VICTORY!

At 28 minutes, High School 13 breached Shanghai International’s base. They took down all three inhibitors and then started attacking the Nexus. Shanghai International did nothing to stop this. All five players on their team had tilted off the edge of sanity. They were off doing their own things, ignoring pings from their teammates, or recklessly jumping into 1vs5s. In fact, it looked very much like they wanted to lose this game. There was no one defending the base. A few stood at the fountain, waiting for the end, while Liu Zhengjie was farming minions down in bot lane.

The blue energy trapped in Shanghai International’s Nexus exploded outwards. It wrapped and turned around itself to form the victory emblem. This was the moment the fans at the venue had been waiting for. They were finally moving on to Game 3! This last game was over at 9 minutes after the second gank in bot lane. The next 20 minutes were a one-sided stomp by High School 13. And though that was fun to watch every now and then, the crowd was hoping to see something more during this match. High School 13’s students were the only exception. They were enjoying every second of this Semifinal. Their team, written off by analysts long ago, was on the verge of making it to the Finals! Better yet, they were about to knock out last year’s runners up and one of the favourites to win the whole tournament this year! High School 13 had never amounted to much. They were the school people easily forgot about. But that would all change today!

“GO GO GO! HIGH SCHOOL 13 FOR THE WIN!”
“WOOOOOOO THIRTEEN IS MY LUCKY NUMBER!”
“We’re gonna get the clean sweep, we’re gonna get the clean sweep!”
“STOMP THEM LIKE YOU STOMPED OUR HEARTS, TANG TANG!”
“Shanghai WHO? Shanghai WHO? Shanghai SUCK ME!”
“We are the Champions, my friends! And we’ll keep on fighting till the end!”

There were a decent number of students from High School 13 at the venue who weren’t League of Legends fans. Some of them didn’t even play the game. They enjoyed watching a game of football. Beer in both hands, jumping up and down to the beat of a song, singing until their voices gave out. They believed that that atmosphere was something special, unique to real sports. Today, they learned it wasn’t. The fast beating of their hearts as their team made another clutch play. The thrill when Tang Bingyao picked up her next kill. The pure bliss when their team soundly beat the tournament favourites. Even if some students didn’t understand League of Legends, they could understand what was going on. It was the universal language of sports. High School 13 was doing something really special, and they were here to witness it!

✹

There was a short break between the second and third game of the series between High School 13 and Shanghai International. The players were given time to unwind from the last game and prepare for the next. Shanghai International’s players were in dire need of this moment of relaxation. They were down 2-0, a single game from being knocked out of the tournament. This was a situation they never expected to find themselves in. To make matters worse, they weren’t just losing, they were being toyed around with.

Yan Liang gnashed his teeth, looking around at his teammates, and said, “Dammit, guys! Come on! We have to get our shit together!” He pointed at the players from High School 13 and continued, “Are we really going to lose to those guys? Look at them! Look at that fucking idiot shouting at the crowd! They’re terrible players! We are so much better than them. All we have to do is focus. Focus and we win this easily!”

Liu Zhengjie looked at Yan Liang and raised his eyebrows. That’s rich coming from you… You fed that motherfucking idiot! But Yan Liang was still the team captain. So he calmed himself down and said, “You’re right. We can’t lose this! Now, their Midlaner is the issue here. He’s carried their team in both games. If we keep him down, we should win.”

The heat of the moment was behind them. Everything that happened during the game was forgiven. The players from Shanghai International were talking with each other again. The Support and Toplaner nodded in agreement. Focusing High School 13’s Midlaner did seem like the right call. They turned to look at their Jungler. This job would fall mostly on his shoulders. He was also nodding and said, “Don’t worry, guys. I’ll camp the ever living shit out of mid this game! I dare him to try and do anything!”

✹

“It is time for Game 3 of High School 13 versus Shanghai International! High School 13 has already put one foot in the Finals! Let’s see if they can deal the killing blow to Shanghai International!”

Zeng Rui watched the two teams walk up the stage and sit down behind their computers. He raised an eyebrow, confused. It looked like High School 13 was making a change to their line up. Besides their coach, the guy with the glasses was also walking up on stage. Yang Fan. Platinum Midlaner. What are they thinking? Yan Liang is a Master Midlaner… Why would they do this? Uh? He expected Lin Feng to sit out this game, like he’d done in the earlier rounds. But Lin Feng sat down behind a computer, preparing to play. It was Liu Yue, High School 13’s Jungler, who made space for Yang Fan.

Westwind was hyping up the crowd for the third game, doing his thing, until he noticed Yang Fan sitting down and Liu Yue standing off to the side. He rubbed his eyes and looked again. Huh? He grabbed his sheet with information on High School 13 and said into the microphone, “It looks like High School 13 is going to change their winning strategy! They’re swapping out a player! It is, let me see… Ah, here! Liu Yue is sitting out next game! Replacing him is their Midlaner, Yang Fan!”

Silent Reed took the sheet from Westwind and read through it. She traced two lines in particular, frowning. Then she said, “High School 13 is replacing their Jungler with another Midlaner! I’m not sure what to think of this… Have they grown overconfident?”

The players from Shanghai International also didn’t know what to think of this substitution. Yan Liang and his teammates knew something fishy was going on. They raised their guards, vigilant. But no matter how they looked at it, it just didn’t make sense. There was no logical explanation why a Midlaner would replace a Jungler. But rather than worrying about the unknown, they focused on what they did know. They had to win this game to stay in the series. A reverse sweep wasn’t unheard of. That would have to start right now, though. They had to draft a strong team and force favourable lane match-ups.

Both teams had a clear plan going into Champion Select. The bans went through quickly, with both Annie and Draven banned again, followed by all 10 players locking in their Champion. Then they picked their runes, masteries, and Summoners Spells in the last couple of seconds before the game loaded up. When it did, the line-ups were revealed to everyone in the venue.

Game 3 of the Shanghai 16 School Tournament Semifinals:

High School 13 (Blue) versus Shanghai International (Red)
Top lane: Jarvan IV versus Fiora
Jungle: Olaf versus Rek’Sai
Mid lane: Lissandra versus Orianna
AD-carry: Jinx versus Tristana
Support: Thresh versus Morgana

There was a small upheaval during the Champion Select. This had to do with High School 13’s picks of Jarvan IV and Olaf. These two Champions could both play in the top lane and Jungle. So Shanghai International was forced to guess which Champion would go where. Westwind and Silent Reed went into great detail on this, intermittently focusing on the tense and frustrated expressions of Shanghai International’s players. But they completely misunderstood why Yan Liang and his team were upset.

Shanghai International’s team didn’t particularly care about the confusion surrounding the Jarvan IV and Olaf and who would go where. Their Toplaner was ready to face either. The thing that upset them was High School 13’s Midlaner. Their game plan was to make Lin Feng irrelevant. Yet now, Lin Feng had decided to play this game in the Jungle and not in mid lane! He forced them to trash their plans before they could even be put into action!

Zeng Rui wasn’t any happier than the players from Shanghai International. He was frowning, scratching his forehead in annoyance. After watching the last two games, he really wanted to see the thundering dumbass play another game in mid. I need to find out how deep his Champion’s pool is. But he wouldn’t get the chance, since Lin Feng had moved to the Jungle. Why does it feel like they’re doing this just to mess with me? Are they that confident about winning? This doesn’t make any sense. Where’s the logic in all of this? He looked up at the girl walking off the stage. Is this her—

An Xin walked down the stage, feeling as if a pair of eyes was trying to dig into her. She glanced over at the front row of the crowd and quickly noticed Zeng Rui staring at her. She’d done her homework, so she knew who he was. He looks confused. Guess it’s working. She smiled and winked at him, watching his eyes go round as he seemed to realize that Lin Feng switching to the Jungle really was in preparation for the Finals. Then she turned away from him and sat down next to Ren Rou.

✹

《Welcome to Summoner’s Rift!》

The Champions spawned on the Rift. They bought the starter items from the fountain shop and moved out of their base. Lin Feng played in the Jungle this game. He liked to use cheesy tactics and was ready to pull one off. But the start of the game had something else in store. Shanghai International had gathered up to place a deep ward in High School 13’s bottom side Jungle. High School 13 had a similar idea in mind. They were gathering in a brush, ready to invade, when Shanghai International’s team just about walked into them. Lin Feng was the first to react. He pinged on the Red Champions and shouted over his team’s voice chat, “OH! Look! Them! Let’s fight! Wei Dong, ENGAGE! Kill them all!”

Game 2 of the High School 13 versus Shanghai International showed many similarities to Game 1, especially in the mid lane. The Twisted Fate lost his tower fairly early on in the game, and with that the pressure he normally enjoyed. He was forced to passively farm underneath his inner tower, unable to leave its safety and search around the map for an opportunity to get back in the game. That was part of the reason why Yan Liang had lost so badly in Game 1. His Twisted Fate was hunted down by the Annie and he could barely get any farm in. But Lin Feng wasn’t Yan Liang.

Lin Feng had identified how Shanghai International could hunt him down. He’d prepared for it before the game even started by picking Teleport instead of a more aggressive Summoner Spell like Ignite. His preparations extended into the game. When he came back to lane, he brought with him two wards; one pink and one green. The pink ward was a vision ward. It revealed everything around it, including hidden things like other wards or invisible Champions. He placed it on the top side of the lane, near the river. If the Lee Sin wanted to gank him from that side, the ward would spot him. He used the green ward, which only granted vision, in a similar fashion on the bottom side of the lane. Then he pushed the minion wave out, but only as far as the ruins of his outer tower. When he got there, he went into his Jungle to clear a camp. Like this, he never felt any of the pressure Yan Liang had felt in Game 1.

At 9 minutes, Lin Feng orchestrated a second play for High School 13. At his command, Tang Bingyao had frozen the minion wave just out of reach of her own outer tower, while Wei Dong had placed a ward on the far end of the lane in the brush closest to the Blue Team’s outer tower. Shanghai International’s Botlaners were oblivious to this ward and were only worrying about breaking the freeze. The Twisted Fate had ganked them only a little more than a minute ago, so they didn’t even think he would come again. They almost even missed the teleport animation. A red, blazing light descended on the ward, announcing the arrival of Twisted Fate!

Westwind didn’t miss it. He was already up on his feet, his microphone clutched tightly in his grasp, screaming, “Twisted Fate is ganking bot again! He’s doing it again! Lucian and Thresh don’t have their Flash! Double kill! Say it with me, people! DOUBLE KILL!”

Back on stage, Liu Zhengjie was grinding his teeth, fuming! He glared towards the other side of the stage, locking onto Lin Feng, and felt the urge to shout, “YOU MOTHERFUCKER! The fuck did I ever do to you! You fucking pussy! Come at me! I’ll kick your ass!”

Shanghai International reacted immediately to Lin Feng’s Teleport. They had their Toplaner teleport to a minion in the bot lane, who was followed by High School 13’s Toplaner a second later. Shanghai International’s Irelia arrived first. She dashed towards the Twisted Fate and stunned him with a strike of her blade–Equilibrium Strike! But not before a Golden Card flew from the hands of the Twisted Fate, hitting the Lucian and stunning him.

Tang Bingyao activated Fate’s Call. This was Kalista’s ultimate skill. At the start of the game, she’d made an Oathsworn bond with Wei Dong’s Leona. Now, she could teleport his Leona towards her, granting him the ability to dash in any direction he desired and knocking up all Champions he knocked into. Wei Dong had his Leona dash towards Shanghai International’s Botlaners, launching them up into the air. He followed up by slamming his shield in the Lucian’s face–Shield of Daybreak! From a stun into a knock up into another stun, the Lucian couldn’t move at all. Then the Leona finished her attack with her ultimate skill. Solar Flare! A blast of solar energy slammed down on the Lucian and Thresh and locked them down. In the meantime, Chen Ze’s Rumble had teleported to the bot lane and joined the fight. He used his ultimate–The Equalizer! His Rumble fired off a barrage of rockets that rained down in a straight line, setting the ground ablaze and damaging all enemy Champions caught within its range.

The crowd fell silent. They sat on the edges of their seats, watching the fight unfold. Shocked and enthralled. In the Champion Select, this game had looked completely different from the first game. This came mostly down to High School 13’s team composition. They didn’t have the Champions with powerful crowd control skills that could seamlessly work together in this game, nor did they have an aggressive Midlaner. But though it looked different. Though it sounded different. Though everything about it seemed different. It really was the same tactic of layering ultimate skills on top of each other and winning teamfights.

“How did we not see this…”
“The hell…”
“My god. Look at that damage. Shanghai International can’t do anything…”
“High School 13 just copied the same tactic from last game…”
“How did Shanghai International fall for this…?”

Liu Zhengjie’s Lucian was the first to die. The combination of ultimate skills and auto attacks were too much for his low health Champion. It was Rumble’s Flamethrower that dealt the final attack. Liu Zhengjie’s screen went grey, his face red. AGAIN! YOU! YOU! YOU… “AAARGGHHHH!”

