Chapter 69: Reverse Hands! True Master of Scientific Research! The Diver's Infiltration!

"Well played!" As everyone returned to the backstage area, Mao Kai and Kai both stepped forward to offer enthusiastic encouragement.

Kai specifically draped an arm over Ye Bo's shoulder: "Little Ye Bo, your training really didn't go to waste! You even managed to defend against that shameless formation from Top Esports; you really know how to research!"

"Hehe," Ye Bo chuckled in response to the manager's encouragement, though he almost couldn't resist adding, "I'm already researching."

"But actually, it still can't be considered fully cracked. Viper still died in the end. I feel like as long as this system can be executed, it's still effective. We should probably see if we can improve it a bit."

This strategy of funneling waves into the tower is Top Esports' signature move; it's unlikely that it could be easily cracked without any risk.

And without a doubt, the core of the previous game started because Zoe's desperate, all-in laning style forced a crucial numbers advantage.

Even if Zoe's wall-piercing E hadn't landed, simply driving the opponents away had already minimized the losses in the bottom lane to the greatest extent, saving one person and allowing Tahm Kench to farm the lane alone.

That was a clever utilization of Zoe's champion characteristics, seizing the only tactical gap available.

Previously, some might have said Ye Bo's small designs were just "clever tricks using game mechanics."

But in this game, anyone capable of seeing through the game's strategy could feel that this was absolutely no longer just a clever trick, but a game of strategy involving the entire map!

"No problem. From now on, feel free to go ahead with your tactical designs. If we lose, I'll take the blame," Mao Kai added.

No coach could resist having a player like this on their team.

Although some tactics carry risks.

But the problem is, all tactical clashes inherently carry risks.

Things without risk, in all likelihood, also have no rewards.

And to have someone who can help you analyze and review, help you design tactical systems, and even turn to you when you're lost during the draft and ask, "What should we pick this game?"

Forget about helping to take the blame, calling him 'brother' is no problem at all!

The large screen in the backstage area was currently broadcasting the MVP selection.

"How is this mine?" Viper himself was a bit puzzled.

Because Jinx received a massive infusion of resources in the mid-game, the final few major team fights were all cleaned up by Jinx, who racked up several multi-kills.

After all, Zoe served as the poke initiator; in terms of stats, Jinx, who cleaned up the fights, was naturally much more luxurious.

Judging by the way the commentary desk evaluates data, picking Jinx was within expectations.

"Wuhu~ If we win, Viper has to treat us tonight~" Ye Bo was the first to laugh and lead the applause.

Everyone knew perfectly well who the key contributor was, but seeing Ye Bo's reaction, they all started laughing.

"Treat, treat, treat. Win or lose, I'll treat. You should eat more tonight, okay? Eat something expensive!" Viper looked at Ye Bo affectionately and jokingly added, "Don't save money for me; stealing an MVP from you is only right."

"What are you saying? We're all so awesome, it doesn't matter who gets the MVP, it's all good~" Ye Bo said with an expression that suggested it was only natural.

Meiko also joked: "It's only because the brothers know you. If you said that outside, people would definitely call you a 'green tea' bitch, haha."

Jiejie goofed around and shouted: "But this is our Master Ye! His greatness needs no words!"

In any case, Viper really liked this new mid-laner more and more.

To put it simply and crudely: playing games with him... is so damn satisfying!

Everyone knew that the roam to the mid lane carried risks.

But for whom was it risky?

In reality, it was only risky for the mid lane!

To put it bluntly, while it was called a risk, in reality, whether it was the level-one ambush on Jayce in the top lane or this forced roam, the one truly taking the risk was the mid-laner himself!

If it succeeded, everyone benefited; if it failed, he took the blame himself.

For an ADC who has always had no human rights, this kind of mid-laner is simply a Maria radiating sunlight!

Scout sat alone on the sofa in the back, watching the happy scene, and curled his lip.

He had just gone to Mao Kai again to suggest he play the second game.

But clearly, based on his performance when he did play, it was impossible for Mao Kai to risk a substitution in this kind of match again. He just told him that he should be able to play against AL next week.

But Scout was clearly starting to get restless.

This can't go on; he has to save himself!

If this year really ends like this, let alone whether EDG can make it to the World Championship, or how they would perform if they did.

In any case, his wish to return to the LCK next year would be 100% ruined. Forget about wanting to join T1; even if he tried to join just to make kimchi, it's not certain anyone would want him!

"Let's go, Brother Yuchan~" Before leaving, Ye Bo didn't forget to greet him out of habit.

