On April 21st, the Shanghai stock market had clear skies, a comfortable temperature and no humidity.
Gu Xing arrived at the 9th floor of Supermarket Plaza, which he had not seen for a long time, feeling refreshed and looked at this venue he had not seen for half a year with nostalgia on his face.
The space is too small, the equipment is old, the lighting is dim...
No matter how you compare it, I feel it is not as good as your home stadium.
"How are you doing today? Did you rest well?" Jin Wenhe asked with concern.
"It's quite strong, I feel like my whole body is full of strength..." Gu Xing touched his face, "Why do you ask this, I look so bad?"
Jin Wenhe felt relieved, "Just in case I ask, I was worried that I didn't do the logistics well last night."
Manager Lu Wenjun, who took the lead in organizing the players to sign in, turned around and smiled, his tone full of approval, "Lao Jin, you have done enough. Didn't you see what the Sky Snakes team was doing a few days ago? That's true. unbelievable!"
Gu Xing acted as a curious child, "What happened?"
Lu Wenjun explained in detail, "Didn't the Snakes play RNG in the first game of the playoffs? It turned out that they took the high-speed train from Chongqing to Shanghai the night before the game. After a tiring journey, they checked into the hotel early in the morning and fell asleep. The next day I woke up and went to the venue to prepare for the game, but I lost my mind and was smashed to pieces by RNG!"
After hearing the whole process, Gu Xing was shocked.
Even ordinary people with strong physiques will feel a little tired after spending most of the day on the road, let alone professional players who are always known for their crispy skin!
I came to Shanghai early in the morning the day before the game, and my body probably didn’t recover even after a good sleep. I went to play BO5 bleary-eyed, tired and sleepy...
Is this something a human can do?
Gu Xing doubted whether the team management was an idiot and could actually pull off such an operation.
In comparison, VG is simply a logistics genius!
I came to Shanghai a week in advance and agreed to borrow the base of the second team, trying to simulate the exact training environment so that the players could quickly adapt and get involved in practice.
Although there are some areas where care is not taken care of well, these fragmentary incidents are not worth mentioning in the face of Snake's incredible management!
However, Gu Xing thought about Sofm's experience of playing the S6 bubble game as the German Cup, and it seemed that it was reasonable for a similar accident to happen to the Snakes.
"Don't you understand?" Yu Wenbo smiled, "This is called long-term pain rather than short-term pain!"
"So what if you come here early? You can't beat RNG even if you prepare to the extreme. In this case, it's better to just stay in Shanghai for one day and then retreat to take a fishing vacation!"
"What you said is too much," Duan Deliang scolded him. "What player doesn't want to win?"
Seeing that his assistant was acting more seriously, Jack quickly defended himself, "Brother, I was just joking!"
Duan Deliang guessed, "I guess the Snakes arrived late because they came to Shanghai early and couldn't find a suitable training location. After all, they don't have a second team base in Shanghai like us."
Now the LDL has not forced all LPL teams to form a second team. Snake's youth training team is still playing in the City Heroes Competition. This means that since the main team moved to Chongqing, they have no roots in Shanghai!
We couldn't play in the Korean server when we went to the hotel, and it wasn't even possible to get an appointment for a training match. We were naturally lagging behind and there were no teams that always stayed in Shanghai at their home games.
In Duan Deliang's view, perhaps it was out of such considerations that the Snakes decided to set off the night before the game in an effort to maintain the players' hot touch.
"Don't worry about the other teams," Lu Wenjun urged, "Hurry up and put on makeup, we have to play soon!"
Everyone in VG quickly stopped laughing and joking and hurried forward to prepare for the battle.
At five o'clock in the afternoon, the venue was packed.
The fans were filled with joy, waving the team support items they made or received in the audience, looking forward to the upcoming showdown.
The live broadcast room was also overcrowded, and netizens took advantage of the gap before the game started to discuss it in the barrage.
[Just a number: 80 minutes, can VG speed pass RW? 】
[I guess RW won at least one game, they are really bad]
[Nicole, let’s take it down. Can Mouse withstand Maibo? I’m afraid it will collapse first after 15 minutes on the road]
[It’s okay, trust Brother Coin, he said he can take RW to the moon!]
"Welcome to Supermarket Square!" I remember shouting loudly, "The 2018 LPL Spring Split semi-finals are about to take place. The two sides are VG, the first in the Eastern Conference in the regular season, and RW, the third in the Eastern Conference!"
Partner Zeyuan took over the topic and continued, "Today is also the first appearance of our defending champion VG in the playoffs. In contrast, RW is gaining momentum..."
"It can only be said that there are advantages and disadvantages to having a higher ranking in the regular season," he said. "VG has more time to study the version and opponents, but with less BO5, it may not be as good as RW in terms of state."
At this time, the director gave various data about both teams.
"You can see that the average game duration of both teams is very short, ranking second and third in the league respectively," I remember Uwen Qiangzhi, "If I remember correctly, IG should be at the top of the list."
IG ranks first in this data mainly because the level of bloodshed is so high.
