Lin Feng had been farming Jungle Camps over the last couple of minutes. His Olaf had the Blue Buff, which lowered the cooldowns of his skills and increased his mana regeneration, allowing him to spam Undertow without having to worry about running out of mana. He went from one Jungle Camp to the next, throwing his axe back and forth, each time chasing after it to pick it up again. In the meantime, he kept his eye on the minimap, searching for opportunities. That was when he saw the Rek’Sai gank Yang Fan’s Lissandra. He was too far away to help, so he could only watch it happen. But then the Rek’Sai moved towards the bottom of  her side of the Jungle. Lin Feng was hovering near the bot lane, only a short distance away from Shanghai International’s Jungle. He didn’t need to think and directly started chasing after the Rek’Sai. He found her at the Gromp Camp.

Lin Feng had his Olaf throw an axe at the Rek’Sai, then ran forward to pick it up and throw it again. The Rek’Sai had used her skills in the gank in mid lane. Flash was also on cooldown. She found herself back in the same situation as a couple of minutes before. The Olaf attacked while she tried to run away. But his slow was too strong and her health was too low. He kept attacking until she only had a little bit of health left. Then he jumped up, raising his axes high above his head, and hacked down with such force that he dealt true damage to the Rek’Sai and himself–Reckless Swing! The Rek’Sai died; he lived.

《You have slain an enemy!》

Westwind shot up from his chair at the caster desk, microphone clutched in his grasp, and shouted, “OLAF HAS DONE IT AGAIN! He killed the Rek’Sai in her own Jungle! Is she safe anywhere? I THINK NOT! Don’t you guys agree?” He paused for a moment, winking at Silent Reed as the crowd cheered in response to him. Then he continued, “But some real talk here, guys. What this Olaf is doing isn’t all about luck. A really skilled Jungler can predict the pathing of their opponent and play accordingly. I’m pretty sure that’s what this Olaf here is doing. Insanely impressive. LET’S HEAR IT FOR OLAF!”

Silent Reed shook her head, smiling, as the crowd erupted into a second round of cheering. They hung on Westwind’s words, doing as he asked of them. She looked over at the stage and said, “That’s some prediction ability. The Olaf is practically living in the Rek’Sai’s jungle. Reminds me of that Jungler from a few years ago. What’s his name…”

Westwind turned to Silent Reed and said, “Right! Shit. I can’t remember either. You mean the, ‘your jungle is mine and my jungle is mine!’-guy, right?” He waited for the nod from Silent Reed and then continued, “They really do share some similarities. Maybe it’s a brother from another mother! Haha!”

In the private seating area of the competing teams, Zeng Rui sat at the edge of his seat, staring intently at the large screen. He was always meticulous in his approach. But until now, he hadn’t considered High School 13 a threat. He’d watched them play and concluded they weren’t good enough to make it to the Finals. The team he watched back then and the team in front of him right now were completely different. This team did have what it took to make it to the Finals. And that thundering dumbass also knew how to Jungle. Lin Feng had played every role at some point in the tournament and had never lost a game. Zeng Rui would be a fool if he didn’t recognize that. So, for the first time in this year’s Shanghai 16 School Tournament, he got really serious.

✹

Chu Fang watched the Semifinals backstage, out of view from others. He was grinning and laughing. There was a mixture of emotions overflowing from him. Joy. Gratification. Hope. It’s really him. It really is! He’d watched every second of the High School 13 games, every second of Lin Feng. He’s not there yet. But it’s him. It’s really him! He’ll get there again! Chu Fang couldn’t keep the smile from his face. He was beaming! All his hard work with setting up the Shanghai 16 School Tournament was worth it. He’d found the talent he’d been looking for! The biggest talent of them all. Lin Feng!

People across the world looked down on the Chinese competitive esports scene. The Americans didn’t take them seriously. The Europeans didn’t take them seriously. The Koreans made fun of them. Chu Fang shook his head in frustration. He wanted nothing more than to see a Chinese team make it back to the Worlds Finals. He wanted to see them win! The current teams weren’t realistic contenders. There was too much of a gap between them and the real top. So he’d focused his full attention on the next generation of players, doing everything within his power to find raw talent and prepare them for the big stage. I found him again!

Chu Fang forced himself to stay seated. But what he really wanted to do was jump up and down and hug everyone he could find. There were two stars being born in the Shanghai 16 School Tournament. Zeng Rui was a phenomenal Support. He’d proven that last year, and was doing so again this year. He consistently placed at the top of the solo queue ranked ladder, while solo games were his weak point. He would make it very far in the professional scene. Then there was Lin Feng. Chu Fang couldn’t stop himself from smiling every time that name crossed his mind. Lin Feng. It didn’t matter to him what anyone thought of the LPL or the Chinese competitive esports scene anymore. We got Lin Feng. He’ll shut them up!