《You have been slain!》

Lin Feng had his Twisted Fate run away from the Irelia towards Red Team’s outer tower. The Irelia chased after him relentlessly. She attacked him with her blade. He flashed away and she followed after him with a Flash of her own. This gave the other three players from High School 13 the chance to finish off the Thresh, with Tang Bingyao getting the last hit. Then they turned their attention towards the Irelia. Wei Dong Exhausted her, saving Lin Feng’s Twisted Fate by doing so. Tang Bingyao and Chen Ze followed up with a combination of skills and auto attacks. In the end, it was Tang Bingyao’s Kalista that picked up the kill.

《Double kill!》

Shanghai International lost three players in that fight and killed no one. The game had started well for them. They had even looked stronger than High School 13 in those first couple of minutes. But all that changed after the first gank in bot lane by the Twisted Fate. Still, they were in the game and could make a comeback. But this second gank was too much. Shanghai International had lost the bot lane. The Kalista had pulled too far ahead. Her KDA at 9 minutes was already 3/0/1. At this speed, she would carry the game all by herself.

Liu Zhengjie smashed his fist on the desk and yelled over Shanghai International’s voice chat, “WHY DID YOU FLASH? WHY! STOP TUNNELING, YOU USELESS TRASH! YOU PATHETIC WASTE!” His face was red hot with anger, spit shooting from his mouth with every word he spoke.

“That’s enough,” Yan Liang said sternly. He was angry too. Furious even! But he knew that screaming and cursing at each other wouldn’t help them win the game. He took a deep breath and looked at the players sitting next to him, then said, “Calm down, guys. We have to focus. Tilting isn’t going to get us anywhere. We can still win this. Let’s focus on that.”

The other players on Shanghai International’s team remained quiet. They stared at their screens, watching as High School 13 took down the Dragon, one of their wards giving the vision. Liu Zhengjie’s little outburst was probably nothing more than him venting his frustrations, but it had great ramifications. No one enjoyed working together with a toxic player. Liu Zhengjie had never been the friendliest one of the group. But there was a line he normally never crossed. He had now. And they were well and truly fed up with him. They stopped talking over the team’s voice chat and only focused on their own gameplay.

Shanghai International had picked Champions that were strong in lane. Their goal was simple. Win every lane and push the advantage into an early victory. Everything went as planned in the first couple of minutes, until the Twisted Fate hit Level 6. He completely turned the balance of the game around. His first gank in bot lane saw High School 13 grab a small advantage, while the second saw them pull far ahead. Shanghai International had no back up plan. Their Champions were great individually, but didn’t really mesh all that well together. In stark contrast, High School 13’s Champions had great synergy. They could layer their ultimate skills and become an absolutely frightening force in teamfights.

The players from Shanghai International were being force-fed this reality. They lost in Champion Select again. Yet they still had a difficult time accepting this. They were looking and searching for any other explanation, but came up empty. Yan Liang was having an especially difficult time. This wasn’t just because High School 13 was winning, but also because it was their Midlaner who was making the plays. In the first game, High School 13’s Annie had dictated the pace of the game. And now it was this Twisted Fate. Yan Liang gritted his teeth. That… That… How the hell does he know how to play those two Champions so well? They’re complete opposites! How is he this good! This is ridiculous!

It didn’t matter whether it was a game in Bronze or on the world stage, falling behind was nothing to be afraid of. It happened. It was best to accept this and look for opportunities to get back into this game. But that was easier said than done. Falling behind didn’t just affect the game, it also affected the mental state of the individual players. They had to be ready for setbacks and support each other through them. Shanghai International did the complete opposite of that, cursing each other out, rather than trying to help their teammates get back up. And it wasn’t as if the game was lost. There was still plenty of time to do something about their current situation. They had skilled players who could come together as a team and win. But their anger and frustrations with each other clouded their judgement. They were in no mood to continue playing and started giving up.

✹

Yan Liang played LeBlanc. She was a Mage Assassin who was only good when she got the kills in the early game and snowballed. But she hadn’t gotten a single kill this game yet, nor was there any sign that she’d get one anytime soon. And with the early game drawing to an end, Yan Liang started to really feel the pressure. His patience waned. All he could see, think, hear, was the Twisted Fate. I have to get a kill on him fast!

The Blue minions pushed towards High School 13’s inner tower in the mid lane. Yan Liang was hovering behind them, hesitating between pushing or searching for a gank opportunity elsewhere on the map. The minions crashed into the tower, revealing the Twisted Fate hiding behind it at half health. Yan Liang’s eyes went round. CHANCE! CHANCE! NOW! He pressed down on the W and then the R key–Mimic: Distortion! His Leblanc jumped forward, and then again!

Lin Feng smiled. He could see the LeBlanc behind her minions. His Twisted Fate’s health was low. Come on, come on. I know you can’t resist! He pressed the W key–Pick a Card! A golden card appeared above the Twisted Fate’s head, and Lin Feng pressed the W key again to lock it in. The LeBlanc jumped forward, as expected. Gotcha! He targeted her. The Twisted Fate threw the golden card at the LeBlanc as she arrived underneath the inner tower and stunned her. He followed up with an auto attack along with a volley of playing cards–Wild Cards!

The stun on the LeBlanc wore off while she was still alive. NoNoNoNO! Yan Liang slammed down on his E key, frantic! The LeBlanc fired off Ethereal Chains straight at the Twisted Fate. At point blank range. But she missed. Again. The Twisted Fate had stepped to the side at the exact moment the LeBlanc attacked him. It was as though he knew it was coming, as if he were burning Atium and could briefly see into the future.

Westwind clutched the microphone in his fist and put it almost into his mouth, shouting, “AGAIN! IT HAPPENED AGAIN! The LeBlanc missed the important Ethereal Chains! Who would’ve thought!” He shook his head and turned to Silent Reed, then asked, “Can you believe it? It happened again! What do we think? Is this still luck? Or…”

Silent Reed looked up at the large screen above the stage. Yan Liang’s LeBlanc was still alive. She jumped back from where she came from, disappearing far out of range of the Twisted Fate, who had no skills in his kit to catch back up to her. She had failed to pick up the kill. Then things took a turn for the worse. The Kalista and Leona appeared in the mid lane, cutting off the LeBlanc’s retreat. They killed her. 

《A Champion from the Blue Team has been slain!》

The crowd went wild. It was a beautiful play! But Silent Reed didn’t cheer together with them. Instead, she shook her head and said, “That’s just really unfortunate for Yan Liang. Maybe he should’ve hit that Ethereal Chains. I’m not sure. We’ll have to watch it in the replay, maybe that’ll show us something.”

“It’ll show us a beautiful play by High School 13!” Westwind laughed. Then he looked over the crowd and shouted, “WOOOO! What a kill! Chant with me, everyone! High School 13! High School 13!”

Yan Liang sat in front of his computer. He stared at his grey screen. The world around him went quiet. His face lost all its colour and it felt as if his heart stopped beating for a moment. Then he came back alive. He could hear the crowd chanting “High School 13!” loud and clear. His gaze dropped to his lap, while his arms fell limply by his side. His face turned red and beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. But it could still be worse. Fortunately, he couldn’t hear Lin Feng asking his teammates, “Why is he inting?”

“This is it! LeBlanc is getting FIRST BLOOOODDD!” Westwind screamed out into the microphone, his voice blasting through the speakers at the venue. “There is nothing, NOTHING, the Twisted Fate can do here. He’s at half health and as good as—”

Lin Feng had long since predicted the tower dive. In fact, he’d played the lane in such a manner, that he’d baited the LeBlanc into doing this. She moved exactly as he wanted her to, pouncing on him with Distortion. She was under the Red Team’s outer tower and was targeted by it. Lin Feng pressed his the W key–Pick a Card! A Red Card appeared above his Twisted Fate’s head first, while the LeBlanc fired off a Sigil of Malice, marking him. Then she cast her Ethereal Chains. And it flew right past him. Ha! So easy! Lin Feng laughed, locking in the Gold Card that now hovered over his Twisted Fate.

Yan Liang’s pupils trembled. His jaw drops. It was a momentary daze that lasted only a fraction of a second. Then he woke up. FuckFuckFuck! No! BACK! BACK! W! W! W! He smashed down on his keyboard, frantic for the second part of Distortion to activate. This would have his LeBlanc jump back to her original position. But she didn’t move back. She couldn’t. Because right as her Ethereal Chains failed to connect with the Twisted Fate, who’d dodged them simply by stepping forward, a Gold Card struck her, stunning her.

The crowd in the venue lost it. Those who’d been screaming in joy a moment before fell silent. Their star was caught below the enemy tower. His LeBlanc was stunned. It was clear he wasn’t going to get First Blood. But it didn’t stop there. It started to look like he might even give away first blood! That was what had another part of the crowd cheering, excited.

“HE DODGED IT!”
“OH! MY! GOD! LIN FENG, YOU HERO!”
“WOOOOO!”
“SICK DODGE! SICK!”
“BEST PLAYER EVAAHHH!”
“GET THAT KILL!”

The Twisted Fate threw out an auto attack at the LeBlanc, followed by a volley of playing cards–⁠Wild Cards! Right then, High School 13’s Rek’Sai appeared from the fog of war. She’d dug a tunnel from the Raptor Camp to mid lane, then flashed forward toward the LeBlanc. There, she Unburrowed, knocking the LeBlanc who was now right above her up into the air and keeping her immobilized! The combined damage from the Rek’Sai and another energy shot from the tower dropped the LeBlanc’s health below 20%, triggering her passive–⁠Mirror Image!

The tower didn’t know which of the two LeBlanc’s was the real one. It saw two targets and picked on. This gave Yan Liang a brief respite. He couldn’t jump back out with Distortion anymore, the skill having gone on cooldown. But he still had Flash up. So he slammed his finger down on the F key. His LeBlanc disappeared with a mottled flash of light and reappeared some distance away. Then she started running towards her own outer tower on the other side of the lane. But she never got that far. The Twisted Fate was right behind her, throwing his playing cards at her. They killed her before she even got to her side of the lane.

《First Blood!》

“WOOOO! AMAZING! BRILLIANT! WOOO! What a kill! What. A. Kill!” Westwind yelled into his microphone, jumping up from his chair. “I thought the Twisted Fate was dead! We all did! But this kid from High School 13 somehow turned it around! What a play! This kid is going to make it far, I’m telling you!”

Silent Reed shook her head and said, “Wow, I can’t believe it. It was a beautiful kill, yes, but Yan Liang was also really unlucky! The Rek’Sai just happened to be there for a gank at the perfect moment. And it wouldn’t even have mattered if Yan Liang didn’t miss the Ethereal Chains. That was just so unlucky. I really feel for him. But well played by High School 13! Beautiful first blood!”

Wrong. Right. Wrong. Wrong. Zeng Rui shook his head, listening to the casters babble on. He agreed with them for some parts. It really did seem lucky that the Rek’Sai just happened to be there. And she undoubtedly helped in picking up that kill. But… Zeng Rui frowned, staring at the thundering dumbass who was smiling and happy as always. But Yan Liang didn’t miss. That thundering dumbass dodged it. He knew it was coming, and where, somehow. That shouldn’t be possible…

There was one person present in the venue who did understand exactly what had happened in that fight. That was An Xin. She was looking at Lin Feng, listening to the commentary from the casters. Even if he didn’t see it coming, he could have reacted to it. He was that good four years ago. Well, it makes no difference. He knew it was coming. Besides… She looked over at Yan Liang and could almost feel the hatred she saw in his eyes. That guy didn’t commit to the kill. He left himself room to back away. That’s the wrong mentality. He’ll never amount to anything like that.

Yan Liang’s primary goal was to force the Twisted Fate out of lane, dead or alive. From there, he could build up his creep score and get the lead. If he got the kill, that was perfect. But he wouldn’t commit to it. He left himself an opening to retreat and was ready to fall back at the slightest sign of danger. All the while, Lin Feng was only focused on one singular task. To kill the LeBlanc. He would have it no other way. So, from the first minute of the game, he directed the game. He gave the LeBlanc a false sense of security. He let her think that she was the one deciding her moves. He made her towerdive him, and subsequently give away first blood. All of this started with the difference in their approaches.

✹

Lin Feng cleared the Blue minions in mid lane with the help of Liu Yue before recalling back to base. He spent his gold in the fountain shop and then walked back to lane, where the LeBlanc was already waiting for him. The death timers at the early levels were only a couple of seconds, so she was back in lane before him. But she hadn’t started pushing the minions towards the Red outer tower yet, like she had before. This wasn’t because she was afraid of the Twisted Fate. She was still at a slight advantage against him. It was the nature of the two Champions. She was stronger in lane, while the Twisted Fate would hold the advantage later on when there were plays happening all across the map.

