Chapter 287: Do You Think I Will Lose?

"Welcome everyone to the V5 Shenzhen home arena!" Wang Duo's high-pitched voice echoed throughout the venue.

"Coming up next is the current top-ranked team on the leaderboard, V5, facing off against the surging BLG!"

"It is worth mentioning that if BLG can secure this crucial win, they will have a strong chance to compete for the top spot in the Summer Regular Season, especially since their old rival JDG has already fallen to V5."

JDG, having returned from the MSI, failed to complete their revenge and was defeated by V5 again early in the regular season.

However, those with a keen eye could see that while the form of the JDG players hadn't fluctuated much, their dominance on the field showed a clear gap compared to the MSI.

Ultimately, it was the drastic changes in the mid-season patch that caused them to suffer the full brunt of the "Patch Penalty"!

Compared to the exploration phase at the start of the season, the interpretation of the patch across all regions and teams has now converged.

The importance of top lane laning has risen → 369's laning is not weak, but he definitely cannot be called a "laning specialist."

Because mid lane roaming ability is restricted, the most obvious trend is that "hyper-carry" heroes have returned to the mainstream → this is also not Knight's comfort zone.

And once mid lane hyper-carries become prevalent again, the jungle ecosystem will naturally be affected as well!

A patch like the MSI one, where the mid lane served as a utility role to support jungle carries, is foreseeably gone for good.

Instead, various utility junglers are seeing a resurgence → and this is likewise not Kanavi's comfort zone!

With all three major pillars of the top, mid, and jungle affected, the fact that JDG can still remain at the top of the leaderboard is proof of their roster's formidable strength.

Gu Gu and Wang Duo at the commentary desk finished analyzing the situation and smilingly returned to the match.

"I have to say, today's match is full of highlights. On one hand, this is Beichuan's first time facing his old team and old teammates since joining BLG in the Summer Split. The duel between the two brothers, Beichuan and Xun, is definitely worth looking forward to."

Wang Duo chimed in with tacit understanding: "On the other hand, it would have to be Brother Bin's pre-match declaration yesterday, right~"

"Brother Bin is certainly confident. But then again, BLG did win one game against V5 in the spring. With them appearing to have regained their form and currently riding high, his confidence is understandable!"

Although Wang Duo, having returned from his "advanced studies" on the Asian Games journey, was trying his best to smooth things over with high emotional intelligence.

But as soon as this topic came up, the chat exploded immediately!

【Wow, they won one game against V5 in the spring, so they're going to brag about winning one small game for the rest of their lives? Does this mean BLG's hall of fame will only have a golden plaque hanging that says "Won one small game against V5!"?】

【It really is, I think it's truly going to become the "highest honor" in their team history.】

【Bin: Chuan, we had already gone 1-2 against V5 before you arrived, you know what you're here for, right? Winning one game counts as success!】

【Oh my god, the Bin-style formula has come full circle. If Chuan actually beats V5, wouldn't that be a true "betrayal to win the championship!" — though if they lose, it's just "Hey, how can you not even win after borrowing an import from them?"】

【Heh, the fanboys and V5 haters shouldn't be in such a rush to pop the champagne. My great BLG will let you know what a farce ending looks like in a moment!】

【I don't know if the farce is ending, but it feels like the comedy is about to begin~】

The origin of this matter was that Bin had posted a normal social media update.

It was roughly a fan interaction post: {Going to Shenzhen tomorrow, any good food?

Then, a warm-hearted fan in the comments reminded him: {Tomorrow is the big battle, let's not think about good food for now, prepare well and take the win} as an encouraging comment.

As a result, Bin replied directly underneath: "Do you think I will lose?"

Such a reply, which was essentially a "pre-match declaration of war," naturally spread to all major forums instantly and even hit the trending searches that very night!

To be fair, when Chen Zebin posted this reply, he might not have actually been thinking about "declaring war."

He probably truly felt that he wouldn't lose.

After all, this person is very fond of popping the champagne halfway through. The strong momentum BLG had shown after changing their jungler had already given everyone, including the players and fans, the feeling that "BLG has finally found the missing piece of the puzzle."