✹

Shanghai International desperately tried to keep control of the game, but that was becoming increasingly difficult. In the previous two games, the trouble started in the mid lane and then found its way to the bot lane. This time around, it all happened in the Jungle. Lin Feng completely shut down the Rek’Sai. He stopped her from putting pressure on the map by always informing his teammates of her location. He stopped her from farming Jungle monsters by setting up a tent in her Jungle. He stopped her from ganking the lanes by always intercepting her. Everything she tried to do got shut down by him.

Rek’Sai gained the passive skill Tremor Sense when she Burrowed under the ground. She could feel the tremors of Champions walking nearby her. But this extra information didn’t give her the edge she needed. It might as well not have been there. Because the Olaf appeared in it when he wanted to, and didn’t appear in it when he didn’t want to. That didn’t say whether he was there or not, though.

Shanghai International’s Jungler started to doubt his own sanity, especially after a failed gank in the top lane. He’d wanted to help his Toplaner pick up a kill on the Jarvan IV. After destroying the wards he could find near the top lane and making sure the Olaf wasn’t nearby, he sped into the lane and attacked the Jarvan IV. But the Olaf was already there, waiting in a brush. High School 13 turned the gank around, killing the Fiora and the outer tower. The Rek’Sai survived. But that felt more like adding insult to injury than a win.

There were many, many people watching the stream by now. A large portion of them came to poke a little fun at the high school tournament. But they all stayed for the incredibly high level gameplay. A good 90% of the people watching were genuinely left speechless. They didn’t type a single word in chat. Fortunately, there was a very vocal 10%.

「I can’t believe this. Is that Olaf really a high schooler?」

「That Olaf is a Challenger, right? RIGHT? SOMEONE TELL ME!! IM LOSING MY FRIGGIN MIND HERE」

「WTF… i thought olaf was nerfed? did i miss some patchnotes??????????」

「OOMMMGGGGGGG <33333 OLAAFFFFFFF」

Chu Fang was reading through the messages in the stream chat, smiling. Maple was a Midlaner, but he could play any role… Chu Fang started grinning at himself, remembering something the Jungler on Lin Feng’s old team had said. “Hey, Lin Feng. You know… If you start playing Jungle, I swear, solo queue will be eleven times as toxic! All those damn dirty Junglers trying to imitate you!” Eleven… Chu Fang shook his head. He knew Eleven better than he knew Lin Feng. Eleven used to be one of the best Junglers in the world. He was right up there with the likes of Read XIII. But then he lost that spark that made him so special. Chu Fang sighed. Hah… What a shame. What a shame.

✹

At 10 minutes, Lin Feng had his Olaf roam towards the bot lane. He entered Shanghai International’s Jungle and walked into the brush right behind the outer tower. The Tristana and Morgana were underneath the tower, farming minions. Lin Feng had made sure to evade all the wards, so Shanghai International had no clue that he was there. His Olaf was strong enough to deal damage and tank several energy shots from the tower. The Blue minion wave was marching at the outer tower. Wei Dong and Tang Bingyao were ready.

Lin Feng pressed down on the D and then the R key–Ragnarok! A blood red haze washed over Olaf’s body as he became immune to all crowd control effects! His movement speed even gained two boosts on top of that; one from Ghost and the other from Ragnarok. Then he charged at the Morgana and Tristana, ignoring the tower and straight up attacking them!

The Morgana directly fired off a Dark Binding at the Olaf. But he was immune to crowd control effects, so it didn’t lock him down. The Tristana loaded a massive cannonball into her weapon and fired it off, intending to knock the Olaf away. But he was immune to crowd control effects, so it didn’t affect him. He charged at them and threw an axe. Then he auto attacked the Tristana with his other axe.

Tang Bingyao pressed down on her R key–Super Mega Death Rocket! Her Jinx raised her rocket launcher and fired off a super rocket that traveled through the bot lane before colliding with the Tristana and Morgana. A loud explosion followed, a smiley appearing in the resulting smoke cloud. The dust settled, revealing a corpse. The Tristana was killed by Tang Bingyao’s Jinx.

《You have slain an enemy!》

Wei Dong smashed down on the D key–Flash! His Thresh disappeared with a mottled flash of light and then reappeared on the other side of the Red minions. He followed up by throwing his sickle at the Morgana, hooking her–Death Sentence! Her health was low after Tang Bingyao’s attack and Lin Feng’s Olaf was on top of her. It only took a couple of swings with his axe to finish her off.

《You have slain an enemy!》

Lin Feng laughed and said over the team’s voice chat, “I got a kill! Nice! Let’s go and take Dragon now!”