Trying to bait me, huh? So obvious. Lin Feng laughed, shaking his head. Clearing waves became easier and easier as he leveled up. But that alone wasn’t enough to justify how defensively the LeBlanc was playing. The Lee Sin is probably sitting right there in that brush. Lin Feng grinned. Yan Liang was trying to bait him. Let’s keep them waiting then. Lin Feng cleared the minion wave from a distance, far enough away that a gank would fail. The Lee Sin, as he expected, didn’t show himself, waiting for a better opportunity. But Lin Feng wasn’t going to give him a better opportunity. Instead of walking further into lane, he turned around and went towards the Raptor Camp in his Jungle. If he couldn’t push his lane, he could simply go here and take these monsters. They gave gold and experience just like the minions in lane did.

Over the next few minutes, Lin Feng switched between killing minions in the mid lane and clearing Jungle camps. He soon hit Level 6 and he unlocked Twisted Fate’s ultimate skill. At seven minutes, he put that skill to use. He walked into his bottom side Jungle, like he’d done so many times before, but this time shouting over the team’s voice comms, “I’m coming in!” He pressed down on his R key–Destiny! The fog of war was blasted away, revealing the entire map. Five eyes appeared, one above each Champion from Shanghai International.

“The Twisted Fate BAITED them again!” Westwind shouted, excited. “He’s going in for a gank in bot lane!”

Yan Liang had warned his teammates that the Twisted Fated was missing in action. But he didn’t worry too much about it. This was the umpteenth time that the Twisted Fate disappeared for a couple of seconds. He and his teammates had let their guard down a little. Far enough that the Botlaners didn’t directly back away when he pinged them. Then the Five Eyes appeared. A wave of curses rang out over Shanghai International’s voice comms as their Botlaners ran back to the safety of their outer tower.

Liu Zhengjie had his Lucian dash away–Relentless Pursuit! But his Support wasn’t as lucky. Thresh didn’t have any skills in his kit that let him jump, dash, or lunge away. He could only run. That wasn’t enough to get away from the Leona, who pierced him with a solar image of her sword–Zenith Blade! Then she stunned him with a strike from her shield–Shield of Daybreak!

A deck of cards spread out into a perfect circle in bot lane. The Twisted Fate appeared in the middle of it a second later. He was already holding a Gold Card, which he threw at the Thresh who was about to break free from the Leona’s stun. The Thresh was stunned again. It was a beautiful combination of crowd control skills. All the while, Tang Bingyao was attacking the Thresh. Her Kalista was hurling phantom spears, each lodging into the Thresh’s body, until his health dropped to 10%. Rend! She ripped the spears out, dealing enough damage to kill the Thresh.

《You have slain an enemy!》

“WOOOO!” Westwind screamed into the microphone. “What do you guys think of that? What a play! Perfect timing by the Twisted Fate! He just carried his Botlaners to a win! And from the cheers I’m hearing, I think you guys agree with me!”

The play wasn’t over yet. Shanghai International retaliated by sending their Lee Sin to the mid lane and helping the LeBlanc destroy the outer tower. But High School 13 answered back by pushing out bot lane and destroying the outer tower there. In the end, it was a tower and a kill for a tower. High School 13 had clearly come out ahead in this play.

“It looks like High School 13 came out ahead, but…” Silent Reed said. She looked at Westwind, then continued, “But Yan Liang destroyed the tower in mid lane. This means that the Twisted Fate will now have a much harder time ganking lanes. If Yan Liang plays this correctly, he can force the Twisted Fate to stay in mid lane and make him irrelevant. This game is still very much up in the air!”

Yan Liang and Liu Zhengjie were proud of their achievements in League of Legends. They knew that they were some of the best players the game had to offer. In China, anyways. They also had the arrogance that went with this pride, looking down on the many weaker players they matched up against. But they didn’t let this go to their heads. They were very good at the game, yes. But they were also aware that they weren’t the best. There were plenty of players out there who were better at different aspects of the game. That’s why they accepted their loss last game. But the series wasn’t over. Assuming they didn’t lose again, they had three more games to prove to everyone that they were the better team. So Yan Liang and Liu Zhengjie prepared for the next game with greater focus than before. They were ready to face High School 13’s team comp this time, so they banned out the Annie and Draven. Everything was set for Shanghai International to win Game 2.

Yan Liang locked in his Champion, then stared at the players from High School 13 on the other side of the stage. “Let’s see them try and use that strategy again. I dare them!” he said over Shanghai International’s voice chat.

Liu Zhengjie clicked on the icon of his Champion and then locked his choice in. He grinned wickedly, and said, “Bot is already won. I’ll show that stupid girl what a real ad-carry looks like!”

Game 2 of the Shanghai 16 School Tournament Semifinals:

Shanghai International (Blue) versus High School 13 (Red)
Top lane: Irelia versus Rumble
Jungle: Lee Sin versus Rek’Sai
Mid lane: LeBlanc versus Twisted Fate
AD-carry: Lucian versus Kalista
Support: Thresh versus Leona

“I didn’t see that coming…” Silent Reed mumbled, though her voice still traveled through the venue. Shanghai International had picked LeBlanc first. High School 13 responded to that with Twisted Fate.

Westwind nodded, raising an eyebrow at the Twisted Fate pick. Then his lips curved into a devious smile. He grabbed the microphone and started hyping up the crowd. “Last game, we had Annie versus Twisted Fate. We all saw what happened. RIGHT?” He waited for the crowd’s response, a loud cheer, then continued, “Now we got LeBlanc, who is also a high burst damage bully just like Annie, versus Twisted Fate! It’s effectively the same situation, just that the sides are switched. Yan Liang is getting a shot at redemption!”

The crowd erupted into louder cheers. Most of them were Silver to Gold League of Legends players. When they saw the LeBlanc versus Twisted Fate match-up, it always went the LeBlanc’s way. She did too much damage and the Twisted Fate had nothing in his kit that could help him counter her. So they started shouting in support of Yan Liang, especially his fellow students from Shanghai International.

“High School 13 is stupid! Easy win for Yan Liang!”
“Haha! Go Shanghai International! You guys got this!”
“That TF is a dumbass. Getting all cocky cause he won as Annie. ”
“LeBlanc hard counters Twisted Fate! That Lin Feng guy is gonna rekt!”
“YAN LIANG! YAN LIANG! YAN LIANG!”
“Jesus, why would they pick TF into LB…”

Near the front of the sage, Zeng Rui sat with his teammates in the private seating area for players. He wasn’t as quick to jump to conclusions as the crowd or casters. The thundering dumbass had proved him wrong too many times. Twisted Fate into LeBlanc… I can see what you’re trying to do. It’s just… While casual fans llike those in the crowd only looked at the lane match-up, he looked at the bigger picture. High School 13 hadn’t picked Twisted Fate to beat LeBlanc in the mid lane. They’d picked Twisted Fate for map pressure. He could team up with the Rek’Sai, another equally mobile Champion, and get a gank off anywhere on the map in a matter of seconds. They could use this to dictate the pace of the game and force a win. Shanghai International isn’t that bad. Yan Liang and the others won’t let this happen.

Back on the stage, Yan Liang glared at Lin Feng. He hated being looked down on, but he was also a little happy. Last game was a disgrace for him, something he wanted to wipe from his mind as quickly as possible. Lin Feng gave him that opportunity. This fucking idiot picked Twisted Fate. Ha! Does he not know my Twisted Fate is the best? He smiled, sinister. I’ll make you regret this so much!

An Xin glanced over at Shanghai International’s side of the stage and caught Yan Liang glaring ov here. She followed his gaze to Lin Feng, then grinned and shook her head. She walked up to Tang Bingyao and patted her on her shoulder, whispering, “This game is all you, Tang Tang. Show them what you’re made of.”

Tang Bingyao looked up at An Xin and nodded, earnest. “Mhm. I’ll do my best.”

“Hey HEY!” Lin Feng shouted. He turned around to look at An Xin and said, “What about me? I also want a pep talk! Give me a pep talk!”

An Xin raised her eyebrows and curled her lips. “Hmph. Aren’t you really good at giving pep talks too? You should just give yourself one. Actually, you know what? Fine. You want a pep talk? Here, I’ll give you on. If you feed, I’ll hit you in the head with the thickest book in my bag!”

“I am really good at giving pep talks too…” Lin Feng mumbled, turning back to look at his computer screen.

✹

《Welcome to Summoner’s Rift!》

The two teams spawned at their respective fountains. They bought their starter items and set up vision, which entailed placing wards and having Champions stand at strategic locations across the map to spot movements by the other team. But there were no aggressive early plays. Both Shanghai International and High School 13 decided to start the normal way. Toplaners went to the top lane, Botlaners to the bot lane, Jugnlers stayed in the jungle, and Lin Feng went to the mid lane.

Lin Feng had his Twisted Fate hovered around his mid outer tower, waiting for the first minion wave to arrive. On the other side of the lane, he spotted the LeBlanc. He narrowed his eyes and mumbled, “I got this.” His opponent was Yan Liang. But that wasn’t who he saw across from his Twisted Fate. He was playing against LeBlanc. Rake. She was Rake’s main and favourite Champion. To play against LeBlanc was, in a way, to play against Rake. I have to win this. He focused on the game. His hands were steady, his gaze locked on the screen. The world around him disappeared until there was only him and the LeBlanc. I can’t lose against him. I won’t. Never again.

The Blue and Red minion waves crashed in the middle of the lane. The LeBlanc and Twisted Fate moved forward to last hit the minions. Both Champions worked on their creep score, while also looking for opportunities to deal damage to each other. LeBlanc had the clear advantage in this aspect. She was highly mobile with Distort, which allowed her to jump forward and back to her original position, while the Twisted Fate wasn’t. So it came as no surprise when she found more openings to damage the Twisted Fate than vice versa, pressuring him and pushing him back towards his own tower.

“Man, what the… How is he doing this? Guys, guys, tell me how he’s doing this!” Westwind said into his microphone, chuckling. Then he continued, “Ah, nevermind. I’ll tell you how he’s doing it! By being really fucking good! He’s keeping up with the LeBlanc in CS despite her pushing him back far behind his own outer tower! This is some insane skill!”

Silent Reed looked at her co-commentator and giggled. Then she turned back to look at the screen and shook her head. “You know what surprises me the most? The Twisted Fate is playing so passively. I have to say, it’s hard to believe that’s the same player as the Annie from last game…”

There was more to a lane match-up than the two Champions. In a scenario where everything else was equal, the LeBlanc would pressure the Twisted Fate and force him back. But there were plenty of things that were not equal in this match-up. Most notably, the difference in skill between the players. Lin Feng was a far better player than Yan Liang. He had superior mechanics, positioning, awareness, and reflexes, just to name a few. This allowed him to play in whatever style he chose, rather than being forced to stick to one style or another, like less skilled players would. And he’d decided to play this game passively.

An Xin sat next to Ren Rou in the special viewing area, watching the game on the large screen. It showed mid lane, with LeBlanc pushing into the Red Team’s outer tower. She focused on the Twisted Fate and how he was playing. How he was letting himself be pushed underneath his tower. How he was working on his creep score, rather than trading blows with the LeBlanc. How he was playing exactly the way he wanted to play. An Xin shook her head, smiling. She knew Lin Feng better than anyone. That LeBlanc makes you think of Rake, huh? Is that why you’re actually playing, and not just fooling around? She chuckled, shaking her head, and mumbled, “What a big idiot. I guess we won’t have to worry about winning this game anymore.”

Yan Liang was completely oblivious to what was happening. From his perspective, he was winning the lane. He smiled smugly. What happened? Why are you hiding under your tower? Oh, wait, is it maybe because it isn’t all that easy to play Twisted Fate against my LeBlanc? Is it maybe because you’re getting countered, like I was last game? Huh? Show me that big stupid ass grin again! He chuckled, then laughed. Lin Feng had really gotten to him last game, so he was eager to return the pain in kind.

Oh, look! A new wave of minions! Here, let me show you how to CS! Yan Liang laughed out loud, evoking glances from his teammates. But he didn’t care about that. He only cared about doing to Lin Feng what Lin Feng had done to him last game. He pressed the TAB key and compared his creep score to Lin Feng’s. Uh, huh? What? They were almost dead even. How the fuck… Then Yan Liang watched his minion push in front of the Red Team’s outer tower. He laughed again, his whole face beaming with schadenfreude. Let me help you miss last hits on all those minions!

Lin Feng watched the LeBlanc attack the new minion wave fast and hard. She tried to clear it instantly, so she could then start pressuring him. It’s so obvious. He shook his head,not minding the LeBlanc, and focused back on the Blue minions. There was a surprising sense of calmness. It didn’t matter that the LeBlanc was pushing him underneath his tower. He even prefered it this way, because Rake would also push him underneath his tower. Rake would do it a lot better though. Lin Feng took long and deep breaths. The LeBlanc in front of him split in two. One was Yan Liang, while the other was Rake. Lin Feng didn’t care about the first. That LeBlanc was easy to beat. But he did care about the other. Rake. I’ll beat you! He started adjusting his style and play, searching for a way to beat Rake-shadow.