The advantages are fighting like crazy and the game is over at the speed of light. The disadvantages are also constantly fighting. Try to reverse the situation through team battles. If you fail, seize the time to end the game and start the next game.
Like VG and RW, they more or less have to do some operations and delay in the disadvantageous game, but the Extreme Team is not slow at all, as if they have implemented the reckless mentality to the extreme!
IG is famous for its ferocious play style, but it also suffered more than its fair share of losses. Their loss to the Royal Family in the top six was largely due to their inferiority and lack of operation. Sometimes they might be able to find RNG's flaws if they delay, but they just had to speed up and force the game.
If you fight against each other, you will destroy all your hopes for a comeback!
Zeyuan brought the topic back on track, "What these three teams have in common is that they are extremely capable of snowballing. As long as they can establish a slight advantage during the laning period, they can tear open the wound and end the game quickly!"
"However, there are differences between fast-paced teams. RW focuses on the bottom half. It can also be seen from the data that their Rift Herald control rate is in the middle and lower reaches of the league, while Xiaolong's control rate ranks first in the LPL; VG
On the contrary, the tactical focus is more on the top half!"
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Remember to agree with your partner, "In other words, what we are comparing in this semi-final is the breakthrough speed between different halves. It depends on which RW half collapses first."
Or the lower half of VG can’t withstand the pressure!”
The sonorous and powerful metallic crisp sound suddenly echoed in the venue, and the BP panel appeared in front of all the audience!
"VG has the priority to choose sides in this semi-final. They got the blue side in the first game, so they came up and banned Tamu, who Baolan is good at!"
RW head coach Steak decisively sent Qinggang Ying to the ban position.
Kasa still hasn't mastered Camille, and she's afraid of being disgusted by Gu Xing, so it's best not to release such a strong character in the early stage.
Without thinking, Redmi dedicated the second banned position to Ornn.
As mentioned before, since the green jungle knife was deleted, the game environment has tended to be team fighting rather than solo.
Ornn was originally reduced to a low strength and was on thin ice when faced with a lot of strong players on the top lane. But now due to the sudden change in the environment, he has returned to the top laner T1 in the version.
Just because the Sheep Blacksmith is a veritable team battle monster, and he can equip his teammates in the mid-term, and he can also maintain his one-hand limit.
"RW also targeted the top lane and blocked the captain!" Zeyuan couldn't help but laugh out loud, "Looks like he's very afraid of Maibo!"
The captain was severely chopped as early as version 8.4. The mana consumption of Q [Gunfire Negotiation] was increased, and the duration of E Powder Keg was shortened, in order to prevent Gangplank from exchanging blood too frequently during the laning phase.
Even though the core mechanism of Theft Omen has not changed, the overall strength is still going downhill.
Moreover, Mouse's captain proficiency is quite good, and he is one of the few warrior characters that he can use.
RW still banned him, no doubt because they were worried that Song Jinghao would choose a carry-type hero to develop without pressure, and wait until the mid-term to emerge from the mountain and become a god!
Hongmi understood the opponent's attitude and became more aggressive, sending Shen to the ban position.
Steak scratched his head helplessly and had no choice but to ban Gnar.
At the end of the regular season, Dinosaur Bobby's winning rate was appallingly low.
However, Song Jinghao was really able to win when he played it alone. He was able to lead alone and play as a team, and he was able to withstand Nar's winning rate by himself!
The original idea of Steak was to use Shen to limit it, so that Mouse could also provide support and help his teammates.
Nowadays, VG bans caution, and after the countermeasure fails, he has to block Gnar to relieve the pressure on the top laner.
"Neither side took the initiative to ban the previously extremely strong Xialuo combination. This has something to do with the changes in version 8.6 implemented in the playoffs," Zeyuan explained the reason to viewers who didn't pay much attention to the patch. "Phoenix Legend was originally level one."
When using W, as long as Luo can lift the opponent up with his grand entrance, he can often kill the fragile ones instantly with the high damage of the double fatal feathers!"
"But in version 8.6, the designer cut it off with a single blow, and it became necessary to hit the opponent in order to trigger the attack special effect of the fatal feather coat!"
As we all know, Rakan is a disgrace among long-range heroes, and his short hands can be called the Tyrannosaurus rex in the support world.
As long as Luo A cannot reach the enemy, Phoenix Legend's early explosive ability will be greatly weakened!
Therefore, now Xialuo is no longer a combination that must be removed in the BP stage, and the overall strength belongs to the end of T1 in the bottom lane.
"VG chose Kai'Sa for the first grab!" I remember showing my approval, "There is no problem, Kai'Sa is currently the best shooter in the version and deserves it!"
Hongmi’s judgment was accurate at the time.
The 8.5 version that Kai'Sa just debuted was left out in the cold simply because her numbers were not high enough.
Coming to the playoff version, Riot has fully increased her values!
Including but not limited to the 25-yard attack range, increasing the spell bonus damage and plasma explosion income of the passive [Surface Revitalization], increasing the casting distance and income of Q [Icathia Heavy Rain], and increasing the movement speed of E [Extreme Overload].