Looking at the other's sunny smile and eyes, for some reason, Scout found he couldn't bring himself to 'hate' him.

What to do?

"Welcome back to the second game between the two sides!"

"Previously, EDG secured a big win, dismantling Top Esports' desperate offensive system, suppressing the development of their core Draven in consecutive key team fights, while their lock-down system was also countered by the team composition and had no impact!"

"So, for this game, the sides have swapped. Top Esports is on the blue side. Let's look forward to what changes they will make!"

After the commentary desk's brief warm-up, the draft had already begun.

Top Esports' backstage had just finished a brainstorming session.

White Moon's drafting ability is essentially Schrödinger's: if you don't look closely, it feels like there's something there, but once you get a real look, it's hard to say.

Of course, for Top Esports, who have arrived at a brand-new version in the Summer Split, there isn't much to work with.

Just three basic tricks.

Either give the bottom lane a desperate combo to fight hard in the early game, give them Tahm Kench and Senna for mid-game operations, or give them a late-game hyper-carry.

Because this team's top laner has always been unable to shoulder heavy responsibilities; from 369 to Huang to Qingtian, not one has been able to serve as a tactical focal point.

Netizens' jokes about their top lane rotation are like "switching from a vegetable garden to a farm" — it's all trash!

As for Knight, the feeling is that whether you give him resource priority or not, the effect seems about the same, so there doesn't seem to be anything to prioritize.

The first three bans for both sides————

TES: Yone, Lucian, Akshan

EDG: Kalista, Taliyah, Gwen

"EDG's first-round bans essentially removed three strong meta heroes, which is very much in line with the current red-side ecosystem..." Jiji finished, but then hesitated, changing his tone.

"But it feels a bit strange. Top Esports' ban choices are actually very obvious. Did EDG not notice?"

Lucian and Nami is the strongest early-game laning bottom lane combo among conventional ADs after Kalista is banned, besides Draven.

At the same time, even though Lucian and Nami have been heavily nerfed several times, they are still considered one of EDG's signatures.

Banning Lucian actually made it clear that Top Esports' bottom lane intends to play for scaling this game.

And the blue side choosing to ban the niche Yone and Akshan makes the implication even more self-evident!

Sure enough, the blue side first-picked Galio!

"As expected. Yone and Akshan were the choices in Ye's hero pool to counter Galio, and at the same time, his Akali, LeBlanc, and Zoe all have a hard time against Galio!"

"Judging from EDG's recent matches, Galio is like the axis of their draft. Regardless of whether they want to target the mid-laner's hero pool, this hero is very critical!"

"Hmm, Ye has indeed only played these few heroes on the professional stage so far," Guan Zeyuan seemed to have a guess: "But is it possible that Ye actually has something new prepared for today?"

"Eh? EDG, this!?"

The two originally wanted to expand and analyze further.

But immediately after, the red side EDG locked in their first and second-round picks, making them unable to sit still.

The chat was instantly blown up!

【Bold!!!】

【What does this mean, huh? I'm just asking, what does EDG mean! Trying to teach Brother a lesson with a reverse hand, right!】

【I won't comment on Viper's Draven yet, but Sister's Pyke? Are you sure she isn't here to cosplay as Mark?】

【Indeed, Sister's tank supports are already a bit poetic; playing brainless heroes like Nautilus or Leona is one thing, but Pyke, which requires both brain and hands, I dare not imagine~】

【Don't be anxious yet. Is there a possibility that Ye stayed up all night in the blankets giving her special training?】

Seeing this combo that they had just taken in the previous game, Top Esports was clearly extremely surprised.

This was EDG discovering that the opponent wanted to pick a scaling bottom lane this game, and thus making a further counter-measure————just like the opponent's draft intent in the previous game.

"Wenbo, how about switching to Senna and Tahm Kench?" White Moon turned and asked: "If we don't pick them, they might be banned in the second round."

"I'm afraid that with Senna and Tahm Kench, the composition might lack damage," JackeyLove seemed to be considering the big picture.

Originally, their preparation for this game was to pick a stable mid-to-late game hyper-carry like Zeri or Aphelios.

White Moon felt that JackeyLove was not in good form today, and if they forced a laning fight, they would likely crash and burn.

And the correlation between AD hyper-carries and form is okay; if you pick a soft support to protect them, what you really fear is them not daring to output damage.

For example, seeing a fed Aphelios that everyone is counting on, charging backward with a red-white weapon, would give anyone high blood pressure.

But JackeyLove has never had that problem.

He doesn't care about advantages or disadvantages; he might feed, but he will never be timid. He'd rather play an ADC and get face-to-face with the opponent!