Lin Feng had to thank Yan Liang for putting so much pressure on him in lane. It helped him imagine playing versus Rake. This was exactly what he wanted, because the fastest way to improve was through adversity. He made it difficult for himself on purpose, almost forcing Yan Liang to play in a fashion similar to Rake. The only thing letting him down was the fact that Yan Liang simply wasn’t anywhere near as good as Rake. There was always an opening, always a mistake to exploit.

Yan Liang had cleared the Red minions in the latest wave. The Twisted Fate still had to clear two caster minions. He grinned, waiting. Come on, step forward. You know you want to! The Twisted Fate took a few steps forward to get the last hit on one of the two caster minions. GREEDY IDIOT! HA! He slammed down on his W key–Distort! His LeBlanc jumped forward.

The audience had two very contrasting reactions. One half was screaming in joy and cheering in excitement. Yan Liang was going to get First Blood! After all the pain and suffering in Game 1, this game would be his show! The other half held their breaths. They stared at the large screen above the stage, biting on their nails, terrified that Lin Feng would give away First Blood. “Watch out, Lin Feng!” was what they wanted to shout. But they didn’t because he couldn’t hear them anyway.

Lin Feng message in the comment section: LOL! Like I didn’t plan this. Didn’t I tell you guys? I’m really good at baiting too!

Shanghai International fought back against High School 13’s relentless assault. But they failed at every step of the way, giving away both kills and objectives. High School 13’s team comp, oriented towards dominating the midgame teamfights, tore through them. They couldn’t even hide underneath a tower for protection! High School 13’s team had multiple Champions with more than enough Defense and Health to tank the tower turrets. Malphite, Braum, and sometimes even the Jarvan IV, would all dive a tower to start a teamfight. High School 13 won every single one of these fights. First they did this in the midlane, where they took out all of Shanghai International’s Champions protecting the inhibitor tower, then the tower itself, and finally the inhibitor. Then they changed focus to top lane to try and take out the inhibitor there. 

Two destroyed inhibitors was generally considered the point of no return in any game. Shanghai International had only lost one so far, but there was little to no doubt about how the rest of this game would go down. Shanghai International’s outer tower in top lane fell first, followed by their inner tower. 26 minutes into the game, High School 13’s Champions were knocking the doors of the inhibitor tower in top lane down.

After a lane’s inhibitor was destroyed, Super Minions would start spawning in that lane. These were bigger, stronger, meaner minions. Since High School 13 had taken down the inhibitor in the midlane, the Super Minions were leading regiments of regular minions down the lane. The first of them had already arrived inside Shanghai International’s base to wreck havoc and let loose the dogs of war. If Shanghai International didn’t send someone to stop these Super Minions, they would take down the base. So while the rest of the team tried to keep High School 13 from taking their top inhibitor, Liu Zhengjie was forced to have his Sivir clear the Super Minions in mid lane.

“THIS IS IT! It’s do or die for Shanghai International!” Westwind screamed into his microphone. The crowd was buzzing in the venue, excited, enthralled. “Yan Liang and his team need nothing short of a miracle to turn this game around! High School 13 has to throw this game several times just to let them back in it! On the other hand, if the J4 or Malphite get a good engage, then they can end the game right here, right now!”

All five players from High School 13 had gathered around the Red Team’s inhibitor tower. There were four players from Shanghai International defending it, with only the Sivir missing. She was busy killing Super Minions in mid lane. This made it that much easier for High School 13. They were so far ahead that they could win a 5vs5 under Red Team’s tower, let alone a 5vs4. So they started pushing, with the three defensive Champions zoning the players from Shanghai International away and the Annie and Draven attacking the inhibitor tower. The Draven especially was doing a number on it.

When the inhibitor tower had less than half of its health remaining, Liu Yue shouted over the team’s voice chat, “I’M GOING IN!” He pressed down on the E and then the Q key. His Jarvan IV went into his normal flag-toss combo. But right before he could complete the dash towards his Demacian Flag, he disappeared with a mottled flash of light. Flash! He reappeared right on top of the Twisted Fate, still carrying the momentum to knock anyone in his way Airborne.

“WAAA! Nice!” Silent Reed cried out. “What a great engage by the Jarvan! They got Yan Liang!”

What followed was a perfectly executed teamfight by High School 13. The Malphite launched himself forward at high speed and crashed into three Champions, knocking them up into the air–Unstoppable Force! The players from Shanghai International were shortly suspended in mid-air before falling back to the ground. Then the Braum slammed his shield into the ground, creating a fissure that knocked them back up into the air. Two Spinning Axes followed up, ploughing through the ground and cutting through the three Airborne Champions. All the while, Lin Feng’s Annie was running forward to join the fight.

“I want a turn!” Lin Feng shouted. He pressed down on the R key–Summon: Tibbers! His Annie threw up her little teddy bear and turned him into a large monster! Flames spewed from his body as he swiped down at the Twisted Fate! The Annie followed up with Incinerate, casting a jet of flames over the Twisted Fate and the Fiora, killing the former. Then she threw a mana infused fireball at the Fiora and killed her too.

《Double Kill!》

The students from High School 13 went wild! Their team was doing it! They were winning the first game against Shanghai International! It’d sounded like an impossible task. Shanghai International was well known for their strong League of Legends team. But their team was doing it!

“GOOO LIU YUE! YOU RULE!”
“Braum and Malphite for the WIN!”
“LIN FENG! LIN FENG! LIN FENG!”
“BRAUM! BRAUM! MALPH! MALPH!”
“MVP TANG TANG!”

Back in the game, Lin Feng switched focus to the Support and Jungler from Shanghai International. Quadra, here I come! He laughed, clicking on the two Champions. He’d used his skills on the Twisted Fate and Fiora, so he could only auto attack and wait for them to come off cooldown. His Annie threw small embers, burning away at the healthbars of the Jungler and Support. Then a Spinning Axe cleaved what little health remained away. Twice.

《Double Kill!》

“Not again! Tang Tang, stop stealing my kills!” Lin Feng shouted, glaring at the girl sitting next to him. We killed four… He turned back to look at the screen and found the Sivir standing halfway between her Nexus and top lane inhibitor. He grinned, then started laughing. “The Sivir is mine! Don’t ruin my triple!”

Fuck… Shit… NOO! Liu Zhengjie gritted his teeth. His team was dead before he could even get to them. Now he was standing awkwardly between the Super Minions on one side and the players from High School 13 on the other. He slammed down on his R key–On the Hunt! A whirlwind erupted around his Sivir. She gained a surge in Movement Speed! The Annie was running towards her, but she was faster. She was faster even than the Draven who’d used Bloodrush! Fuck this stupid shit! Liu Zhengjie cursed. High School 13’s team was in their base and only he was left alive. He couldn’t do anything to stop them.

《The Blue Team has destroyed a turret!》

High School 13 destroyed the inhibitor tower in top lane, but skipped past the inhibitor. There were Super Minions swarming the base of Shanghai International and four of their five players were dead. So High School 13 went straight for the Nexus towers. The Sivir didn’t even try stopping them. She sat on the fountain while they destroyed the two Nexus towers and then the Nexus. Red energy exploded outwards and then morphed into a large victory screen.

VICTORY!

The audience burst into wild cheers! High School 13 had done it! They’d won the first game in the Semifinals of the Shanghai 16 School Tournament! People had written them off at every step along the way, but here they were, only two wins away from making it to the Finals! The students from High School 13 were especially energetic. They were jumping up and down, screaming and laughing, and some were even dancing! Their school never made it far in tournaments, until now. They were becoming a League of Legends school!

In stark contrast to the rest of the crowd, the Shanghai International fans looked confused and upset. Until now, they hadn’t even entertained the thought of their team losing to High School 13. It sounded like a ridiculous story, even now. The players from Shanghai International’s team also felt this way. They sat behind their computers, staring at their screens. They were confused, lost, and very, very angry. Yan Liang and Liu Zhengjie especially were ready to smash their fists into a wall, a release. They were the main carries of the team, yet they were outmatched by their direct opponents.

“FUCK!” Yan Liang cursed. Then he looked over at his teammates sitting next to him and said, “We can’t let them have Annie next game!”

“Also ban Draven,” Liu Zhengjie added. Then he glared at Tang Bingyao sitting across the stage and continued, “That stupid ass broken Champion can completely take over a game. There’s no counterplay. Just a broken Champion that needs to be fixed…”

“Alright. Alright alright. The Annie and Draven were the reason we lost that game. We know their strategy now and we can just ban out their favourite Champions. This loss means nothing,” Yan Liang said over the team’s voice chat. He glanced across the stage at the players from High School 13, then added, “We’re ready for their petty tricks now. I won’t let those… those fuckers fool me again!”

✹

After every game, the two teams were given a couple of minutes to reset their mental game and make some last minute preparations for the next game. During this time, the casters hosted a post game analysis. Westwind and Silent Reed talked about the game deciding plays and gave their thoughts on them.

“WOO! What a match! That was an exciting one, right Silent?” Westwind kicked off the post game analysis. 

Silent Reed nodded and said, “YES! That was great! I have to say though. This was not how I expected this to play out. A quick game, sure. But Shanghai International losing? No way. I still can’t believe it!”

“Exactly! Shanghai International were the favourites! But High School 13 came to fight! They knew how they were going to play it, and they executed their plans to a tee! So where do you think this all went wrong for Shanghai International?” Westwind asked, evoking a murmur from the crowd.

“That’d be the Champion Select,” Silent Reed said. “That Champion Select was all about misleading Shanghai International. And it worked! High School 13 got the match-ups they wanted and that helped them win the game. But now it becomes interesting.Shanghai International knows of their plans now. What are they going to do next? Do they have another trick ready?”

Westwind clutched the microphone and moved it close to his mouth, saying, “I think this is a question for the audience. What do you guys think? If you think Shanghai International has learned from their mistakes, LET YOURSELVES BE HEARD!” He grinned as he listened to the crowd shouting, with some boos and whistles mixed in. Then he said, “Well, I think there we have our answer. That sounded like more than half of the crowd. They think Shanghai International will win!”

Silent Reed giggled and said, “You didn’t even give the others a chance! But I think you’re right. Shanghai International should still be the favourites. But I don’t think they should let High School 13 get Annie again. That Annie was scary.”

“Yeah. Ban the Annie. Ban the Draven. I think if they do that, they can win this game,” Westwind concluded.

The two casters delved into the game. They spoke at length about the early kill in bot lane, where Annie helped the Draven pick up First Blood. That was what decided the game the casters said. The Draven became strong, while the Annie kept pressuring mid. Both carries were getting the gold and experience they needed to become monsters in the mid game, while their tanky frontline got enough in terms of Defense and Health. From there, it was an easy win for High School 13. There was nothing Shanghai International could do. They’d lost at least 90% of the game in Champion Select.

✹

The two teams were ready for Game 2. They switched sides, so High School 13 played on the Red team in this game. An Xin walked up on stage to guide them through the Champion Select again. She’d already discussed strategy with them, but the final decision on the Picks and Bans were up to her. When she walked up the stage, a buzz went through the venue. This was the first time the students noticed High School 13 actually had a coach. Before the first game, their focus had mostly been on Shanghai International.

“Wait what? High School 13 has a coach?”
“Holy smokes! That explains so much!”
“They’re like a professional team! Do you also think they have a masseuse?”
“Aww man, if only we had a coach… Maybe we would’ve gotten past the qualifiers…”
“Lucky bastards! Is this even allowed? Did someone check the rules?”
“Fucking YES! Let’s go High School 13! You got this!”

Shanghai International had the first choice to ban a Champion. They banned Draven. This elicited a small disturbance from the audience. They were quietly mocking and laughing at the players from Shanghai International. But that quickly died down as the Champion Select continued and High School 13 banned a Champion. Then it was up to Shanghai International again. They banned Annie. Now, the disturbance became a lot louder. Some people in the crowd even started heckling.

“Fucking cowards!”
“Scaredy cats banning Annie and Draven! How pathetic!”
“I thought these guys were good? THEY’RE TERRIBLE!”
“I’ve seen Bronze players with bigger balls!”
“HAHAH! Are they really doing this? How sad!”
“I’m telling you. They’re calling in sick on Monday! Haha!”

The players from Shanghai International couldn’t hear the crowd through their noise cancelling headphones. But they could see the reaction to their bans. People were standing up and pointing at them. Some even threw stuff their way. It was the response they’d expected. But that didn’t make it any better. They gritted their teeth and focused completely on the screens in front of them. If they wanted to win this game, they had to accept the skills of the Draven and Annie. They’d been outplayed by those two Champions. So, right now, it was best to ban them. It didn’t matter what other people thought about it. Winning the game, that was all they cared about.

Shanghai International thought they’d figured High School 13’s plans out. They were preparing to face the same kind of team composition, which was another reason why they banned the Annie and Draven. But An Xin was never planning to let her team play the same team composition twice in a row. She smiled and grinned when she saw the bans. Got ‘em! Shanghai International had fallen for her next trap.