The crowd in the venue were chanting the name of their new god. “WIN FENG! WIN FENG!” He was leading High School 13 to another win. “WIN FENG! WIN FENG!” There was no tower that could stop him. Man and Dragon alike feared him. “WIN FENG! WIN FENG!” At only 12 minutes in the game, he carried his team to a 4,000 gold lead over Shanghai International. “WIN FENG! WIN FENG!” He was invincible. “WIN FENG! WIN FENG!”

After High School 13 won the Level 1 teamfight against Shanghai International, Wei Dong snuck into their Jungle and placed a ward in the Blue Buff Camp. This gave Lin Feng all the information he needed. He knew exactly when the Rek’Sai killed the Blue Sentinel and when she started walking in the direction of the Red Buff Camp. He had his Olaf sneak into Shanghai International’s top side Jungle, going unnoticed, and hid in the brush next to the Red Buff Camp. There, he waited for the Rek’Sai. A murmur went through the crowd as they watched this happen.

“Man, that’s bloody dirty!”
“GET SOME WARDS! Damn idiots… It’s like they’ve never played the game before.”
“Maybe the Rek’Sai will check the brush?”
“This is going to be so sad for that Rek’Sai…”
“I’m kind of feeling bad for Shanghai International…”

Westwind shook his head and looked at the crowd. This play was going to be painful to watch. He had to do something to make everyone excited for it! He grabbed his microphone and said, “Why is everyone so quiet? This is EXCITING! The Olaf is showing us some real SKILL! Let’s hear it for Olaf and his first kill! WOOO!”

Silent Reed stared at the screen and said, “Rek’Sai’s early game will be ruined. Two deaths within five minutes. That’s just… I don’t know. Yan Liang and his team are going to have a hard time.”

Lin Feng sat in the brush, waiting. He panned his camera across the map to see how his teammates were doing, then turned his attention back to the Red Buff Camp. The Rek’Sai appeared from the fog of war a couple of seconds later. She attacked the Red Brambleback with an auto attack, then stopped. There was a slight hesitation as the fiery monster attacked her. It was as though it occurred to her that she should make sure the Olaf wasn’t anywhere near her. She walked into the brush next to her to get better vision of her surroundings. Fuck.

Lin Feng grinned. The Rek’Sai walked right into him. He pressed the Q key–Undertow! Lin Feng’s Olaf hurled his axe, hitting and slowing the Rek’Sai. He picked up his axe and threw it again. The Rek’Sai wanted to escape, but she had no Flash to jump over a wall and create some distance. There also weren’t any teammates that could come and help her, because she was in the middle of her Jungle, far away from the lanes. Another axe hit her. Her health was reaching critical levels. She tried to run towards Shanghai International’s base. But it was too far away. The axes kept coming until her health bar bottomed out.

《You have slain an enemy!》

Lin Feng clenched his fist and threw it up in the air, cheering, “Heck yeah! Invading is the best!”

✹

Viewers across different streams on various streaming platforms all felt the Rek’Sai’s pain. They’d all played games like this where an opponent was abusing them. These kinds of games were the most infuriating to play. They made you rage and scream at your screen. They made you fight the urge to punch a hole in the wall. They made you battle that voice in your head that was demanding you to throw your monitor out of the window. The viewers started flooding the chats.

「I’m not even playing the game, and I’m tilted just watching this!!」

「fk me! that olaf is so dirty」

「just feel bad for the rek… shit.. These kinda games are the worst」

「open mid? dont see those guys coming back from this」

「that fucking olaf knew reksai had no flash. fucking lowblow man」

「He played it brilliantly, no denying that. But come on, was that really necessary? Give that poor Rek’Sai a break!」

The mood was completely different in Su Xue’s stream. Her viewers enjoyed every second of this game. They loved seeing Lin Feng exploit the weaknesses of the opponent. His ‘show no mercy’-attitude made for some beautiful moments they would never forget. Some of the older viewers recalled the time that Lin Feng had set up a tent in bot lane, killing LovelyRose whenever she got back to lane. That was the kind of games they wanted to see! They flooded the chat with their excitement.

「lil bro the god! YEAAH!」

「NICE CATCH! Godlee does it again, WOOOOO!!!!!」

「We only bow to lil broooooo!!!!!」

「Hahahhahahahahahahhaha, didnt expect any different from lil bro!!」

「I pray to the Church of Lin Feng!!!!!1!11」

“Haha! Go Lin Feng!” Su Xue exclaimed, hopping up and down in her gaming chair. Then she turned to look at her webcam and said gleefully, “See! What did I tell you guys? Lin Feng’s the dirtiest player of ‘em all! No one’s dirtier than he is! Haha! That Jungler will want to uninstall the game by the end of this!”

