Chapter 362: Opening Match!

"Looking at it this way, the probability of us playing T1, GEN, and Hanwha in the second round is very high."

Everyone frowned slightly as they looked at the draw results.

Everyone was certainly confident about playing DK, and assuming they would win the first round wasn't exactly "popping champagne" prematurely.

According to this matchup distribution, the first-round opponents for the top three LCK seeds were relatively the weakest; not only would it be difficult to force anything out of them, but there was also a high probability they would be in a safe position to draw V5.

Whether it was being able to understand the opponent first or being able to force out the opponent's tactical reserves, it was a massive gain.

"Actually, this might be a good thing instead."

Ye Bo suddenly spoke up from the side: "If we can encounter strong teams early, perhaps our plan can also be prepared to be executed ahead of schedule; it doesn't necessarily have to wait until the quarterfinals."

"But if that's the case, we might have to... for tomorrow's first match."

Everyone returned to the hotel to hold a meeting.

Afterward, they returned to their rooms to rest, preparing for tomorrow's opening match debut.

When Ye Bo sat alone in his room, he was still constantly deliberating and thinking.

This plan was actually an idea he had proposed a long time ago, and he finally made up his mind after the Asian Games ended.

Although the result of the Asian Games was a perfect gold medal, the process and the problems exposed were clearly not few—if those problems were ignored, once they erupted unexpectedly in a critical match, the consequences could be unimaginable!

Ye Bo did not want to experience the fourth game of the Asian Games again, that feeling of discovering problems on the spot and being unable to solve them, only being able to bite the bullet and fight with his back to the wall.

So, even though there would inevitably be risks.

That was indeed the only way he could find in a short period of time.

In the blink of an eye, it was already October 19th.

At the Seoul KBS Arena, 16 teams gathered together.

The first two rounds of the Swiss stage were both best-of-ones; every team had to play today, with a total of eight matches to be played, which was why the backstage area was exceptionally lively today.

Languages from various countries were mixed together in the air, noisy and clamorous.

Ye Bo had just finished taking a photo with an excited Adam, watching the other person run off as if they had found a treasure.

Turning his head, he saw the four LCK teams walking in from the entrance in a group.

Li Xianghe, who was always walking at the very front, seemed to notice Ye Bo in the crowd at a glance—and Ye Bo also saw the other's gaze; their eyes collided in the air, and they nodded to each other as a greeting.

However, the few people behind him who were originally chatting and laughing had their expressions change instantly when they saw him... especially those who had returned from the Asian Games!

Even though they were standing on their home turf, they suddenly felt a sense of inexplicable "restraint" just standing there!

Only Zeka and Kingen behind Hanwha were waving at the bot lane duo, while Viper behind Samsung was also greeting Ye Bo and the others.

Viper had actually wanted to come over and fulfill the duties of a host for everyone for a long time, but hindered by the fact that both sides were the number one seeds of their respective regions and were also the biggest competitors on the surface, there would likely be a battle later on.

If they were filmed having any off-line interactions before the match, it would inevitably stir up drama, so he could only suppress it for the time being.

On-site staff walked in to urge them.

And the members of the two teams scheduled to play today also came to the backstage corridor to prepare to take the stage.

Xu Xiu also gave Ye Bo a meaningful look first, before interacting with Beryl behind him, frantically winking at his old brother.

"Hey little Xiu, are you ready to be beaten by us today?"

After switching his voice input method, Beryl teased him cheekily and deliberately draped his arm over Ye Bo's shoulder: "Hey Mr. Ye, for my sake today, go a bit easier; Xiu is very resistant to beatings~~~"

He said this latter part in Korean as well.

Ye Bo actually couldn't understand it at all!

"Hmph, you'd better not get crushed by our little support! He's very strong!" Xu Xiu pretended not to hear the second half of the sentence, and unwilling to be outdone, he also hugged his own Delight and replied.

The noisy volume from the front stage drifted over.

The Roaring Emperor's voice was also being conducted into the backstage through the speakers.

"After four days of Play-In stage competition, today we have finally arrived at the Swiss stage of the World Championship!"

"The flames of war in October are burning fiercely, so let us wait and see which eight teams can break out of the encirclement!"