The Blue Buff Camp was walled off by trees on three sides. Yan Liang had his Twisted Fate run around the trees and towards the opening that was on the side closest to bot lane. He stopped in the brush next to the Blue Sentinel and started attacking the monster together with his Jungler. Suddenly, a pillar of blue light descended on top of the Twisted Fate. Or rather, on a Blue ward placed right beneath him. Yan Liang’s eyes went wide. “Shit! Back! BACK!” he shouted over the team’s voice chat. There were two Champions with Teleport on High School 13’s team; they were Annie and Malphite. They saw the Annie running towards them, so it had to be the Malphite that was teleporting in.

Lin Feng had set his sights on the Twisted Fate. He had his Annie run after him into the Red team’s Jungle. “Come out, come out, wherever you are!” he mumbled in his best Annie impression, grinning. The Twisted Fate and Lee Sin had killed him a few minutes earlier in mid lane. It was about time he settled the score. His Annie ran into the wall of trees around the Blue Buff Camp. But rather than going around it, she disappeared with a mottled flash of light and then reappeared on the other side. A Molten Shield wrapped around her and a blazing heat started swirling around her. She then tossed her teddy bear up in the air and shouted, “Get ‘em, Tibbers!”

The small teddy bear grew into a nearly three meters tall monstrocity. Scorching hot flames burned from its fur and two large embers blazed in its eyes. He crashed down onto the ground, stunning the Twisted Fate and Lee Sin. Then he tore into them with his claws, while the searing heat from its body dealt burn damage to the two Champions from Shanghai International.

“Oh my god! That stun!” Silent Reed exclaimed into her microphone, her voice reaching across the entire venue. “The Annie got them both! What a perfect enga—”

“WaitWaitWait!” Westwind interrupted, tapping her on the shoulder, excited. “Look! The Malphite is almost here. Imagine his Unstoppable Force! Woo!”

Lin Feng’s grin grew wider, reaching all the way to his ears. He got the double stun. The rest was easy. He tapped down on the W key–Incinerate! His Annie blasted the Twisted Fate and Lee Sin with a jet of flames. She followed up with a mana infused fireball that struck the Twisted Fate. All the while, Tibbers was swiping his claws at the Twisted Fate.

Yan Liang grimaced. I should’ve seen this coming… Dammit! He looked at the Flash icon. It was still on cooldown. His Twisted Fate’s health was evaporating. He frantically clicked away on his mouse, hoping that the stun would break before the Malphite arrived. Then, maybe, he had a chance to escape. But that was a fool’s hope. The Malphite appeared next to him. The massive creature of living rock launched himself towards the Twisted Fate and Lee Sin and rammed into them, knocking them Airborne–Unstoppable Force!

《An enemy has been slain!》

The Twisted Fate died instantly in the collision, while the Lee Sin was launched high into the sky. At the highest point, he reached a brief moment of weightlessness. Then he came crashing back down to the ground, powerless. He couldn’t use any skills. Two large Spinning Axes ploughed through the ground towards him, coming all the way from bot lane and ignoring every obstacle in their way–Whirling Death! The Lee Sin couldn’t dodge them. They passed through him as he crashed into the ground and killed him.

《An enemy has been slain!》

“Eh? Wait… What? Where are my kills?” Lin Feng muttered. He turned to look at Tang Bingyao. Chen Ze had actually helped with the kills, so it was acceptable that he got one. But not Tang Bingyao. She was still farming away in bot lane and hadn’t done anything in this fight. He narrowed his eyes and cursed, “Tang Tang, you killstealer! That was mine!”

Tang Bingyao tilted her head and looked at Lin Feng, visible confusion on her face. Then she smiled and shrugged. “Hmm, I was securing the kill.”

Below the stage, An Xin smiled. She listened to the crowd cheering behind her, screaming and shouting in support of her team. She looked at the three teammates around her. Ren Rou was dancing on her feet; Yang Fan was adjusting his glasses, like he always did; and Ouyang was laughing and showing Shanghai International’s team his middle fingers. An Xin shook her head, giggling, and turned back to look at the large screen. High School 13 was fighting the Dragon and there was nothing Shanghai International could do to stop them. She mumbled to herself, “The idiot did something good. Two kills and a Dragon for the team. Nice.”

《Blue team has slain the Dragon!》

The players from Shanghai International stared at their screens with defeated looks on their faces. They lost a lot in that fight. It was more than just the deaths and the Dragon. They’d lost momentum. The Malphite got some much needed gold to catch back up to the Fiora, while the Draven could pull even further ahead of the Sivir now. As for the Annie, she could keep pushing mid lane all the way to the inner tower or roam the map to look for ganks. There was no one who could stop her.

Yan Liang’s eyelid twitched. I should’ve seen this coming… He’d never considered High School 13 their opponent. They were shit last year… Even though they were eliminated in the first round of the qualifiers last year, they made it all the way to the Semifinals this year. That should’ve been enough for him to really look into them and figure out how they’d done it. It was too simplistic to call it luck. But that wasn’t what he had done. Now, he faced a team that knew how to play and had a good strategy to boot. When they combine their ults… We should’ve never let them get this team composition.

✹

At 14 minutes, Tang Bingyao made the next big play. Liu Zhengjie had his Sivir step too far forward, desperate to get the last hit on a minion. Tang Bingyao immediately pressed down on her D and then Q keys. Her Draven flashed forward and started throwing Spinning Axes. The Sivir panicked and activated her Spell Shield before the Draven had even cast Stand Aside. The Draven kept chasing after the Sivir, throwing Spinning Axes and waiting for the Spell Shield to disappear. But it didn’t take that long. The Sivir died before the Spell Shield could wear off.

《Killing spree!》

Tang Bingyao secured another kill on Liu Zhengjie. A shower of coins rained down on her Draven, the visual representation of Adoration stacks turning into gold. She could use this gold to pull even further ahead of the Sivir. On top of that, she could hear the people in the venue through her noise cancelling headphones. They were chanting her name! She smiled as a tingling sensation went up and down her body.

“NICE! Good job, Tang Tang!” Lin Feng exclaimed over the team’s voice chat. “See? I told you that you’re better than that guy.”

“Mhm!” Tang Bingyao replied, beaming. She turned to look at Lin Feng and clenched her fist, throwing it up just a little. A small nod to Lin Feng’s victory pose.

Across the stage, Liu Zhengjie stared at his grey screen. He’d been furious at his Support after the clumsy play that led to First Blood. That was all on the Support and he had to work with that! He’d been quietly cursing for the last several minutes. But now this… This was his fault. He felt his cheeks burning. His whole body felt like it was burning anger and embarassment! There was no one else to blame. I got solo-killed by that bitch? … A girl! She’s a girl… No. This isn’t possible… This can’t be!

✹

High School 13 had Shanghai International in a choke hold. After his first kill, Chen Ze got his Malphite back in the game. The Fiora lost her edge over him and failed to kill him in lane again. On top of that, High School 13’s Braum and Jarvan IV had been doing well for themselves from the start of the game. All the pieces were in order. They were ready for the mid game, where their team composition started to really shine.

At Lin Feng’s command, High School 13’s team would gather and force a teamfight. All they had to do was land one ultimate skill from Braum, Jarvan IV, or Malphite. From there, the rest was easy. They’d waltz through Shanghai International’s ranks and then turn to take down an objective. In this very fashion, they won a teamfight at 17 minutes, after which they took down the inner tower in mid lane.

Below the stage, Zeng Rui shook his head in frustration. This game wasn’t going like he’d hoped to see it go. He’d prepared to face off against Shanghai International in the Finals, not High School 13. All he knew about them was that they had a thundering dumbass who talked a lot and a mostly insignificant supporting cast. He rubbed his temples. It’s only one game in a best of five. This is not over. Shanghai International just has to start focusing and stop doing whatever this is if they want to win…

“The game is looking pretty dead even,” Silent Reed said. She turned to Westwind, who sat next to her on the caster desk, and asked, “What do you think?”

Westwind nodded and said, “Can’t believe it, but yeah, you might be right. Three to three in kills and there’s no real difference in gold. But. And this is a big but. There is so much more to a League game than statistics…” He paused for dramatic effect, making the crowd really want to hear what he had to say next. Then he continued, “Like map pressure, plays, power spikes. Look at top lane. The Fiora is destroying the Malphite. I don’t see High School 13 stopping her.”

“True, true. You know, I spoke with Shanghai International’s Midlaner backstage earlier,” Silent Reed said. “He was pretty convinced that they were going to win this series. He was already talking about the Finals. But it looks like he’s struggling in mid…”

“Of course he’s struggling. He’s playing a Twisted Fate into an Annie!” Westwind laughed. “The game would be over already if he wasn’t struggling! But he isn’t losing. He got the return kill and he’s only going to get stronger now. The Annie needs to do something really special here if she wants to stay relevant.”

“Hmm, don’t you think the Annie already is doing that?” Silent Reed asked. “She’s barely back in lane and already pushing the Twisted Fate back to his tower. That is pretty special.”

“No doubt it’s special. But…” Westwind paused, smiling. “There is a big difference between special and really special. The Annie is great, but she can’t stop the Twisted Fate from ulting away after he reaches Level 6… Actually, you know what? Let’s ask the audience!” He clutched the microphone and pushed it close to his mouth, then asked, “What do you guys think? Let yourself be heard if you think Annie will do something really special!”

There was a lull in the game. The crowd started buzzing. Then the students from High School 13 jumped up and started cheering, “LIN FENG! LIN FENG! LIN FENG!” He was their hero! It didn’t matter in which lane he played, he always pulled off a phenomenal performance. There were even students from Tonji Affiliated High and Shanghai High School cheering.

“See?” Silent Reed chuckled. “The crowd agrees with me. The Annie… Lin Feng is doing something special!”

“Hold on, hold on,” Westwind said. He clutched the microphone a little harder and shouted, “Shout as loudly as you can if you think Yan Liang will carry this game with his TWISTED FATE!”

“YAN LIANG! TF! TF! TF!”
“We’ll win. EASY!”
“EASY WIN FOR TF!”
“YAN LIANG IS THE BEST!”
“SHANGHAI INTERNATIONAL FOR THE WIN!”
“HAHAHAHA! What is this question. High School 13 SUCKS!”
“EASIEST WIN OF OUR LIVES!”

Westwind winked at Silent Reed, grinning. A little hyping up of the crowd was enough to make them lean one way or another. He decided who won the vote just by the way he asked the question. “But,” he said, again pausing for a brief moment. “Twisted Fate is in a weird position. If he roams, it has to be successful, because the Annie will just take his tower. It’s really a question of how well he’s going to use his ultimate.”

Silent Reed giggled and said, “This game can go either way! You heard it here first!”

Zeng Rui sat in the seating area for Shanghai High School, shaking his head. The casters had successfully hyped up the crowd, which was their job. But their analysis was off. The few precious seconds Twisted Fate had bought himself by killing the Annie were hardly enough to get the lane pressure he needed to catch back up. He was a long ways away from salvaging his lane. “I don’t see Yan Liang getting back into this,” Zeng Rui mumbled. He turned to look at Lin Feng. The thundering dumbass. He can’t have thought of this… Is he just following her instructions? He glanced down the row of chairs to where four players from High School 13 sat. Amongst them was a new face. Did she come up with this? The plan is great. Shut the Twisted Fate down early and then transition into a very powerful mid game. In theory, that is. I doubt they have the skill to pull it off in practice.

✹

At 10 minutes, the game was still fairly even. There was nothing exciting happening. The crowd was watching, listening to Westwind and Silent Reed attempting to entertain. The initial surprise of seeing High School 13 going toe-to-toe with Shanghai International had worn off. They were getting bored. Their attention wavered  as they looked away from the large screen and started looking at the stage and the 10 players seated behind their computers. There were nine guys and one girl.

“My god. I can’t believe how hot she is…”
“I know right? She’s a 10 outa 10!”
“Even behind the computer and with that big headset on, you can still tell… She hawt!”
“I’d kill for a night with her…”
“So pretty and good at League… She’s every man’s dream!”
“I just wanna, you know… Bang bang!”

It felt like everyone shut up for a brief moment, emphasizing the less than pure thoughts some students voiced. Their words traveled from the three different sections of the crowd towards where the students from High School 13 were sitting. There were some raised eyebrows, while others started arguing.

“Tang Bingyao is off limits! Watch the game.”
“Why do there always have to be those damn perverts?”
“There always have to be these stupid perverts…”
“They should ban these pervs from the event!”
“Fucking leave her alone! She’s just here to play the damn game!”
“Horny asshats!”

