An Xin clicked around the mid lane, constantly glancing at the minimap, mumbling the presumed location of Team Guangzhou’s Lee Sin to herself. He started Red I think… I would, anyway. So I just need to hover near the top side of the lane, as far from the Red Buff Camp as possible. He won’t gank me then. Perfect! She smiled and targeted a melee minion. Her Morgana conjured some dark magic and flung it at the minion, killing it. This is more like it. People always underestimate Midlaners who play Morgana. ‘Oh, Morgana is a Support, she isn’t a Midlaner!’ She shook her head and giggled. Morgana is one of the best Midlane champions, if you know how to play her!

“That girl!” Zephyr exclaimed from the caster desk. He shook his head and continued, “She’s playing solid… Rock solid! NOW WAVE YOUR HEADS IN THE AIR LIKE YOU JUST DON’T CARE IF YOU GOT THAT REFERENCE!”

Su Xue turned her head to look at Zephyr and shook her head. Really? Really…? She then giggled and replied, “Didn’t I tell you? She’s amazing! Look at that first minion wave! She got all six minions and Goalie missed one! She’s already seized the advantage!”

Zephyr nodded and said into his microphone, “The creep score advantage is cool, but what I’m really finding— Look! There she does it again! It’s like she knows exactly where Lee Sin is! Did you see how at the start of the lane she was hovering towards the top because Team Guangzhou’s Red Buff Camp is on the bot side? She knew Lee Sin started there! And now that Lee Sin is moving towards his Blue Buff Camp on the top side of the Jungle, she’s positioning herself in the right half of her lane, the side that’s closer to bot lane!”

“Oh shit! That caster-dude is right! She’s really playing on the right side of her lane now!”

“She’s so cool! I wanna play like her and be good at Jungle and mid!”

“Team Shanghai is the coolest team with the coolest players!”

“And here I thought Team Guangzhou was gonna win this series… Boy, was I wrong!”

Su Xue clenched her fists in excitement and shouted, “Woooo! BunBu—Morgana! I knew she could hold her own against Goalie! She’s even winning!”

“Eh, winning?” Zephyr asked, scrunching his eyebrows. He turned his head to look at Su Xue and said into his microphone, “She’s got a nice start to the game, we can all see that. But winning? It’s a little too early to say that. We’re only 2 minutes into the game. Let’s wait and see what happens!”

“Mm-mhm! Mm-mhm!” Su Xue replied, nodding. She then added, “She’ll win. Just keep watching. We’ll see her win!”

✹

Team Guangzhou’s Jungler said over the team’s voice chat, “Want me to gank mid, Goalie?”

Goalie glared at the Morgana on his screen. He watched every tiny movement she made and grinded his teeth. This stupid, stupid… He forced himself to take a deep breath. She does know how to play mid. And she knows  exactly where and when a Jungler can gank from. With the way she’s positioning herself, ganking would be a colossal waste of time. He pinged Lee Sin, who was running towards the river brush directly above the mid lane, to retreat. A sharp sound beeped in their headphones and a yellow ping flashed on the minimap. He said over the team’s voice chat, “Ganking now-Waste of time. Later.”

“Rodger-dodger,” Team Guangzhou’s Jungler replied. He then looked around his map. His pathing through the Jungle had included a gank. One that was now off the table. This messed up all of his original timing and planning. Just very slightly. But it was enough to snowball into something bigger if he wasn’t careful. Get into it! Come on! He shook his head and focused on his Jungle camps. Wolves and then Wraiths? Yeah, that’ll work.

Goalie felt his stomach contract. He closed his eyes for a brief moment and then opened them again to stare at Morgana. Something’s off. It’s like… have I played against her before? No. No, that can’t be. He gritted his teeth and breathed in deeply. Keep it together, Goalie. All I need to do is farm to Level 6 and then start making a real impact on the game. I’ll carry it from there! He nodded at himself and breathed the pent up breath and frustration out.

✹

Zeng Rui wasn’t feeling too comfortable in the Jungle. He understood the basics and he followed them to a tee. But there was something that felt wrong about what he was doing. Like he didn’t belong in the Jungle. Come on, ZengZeng— His eyes grew wide and round and he glanced at Lin Feng. Zeng Rui! Rui! He focused on the minimap, trying to push that mishap out of his mind, and noticed that Goalie was pushing against An Xin’s Morgana. He asked over the team’s voice chat, “Do you want a gank mid?”

“No need, I’m good!” An Xin replied, smiling. She glanced at her minimap and advised, “Lee was near mid from the top side. He’ll be ganking top soon. Go counter that.”

Zeng Rui nodded. If I can help Rumble pick up an early kill, that’ll really help the team. BunBun is right, I should go top. He glanced at the bot lane and asked, “Bot is good, right?”

“Yep!” Lin Feng replied. He grinned and added, “We’re all good! Tang Tang and I are about to stomp our lane!” He then turned to look at Tang Bingyao and asked, “Right? Right!?”

Tang Bingyao nodded, distracted. Lin Feng talked a lot and she usually just let him talk while focusing on the game herself. Right now her focus was on protecting Lin Feng’s Kalista with her Braum. He’s jumping around so fluently on his Kalista. I need to keep running around just to stay near him and then I also need to push away the Botlaners from Team Guangzhou… That stupid Seo… Wait, what did Lin Feng ask again? Something, something, right? She nodded and mumbled, “Mhm!” She then focused back on the bot lane, barely registering Zeng Rui’s acknowledgement.

