Chapter 47: LPL Trial Broadcast

The blue side bans and picks first.

PE's top laner, of course, didn't truly give the mid lane the first pick of Shadow Flame Lord.

The LPL spot is confirmed, but losing a match inexplicably and getting utterly beaten is hardly a happy thing.

Thus, the first lane secured the early-game dominant Spider Queen for the jungler.

After the pick exchange, NXG's lineup was already set; the first and second lanes instantly locked in Caitlyn plus Imperial Prince.

"Picking Caitlyn means they want to rush towers; Imperial Prince's flag can increase her attack speed. The mid lane looks like they're going for a team-fight mage." PE, seeing NXG's picks, exchanged guesses among themselves.

Xika shook his head. "Can't confirm yet. Anyway, try not to pick mid lane before the opponent does."

"Pick what?"

"Riven and Miss Fortune, I guess."

Miss Fortune!

This was a preparation Xika and CiCi had made in advance after drawing NXG in the final match.

Their own bot lane Nami isn't a great Vayne player, so against a team like NXG that excels in team fights, an AD capable of dealing massive damage in a short time is the key to breaking the deadlock.

No matter how well-coordinated NXG's team fights are, as long as MF finds an opening, she can unleash a decent ultimate.

"Let's see if the opponent's third and fourth lanes pick mid lane."

"Feels doubtful. Isn't JM the boss of NXG? Why would a boss leave the counter-pick slot for an employee?"

Clang!

"We're on the same wavelength—aren't we?"

However, contrary to all of PE's expectations, the purple-side NXG, after locking in Twilight Eye on the third lane, instantly locked in the mid lane on the fourth lane.

Nine-Tailed Fox—Ahri!

Just as PE was shocked by the early reveal of NXG's mid lane champion.

Penguin Sports, responsible for hosting the LPL league, was in the process of broadcasting several ongoing LPL qualifiers to the Tencent Game Arena (TGA).

Thanks to YY Platform's bold all-in on Jiang Ming's server-top climbing event, combined with Penguin's own extensive prior promotion, the LOL PC game, already gradually heating up under the push of countless City League of Legends Tournaments, could be said to have welcomed an incredibly exaggerated surge of new players.

This made Penguin Sports notice JM, the LOL ladder's top player who was ahead of everyone else manipulating the winds and clouds;

S2 ladder top three, creator of high-quality LOL tutorial derivative videos, combining game traffic attention with e-commerce, and finally boldly throwing himself into the creation of a professional team—adding all these up made many Penguin executives who had just learned the specific details marvel at this student, not yet twenty years old, with his astonishing foresight.

It must be known that Penguin executives had not long ago made the decision to invest massive resources in promoting and supporting this game, LOL, and to develop it in the direction of esports sports; even those who knew were few and far between.

Who could have thought that on a single player, they would actually see more confidence in the game LOL than the company itself possessed?

Finally, the decision-makers were thus inspired to launch an early trial broadcast of the LPL professional league.

It was simply that YY Platform's recent strong push of the JM Server-Number-One Climbing Event, with its exaggerated real-time online viewer count in the live room, made people's hearts burn with excitement.

An early trial broadcast also has benefits; not to mention it can preheat for the subsequent professional league, but if any shortcomings are discovered during the trial, they can be corrected in time.

Thus, with TGA Platform actively joining hands with YY Live.

On the twenty-fifth, on the homepages of both platforms.

Countless users logging in suddenly saw a brand new special page.

"LOL Professional League Arrives, Pre-season Qualifiers in Full Swing..."

"Match Schedule: OMG vs IG, LM vs Dawn Wing WOANXG vs PE! (Live)"

Inside the match live room.

Countless bullet comments flew across.

【???】

【Wait, Penguin and YY, are you sick?】

【Silently bringing out the professional league, what about the January 29th date you promised?】

【Who hosts a match broadcast without any promotion? Do you hate having too many viewers?】

【Uh, calm down, angry older brother upstairs. Judging by the title, it seems to be a trial broadcast of the pre-season qualifiers.】

【No wonder it wasn't a big fuss. If my eyes had moved a bit faster, I might have missed it.】

【Wait, NXG's match has already started. Penguin, you're inhumane! Why did the match scheduled last get played first?】

Players clicking into the live room, seeing the match screen already in BP, felt thunder rolling through their heads.

Good heavens, a trial broadcast truly lives up to its name; no promotion or commentary was arranged, and the match started instantly at one second. One can only say, Penguin, you are invincible.

【Whoa, look what big treasure I found. JM is actually playing himself.】

【Is NXG's record really that exaggerated? Five wins, zero losses, not a single loss?】

【Wow, earlier the brothers in the live room were discussing whether JM starting a team would lose everything, but looking at this record, feels like there's something to it.】

【JM, you're the boss, you're the boss! Why play professionally? Just let these players play and go back to streaming for us properly.】

【Yay, the blue side didn't even ban Zed. Brothers can watch JM's Ninja performance again.】

【No way, I must quickly notify my friend who's about to kick the bucket. This is very likely JM's first professional match, a match of great significance; how can we miss it?】

【Ahhh, why pick Ahri? I want to see the Ninja.】

【What child's Zed? Is it prettier than my Ahri? JM, ignore these fools; I want to learn the ten thousand ways to play Ahri.】

Although Penguin had informed the participating teams beforehand that the platform would trial broadcast the final two rounds of the pre-season qualifiers recently, it did not specify the time.

Jiang Ming and the others naturally were unaware that their final battle against PE was now being broadcast.

"Woohoo, the opponent picked Ahri first! Van, what are you waiting for? Zed! Zed!"

"Brother, if you don't pick Zed, I'll look down on you, okay? Shadow Flame Lord against Ahri is a hand-in-hand grip."

The dissatisfaction with NXG picking mid lane first and the teammate's frantic encouragement completely cast Vans' remaining worries aside.

Pick!

Damn it, the other side looks down on us, yet the champion we're stealing is one of the few we play best.

If we lose this round, no loss; if we win, a massive profit.

"The invisible blade is the most lethal."

Watching the blue side confidently lock in the Shadow Hunter, Jiang Ming's lips curled upward as he said to Pang Ran on the fifth floor: "Steal—let's take her."

Pang Ran nodded, moving the mouse to the head of a champion that looked like a purple-skinned garlic bulb.

"Nice to meet you!"

—The Fae Sorceress, Lulu.

Thus, both teams' lineups were fully confirmed.

Blue side PE: Top lane Renekton, jungle Elise, mid lane Zed, bottom lane Caitlyn plus Nautilus.

Purple side NXG: Top lane Shen, jungle Imperial Prince, mid lane Ahri, bottom lane Caitlyn plus Lulu.

What does it mean to use full strength?

It means the individuals go all out, and the drafting is also all out.

With Shen, the Imperial Prince, and Ahri forming a three-entry system, combined with Caitlyn's fast push and Lulu's protection, NXG, facing PE—a powerhouse team in the inaugural LPL season—truly "poured everything they had" to measure their own level.