✹

Shanghai International’s voice chat was quiet. It was a silence that made the air itself feel heavy. This game was supposed to be the moment they turned things around. After everything that had happened in the previous game, they’d agreed to leave that all behind them and focus on making it through to the Finals. They’d done their best to hype themselves and each other up. They’d prepared a game plan and worked out a strategy that was supposed to work. But before any of that could come into play, they were thrown on the backfoot in the Level 1 teamfight, directly followed by the Rek’Sai dying in her own Jungle. They found themselves back in the same mental state of the last game. Angry and frustrated. They were in no mood to talk.

Yan Liang took a deep breath. He looked at his teammates, chewing his frustration away on his lips, then said, “It’s fine, guys. Two kills, that’s all. Play it safe. Don’t give away anymore kills. We’re the better team. We have to win this.”

Back in the game, Lin Feng was on the move again. He had killed Rek’Sai and the Red Brambleback. There was nothing else for him in the Jungle, so he turned his attention to the top lane. He pinged on Shanghai International’s outer tower and said over the team’s voice chat, “Chen Ze, push out your lane. I’m coming!”

Chen Ze was initially being pushed back by Shanghai International’s Fiora. But when Lin Feng killed the Rek’Sai in Shanghai International’s Jungle, the Fiora directly stopped her aggression and retreated back towards her own outer tower. This gave Chen Ze the opportunity to have his Jarvan IV clear the Red minion wave and push the lane. The Blue minions marched towards Shanghai International’s outer tower and crashed into it. All the while, Lin Feng had his Olaf run through the Jungle into a brush behind the outer tower.

Yan Liang was paying careful attention to his minimap after the kill on Rek’Sai. He immediately noticed when the Fiora backed away and when the Jarvan IV took the opportunity to push the lane out. That’s odd. Why didn’t he freeze the lane? “Fishy,” he mumbled to himself. Another gank? That could… He made the decision right away. Something was going very wrong in the top lane. He had to be there and help his Toplaner out. So he had his Orianna fall back to the outer tower in the mid lane and Teleported to the Fiora, saying over the team’s voice chat, “I’m coming top!”

A pillar of red light descended on Shanghai International’s outer tower in the top lane. Lin Feng stared at it for a moment and then said over the team’s voice chat, “Oh. That was fast. Doesn’t matter. Abort, Chen Ze. I’ll go somewhere else.” He’d forced the Orianna to use her Teleport, a valuable Summoner Spell, and he hadn’t even had to do anything for it. On top of that, the Orianna would lose minions in the mid lane. He didn’t even need to gank to make this gank worth it!

Yan Liang was stewing in anger. He’d saved his Toplaner from a gank, probably. They never actually got vision on the Olaf. But he felt pretty confident that they’d stopped a gank. He had paid the price for it, though. He missed out on gold and experience in the mid lane and lost the small advantage he had built up over the Lissandra. Damn it! That damned Olaf! It’s the same every single fucking time! He was growing more irritated by the second. Lin Feng had beat him in Game 1. Lin Feng had beat him in Game 2. And now Lin Feng was strolling around in the Jungle, making Yan Liang’s entire team look like a bunch of beginners! Who the fuck does he think he is! He, he… Wait. Yan Liang suddenly remembered what had happened a week ago after the Quarterfinals. Chu Fang, the vice president of the Shanghai Esports Association, had come looking for Lin Feng. The two had interacted like they were old friends. Yan Liang turned away from his monitor to look at Lin Feng across the stage, mumbling, “How does he know Chu Fang? Just who the hell is he…”

✹

At 7 minutes, Yang Fan couldn’t hold the mid lane any longer. He just wasn’t good enough at the game to face off against a Master player. The Orianna always knew when to attack and she brought his health down to half. He was thinking of recalling back to base, trying to last hit a few more minions, when the Rek’Sai came for a gank. He smashed down on his D key–Flash! But the Rek’Sai was faster, flashing on top of his Lissandra and knocking her up into the air. Yang Fan adjusted his glasses, watching his screen turn grey, and said, “Shit! My bad. I was too late with my Flash. The Rek’Sai flash-engaged me. I won’t let it happen again. Sorry, guys.

Lin Feng shook his head and laughed. “No worries! You said the Rek’Sai flashed? I got this. Leave it to me. I’ll make her pay for killing you! Haha!”

After helping Yan Liang pick up a kill on the Lissandra, Shanghai International’s Jungler had his Rek’Sai path towards the bottom side of the Jungle. He was smiling ever so slightly again. The game was finally looking on the up. They were talking over the team’s voice chat again and he could feel his mood improving by the second. He had his Rek’Sai go to the Gromp Camp, located across from the Blue Buff Camp, and started attacking the big frog. And then he took an axe in the knee.

Lin Feng grinned and shouted, “It’s me again! Did you miss me? Haha!”

