As they prepared to walk into the backstage tunnel, all five members of GEN clearly hesitated at the entrance, wanting to see who would go in first to face the death stare.

However, Score did not come to the backstage entrance early this time.

He was pacing back and forth backstage, involuntarily scratching his scalp in frustration, making it look like he had a bird's nest on his head.

Aside from the unvented anger on his face, Score was feeling more "panic" inside at this moment!

Could they really not win!?

Having led GEN to three consecutive LCK league titles, he was convinced that his players' strength was no weaker than their opponents'.

But every time they started playing, something just felt wrong!

The door was pushed open.

Score was just about to start yelling, but his reflexes as a former professional player made him instantly realize that a live broadcast camera was following them inside.

Clearly, this was the tournament officials trying to capture the state of mind of the losing side, so he quickly changed his expression and stepped forward.

The "Roaring Emperor," seeing this scene on the broadcast, nodded in approval with a worried look on his face.

"The coach is comforting his players. As the former captain of KT, Score actually has a lot of experience with moments like this."

"GEN is truly standing on the edge of a cliff now, and I have to say, the blow to their mentality from these two games is significant. They really need the experience of a big brother to support their teammates' belief!"

"As long as the match isn't over, there is still hope! Believe in them!"

Just as the Roaring Emperor was doing his best to serve up some collective chicken soup, the broadcast camera cut to the reactions of everyone else in the arena.

Just as he said.

Even through the screen, everyone could clearly feel the suffocating atmosphere backstage at GEN.

Doran looked down, picking at his fingers without saying a word, seemingly wanting to learn how to turn invisible.

Viper was holding a bottle of mineral water but hadn't opened it for a long time, his eyes staring blankly as if lost in thought.

Lehends, having entered the room first, was being used as a tool for comfort by the coach, but his facial expression was clearly extremely stiff.

Peanut seemed the most emotionally stable—perhaps for him, even the worst outcome was nothing compared to his career's "incredibly rich record of humiliation."

And when the camera cut to Chovy.

Chovy, also staring blankly, seemed to have lost the light in his eyes. Suddenly, he couldn't help but lightly cover his throat, as if he were "physically" dry-heaving!

People really do feel like vomiting when under extreme pressure.

【Holy cow! They say Chovy was beaten until he vomited by Master Ye!】

【His Dao heart is shattered. Just thinking about this atmosphere is suffocating. The hope of the whole village, the number one seed, ends up being shut out and played like bots. I don't even want to imagine the public opinion pressure when they go back home!】

【Hehe, at this time GEN really needs someone to say: "Shall we order food first?"】

【Is Jeon Yong-jun still counting on Score to save GEN's morale? I think the reason GEN is performing like this is because they have this bully as a coach! He just pressures the players, causing their mechanics to warp! The draft is also total dog shit!】

【It really is. Have you forgotten all the nicknames Score had when he was a player? KR-Clearlove! You expect him to lead a good team?】

【Sibal! Don't you dare insult my Mingkai!!! Does Score even deserve to be compared to Mingkai? His best result in international tournaments is two quarter-finals, while Mingkai has five! And has Score ever even made it to MSI in his life? Do you understand how many MSI championships Mingkai has!】

In the chat, besides various emotional venting and jokes about Chovy's physical reaction, it was clear that the viewers didn't really buy the Roaring Emperor's flattery of the coach.

Score's derogatory nickname on the Korean web was "Korean Factory Manager."

It mocked his tendency to be good at domestic games but consistently failing in international and critical matches!

The local Korean audience at this moment didn't like any of them, and the coach naturally wasn't spared.

As for the broadcast backstage, they naturally couldn't provide the original audio to avoid exposing tactics.

However, soon, one could see from the edited clips that Score seemed to have regained his enthusiasm and was giving instructions, looking as if he had new ideas.

There were also lip-reading experts in the chat deciphering it.

They found it was all stuff like "hero counters," "if they can do it, we can too," and "raw strength"—all sorts of hard-to-understand words.

After showing one side, the director cut to the scene next door.

Even though they were only a few dozen meters apart, it was like a scene from two different worlds!

As the V5 members returned, Beichuan, who had been waiting backstage, rushed up excitedly to give all his teammates a hug. He looked even more excited than the people on stage, providing full emotional value.

"You guys are too fierce! Too fierce, Master Ye! I saw Chovy looking like he was about to cry when he walked off stage!"

"Three match points against Samsung! We are truly amazing!!!"

Xun raised his eyebrows triumphantly and said: "Can't help it, Chovy actually dared to pick such an off-meta hero. He's simply no match for our Master Ye!"

Ye Bo patted his leg and teased: "Xun, that's going to be edited into the post-match footage, you know."

"So what! These are my heartfelt words, Master Ye! Absolutely one hundred million percent sincere! I'll say it!"

"Oh no, Brother Xun, I think I know why you're the starter and I'm the sub again. I've learned something."