"Knight... uh, Xiaotian, what do you think?" White Moon continued to ask for the players' opinions.

"Anything is fine. If it really doesn't work, I can take Kindred or Graves or something," Xiaotian replied.

"Okay, then let's take Senna and Tahm Kench. Let's see what their mid-jungle is."

Senna and Tahm Kench can be said to be one of the most versatile bottom lane combos currently; there is almost no one they can't play against, and it's also Top Esports' signature.

Of course, it also has the benefit of not being easy to die!

EDG took Kennen on the third pick, entering the second round of bans.

"TES is targeting the mid-lane Zoe and the jungler Viego! EDG is banning the jungler Diana and Jarvan IV, dismantling the system that allows Xiaotian to coordinate team fights with Galio!"

"It seems Knight is very confident and ready to play LeBlanc and Akali specifically to catch Ye!"

"Let's look at EDG's fourth pick, it's Xin Zhao!"

"No problem. It looks like another game emphasizing mid-jungle confrontation, leaving the suspense of the mid lane for last. Although Akali and LeBlanc will be countered a bit, with the addition of Xin Zhao, a great fighter, it should be a battle!"

Bai Se Yue Ya smoothed his brows, feeling as though everything was under control.

"If he picks Xin Zhao, then don't pick Kindred. Go with Graves."

"The top laner needs to add some AP."

"We'll play a roaming style this game. Tian, you come help Galio get liberated more often; there's no need to clash head-on with them!"

Although Kindred has synergy with Galio, Kindred's ultimate is easily countered by Xin Zhao in team fights, potentially leading to a situation where the opponent knocks their own teammates out.

There aren't many AP heroes for the top lane in this version; after Gwen and Kennan, the only best choices left are Kayle and Vladimir, with basically no other options.

After weighing the options, TES selects Vladimir for the top lane.

Just as Bai Se Yue Ya felt that his draft for this game was perfectly reasonable and would surely break the stalemate through roaming,

the fifth pick for EDG lit up, leaving everyone on and off the stage completely stunned!

"Renata Glasc!? What does that mean!"

"Locked in!"

Many comments of "Mid Pyke!" floated across the screen.

That livestream later surged to the Bilibili homepage due to the traffic, and although it was only that one game, surely someone had seen it.

But even though that game was a top-tier Korean server match, wasn't it just for fun in memory?

You're actually playing it in a professional match!

"This can only be mid Pyke, there's no second possibility. It can't be jungle Pyke or mid Renata Glasc!" Jide recovered and found it easy to reach a conclusion.

"Don't say that! I remember G2 played jungle Pyke before, but that was before the nerfs~" Guan Zeyuan began to hold forth again: "Pyke is very hard to play in lane now. It's not because of anything else, but because neither his Q nor E has AoE damage to minions, so his early wave-clear speed is too slow!"

"But one thing to say, this really did flex on TES. Once Renata Glasc is out, the team fight composition feels like it instantly leveled up, and the bot lane laning phase is also more comfortable."

"In that case, we can only look forward to what changes Ye Bo will bring."

Ye Bo practicing Pyke was originally to expand his options for roaming.

Furthermore, the Pyke he had been practicing these past few days had led him to develop a unique understanding.

Both sides confirmed their team compositions.

《Blue Side: TES || Red Side: EDG》

【Top: Vladimir vs. Kennan】

【Jungle: Graves vs. Xin Zhao】

【Mid: Galio vs. Pyke】

【ADC: Senna vs. Draven】

【Support: Tahm Kench vs. Renata Glasc】

Entering the match.

Guan Zeyuan couldn't wait to look at the status bars of both sides again, wanting to see if Ye Bo would still take Ignite like the last game.

But one look, and it was shocking.

"What!? Why does Pyke have Smite!!!"

"What kind of strategy is Ye Bo playing! He didn't even buy jungle items at the start, he just took Smite!"

"Can he really lane with this? He couldn't have taken it by mistake, right!"

【Scientific research? Learning from Teacher Shy, are we!】

【It's over, it's over, the retribution is here. He got infected with the virus after arresting Brother Jiang earlier!】

【Speechless, just messing around. Can this thing even be played? Feels like he's just trying hard to grab attention.】

【Wait, no? The game hasn't even started yet. Oh, when he plays the same thing, you say he only knows how to copy Korean strategies and can't innovate. When he actually innovates himself, you say he's just messing around. You've said it all!】

【True, anyway, I'm going to be a fan of Ye Wen now. Keep messing around, even if he feeds, I love watching it!】

【Believe first, Master Ye hasn't disappointed anyone so far!】

The comments were divided.