It was to be expected. The crowd at the Shanghai 16 School Tournament was predominantly male. Amongst them, there were bound to be a couple of perverts who couldn’t keep their thoughts to themselves. Tang Bingyao was beautiful. There were plenty of guys interested in her, some of whom still remembered their painful loss during the 1vs1 Love Confessions. But that didn’t mean they were professing her love to her while she was participating in the Semifinals of a tournament. And they especially knew not to shout out those feelings, whether in the privacy of a classroom or in a public venue. But not everyone felt that way.

“Horny asshats? LOOK AT HER! With those clothes, she’s practically begging us to hit on her!”
“YEAH! She’s leading us on! If you dress a whore, you are a whore!”
“I was just saying that I thought she looks cute… What the fuck you guys piling on me for?”
“Whatever. All hot girls are just attention whores. That’s just how it is. It’s not my fault that she looks like that…”
“Can’t I even say that she’s the perfect girl? I’m just giving her a compliment!”
“All I hear are JEALOUS SIMPS! We all think it… BANG BANG BANG!”

There were more people in the crowd who turned to look at the group of perverts spread out throughout the venue, shouting and screaming their desires for a night with Tang Bingyao. They looked confused, appalled, and stunned. They couldn’t believe what they were hearing. Then they shook themselves out of their daze and started arguing again.

“What is wrong with you people? Act normal. Please!”
“How oblivious are you guys? Stop objectifying the poor girl! She’s playing a goddamn game! Let her!”
“Those clothes? She’s wearing a sweater and jeans, for fucks sake. Those are NORMAL CLOTHES!”
“Can you leave her alone? We’re here to watch the game! Take your disgusting shit elsewhere!”
“LEAVE. HER. THE. FUCK! ALONE!”
“You guys aren’t funny, you know, right? This is sexual harassment. There’s cameras everywhere. I hope you all get what you deserve.”

The two sides couldn’t see eye-to-eye. Both were convinced of their righteousness and wouldn’t let anyone convince them otherwise. This was only further emphasized in a conversation between two students sitting next to each other.

“Do you get these idiots? How is it my fault that she looks like that? She’s the one dressing up like that, doing her make-up and all that, you know? And now I can’t let my eyes feast on that? That’s just stupid!”
“Dude. Stop being a creep. You’re here to watch a game. This isn’t porn…”

“What? Even you? How is this my fault? She’s asking for it! I’m only entertaining her!”

“You aren’t entertaining anyone. You’re being a creep. We’re here to watch the game. Stop objectifying the girl. Watch her gameplay and judge her on that. You know how you’re bitching on the guys for sucking at the game? Do the same for her!”

“She’s a GIRL! Girls can’t play games. They only make it onto a team for their looks. That’s all her teammates care about.”

“Have you been watching this game? She’s going toe-to-toe with Liu Zhengjie! How can you possibly think…”

“Right. Because she’s getting all the help in the world. I’m telling you, she’s just there because of how she looks. That’s the truth and you know it.”

“She’s a damn good ad-carry, that’s why she’s on the team! And you’d known that if you’d looked away from her chest and up at the large fucking screen above the stage. I’m done. Shut up.”

The two sides disagreed with each other from start to finish. Everyone thought they were in the right and there was no argument that could convince them of anything else. This ended the discussion prematurely. The students felt there were more interesting things to do, like watching the game they came to see. They craned their necks to look at the large screen above the stage, which was currently giving a bird’s eye view of mid lane.

✹

At 11 minutes, Yan Liang found the first opportunity to use the ultimate skill of his Twisted Fate–Destiny! The fog of war was blown. He had full vision of the map and five large eyes appeared above the Champions from High School 13. They couldn’t hide from him, even if they hunkered down in a brush or went back to the fountain. Yan Liang had his Twisted Fate walk up the river toward top lane, then pressed the R key again–Gate! This was the secondary effect of his ultimate skill. It allowed him to teleport anywhere within a large area around him.

The Twisted Fate appeared in top lane, right in front of the Malphite. He used Pick a Card and selected the golden card, which granted him a single target stun. The Malphite was already running low on health after being whittled down by the Fiora. He tried to run away to safety, but didn’t get far. The golden card struck him and stunned him. A volley of Wild Cards hit him, followed by the Fiora lunging at him with her rapier. They dealt too much damage and he didn’t have enough health.

《An ally has been slain!》

Lin Feng heard the kill announcement, but he didn’t stop smiling. He didn’t care that Chen Ze had died again. His Malphite was not worth that much anymore after dying several times earlier. He had his Annie attack the outer tower in mid lane. She took it down together with the minions before the Twisted Fate could return to lane. “Perfect! Just like planned!” Lin Feng laughed.

Westwind ignored the cheering crowd. He said into the microphone, “Just like I said. Twisted Fate lost his tower roaming top. The gank did get them a kill, but that can hardly be considered a success. The Malphite wasn’t worth anything. The Fiora was already dominating him. Yan Liang should’ve made a play in bot lane. That’s where he could make the difference.”

“You’re absolutely right,” Silent Reed said, smiling. “They could’ve taken Dragon after killing the Botlaners. This felt like a desperate play more than anything.”

Westwind nodded and said, “It really was desperate from Shanghai International. But did you notice? The Malphite just let it happen. He still has Flash and his ultimate! He probably could’ve gotten away, only he didn’t! I wonder why he did that.”

✹

“Yeah, I still got Flash and Teleport,” Chen Ze said over High School 13’s voice chat.

Wei Dong grinned and said, “Nice! I was worried you used them to try and escape in that last fight. Remember, we only care about the teamfights!”

“Woot!” Liu Yue shouted, laughing. “That’s our Chen Ze! The dude has got enough patience to watch paint dry!”

Chen Ze coughed, embarrassed. “Eh, thanks guys. Don’t worry, I’m not tilted. BunBun was pretty clear…” That if I used my Flash for anything but an important teamfight, she’d kick me off the team. That girl can be really scary… He shook his head and smiled. “I’m good, really. I’m ready whenever. Teleport is off cooldown.”

“Guys! Guys!” Lin Feng suddenly shouted. “A chance! Let’s teamfight!” He’d just seen the Twisted Fate running into his own Jungle towards the Blue Buff Camp. The Lee Sin was already there, fighting the large golem that granted the Blue Buff to whoever killed it.

Earlier in the week, An Xin had admonished the team, and Wei Dong specifically, about their poor ward placements. Wei Dong had worked hard on improving that over the last couple of days. So when he spotted the Lee Sin on the top side of the map, he grabbed the chance to show off the results of his training. He had his Braum run into Shanghai International’s Jungle and placed a deep ward in the brush next to the Blue Buff Camp. That ward now revealed everything the Twisted Fate and Lee Sin were doing, while also giving Chen Ze’s Malphite a target to teleport to.

“Chen Ze, TELEPORT!” Lin Feng shouted, excited.

“WHAT!” Yan Liang blurted out. His Twisted Fate was stunned by Tibbers, Annie’s teddy bear. The monster fueled by flames swiped down at the Twisted Fate with its massive claws, tearing away at his health. A mana infused fireball slammed into him. He had a sliver of health left. SHIT! NO! Not like this! Yan Liang clicked towards his own tower, but his Twisted Fate wouldn’t move. The stun hadn’t broken yet. Fortunately, the Annie had cast all her spells. She hit him with an auto attack and then another. But that wasn’t enough to kill him before the stun broke.

Yan Liang slammed down on his W key–Pick a Card! Yellow! Yellow! Come on! A blue card appeared above his Twisted Fate, followed by a red card. COME ON! Then the golden card came. Yan Liang hammered down on his W key, selecting the golden card, then clicked on the Annie. STUN! The golden card whizzed through the air and struck the Annie, stunning her, while the Twisted Fate ran back towards his tower. But the Annie wasn’t the main threat. She’d used all her skills and could now only throw little embers at him. It was the massive teddy bear of her that was dealing all the damage! Tibbers chased him down and swiped down again with its massive claws, killing him before he could even get close to his outer tower.

《You have been slain!》

Yan Liang stared at the grey screen in front of him. No. No. This stupid little girl! …I just made a small mistake, I can still change this. We’ll win. He was trying his best to calm himself down. But over the edge of his screen, he could see the crowd in the venue jumping up from their seats and cheering. They should be cheering for me. The Annie just got lucky in Champion Select— He was interrupted by a cheerful voice that traveled all the way to him from the other side of the stage. “Wow! Who would’ve guessed? I’m really good at Annie too!” I’m going to… kill that fucker! I’ll fucking show you, you little piece of, of, arggh!

The crowd erupted! This was a solo kill! The two Midlaners had faced off and the Annie had won in impressive fashion! This time, it wasn’t only the students from High School 13 who jumped up from their seats, shouting and screaming. But they were the loudest.

“WOOO! Maul his ass! Maul his ass!”
“Fucking yes! That was… AWESOME!”
“How’s that feel? Getting killed by a little girl! HAHA!”
“HEEYYAAAHH! Little girl beats up old man!”
“That play was crazy!”
“HOLY DAMN! That dude is good…”

“I gotta say,” Westwind said, his voice booming through the speakers in the venue. He waited for the crowd to quiet down, then continued, “That play was probably the single most impressive play I’ve seen all tournament! The Annie knew exactly when she was hitting Level 6. Impressive. Just, impressive.”

Silent Reed looked over the venue from her vantage point at the caster desk and waited for the crowd’s roar of approval to die down. She nodded at Westwind sitting next to her and said, smiling, “You’re right. That was very impressive. Yan Liang didn’t know what hit him. He had no time to react! The Annie hit Level 6 mid-fight. She planned and executed it perfectly!”

Everyone in the venue agreed with this sentiment, even Zeng Rui. He watched the replay on the large screen and raised an eyebrow, surprised and even a little impressed with the Annie’s performance. Huh… That was… good? So the thundering dumbass also knows how to play mid… Weird. But that was a good bait. Yan Liang fell for it hard. He paused. Analyzing games was second nature to him. He noticed when something looked wrong before he even understood why. He sat up straight and looked, really looked, at the players from High School 13. Don’t tell me, hmm… If it goes on like this, High School 13 is actually going to win. This was an outcome he hadn’t even considered before. But now he had to accept the possibility that the Finals would see them facing High School 13, and not Shanghai International. That would be unexpected.

✹

Draven was a Champion that became stronger the more he fought. When he got one kill, it was the same as getting two or even three kills for other Champions, depending on how many Adoration stacks he had. This was the power of his passive. Tang Bingyao made perfect use of this. She’d accepted that Liu Zhengjie would push into her in the early game. She let it happen, patiently farming Adoration stacks by catching Spinning Axes and last hitting minions, until the opportunity for a kill presented itself. She went in on the Leona and got first blood, turning her Adoration stacks into gold. She used her sudden large reserve of gold to buy an expensive item with a lot of attack damage. This gave her an edge over the Sivir and allowed her to play the style she enjoyed the most. Hyper aggressive! She flung Spinning Axes, last hitting minions and pressuring Liu Zhengjie’s Sivir.

Leona was a precarious Champion. Her kit allowed her to jump into a fight and stun Champions with a single target stun and an area of effect stun. This made her invaluable in every scenario. But, there was one condition. She needed to live long enough to get into the middle of the enemy team, which she could only do if she had enough defensive items. The flip side of her usage was that she was useless without those items. After giving away first blood, that was the direction Shanghai International’s Support saw the game going. His Leona was falling behind. He needed to do something to turn this around. He had to force a play! So he pushed past the minions and searched for an opening. If I can just get Draven to use Stand Aside—

“Back. Back BACK!” Liu Zhengjie shouted at his Support. “The hell are you doing! Are you stupid? Help me freeze the fucking lane! We can’t let the minions push further out or we’re going to get fucking ganked again! And stop taking so much free damage. God fucking dammit!” Why do I always get the braindead retards! He continued grumbling, frustrated. He’d carefully built up an advantage from the first exchange in the game. It all went great. They were winning the lane. They were winning the game! And then, then the Annie teleported to bot lane. She’d ruined everything! His Support died and his hard work went up in smoke. The Draven used the gold from that kill to buy his first big attack damage item, while he was forced to buy a weaker item to try and keep up. 

Draven is too strong… Fuck! Liu Zhengjie gritted his teeth, resisting the urge to scream. The more he thought about the situation, the more pissed off he became. He had his Sivir attack the Draven by hurling her crossblade like a boomerang, but the damage looked lackluster. It wasn’t nearly as destructive as it’d been a minute ago. The damage of the skill hadn’t changed much, but the amount of damage the Draven dealt had. That single item made such a big difference this early in the game. It was almost impossible for Liu Zhengjie to do anything. If he took one step too far forward, the Draven could simply run up to him and kill him. So he did the only thing he could do. He farmed minions from as far away as possible and kept his mouse ready to retreat at the slightest hint of trouble. All the while he grumbled under his breath, “Fucking fuck fuck! This fucking Draven girl! Go play Support like all the other girls! Dammit! This stupid shit game!”