The V5 backstage was filled with a cheerful atmosphere.

Xun put his arm around Beichuan's shoulder and comforted him for not being able to play: "It's fine, Brother Chuan, if we win, you definitely get a third of the credit, okay? We're one and the same!"

Although they had reached three match points, obviously no one would underestimate GEN because of it, and there was no reason to swap out the in-form Xun and add unnecessary variables.

But this didn't affect Beichuan feeling a sense of pride from the bottom of his heart.

On one hand, they always trained as six people, and Beichuan would always squat behind Xun to "point out the landscape," truly learning and improving together—the two's playstyles had actually already started to "merge."

On the other hand, Beichuan really felt content.

Half a year ago, many people couldn't remember his ID, and he was still wasting time on a fringe team that no one had an impression of.

If it weren't for the luck of joining V5, he didn't know how long he would have had to struggle before making it, and he didn't even know if he would have had a chance to come to this MSI stage before his professional career ended!

Being a substitute for a strong team is definitely nothing to be ashamed of.

Throughout history, many key positions on championship teams have had substitutes.

Such as Easyhoon behind Li Xianghe in S5, Bengi behind Blank in S6, Duke behind TheShy in S8, Tian behind Xinyi in S9, Jiejie behind Junjia in S11.

And among them, except for Xinyi who had the least presence, the others even had championship skins. These are the best motivational examples!

If you really want to say it, even Ye Bo came up step by step from being a substitute!

Beichuan cherished his luck immensely, being able to grow and improve every day with such a group of teammates. Just learning things from training together every day felt like a huge benefit.

The sensitive Flandre looked at the somewhat emotional Beichuan and smiled: "Chuan, actually, your progress has already surpassed me by seven years. You are the one who is far ahead!"

"My first foreign visa was for the World Championship in S6, but the first time I actually went abroad was S11. This is my first MSI visa, and your first visa has already caught up to me. This speed is almost catching up to Master Ye~"

"Sigh, speaking of which, our professional players' passports are like books filled with regrets. We always have to apply for various visas in advance, and then they might become beautiful memories, but more likely they become distant places we never reached, even if we were often only one step away..."

"Holy crap! Brother Flandre, where did you steal that copy from? When did you become so cultured!"

"Damn!!! Get lost, I was just getting into the mood!"

Li Xuanjun's sentiment was interrupted by Xun, who laughed and punched him.

But come to think of it, it really is like that. Visas aren't something you can just get whenever you want. Because accidents happened in the ancient times, from very early on, once you reached the "potential to go" stages like the top four or semi-finals, you had to apply for visas in advance.

But that meant that every time, a large number of people would end up having "applied in vain" because they didn't make it in the end.

The reason Li Xuanjun was so emotional was that he personally experienced this in S6, fighting through a hellish "BO10" trial in one day, only to fall at the very last step of the tenth game, with everything going to waste...

"Alright, we haven't won yet." The steady Deft smiled and brought the topic back to the match.

"Brother Alpaca is right. Everyone, don't relax, we can't underestimate our opponents!" Ye Bo also nodded and added.

The two big wins clearly made the backstage atmosphere very relaxed, but this reminder from the two in the team quickly brought everyone back on track.

The Roaring Emperor was right about one thing.

Having a steady presence in the team to stabilize morale, whether it's maintaining form and not doing anything stupid when ahead, or adjusting mentality when behind, can have a significant impact.

"No worries, Brother Heukyu. Brother Dongbin's draft, Master Ye and I have already studied it. He can't pull any tricks~~~" BeryL waved his hand confidently.

However, when both teams returned to the stage and prepared to enter the draft phase.

BeryL's words were a bit of a "slap in the face."

GEN actually chose the red side in the match-point game!

If it were just this, it would be fine.

After all, the further you get into the global draft, the less theoretical advantage the blue side has—because enough heroes are burned, and by the end, there's really nothing left that's worth a super-valuable first pick.

But the third game clearly couldn't be called "very late," and the blue side still had some slight advantages, that's for sure.

And Score's reason for making this choice was very simple.

The red side's counter-pick allowed the mid-laner to take a hard counter, which could best protect the mid-lane that had been the most miserable in the previous game, while also having some other small intentions!

First round bans:

V5: Zeri, Lulu, Maokai

GEN: Akali, Kindred, Lucian

During the first round of bans, the final ban slot for both sides is generally a key point of strategic maneuvering.

Just like V5 banning Maokai, seeing the opponent ban Kindred in the second slot; this way, the only strong junglers remaining are Wukong, Sejuani, and Kha'Zix—and Wukong's jungle is good against Sejuani and Kha'Zix. If the opponent bans Wukong in the third slot, V5 can still choose one of the latter two!

"V5 first-picked Wukong, GEN should probably take Sejuani instead. Hmm!?"

"Are they going straight for Draven!?" Miller exclaimed with a surprised stare: "Viper's championship Draven! Is GEN unsheathing their sword this game!?"