Actually, Ye Bo had practiced quite a few games in the training grounds.

At the very least, when playing against Galio, the results were quite good.

Mid Pyke has unique advantages exclusive to the hero, and that incredibly powerful mobility, combined with a rare hook skill, makes his roaming and ganking ability even superior to Akshan!

If he could verify this playstyle, it would become a "hidden card" for Ye Bo in terms of roaming.

Of course, the training ground is ultimately just a simulation.

To truly verify this playstyle, he still had to see the real results on the competitive stage.

It was also because of the discussion in the back room earlier, where his teammates gave him absolute trust and confidence, that he proposed considering this if the opponent picked Galio on blue side.

"Hey man, no way, why does this Pyke have Smite?" JackeyLove was the first to discover it with surprise.

At the same time, he didn't forget to repeatedly warn them.

"This guy's Pyke is a bit fierce, everyone needs to be careful, especially his hook!"

Tian kept a straight face and marked the map: "He might want to mess with me at level one. Entrance ward, and stand back."

The bot lane tri-bush and the two river entrances to the mid lane—all key positions for infiltrating the jungle were warded.

"Xin Zhao is here! It might be three people!"

In the vision of Wayward in the top half of the map, he saw the jungler walking in, followed closely by the top laner.

The others immediately moved to support.

"I warded the tri-bush and Renata Glasc did too, the bot lane didn't go!" the support provided information.

Tian was brainstorming.

Last game, they relied on their level-one strength to forcibly invade the opponent's red buff area, achieving the goal of forcing a jungle swap.

This game, the situation was reversed, and it was the exact same tactic!

Tahm Kench and Senna have no level-one team fight capability, Galio has to learn W to fight at level one, which hurts his laning, and the top lane Vladimir is purely a super minion.

Whether invading top or bottom, TES couldn't easily take the fight.

Most importantly, the opponent has two Smites!

To forcibly contest the half-jungle, it would be impossible to out-smite them for the jungle monster, so they could only avoid the fight.

Soon, Tian understood the opponent's logic, and it was completely correct.

"Don't fight, don't fight, give it to them. I'll go start at the bottom."

"Support, go back to your position. They probably just want to force a jungle swap, then have the bot lane help Pyke start the jungle, eat the blue buff area monsters, and make me lose some jungle at the start..."

"It's a bit disgusting."

Even if he understood, there was nothing he could do.

This was just like their own design; the opponent could see it, but it was hard to break.

Pyke couldn't buy a jungle item, and his jungle clearing efficiency was extremely low, so at most, he could only take a big wolf with the help of teammates, and wouldn't even be able to clear the whole jungle.

It was mostly to balance the experience from taking Smite and to annoy the jungler.

And as Xin Zhao, to launch a massive four-man operation to force an invade into the opponent's jungle for the loss of half a camp was a risk-to-reward ratio that was too skewed.

What if he guessed wrong?

What if he didn't win the Smite battle?

Even if he took a step back and said that even without any mistakes, it would actually just be a normal jungle swap with the opponent, with nothing to gain.

Conversely, one mistake could lead to a level-one collapse!

Tian still chose to start at his own red buff normally and naturally swap jungles with Xin Zhao.

1 minute and 30 seconds, jungle monsters respawn.

"It really is, their bot lane didn't show up in lane either."

After the bot lane duo helped with the leash, they retreated to the lane normally.

There was indeed no one in the mid lane.

Because there was vision from the level-one ward in the bot lane tri-bush, TES wasn't worried that the opponent was trying to ambush them; it was highly likely they just hadn't shown up in lane.

"It's fine, I'll lose a big wolf at most, his jungle clearing is very slow," Tian said dismissively.

Compared to their wave stacking into the tower, this half-camp of jungle obviously didn't count for much.

The Red Buff was taking shots from the shotgun.

700610490

Graves basically doesn't lose health when clearing the jungle, and with help from teammates, there was no reason to use Smite on the first monster.

However, just the moment the Red Buff's health dropped below 450!

Behind Graves.

In the bush behind the Red Buff.

Suddenly appeared—a person holding a steel dagger!

Simultaneously, a red light descended from the sky, executing the Red Brambleback on the spot!

"Wocao!!!"

"There's! A! Water! Ghost!"

Tian seemed to have truly transformed into Yang Jian on the spot, letting out a sharp scream, instantly attracting the attention of all his teammates.

"Pyke!?"

"Hey, no way? How did he sneak in here!"

"Surround him, surround him! K-Huang, can you surround him!"