The channel guidance time is shortened, and R [Hunter Instinct] becomes a shield from the moment the skill is cast...
All in all, the designer has strengthened it in all aspects!
Coupled with the revision of the Sheep Knife in version 8.6, it fits Kai'Sa extremely well.
Some time ago, Uzi used the sheep knife Kai'Sa to perform perfectly against IG, letting the world see how powerful this hero is!
In just one patch, the Lady of the Void has ascended to the altar!
Seeing this, RW did not hesitate to choose the strong version of Crow and auxiliary Luo.
Redmi got Duan Deliang's Minotaur with its backhand, which was responsible for providing control and creating space for Jack to enter the field, while the remaining positions were contributed to Thain.
"What a wonderful decision!" Zeyuan praised, "Sion carries the flag of command. If he goes up against the Raven chosen by RW, Swain will be very difficult to deal with and will never have lane rights!"
As long as the Flag of Command is given to the artillery car, the crow will be useless - if he wants to deal with the artillery car, he can only rely on basic attacks. Just think about it, you will know how difficult it will be!
At the same time, this version of the AD mid laner is very rare. If Redmi does not waver and directly uses Sion to Kuro, it will be very difficult for RW to deal with!
Steak didn't expect that he would be touched by Red Rice, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
He didn't think of a solution in a short period of time, so he had to put it aside for the time being and select Xia as an old thief of Sima to form the Phoenix Legend.
In the second round of BP, Steak began to restrict Gu Xing, sending Blind Sin and Kindred to the banned position in turn.
Among them, Li Qing has been enhanced in the playoff version, the passive energy return and the range of Q [Tian Yin Wave] have been appropriately improved, and even the output ability of R [Raptor Tail] has increased significantly.
As for Qian Jue, he was given to Gu Xing as a target.
Since Kuro has a high probability of picking Sion, who is not very economical and can supplement control, then there is a chance that Kindred, a unique skill, will appear, and Steakhouse must be very careful about this.
Hongmi took aim at Doinb and banned the opponent's French-core Snake Girl and Victor.
"RW plans to take Karma first. If nothing else, it should be chosen for the mid laner Doinb. The mid laner Fan Ma is now taking shape very quickly and can adapt to the fast pace of the current version..."
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! In addition, Karma can bring a minion to remove the material.
This is a delaying strategy thought up by Steak.
6 minion deplasmers can drag the flag of command for 10 minutes!
RW has to create an advantage that can change the situation of the battle in these 10 minutes!
I remember frowning in thought, "But if I choose mid laner Karma, will there be a lack of damage?"
Crow belongs to Fatan and has very low explosive ability.
Not to mention Karma, in the early stage, he can still rely on Q [Inner Flame] to create some output, and in the middle and late stages, he will be the tool to apply BUFF to the shooter!
It is not an exaggeration to say that the current lineup selected by RW is counting on the old thief Sima to deal damage alone!
"VG's last two hands are Ryze and Olaf in the jungle position, which complements spell damage and tankiness. The lineup is very solid!" Zeyuan nodded repeatedly, obviously very satisfied with Redmi's BP, "It depends on how RW will do.
Use your counter position..."
A deep voice came, resounding throughout the entire venue!
It's troll time!
"Trundle?!" I remember not being able to hide my surprise, and immediately exclaimed, "RW will show his trump card when he comes up!"
"The troll jungler hasn't appeared in the professional arena for a while!"
The audience was whispering in the audience, discussing the unpopular heroes currently in the jungle position.
Remember to calm down quickly and speak loudly, "But there is no doubt that the trolls have a restraint relationship with Olaf, and the icicles can perfectly limit the charging of the berserkers!"
Zeyuan suddenly remembered another detail, "In my impression, it seems that Brother Xing was the first to choose the troll jungler to restrain Olaf on the S6 World Championship stage. In that duel, he beat the little peanut to the ground, and the icicle card
The person’s skills are very skillful!”
His loud voice instantly brought countless audiences back to the thrilling BO5 held at the Chicago Theater.
"Today Kasa decided to show off his troll proficiency in front of Brother Xing!"
Under the camera, Karsa's eyes were firm and she was rubbing her knuckles eagerly to try.
He has already been prepared and is waiting to teach the enemy a lesson in the game!
When Gu Xing saw the troll appear, he was a little surprised at first, but then he smiled brightly.
Before the game, Gu Xing once believed that RW would not cause any trouble for VG in defending their title.
Unexpectedly, the other party actually had a hidden trick!
Interesting...
Gu Xing was very interested and looked forward to this game.
The lineups of both sides have been officially determined.
Blue side VG: top laner Ryze, jungler Olaf, mid laner Sion, bottom lane Kai'Sa Minotaur.
Red side RW: top laner Crow, jungler troll, mid laner Karma, bottom lane Xia Luo.
Two coaches with extremely disproportionate figures came to the center of the stage to shake hands, and the camera immediately switched to the Summoner's Rift!