✹

High School 13’s bot lane was winning. Lin Feng watched them play with a wide grin on his face that seemed to say, “I’m really good at ganking too!” He turned his attention back to mid lane. The Twisted Fate was hiding behind the Red team’s outer tower, allowing Lin Feng to farm the minions without a worry in the world. So he turned to look around the map again, a little too relaxed. The Twisted Fate wasn’t putting any pressure on him. He could just push and push and push. The monotony of it was distracting. He let his mind wander.

At 8:50 minutes, Shanghai International’s Lee Sin came mid for a gank. He walked down into mid lane from the brush in the river. The Annie didn’t retreat. She threw a small ember of fire at a minion and then a mana infused fireball at the Twisted Fate. She was clueless of the danger behind her. The Lee Sin didn’t need to think twice. He placed a ward behind the Annie and Safeguarded towards it. Dragon’s Rage! He hit the Annie with a roundhouse kick, sending her flying backwards.

There was a golden card above the Twisted Fate’s head. The Annie flew past him and landed underneath the Red team’s outer tower. He threw the golden card at her and stunned her. There were no Blue minions, so the tower targeted her and started firing off increasingly powerful energy shots. The Lee Sin hit the Annie with a Sonic Wave and then dashed towards her with Resonating Strike. All the while, the Twisted Fate kept throwing his playing cards, a next one always appearing from his sleeve.

Ah, I’m dead. Lin Feng was busy watching the other lanes. He’d noticed the Lee Sin far too late. He pressed down on the R key the moment the stun on his Annie wore off–Summon: Tibbers! His Annie willed her teddy bear to life. The small doll transformed into a frightening monster! But it was too little too late. She forced the Twisted Fate to Flash away. Then she died.

《You have been slain!》

“Ahhh… Almost. Oh well,” Lin Feng mumbled. He looked at his grey screen, at the Twisted Fate walking around with almost no health left. I probably could’ve… He shook his head. He’d given away a kill. It was a bad play. There was no excuse. He grumbled, “I got your Flash, that’s enough. I’ll get you next time.”

✹

Chen Ze was struggling in the top lane. He’d improved a lot as a player over the last two months, but Shanghai International’s Toplaner was simply better. On top of that, he played Fiora who was dubbed the Queen of Dueling. Chen Ze lost all control of his lane after giving away that first kill. The Fiora wouldn’t even let his Malphite walk out from under his outer tower. She last hit minions in lane and built up a large wave. Then she pushed them into the Blue team’s outer tower. The tower would kill a good number of them, further hampering the Malphite, and she could use the opportunity to dish out some damage.

Minions were dying and Chen Ze wasn’t killing them. The outer tower was. Its energy shots ripped them apart, while they were trying to destroy the large structure. All the while, the Fiora jumped in to deal some quick damage and then back out. Chen Ze gritted his teeth. He knew this lane was going to be difficult, but he never planned on losing it. His goal was to contain the Fiora. To make sure she never really got rolling. But he failed miserably. At 9 minutes in, he gave away a second kill. His health had fallen too low and the Fiora had killed him underneath his own tower.

《You have been slain!》

“I should’ve recalled faster,” Chen Ze mumbled, barely audible. He shook his head and sighed. No. That wouldn’t have helped either… He watched the Fiora eat another energy shot from the outer tower. It wasn’t nearly enough to kill her. Uh? His eyes widened. He hadn’t noticed Liu Yue running up the river until now. The Jarvan IV flag-tossed towards the Fiora, knocking her Airborne. He followed up with a couple of auto attacks and killed her. “Nice work, Liu Yue!” Chen Ze said over the team’s voice chat.

Shanghai International held the advantage in the top lane. The Fiora was quickly becoming very strong. Shanghai International also came back in mid lane. The kill on Lin Feng was enough to give the Twisted Fate some breathing room. High School 13 only held a clear advantage in bot lane. Even though both teams had 3 kills and roughly the same amount of gold, Shanghai International’s most recent victories in top and mid tipped the balance in their favour.

“That idiot…” An Xin muttered, putting her palm over her face. “How many times do I have to remind him to ward? How can he make such a stupid mistake…” She looked up at Lin Feng and shouted, “It’s not that hard to ward, idiot!”

Shanghai International’s Leona was slowed! She was right at the edge of High School 13’s outer tower in bot lane, running away. Tang Bingyao narrowed her eyes ever so slightly, then pressed the W key–Blood Haste! Draven’s hands lit up with a red light, increasing his attack speed. A whirlwind erupted underneath his feet, increasing his movement speed. He bolted forwards, chasing down the Leona and throwing an axe at her. It ricocheted off her, and he caught it. The second axe was already spinning through the air, striking her again. That dealt the third stack of Concussive Blows. One more to stun her. Mhm.

“Shit! I can’t escape! I’m going in!” Shanghai International’s Support shouted into his microphone. He couldn’t get stunned right now. It’d be the death of him! The Draven would keep throwing his Spinning Axes and kill his Leona before the stun broke. So he did the only thing he could do. He hovered his mouse over the Draven and pressed down on the E key–Zenith Blade! His Leona projected a solar image of her sword that pierced the Draven. Then she dashed towards him!

Westwind was casting the game. His eyes were locked on the fight in bot lane. He clutched the microphone and brought it closer to his mouth, shouting, “A TURNAROUND! Tha—” His voice was caught at the back of his throat, while he finished the sentence in his head, t’s Shanghai International for you! They never back out of a fight! And they always win! But those words seemed silly now.

Silent Reed stared at the large screen above the stage, stunned into silence. It felt like the entire venue had gone quiet for a moment. Silent Reed pinched her hand, just to make sure she was awake. The pain confirmed that. Then she shook her head and said, “Wow. That Draven… He actually knocked the Leona aside mid-dash! That’s one way to use Stand Aside! He canceled her only gap closer! She’s done for!”

The crowd snapped out of their daze. Tang Bingyao had stopped the Leona from jumping on her Draven and stunning him! Her Draven was still only at half health, but this fight suddenly didn’t seem all that lost anymore. So the students from High School 13 in the crowd started screaming their lungs out in joy and marvel.

“Tang Tang! We love you!”
“Heck yeah! Did you guys see that? Oh. My. God! She’s amazing!”
“That’s our Tang Tang! She’s the best!”
“She beat me in the 1vs1 Love Confessions!”
“Tang Tang is the best Draven in China!”

Tang Bingyao clicked to the side, repositioning her Draven away from the Sivir. Then he threw the third axe at the Leona. It connected, applying the fourth stack of Concussive Blows. The Leona was stunned for 1.25s. She couldn’t move. She couldn’t use her skills. She couldn’t do anything but let the Draven attack her. And the Draven did just that, unimpeded. Not even the Sivir could stop him. The Braum had leaped to the Draven’s side and raised an impenetrable shield in front of him, protecting Draven from any and all damage.

“Don’t panic!” Liu Zhengjie shouted into his microphone, glaring at the man sitting to his left. “Exhaust the Draven. Then Flash and stun him!” He looked back at his screen, at the Draven hiding behind the Braum. You think you can beat me? Don’t kid yourself. You’re trash! His health bar was full and the Leona had more than enough health to survive through the stun and then some. On the other side, both the Draven and Braum were running low on health before the fight even started. If he played this right and his Support didn’t screw up, then they could still get a double kill without losing anything! With the bonus damage from Leona’s passive, all I need is one good Q and a few auto’s to kill that Draven…

The Leona broke free from her stun with still a fair bit of health left. She directly targeted the Draven with Exhaust. A debilitating energy wrapped around him and sapped away at his strength. This was it! Shanghai International was going to win this fight after all! Liu Zhengjie started grinning, picturing the ugly expression on the girl’s face when he killed her!

“Retreat! Go back! Back! Behind us!” a voice shouted into his ears. Liu Zhengjie sighed, annoyed. What now? Flash in already! He glanced down at his minimap in frustration and then paused. A brilliant blue light had descended on a ward in the bush behind them! NO! Why now?

Westwind’s voice boomed through the speakers in the venue, hyping up the crowd, “TELEPORT! The Annie is teleporting behind the Sivir and Leona! High School 13 is sandwiching Shanghai International’s Botlaners! Are they going to get the double kill? I THINK THEY ARE!”

Lin Feng was pushing mid lane when the fight in bot lane started. The Twisted Fate’s Summoner Spells were on cooldown, while his weren’t. He knew he had to make use of this advantage. So he’d panned his camera across the map, searching for an opportunity while also keeping pressure on the Twisted Fate. The fight in bot lane quickly presented itself to him. It was exactly what he was looking for. Wei Dong had even placed a ward in a brush along the bottom side of the lane for him to Teleport to. Lin Feng had his Annie teleport to the ward, then shouted over the team’s voice chat, excited, “COMING IN HOT! Lock ‘em down!”

The Annie appeared in bot lane to find the Sivir and Leona simultaneously flashing away, trying to escape. She ignored the Sivir that had cast her Spell Shield and immediately attacked the Leona. Disintegrate! She hurled a mana infused fireball at the Leona. A smouldering swirl appeared around her as she did that. It was her passive skill, Pyromania! After casting four spells, her next offensive spell would stun a target. Incinerate! She set the air in front of her ablaze, burning minions and the Leona alike. They were all stunned.

The Draven chased after the now immobile Leona and quickly caught up to her. He threw a Spinning Axe and caught it again after it ricocheted off the Leona. He followed up with another Spinning Axe, while the Annie started throwing fire. The Leona’s health disappeared. She broke free from the stun, but that was it. Before she could take more than a couple of steps towards her own outer tower, a final Spinning Axe struck her in the back, killing her.

《First Blood!》

“Nice!” Ren Rou cried out from below the stage. “Keep it going, Tang Tang!”

“Serves that fucker right! HA! Show ‘em who’s boss, Tang Tang!” Ouyang laughed, reveling in the look on Liu Zhengjie’s face. “Look at him! This feels so good!”

Yang Fan adjusted his glasses, smiling, and said, “Yeah, it does.” Then he looked behind him at the crowd that had exploded! People were jumping up and down and screaming Tang Bingyao’s name! He recognized a few faces in the crowd. They were classmates. Then he turned back towards the stage and cupped his hands around his mouth, shouting as loudly as he could, “Good job, Tang Tang! You played that perfectly!”

Liu Zhengjie looked over his screen at the crowd. Pathetic. Cheering for that? Losers haven’t seen anything! He bit down on his tongue and turned his attention back to his screen, pressing down on the TAB key. It showed the Champions on both teams and their stats and items. He looked at the Draven. I worked so hard on keeping him down… It took more than starving a Draven of minions to shut him down. This was because of his passive, League of Draven. Every time he caught a Spinning Axe or killed a minion, monster, or tower, he gained Adoration stacks. When he killed a Champion, those stacks turned into gold. That kill on the Leona was worth so much more than just the 400 gold for First Blood. All of Liu Zhengjie’s hard work was gone. The Draven was back in the game.

✹

While High School 13 made a play in bot and picked up First Blood, Shanghai International made a play in top lane. It was a Malphite versus Fiora lane. Fiora was a strong dueler, while Malphite was a walking rock. He had a lot of health, but little in terms of damage. So it wasn’t very difficult for the Fiora to get the upper hand. She zoned the Malphite away from the minions, lunging at him with her rapier whenever he did try to walk in to last hit a minion. It was similar to the mid lane fight between Annie and Twisted Fate. Both lanes had one Champion harassing the other with a large minion wave building up. The only difference was the team applying the pressure and the colour of the minion wave.

The Lee Sin had walked through High School 13’s top side jungle and hid in the brush below the outer tower. The Malphite was stuck underneath his tower, trying desperately to get last hits on the minions before the energy shots from his tower killed them. All the while, he also had to worry about the Fiora attacking him. The only thing he forgot to do was ward. He was oblivious to the Lee Sin behind him until it was too late. The Lee Sin’s attack appeared out of nowhere and the Fiora took this opportunity to lunge forward herself, both dealing lethal blows to the Malphtie. His health disappeared, and both players from Shanghai International were out of tower range before the energy shots could kill them. It was a clean towerdive.

《You have slain an enemy!》

The Fiora picked up the kill. The Toplaner from Shanghai International grinned, enjoying the crowd cheering for him, and said into his microphone, “Nice gank, mate!”

Shanghai International’s Jungler laughed, “Too easy. Fumbling noobs.”

✹

An Xin smiled, unconcerned. Ouyang was shifting around in his seat next to her. Ren Rou was shouting words of encouragement to the team. They can’t tell. The game looked even. In fact, it looked bad for High School 13 to the untrained eye. Liu Zhengjie was a really good ad-carry and wouldn’t give Tang Bingyao any breathing room, while Chen Ze was a worse player than his opponent in top lane and was now also a kill behind.  This could quickly spin in Shanghai International’s favour. But we’re not losing bot. We’re winning. And we’re also winning in mid. There were no kills in mid, but Lin Feng was dominating the lane. That was easy to forget when looking at the scoreboard. On top of that, it didn’t matter if Chen Ze fell behind. His Malphite wasn’t meant to carry the team. He was there to soak up damage and land a good ultimate skill, which was a powerful area of effect knock up. He didn’t need a lot of gold to do that.