However, after Pyke stole the red buff with Smite, although he didn't level up, he just used an auto-attack to slow Graves.

With a gurgle, he dove underwater, and [Ghostwater Dive] granted a 40% burst of movement speed!

Pyke even started with boots, his movement speed instantly soaring to 500 units.

He swam away at lightning speed!

The level-one Graves had no crowd control, and their own bottom lane had already reached the tri-bush; even if Galio from the mid lane rushed over, it would be useless.

Even if Galio had leveled up his W, it would be impossible to catch up and pin down Pyke!

Graves could only fire two shots in frustration.

Then, he just watched helplessly as Pyke departed safely.

[Drowned in the Deep] even allowed him to recover health!

"Wow, he actually stole it!!" Jide’s eyes were filled with disbelief.

"There’s actually an infiltration angle in front of the tower? What a bizarre design! The timing was absolutely perfect!"

Guan Zeyuan formed an 'O' with his mouth: "This is a bit bold. It feels similar to how Third Uncle’s Kayn used his Q to go over the wall at the dragon pit at level one. It’s all about having a thorough understanding of the hero’s mechanics!"

Canyon once used Kayn to counter-jungle Peanut, using his Q to go over the wall from the dragon pit at the start of the game to infiltrate the jungle and steal the Red Buff by exploiting a vision gap.

What he utilized was the displacement ability of Kayn’s short-cooldown Q.

So, in this instance, how was Pyke able to infiltrate this position?

It is known that Pyke leveled his W.

But one must know, although Tahm Kench didn't camp the bush because he was guarding against an invasion by the enemy bottom lane, both entrances to the lower half of the jungle were warded.

Especially the ward in the tri-bush.

Even if the stealth ward couldn't see Pyke, Tahm Kench had returned halfway and never strayed too far from the tri-bush.

This meant that if Pyke had entered by activating his W from the tri-bush, he would inevitably have been exposed by the W’s warning indicator due to the close proximity!

The answer is actually quite simple.

Because Ye Bo never passed through the tri-bush at all—he circled around in front of the tower!

Defensive towers have {True Sight}, which can see through stealth, and their detection range far exceeds their attack range.

But in fact, right in front of the Blue side’s bottom tier-one tower, right against the wall, there is a small path.

It can bypass the "Defensive Tower's True Sight"!

Pyke traveled along this path the entire way, and with great attention to detail, he used "B to Recall" the moment he passed the tri-bush to cancel the continuous state of his W, minimizing his exposure range.

Utilizing the enemy’s level-one positioning, he moved as if through empty land, swaggering into position early!

In professional matches, it is impossible for players to just stand stupidly in the buff pit waiting for it to spawn at level one; five people mean five positions acting as markers, which is key to obtaining early-game information.

This, however, was exactly how the water ghost tore open the enemy’s vision defense line.

He slipped into the corner gap behind the enemy!

Of course, even if Tahm Kench hadn't moved to assist earlier and had just camped in the tri-bush, it wouldn't have changed the result.

Because both supports placed their wards at the same time and had information on each other, Pyke could have signaled his bottom lane duo to step forward and pretend to invade, effectively performing a "positional drive."

Thereby, leaving himself enough space to avoid the W’s warning indicator.

But in reality, Xiaotian’s guess was actually completely correct.

What he thought—hard-swapping the jungle and using Smite to force-eat half a jungle camp—was indeed the "normal opening" strategy for a Pyke taking Smite.

But this was its first appearance.

And the first time is always reserved for the unexpected.

After discovering the composition of the opponent's lineup at the start, Ye Bo wanted to use a small path he had accidentally discovered to pull off this undefendable rear-flank jungle steal, successfully carrying the Red Buff to lane while severely disrupting Graves’s early-game rhythm!

Looking at Graves, despite all his pent-up frustration, he could only accept his fate.

[Graves: Bu! Xiang! Wan! La!]

[Surprise? What the f*** is a surprise! This is what you call scientific research!]

[I am a simple farmer, and this is a sugar beet!]

[I’m depressed, guys. If I were the jungler, I’d be ready to turn into a demon.]

[Xiaotian, just be content. You died the same way as Faker. It seems Faker was also caught by a W-cancel in that ranked game.]

[Grandpa! I told you not to rush, believe first, then believe again!]

The word count has been updated to 7k+ now. Adding the chapter from this morning, today is another 10k+ day, just like yesterday.

Starting tomorrow, I will begin paying off the debt for the Alliance Leaders and monthly tickets!

Please give me monthly tickets! QAQ!

Thank you, brothers, for the monthly tickets!

Thank you, brothers, for your support!

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(End of chapter)