The Shanghai 16 School Tournament was the pathway to the professional League of Legends scene for the high schoolers of Shanghai. This was the big stage where everyone wanted to play and perform at! But there were also many people, both young and old, who wanted to watch the games. This was their chance to see the next generation of professional players! Some of them went to the venue, but there were far more who couldn’t make it. There were, after all, only 700 seats. So the Shanghai Esports Association had done the only logical thing. They’d approached different live streaming platforms and signed broadcasting deals with them. The Shanghai 16 School Tournament would be on the frontpage of every big streaming website for the Semifinals and Finals!

Chu Fang, who was the vice president of the Shanghai Esports Association, had put time, money, and effort into promoting the broadcast for the Shanghai 16 School Tournament. He had prepared targeted ads and bought mentions on the streams of influencers. All that hard work proved to be worth it. When the stream went live on Huya TV, it opened with 5,000 viewers and that number kept climbing higher with every passing second. Family, friends, and fellow students who couldn’t make it to the venue tuned in. Diehard League of Legends fans took this high school tournament as an appetizer for the Season 5 Worlds Finals that was scheduled the next day. Then there were the trolls who opened the stream just to make fun of the players. They believed that high schoolers were too young to be any good at the game, so they were rubbing their hands together in anticipation, ready to start trolling and riling people up.

「LEL 5k peepz watching nubs play XD go watch lovelyrose, maybe you’ll GIT GUD」

「shit i was watching smutsentinal vids and got bored, so i hopped on huya. Think this might even be worse. At least i can get a laugh out of that cupnoodles guy.」

「Can’t believe there are so many idiots who want to see high schoolers play… Bunch of pedos if you ask me.」

「go watch lspl or lpl replays. better waste of your time morons」

The first game between Shanghai High School and Tonji Affiliated started. More and more people joined the stream, curious to see what so many others were watching. It was a high school tournament. Most scoffed and thought about clicking away. But they quickly changed their minds when they saw how well the two teams were playing. These weren’t kids fooling around. These were full fledged players, displaying high level tactics and gameplay! In fact, it was almost indistinguishable from professional games in the LSPL, and maybe even the LPL!

「Are these guys really still in high school? They’re so good!」

「hoho woww, man, you’d almost feel bad for those tonji kids. They’re getting dumpstered XDDDDDDD」

「OH SNAP! look at the shanghai high school support’s name! HE”S A CHALLENGER!!!!! I KNOW HIM!!! HE”S FRIGGIN GOOOODDDDDD」

「KEK UwU UwU CARRY ME DADDY」

Shanghai High School and Tonji Affiliated both showed impeccable individual and team play. This quickly garnered respect from the viewers. More people kept joining the stream, many of them sticking around to see how the series would end. They found it hard to believe a group of high schoolers were this good. But the evidence was right in front of them. They watched until Shanghai High School won 3-0 over Tonji Affiliated High. And then they kept watching as the second Semifinal series got underway. High School 13 versus Shanghai International.

「I heard Shanghai International is about as good as Shanghai High School. someone confirm?」

「yo i watched them last year! Pretty sure their ad-carry got scouted for an LSPL team!?」

「WOWA. Forreals? That good????? We got more of this coming? SWWEEETTTTTT」

「pls let hs13 be better than tonji <33333 k thx」

「Lawl. HS13 sucks balls. Bunch of noobs that got lucky. GO SHANGHAI INTERNATIONAL!」

「Ripperoni in pepperoni High School 13」

The Shanghai International fans were spamming the chat. They were quick to talk their team up and High School 13 down. Many viewers expected a one-sided stomp. A quick series that would show why Shanghai International was an amazing team and why their ad-carry would make it onto the professional scene! But then the first game started. It was indeed a one-sided stomp, just that the Annie did all the stomping.

「THAT ANNIE! My sweetness! She deserves a cookie! SO SICK!!!」

「hahahha so much damage. I’m betting my left testicle that she’s getting banned next game, HARHAR」

「I’ll tattoo a dick on my forehead if she doesn’t get banned!!!!」

「screenshotted! Better get that ink gun ready bitch, cuz if you don’t imma find you.」

The second game went into Champion Select. The bans came and went and then the players started locking in their Champions. The viewers were trolling around in chat, having a good time and not really paying attention. That was, until Lin Feng locked in Twisted Fate. The chat quickly zoomed in on that.