It doesn’t really matter if the Fiora gets fed either. An Xin grinned. A fed Fiora was generally a big problem for any team. But it wasn’t for the team An Xin had drafted. They had Malphite and Braum who both had an area of effect knock up. Then they had a Jarvan IV who could imprison any Champion with his ultimate. Finally, there was also Annie, who could land an area of effect stun. Not to mention Draven’s Stand Aside. There was so much crowd control on the team, and only one of all these skills had to hit the Fiora to lock her down. Lin Feng and Tang Tang have enough damage between them to take care of the rest! So simple. This plan is foolproof. She looked back up at the large screen above the stage.

The game clock read 6 minutes when Lin Feng returned back to mid lane. He continued where he’d left off before his trip down to bot lane. He started pressuring the Twisted Fate out of lane, while last hitting every Red minion. He was really good at this spiel. The Twisted Fate was forced to hide next to his outer tower.

Yan Liang wanted to scream, It shouldn’t be like this! He was frustrated and angry. The Annie didn’t have Ignite! She’d gone with Teleport! She shouldn’t be able to apply this much pressure on him! But she was. She confined him far behind his own outer tower and there was nothing he could do about it. Dammit! I can’t even get any CS! He looked down at his experience bar. He was Level 5 and still a bit away from Level 6. He had to wait a little longer until he could start roaming around the map with his ultimate skill. Just a little longer and then I’ll get back into this game! He looked over at the Annie. She should also be hitting Level 6 soon… I need to be careful. His Flash was on cooldown, hers wasn’t. He had to respect that. Let’s back after this wave. She shouldn’t hit 6 until the next one—

“The Annie flashed! A Level 5 engage! WHAT IS THIS!” Westwind cried out into his microphone, the speakers carrying his voice across the venue. The Annie was only Level 5. She still needed a bit more experience before hitting Level 6. Without her ultimate skill, she didn’t have the damage to kill the Twisted Fate!

Lin Feng hadn’t made a mistake. A moment earlier, he’d calculated how many more minions he needed to hit Level 6. The answer was two caster minions. There were two caster minions right next to the Twisted Fate. Then he’d looked at Annie’s passive skill–Pyromania! After casting four spells, her next offensive spell would stun the target. She was at three stacks right now. Perfect. So he pressed down on the D and then the W key. His Annie flashed forward and Incinerated the two caster minions in front of her. She leveled up to 6 and learned her ultimate skill. A smouldering swirl wrapped around her body. The little girl giggled as she tossed up her teddy bear into the air. “Have you met my bear Tibbers?” she asked, innocently. Then an enormous flaming bear appeared above the Twisted Fate and fell down on him, stunning him.

It was Lin Feng on Annie versus Yan Liang on Twisted Fate in the mid lane! Both Midlaners bought their starting items from the fountain shop and then started making their way into lane. Twisted Fate was on the Red Team. He was a Champion that wasn’t very strong in lane, especially not in the early game. His main objective was to farm and reach Level 6 as quickly as possible. Then his Twisted Fate’s ultimate skill would unlock—Destiny! A unique ultimate that blew the fog of war away and gave him complete vision on the map, while also allowing him to teleport instantly to any point within a large radius. He was essentially a card-flipping ninja assassin who exerted constant pressure on every lane and every enemy Champion. Because when Twisted Fate had a winning hand, he’d come in out of nowhere to throw it out for the kill. This sleight-of-hand made him the ace in his team’s sleeve. Annie, on the other hand, was a blunt hammer compared to Twisted Fate’s finesse. She had some of the highest burst damage in the game, which made her very strong in the early laning phase. “Push. Pressure. Kill.” That was her mantra.

Yan Liang knew this. He was aware of how screwed he was if this Annie was any good. But, he was a Master on the Ionia server. He was one of the best solo queue Midlaners in all of China. And Twisted Fate was one of his favourite Champions. So he didn’t see a need to worry. He figured that with his skill, holding lane and not giving too much away would be easy. He’d do this until he hit Level 6. That’s when playtime would end. Or start. Depending on how you looked at it. I’ll show you… the power of a true Super Saiyajin!

Unfortunately for poor Yan Liang, this game was going in a way that made him Hercule instead of the Prince of All Saiyajins. What the hell… His opponent knew how to play Annie. Fuck! The Annie skipped right over the pushing part and started straight pressuring his Twisted Fate. Fuck! She abused her long range to alternate between last hitting minions every Red minion and getting in some damage on him. Fuck! Then, whenever Disintegrate came off cooldown, she hurled a mana infused fireball at him. Dammit! He bit down hard on his lips, trying to get some last hits of his own. But she kept attacking him. Nearly half of his health was gone already. Shit! She’s so damn aggro!

Lin Feng was playing very aggressively. That was how he would win this lane. He would never let Yan Liang find any room to maneuver around, or give him any opportunity to just farm minions for a couple of minutes. This was because the further behind Twisted Fate fell before he reached Level 6, the lower his impact would be when he could use his ultimate skill. So Lin Feng clicked on the Twisted Fate, having his Annie fire off an auto attack. Then he pressed on his Q key–Disintegrate! His Annie fired off another mana infused fireball, while the minions were slowly pushing towards Red Team’s outer tower. He was only last hitting the minions, but that was enough to build up a bigger wave that started pushing.

Yan Liang used a health potion, but it only kept his Twisted Fate at around half health. He could see the minion wave. There was so much gold and experience in it… Dammit! I can’t lose this wave to the tower! Should I just recall now? Or stay… He wasn’t sure. The first option forced him to use his Teleport, while the second could see him killed. He inched forward, indecisive, and last hit a minion. That was definitely the wrong choice. The Jarvan IV from High School 13 came running out of the brush above mid lane and dashed towards him with a flag-toss combo.

FUCK! Yan Liang cursed as he slammed down on his F key–Flash! His Twisted Fate disappeared with a mottled flash of light, dodging the knock up from Jarvan IV and escaping certain death. The minions were marching towards his tower. The Annie was with them. She hurled another mana infused fireball at him–Disintegrate! His health was sliding down to critical levels. He had no more health potions. There was a massive wave of minions on his doorsteps. Yan Liang gritted his teeth. He knew what he had to do. And he hated it. He hated what it represented. The Midlaner from High School 13 had forced him, a Master on the Ionia server, out of lane. He walked behind his outer tower, out of range from the Annie, and recalled back to base.

Yan Liang looked up from his screen and across the stage at the players from High School 13. There, right in the middle, sat Lin Feng. “You son of a bitch,” Yan Liang cursed. That stupid idiot with that stupid grin on his face and that stupid, stupid stupid… I’m a Master! He pressed down on the D key–Teleport! A radiance lit up around the outer tower in mid lane and his Twisted Fate arrived back in lane a moment later. The minion wave was still there. Only a couple had died to his outer tower so far. But this early in the game, a couple of minions was worth a lot. And being forced to blow both Summoner Spells and recall back to base were basically adding insult to injury.

Mid lane was lost. Yan Liang knew it, though admitting it was still difficult. But his Flash was on cooldown. He had to play carefully, or he’d be giving away kills. And that was never good. Whatever. We still got Liu Zhengjie. He glanced over at his ad-carry. Liu Zhengjie was the best player on their team. He was the real carry. He can do it. I’ll just focus on keeping this Annie in lane. His plan had changed. There was no longer the goal of roaming around the map, picking up kills and pushing for a quick win. His Twisted Fate had fallen behind. The Annie wouldn’t let him roam around the map. But what he could do was keep the Annie occupied. Like this, Liu Zhengjie would have the time he needed to get strong enough to slaughter this Annie! He’s just playing against a girl anyway. Girls are terrible players. And Draven? Hah. Who does she think she is? This’ll be easy.

✹

It was a completely different game in bot lane than it was in mid lane. Liu Zhengjie showed everyone why he was the star player of the team. Why he was being scouted by professional teams. Without the help of his Support Leona, he was pushing the lane towards High School 13’s outer tower. Tang Bingyao played Draven. He was an extremely powerful Champion, especially when dueling. She also had the support of Braum, who had strong crowd control and high health. Yet the both of them couldn’t land the skills or get the position to pressure Liu Zhengjie’s Sivir. In fact, it was quite the opposite. When Tang Bingyao tried to last hit a minion, Liu Zhengjie pressed down on his Q key, smiling. His Sivir hurled her crossblade like a boomerang. It cut through the Draven on the way forward, and then again on the way back. Liu Zhengjie grinned. Yeah, take that! Bitch! Fucking idiots replacing their ad-carry with a girl! Heh. It’s like they want to lose! Let me help them with that, heheh!

Wei Dong pushed forward. Sivir had just hurled her crossblade. She couldn’t move for a short moment. But he was already too late. Still, he pressed the Q key–Winter’s Bite! His Braum propelled freezing ice from his shield in a straight line. The Sivir dodged it. It was as if she knew it was coming. Then she turned her attention to Wei Dong. He’d ran forward, past his minions, to get the angle for this skillshot. If the skill had hit, there was nothing to worry about. But now he was caught out of position, and this Sivir knew how to punish him for it. She hit him with her auto attacks, again and again until he’d finally retreated back under his own outer tower. It was fortunate that he was playing a defensive Champion with a lot of health, or this single exchange would’ve seen his health go down to critical levels, assuming he wouldn’t be forced to Flash away.

Mhm. He’s really good. Tang Bingyao focused on her screen. She needed to catch the axes. But Liu Zhengjie could also see where the axes would land. He knew where to put pressure, and when. And he was doing just that. This was something she hadn’t experienced since Lin Feng started teaching her. But Liu Zhengjie was a genuine Master of the game. She couldn’t remember the last time she played against someone this good. Maybe that time when Lin Feng and I just started playing together… But this slight setback didn’t demotivate her. If anything, it only made her want to try harder! I have to win! I promised Lin Feng that I’d take care of bot… Mhm. Can’t let him down.

Liu Zhengjie pushed the minion waves under High School 13’s outer tower. This was perfect for a Sivir. There was less room for Tang Bingyao and Wei Dong to maneuver, which meant it was easier to hit her skillshots. On top of that, Boomerang Blade had a relatively long range. And if it hit a Champion twice, it dealt serious damage. So Liu Zengjie could have his Sivir stand out of range from the tower, while still dealing damage to the Draven. That meant that Tang Bingyao had to choose between taking damage and being forced back to base early, or missing last hits. Both scenarios saw her losing gold. There was no winning here. She was already missing last hits and her health was dipping below half.

Silent Reed and Westwind were invited once again to cast the games. They sat at their desk to the side in the venue, talking with each other while watching the game. Silent Reed listened to Westwind talking about the last few moments of the Sivir, then sighed. This was painful to watch. “That Sivir is playing so good…”

Westwind nodded and said, “Yeah, Liu Zhengjie is a really good ad-carry. No wonder he’s being scouted. His Sivir is insane! How is he even doing this… 1vs2… The Draven and Braum can barely farm under their own tower.” He shook his head in disbelief, then added, “I’m starting to feel a little bad for them.”

The Leona hovered around bot lane. She was there, always putting that pressure without actually using any of her skills. Wei Dong watched her, apprehensive. Their health was dropping too low, while she was still at full health. He turned to Tang Bingyao and said, “Tang Tang, let’s recall back to base. Our health is too low. That Sivir can just kill us like this, if the Leona doesn’t dive us first. We’re dead. We need to back now!”

Tang Bingyao bit on her lips. I won’t lose. She glanced at her minimap. Liu Yue was in their top side jungle. Too far away. She looked up at top lane. Chen Ze was being pushed back towards his outer tower by the Fiora, which meant that he couldn’t use his Teleport to come and help them. He’d lose too much in top lane if he did that just to give bot lane some breathing room. No. I have to do this myself. I said I’d take care of bot.

Tang Bingyao tried to get in some last hits on the minions, dodging the Sivir’s attacks and trying to figure out what to do. Wei Dong talked to her. Urged her back. He always preferred the safer approach. That was just how he was. But that wasn’t her playstyle. She liked to play aggressively. She wanted to fight and win. Wei Dong said something again, slightly distracting her. She shook her head and said, “Uh-uhm.” No. We can’t leave lane. That will give them too much of an advantage. We have to stay. It’s dangerous. But we have to stay in lane and fight. If we go back, it’s over. They’ll hit Level 6 and…

“Now!” Tang Bingyao suddenly said. The opening was there. It presented itself to them and she pounced on it, clicking on the Leona.

Wei Dong was a step ahead of her. The Leona had walked forward, in front of her minions and in range of the tower. He pressed down on his Q key–Winter’s Bite! His Braum propelled freezing ice from his shield. It connected with the Leona, slowing her and more importantly applying a stack of Concussive Blows. They needed four stacks to stun her. But after the first, every next auto attack that hit her would add a stack. Three more attacks. That was all they needed!