As the pre-match preview neared its end, the atmosphere in the venue grew increasingly heated.

The host, Liu Hang, walked to the center of the stage and spoke in a deep voice.

"First, let us welcome the BLG Ping An Bank Esports Club — Top laner Bin, Jungler Beichuan, Mid laner Yagao, Bot laner Elk, Support On, and Head Coach Tabe!"

Bursts of cheers and support erupted from the audience, the momentum quite significant.

It is worth mentioning that from the time BLG officially started to gain traction last year in S12, to their grand team-building charge this year in S13, their overall strength has definitely reached the forefront of the league.

Not only that.

The "traffic" of this team currently, aside from V5 and WBG's "Double God Squads" which can firmly suppress them, is at least on the same level as TES!

The reason is none other than the three words: "All-Chinese Squad"!

Ever since the 2022 RNG officially disbanded and had a fire sale, and TES also brought in Rookie in the summer.

Currently, the only team in the entire LPL still "marketing" this concept is BLG!

Furthermore, what BLG changed this year wasn't just the roster, but also the operations team.

And this operations team is the exact same crew from the old SN — as the first team to film "biographical documentaries" for players, the fact that they could almost market Huanfeng into a sunny seaside youth shows their capability.

This is the key reason why BLG can possess such traffic this year without a single championship title!

Currently, the point they are most eager to market is the reputation of being the "Strongest All-Chinese Squad in History."

If they can successfully market this title, they might even be able to stand toe-to-toe with V5 and WBG, becoming the only top-tier team among the titleless teams in the LPL in one fell swoop!

As for the key to success, it naturally requires breaking into the World Championship!

This is also why BLG was in such a rush to change during the Summer Split, fearing that the competition in the summer would be even more intense, and worried they wouldn't even be able to fight for a ticket to Worlds.

"Next, welcome the Star Fall V5 Esports Club! Top laner Flandre, Jungler Xun, Mid laner Ye, Bot laner Deft, and Support Beryl."

In an instant, the black and gold V5 team flags on the player stage fluttered in unison.

The sound wave that erupted from the venue was surging and overwhelming; the cheers from the BLG fans earlier seemed like a drop in the ocean by comparison, as if they were about to blow the roof off!

Both sides stood in a standoff in the center of the stage.

Beichuan looked at his old teammates with a nervous expression, especially nodding repeatedly when making eye contact with Ye Bo, and only gave a fist gesture when he met Xun's gaze.

And Chen Zebin, feeling the incredibly obvious gap in the screaming from the crowd, had an expression that was clearly a bit displeased.

He shot a fierce "Just you wait!" look at Ye Bo before walking back to the player area.

On the secondary broadcast, the Huya Four Dogs joint livestream room.

Crystal is cheering on his old teammate Flandre.

And Letme, listening to the live audio coming from the stream, was also making a fuss: "Good heavens, it feels like there are quite a few people supporting BLG. And this is V5's home court!"

Zzitai teased, opening the topic: "What do you say, Coach Letme? Who are you betting on today?"

Letme has recently been rumored to be going to coach RNG, so Zzitai's words could be considered a confirmation.

Letme was actually quite proud of this — he didn't care if the management only had the idea because he was almost free and could be "picked up for nothing," but instead believed the other side valued his ability!

"About that, *hiss*, analyzing from a professional coaching perspective, BLG's top lane is still slightly better. Brother Bin and Beichuan have been playing quite well recently, and Beichuan knows how to protect his big brother too well!"

"For V5, the most obvious advantage lane is definitely the mid lane, but Gaogao is just the mid lane version of Flandre. If he can hold off Ye, that's a success!"

"You really started analyzing, didn't you... But speaking of which, where is Xiao Wei today? Did he go home? I didn't even see him in the backstage replay just now!"

"Hey! Is Wei in the chat! Hey, say something!"

Zzitai knows how to stream; he immediately ignited the chat, and all sorts of "I'm here!" impersonation comments started flooding in.

It wasn't until a crisp sound rang out and the pick-and-ban screen appeared that everyone's attention was drawn.