「holy crap, that’s bm[mfn]bad mannered[/mfn] as fk!!!!」

「oh man, I bet you that midlaner from shanghai international is praying to his gods that this twisted fate is shitty as shit, hahahaha」

「eh, idk guys. tf into lb? my moneys on the lb」

「either way somebody’s booty bout to get slapped」

The game started. Lin Feng was pressured at the start, but quickly turned that around into an early kill. Then he patiently bided his time, farming minions in his lane and monsters in the jungle, until he hit Level 6. His Twisted Fate could finally use his ultimate skill–Destiny! He used this to gank bot lane and help his team pick up a kill. Then a few minutes later, he went to the bot lane again, this time with teleport, to help his team win big again. Lin Feng was carrying the game, just like in Game 1, and the viewers couldn’t get enough of him.

「look at the facecam! The midlaner from High School 13 is good AND cute!」

「he’s got it all…. so unfair. someone go and make him ugly pls.」

「I love how he’s showing SI’s Midlaner how to play TF. That’s some real BM right there!」

「such a HOTTIE! if only i was a few years younger >.<”」

「TEACH ME SENPAI! I WANNA BE GOD LIKE YOU!!!!」

「wait… i think i’ve seen him somewhere before.wasn’t he that kid that played with Nightsong in bot lane!? He was that Vayne, and Nightsnng was Blitz! why is he mid, i thought he was an adc main! lmaaaao.」

The number of viewers on the livestream grew to such an extent that it also started to get the attention of famous streamers. Amongst them was Twilight, a retired professional player. His viewers had asked him to open the stream and give his opinion on the level of gameplay. Twilight had played in the LPL, so they really wanted to know what he thought of these high schoolers. Twilight opened the stream and watched it. He planned to watch it for a few minutes and move on. But he soon forgot about the time. This was a good game. A really good game. The Twisted Fate especially left a deep impression on him. He ended up watching the entire game before finally turning to look at his webcam and saying, “That Twisted Fate, right? That kid’s got talent. His roams and awareness are insane. I can see him go pro.”

✹

Su Xue had told Lin Feng that she would be cheering for him in his upcoming matches. But it just so happened that she’d scheduled a duo queue session with Ol’ Black when Lin Feng was playing in the Semifinals. She’d apologized profusely to Lin Feng and explained the situation to him. He said he understood and that it really wasn’t a big deal. So she’d stayed home and was streaming with Ol’ Black. This gave her a large pool of potential new viewers, something she’d do anything for.

Ol’ Black was casually playing a few games with Su Xue, reading through his stream chat and replying to messages from his viewers. There wasn’t anything interesting happening at first, but then his viewers started talking about the tournament stream. He raised his eyebrows and said over the voice chat, “Hey, Snowfall, didn’t you say lil bro of yours is playing in the Shanghai 16 School Tournament? He made it to the semis, right?”

“Yeah. I guess he’s probably playing right now,” Su Xue replied. “Why?”

Ol’ Black said, “Some viewers are talking about it. Looks like the tournament is being streamed. Wanna go watch it?”

“Wait, WHAT?” Su Xue yelped. “It’s being live streamed? Yes! Of course! Let’s go watch it!”

This new bit of information also got a strong response from Su Xue’s viewers. They’d much rather see Lin Feng compete than watch the maid play some duo queue! So they took it upon themselves to announce that to her.

「Be a good maid and show us the stream! Then go fetch me some water! No wait! Get off the stream and bring water to lil bro! Hes probably thirsty right now!」

「SHOW US THE STREAM! WE WANNA SEE LIL BRO PLAY!!!!!」

「exit that queue! go watch lil bro! how did you not know this? this stupid maid. smh.」

「I’m only here for lil brooooooooo!!!!!!1!!! LIL BRO IS MY HERO」

Su Xue looked at the webcam and said, “Haha, you guys are so funny.” But she did as they asked, mostly because she herself wanted to watch Lin Feng play. She opened the Shanghai 16 School Tournament stream just in time to watch the Level 1 teamfight in Game 3 break out. They witnessed Thresh’s hook on the Rek’Sai, followed by Lin Feng chasing away four players from Shanghai International with only an axe. Su Xue couldn’t stifle her laughter as she said, “So cool! Go, Lin Feng! He made them all Flash away! Amazing!”

「AMAAAZZIINNNGGGGGG」

「666666666666 siicckckkkkkk playyzzzzz」

「dayummmm, look at that score! 2-0! If they win this, they’re through to the finals!」

「carry them to the finals, lil bro! IN LIL BRO WE TRUST!!!」

Su Xue cheered with her viewers, watching Lin Feng take the Blue Buff and then heading towards the Red Buff Camp on Shanghai International’s side of the map. “Ohhh! He’s invading! Lin Feng is invading! GoGoGo!”