Wawa joked unprofessionally: "Draven first pick? I thought only Top Esports would pick like that~"

"GEN didn't pick a mid or top hero in the second slot, directly snatching up the support Braum, revealing their bottom lane duo."

However, although a first-pick Draven had a familiar, pungent scent.

But no matter what, Score, being able to lead the "King of Civil Wars" version of GEN, was certainly still much stronger than White Crescent.

He first decided to swap sides to the red side → then banned Lucian → and then first-picked Draven.

The purpose of these three combined was only one: "Lock in the advantage in the bottom lane!"

To be fair, in these few games, other than the first game where the Caitlyn-Neeko combo was too shameless to deal with, GEN's bottom lane laning phase had always been an advantage.

In Score's view, based on V5's playstyle in the first two games, the best choice for the third game was Draven, the hero with the strongest "all-in" attribute for the bottom lane—but if they were on the blue side, it would be impossible to first-pick Draven!

The reason lies in common knowledge: what Draven fears most is Braum.

Not only can his basic attacks be blocked, making it hard to output damage, but picking up axes is also easily interrupted by his Q, and most importantly, the core axes will be directly "swallowed" by the shield!

And if the blue side bans Braum, it would definitely be noticed → leading the red side to make a compensatory ban on Draven.

If the red side bans Braum → the blue side can directly first-pick him.

So it is very obvious.

If GEN wants to grab Draven + Braum, they can only come to the red side!

And after the strong bottom lane heroes were burned out, they also pressed down on Lucian and Nami, the only ones that could be considered capable of contending with Draven; it can be said that the advantage in the bottom lane was basically one hundred percent secured!

"Did they change their system?" Ye Bo reacted quickly: "We have to pick the bottom lane duo first, otherwise there won't be any heroes left."

"Anyway, this laning phase is unplayable, let's go with Senna and Tahm Kench. This way, we can also make adjustments for Master Ye, it doesn't necessarily have to be an early-game play," Beryl also immediately spoke up.

The blue side fills in their bottom lane duo, and the red side then picks Sejuani.

Entering the second round of bans—

GEN: LeBlanc, Taliyah

V5: Kennen, Gwen

"GEN filled in Rumble in the fourth slot? That's very rare in this version; it seems Doran rarely plays it either?"

"But if the counter-pick slot isn't left for the top lane, wouldn't it be better to take Gnar first!?"

The commentary desk saw the surface level.

But V5 saw the deeper level.

Rumble is scheduled for a {mid-scope rework} in the version after next, but almost no one uses Rumble in this version; his MSI pick rate is close to 0.

And just as the commentary desk said.

If the top laner has to be picked first, it's obvious that a jack-of-all-trades like Gnar would be more suitable.

There must be a reason for an abnormal act—combining the ban slots and the understanding of the heroes, the reason for picking against the version is not hard to deduce.

GEN perhaps hopes their top lane can fill in an AP + AOE hero to avoid the team composition being too trash, not wanting it to be that "extreme."

Then the mid laner is very likely an AD + AOE-deficient hero!

"Jayce, K'Sante, Renekton, and Lucian are all gone; for AD mid laners, there should only be Tristana, Yasuo, and Yone left..."

Ye Bo pondered the possibilities, then decisively made a decision: "No need to force a fight, let's change the formation. We're taking a mid-tempo composition this game!"

V5 fills in Azir + Gnar in the fourth and fifth slots.

And GEN's fifth slot pauses for three seconds, finally revealing the cannon-form Poppy!

Both sides' compositions are confirmed.

《Blue Side: V5 vs Red Side: GEN》

【Top: Gnar vs Rumble】

【Jungle: Wukong vs Sejuani】

【Mid: Azir vs Tristana】

【ADC: Senna vs Draven】

【Support: Tahm Kench vs Braum】

"How come it feels like both sides swapped team names this game?"

"V5 took a mid-to-late game defensive composition leaning toward a scaling tempo, while GEN actually took an aggressive composition with quite a bit of offensive pressure!"

"This feels like they are playing with the things the 'other side is good at'!"

Seeing the compositions, the commentary desk felt a bit dazed for a moment.

The coaches of both sides were also equally surprised.

Score never expected that V5 would not play by the book, and upon discovering there were no strong-attack system heroes, they actually chose to change their formation directly instead of forcing a fighting composition.

Beryl, however, was a bit annoyed, making up for his words just now: "Feels like I haven't seen them play this system before?"

After Viper went to GEN, he basically hadn't played much Draven.

Besides the factor of the hyper-carry AD version, the reason for the GEN team itself was obviously more important.

Not to mention that it was paired with this kind of strong-attack system that has quite a lot of offensive pressure!

Beryl inevitably had a question in his heart.

Is this, after all, the "secret weapon" that GEN hid until this match point game to pull out.

Or

(End of chapter)