"Please welcome both teams to the stage!"

Following the instructions, the two teams walked out of the corridor together to make their appearance.

DK possessed the home-field advantage and immediately received quite a significant amount of cheering from the scene; the golden star shining above the team logo on their chests was also reminding everyone that this was a team that had once reached the pinnacle.

But when the other group walked up, even though there was no golden star shining on their team uniforms—the "sense of oppression" they inexplicably brought to everyone was overwhelming.

It was as if the cheering at the scene had suddenly become a little quieter!

Spotlights crisscrossed and flashed; after the members of both teams signaled to the audience, they walked toward the player booths.

The livestream camera soon jumped to the commentary desk.

"Good evening, audience friends, I am the commentator Zeyuan!"

"Hello everyone, I am the commentator Jide!"

Two familiar faces appeared on the screen.

Guan Zeyuan said in a clear voice, "The opening match about to take place is between the LPL region's number one seed V5 and the LCK region's number four seed DK!"

Jide immediately followed up: "Although DK is only the fourth seed, after all, the first two rounds of the Swiss stage are best-of-ones. Everyone knows that best-of-ones have a high degree of unpredictability, and players from both sides might pull out unexpected things; we must absolutely not lower our guard!"

Guan Zeyuan also nodded to indicate: "Yes, you are eliminated if you lose three matches in the Swiss stage; it can be said that every match is crucial, and the first match is even a key move that determines the seeding!"

"So without further ado, let us enter the BP phase of the opening match!"

Unlike the domestic scene which still had a string of advertisements to protect, the World Championship basically executed the schedule strictly according to the timetable.

Accompanied by a crisp clanging sound.

The BP panel had already appeared on the livestream screen!

The first round of the Swiss stage adopted the rule where the "high-seeded team" had priority in choosing sides; V5, as the number one seed, obtained the right to choose sides and naturally chose the blue side, which had a greater advantage in best-of-ones.

"V5 first bans Rumble and Jax, while DK has two fixed bans: Akali and Neeko..."

There was a slight hesitation in Guan Zeyuan's words: "This choice by V5 is a bit surprising, because according to the experience of the Play-In stage, the top lane is actually very difficult to burn through, especially since this is a best-of-one."

In the current version, there were four "absolutely strong" priority heroes for the top lane.

Renekton, Aatrox, Rumble, Jax.

And outside of these four absolute powerhouses, there were secondary choices like Gwen, Gnar, Jayce, Kennen, and K'Sante.

This was also the reason why the top lane was strong in the current version—the heroes simply couldn't be burned through!

Compared to the other four positions, which had at most 2-3 must-ban-or-pick heroes, the top lane was very difficult to run out of heroes to use, at least in the first two games; one could even easily pick a strong hero!

"Perhaps V5 wants to take one each; now that Renekton and Aatrox are still outside, they have first banned Blitzcrank!"

Guan Zeyuan continued to explain to the audience: "The purpose of this Blitzcrank ban is very obvious; V5 should be wanting to play a double-marksman combination!"

"This rookie support for DK, Delight, really likes to use Blitzcrank to play against double-marksman combinations in the LCK, which can be considered one of the most distinct methods among the four LCK teams."

Blitzcrank actually couldn't be said to "counter" double-marksmen at all.

It looked like it was very simple: if you hook someone, they die.

But the problem was that for a Blitzcrank on the professional stage to hook someone, the difficulty had to be tripled at the very least, and once a hook missed, they would have to have the double-marksmen shove their gun barrels into their nostrils for over ten seconds; it could be said that missing one hook would lead to a huge disadvantage in the laning phase!

So this was a solution with extreme risk and also extreme confidence, and it was not universal.

Both sides' first round of bans—

V5: Rumble, Jax, Blitzcrank

DK: Akali, Neeko, Sylas

"DK's last pick is to ban Sylas, so let's see what V5 wants to take."

"Yone!?"

"Oh, V5 just highlighted it, but ultimately chose to snatch Jarvan IV, this version's T0 jungler, which is also no problem; anyway, the top lane hero pool is sufficient!"

Jarvan IV had already been proven in the Play-In stage to be the undisputed new T0 jungler in the current environment and version.

The reason was also very simple.