It was time for Game 3 of the Semifinals match between High School 13 and Shanghai International! This was going to be a real thriller! The match of the century! 30 minutes that no one would ever forget! At least, that was what the crowd was desperately hoping for it to become. The previous two games had left them thoroughly disappointed, with both games being decided in the first 10 minutes. They wanted something more. The first signs of Game 3 looked promising. Lin Feng had switched to the Jungler-position, with a substitute taking his place in the mid lane. He’d been the most dangerous player on Summoner’s Rift this Semifinal. High School 13 had won the first two games because of him. And now he was going to play another role. Most players excelled at only one role. Everyone thought Lin Feng would be the same, so they didn’t understand why High School 13 made this substitution. Maybe it was overconfidence, arrogance, or a carefully planned strategy. Honestly, it didn’t matter which it was, as long as the change would put new life in this Semifinal.

Lin Feng played Olaf, a Champion he’d always liked. “Throw axe, pick up axe. Throw axe, pick up axe…” was how he explained it. That was the essence of Olaf. He was a viking with thick, burly muscles and two large axes. One of his skills was called Undertow. He could throw one of his axes forward. It would damage and slow all the minions, monsters, and Champions it passed through. Then he could chase it down and pick the axe up from the ground. That lowered the cooldown to almost zero, allowing him to throw it again.

High School 13 and Shanghai International started the game off fairly normally. They bought items in the shop and went into their own halves of the Jungle to ward. It looked like the same start of the last two games and some people in the audience started booing. But then something different happened. Shanghai International gathered up as a team and moved towards the bottom side river to place a deep ward near the Blue Team’s Red Buff Camp. High School 13 was gathering up in the brush in the middle of the river. Shanghai International would have to walk through it to place their ward. The crowd got rowdy in anticipation.

Westwind’s face lit up when he saw what was happening. He started beaming, shouting into his microphone, “OH! OH! A Level 1 teamfight!” The last two games had an uninspiring first couple of minutes. He would read out the team compositions, and discuss potential game plans with his co-caster Silent Reed. He could still hype up the crowd, but it wasn’t nearly so much fun as hyping them up for an actual play! He clutched the microphone tighter in his grasp and said, “WOO! I hope you guys watching are as excited as I am! Let’s fight!”

Silent Reed smiled and said, “This can go either way! Yan Liang’s team has the Morgana. But High School 13 has Thresh’s hook and Olaf’s axe! Anything can happen!”

The people in the crowd weren’t as reserved as Silent Reed. She was the caster. She had to be neutral and evaluate both teams. They didn’t. They could say whatever they were thinking. Right now, they thought it was obvious who was going to win this Level 1 teamfight.

“3-0. Game over.”
“Man, I can’t believe this shit luck. All I wanted was one good game.”
“Thresh and Olaf. Lol. Easy win.”
“High School 13 doesn’t even have to try. Shanghai International is just giving it to them…”
“GO LIN FENG! Kick some ass!”
“YAN LIANG! Don’t go in! GO BACK!”

Shanghai International’s team was walking through the bottom side of their Jungle, along the wall of the Blue Buff Camp. There was an opening to the river here, half of it covered by a brush. They headed down through the brush and into the river together, while Yan Liang was explaining part of their game plan over the team’s voice chat. “We want Rek’Sai to make an early gank in bot to help keep that Jinx down. Then we want to place our attention on mid, so th—” They stood in the middle of the river. There was one small brush right in front of them. The Thresh from High School 13 walked towards it, while the Jinx stepped out of it. “SHIT! BACK! BACK! BACK!” Yan Liang yelled over his team’s voice chat.

High School 13’s entire team was hiding in that one brush. Lin Feng was the first to see the players from Shanghai International appear right in front of them. He directly pinged on top of them and shouted over his team’s voice chat, “OH! Look! Them! Let’s fight! Wei Dong, ENGAGE! Kill them all!”

Wei Dong pressed down on his D key–Flash! His Thresh disappeared with a mottled flash of light and reappeared on the other side of the brush, right on top of Shanghai International’s team. He followed up with Death Sentence. The sickle cut through the air and struck the Rek’Sai, hooking her. Then the Thresh walked backwards, dragging the Rek’Sai back with him.

Westwind couldn’t contain himself any longer, much like the crowd. There was action! He shouted into the microphone, “THE HOOK LANDS! THE HOOK LANDS!”

“Back. Back! RETREAT!” Yan Liang shouted over the team’s voice chat again, while having his Orianna run away. They had the weaker Level 1 team and they were caught out of position. That was reason enough for him to not even consider fighting. His teammates agreed. They quickly followed after him, the Morgana throwing a Dark Binding behind her to slow High School 13 down. But she was too quick. High School 13 hadn’t even started chasing after them yet. The Dark Binding struck the Thresh. He was the only target on High School 13’s team she didn’t want to hit. He didn’t deal any damage and had already used his only available skill. Hitting him was no different from wasting her team’s only crowd control skill.

Lin Feng laughed and shouted over his team’s voice chat, “I’m going in!” Then he activated Ghost. His Olaf received a burst of speed as he charged after the players from Shanghai International. He threw his axe at them, hitting three and slowing them–Undertow! They continued running away and he chased after them, leaving his teammates behind.

Tang Bingyao didn’t follow Lin Feng. She had her Jinx take out her minigun and fired away at the locked down Rek’Sai, shearing away the Champion’s health. Chen Ze and Yang Fan also had their Champions attack the Rek’Sai. They were still Level 1, so they didn’t deal a lot of damage. But it was enough.

The Rek’Sai’s health dropped below 20% before she broke free from the Thresh’s hook. She then panic-flashed towards a wall, hoping to jump through it to the other side. But she hit the middle of the wall and was thrown back by it. She had no more abilities to escape from the four Champions attacking her and lost the last bit of her health.

《First Blood!》

Meanwhile, Lin Feng was in Shanghai International’s bottom side Jungle. He had his Olaf pick up the axe he’d thrown and then hurled it at the three Champions in front of him again, reapplying the slow. Then he continued running after them fearlessly. He didn’t need his teammates right now. He was Olaf! All he needed was his axe!

The three Shanghai International players were frantic. There was an Olaf hot on their heels, who was constantly slowing them. The Jungle suddenly looked a lot bigger than it normally did. Safety was far away and it felt like any second now, another axe could hit them. There was nothing they could do to stop the Olaf, short of killing him. But that didn’t seem realistic with the rest of High School 13 right behind him. So they resorted to the only method they knew for a fact would work. They flashed away.

The Level 1 teamfight drew to a close. The smoke settled and it became very clear who’d come out the winner. High School 13 had used three Summoner Spells; Wei Dong had used Flash and Exhaust, and Lin Feng had used Ghost. Meanwhile, they’d forced Shanghai International to waste four Flashes and they’d also picked up First Blood. At this point, this game was theirs to lose. They knew it, as did the people in the crowd.

“Damn.”
“Holy what? That Olaf is fucking nuts!”
“Someone, pinch me. Please. This can’t be real. I must be having a nightmare. I must be…”
“WOOO! LIN FENG, LET’S GOOOOO!”
“That’s game right there. Another easy win for High School 13. GREAT.”
“Shanghai International got wrecked!”
“NO RESPECT! 1vs4 chase and Shanghai International just ran away! HAHA!”

In the private seating area, the players from Shanghai High School were finally starting to realize what was happening. Even after the second game, they still thought Shanghai International would turn it around and make it through to the Finals. Shanghai High School’s Midlaner was the first to voice what they were all thinking, “Shit. Are they really going to 3-0 Shanghai International? What the eff is this?”

Zeng Rui didn’t say anything. He sat in his chair, eyes wide and mouth hanging open, staring at the player at the center of this all. That thundering dumbass… How did he… In the previous rounds of the tournament, it was very easy to see through High School 13’s tactic. But that was mostly because there was no real tactic. They were, for the most part, winning games purely through the skill of one player. This Semifinal was different. High School 13 was playing really well. They had a well thought out game plan and executed it perfectly. How did they… Zeng Rui shook his head. He couldn’t even come up with a proper analysis for Game 3. It just didn’t make any sense to him. High School 13 had gained so much from that Level 1 teamfight. “How… How…” he mumbled on repeat.

Back on stage, Shanghai International’s players were sitting quietly behind their computers, dazed. This game was supposed to be theirs! They were going to mount a comeback and show everyone why they were the favourites! Yan Liang’s lips started quaking from a mix of rage and fear. FUCK! We needed first blood! We! Us! Not them. Not again. Why! Why? WHY! It doesn’t make ANY SENSE! IT DOESN’T! WHY? No. Argh! I… NO! WHAT! AHHHH!

Liu Zhengjie glanced across the stage at Tang Bingyao, mumbling, “That stupid fucking girl. Lucky again.” He’d just talked with his team about making sure she wouldn’t pop off again. Now the first minion wave had just spawned and she already had a kill. He had to lane against her again starting from a deficit. “God fucking dammit! These useless motherfuckers!”

✹

Lin Feng had his Olaf go towards the Blue Buff Camp, happily humming. Then he turned to look across the stage and saw the expressions and glares from Shanghai International’s players. He started laughing and said, “Looks like they’re tilting again!” He then turned back to look at his screen and had his Olaf kill the Blue Sentinel. After which he headed straight for Shanghai International’s Red Buff Camp.

Chen Ze was in top lane, which was closest to the Red Team’s Red Buff Camp. He warned, “Be careful! Don’t overdo it!” But Lin Feng hardly listened. He just laughed it off, full of confidence, and said, “It’s fine! Don’t worry. I’m really good at invading with Olaf, too!”

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…