Kalista and Braum were generally considered weaker than Tristana and Thresh at every stage of the game. But this was only because Kalista required such a high level of skill that there were very few players who truly excelled at her. Lin Feng was one of the few who possessed the mechanical skills to bring out Kalista’s true potential. This potential came largely down to her passive skill—Martial Pose. When attacking with an auto attack or the skill Pierce, Kalista lunged a short distance. Lin Feng expertly used this to hop in and out of range to attack Thresh and Tristana without allowing them to fight back.

Tang Bingyao squinted her eyes and held her breath every time Lin Feng’s Kalista jumped forward. She had her Braum follow, ready to jump in. Ready to provide what assistance she could. The Botlaners from Team Guangzhou were far too focused on Lin Feng, giving her some room. She found a gap between the minions and cast Winter’s Bite! Her Braum propelled a jet of ice that struck Thresh and slowed him!

“Nice engage, Tang Tang!” Lin Feng exclaimed. He had his Kalista lunge forward by last hitting a minion. The experience from the kill brought him to Level 2 and he learned Rend, which allowed him to pull out the spears his Kalista had lodged in enemy champions for further damage. He then hurled a spear at Seo’s Tristana and lunged to the side, narrowly dodging Thresh’s Death Sentence. “Woo, close!” Lin Feng said, laughing. He then hurled an empowered spear at Thresh with Pierce and used the lunge from Martial Pose to get in range and follow up with an auto attack.

Two spears were lodged in Thresh’s body and he had two stacks of Concussive Blow on him. Two more would stun him. Team Guangzhou’s Support gritted his teeth and clicked back towards his Blue outer tower. A third spear struck him as he turned around, and a fourth stunned him when he tried to run away. “Seo!” he shouted over the team’s voice chat.

Seo narrowed his eyes. But rather than focus his attacks on Kalista, he auto attacked a caster minion. That fucking beggar! Who does he think he is? The bot lane is my territory! PISS OFF! He ground his teeth in anger and humiliation. He knew very well that trading auto attacks with Kalista wasn’t going to do any good. His Tristana had to hit Level 2 to level the playing field first. So he fired another two auto attacks on the caster minion to kill it. I’ll get you! Just you wait! I’ma get you, you fucking fugly stupid beggar! I’m going to send your homeless ass back to the cardboard box you call a house!

Lin Feng knew he couldn’t kill the Thresh. Both of Team Guangzhou’s Botlaners still had all their Summoner Spells available. So rather than pushing further, he lunged back after the stun from Concussive Blow took effect. When his Kalista was out of Tristana’s range, Lin Feng activated Rend. His Kalista clenched her fist in a sudden burst, pulling on her telekinetic link with her spears! They wrenched out of the minions,, they wrenched out of Seo’s Tristana and, most importantly, they wrenched themselves out of Thresh.

Team Guangzhou’s Thresh lost a little more than half his health in that exchange. He was forced to use his health potion, putting him at a distinct disadvantage compared to Tang Bingyao’s Braum. He grimaced and said over the team’s voice chat, “Sorry. Sorry.”

“SORRY?” Seo screamed over voice chat. He abruptly turned his head to look at his Support and shouted in Korean, “Can’t you even hit a damn Q? How stupid are you? Trash! No! You’re more useless than trash! You’re a fucking useless waste of trash!” He sighed loudly. Furiously.

Team Guangzhou’s Support didn’t speak Korean. He didn’t know what Seo said, but he did hear the anger in his ad-carry’s voice and understood the frustration. He felt a similar frustration. This series against Team Shanghai wasn’t going anything like they’d imagined it would. We’re losing. Losing! And then I miss a simple Death Sentence! I need to start hitting them or we’re done for! Goalie and Seo are our star players, but that doesn’t mean I can sit still and be useless! I need to Support them! I will! He nodded at himself and tightened his grip on his mouse. I will!

Seo didn’t pay his Support any further attention. He just stared–glared–at Tang Bingyao’s Braum and then back at Lin Feng’s Kalista. How am I not winning these trades? I’m Tristana and he’s Kalista. I’m supposed to be winning this lane! I… I… He breathed in long and deep and briefly closed his eyes. How is he better than her? How is he getting auto attacks in when I can’t? How is he doing this? It shouldn’t be possible. I can’t be… He nodded, faster and faster. He then opened his eyes and stared straight at Lin Feng’s Kalista. You camped the shit out of me when you were playing mid. Now you want to fuck with me by playing ad-carry? Piss. The fuck. Off! You think I’ma let you toy with me? FUCK OFF! FUCK! OFF!

✹

Team Guangzhou’s Lee Sin ganked the top lane at 4 minutes. He dashed at Zhang Hao’s Rumble with Resonating Strike and worked together with his Irelia to whittle his health down. Zeng Rui’s Jarvan IV ran into the lane a couple of seconds later. He dashed at Lee Sin and Irelia with his flag-toss combo and knocked them both up. He shouted over the team’s voice chat, “Lee! Lee!”

Zhang Hao’s hand was trembling from the nerves. He was playing at a stage he’d never played at against an opponent who was supposed to be stronger, yet his team was at matchpoint. He used his Flamespitter and intended to push past Irelia towards Lee Sin. But then his screen flashed red. His health had dropped below 20%. Shit! I’m going to die! What do I… He bit on his lips and hesitated, his Rumble’s Flamespritter spraying fire on Irelia and auto attacking her.

Shit! I’m gonna die! I’m gonna die! I’m dead! Zhang Hao’s heart was slamming against his ribcage. All he saw was his health falling down. I don’t want to give them first blood! I can’t! I need to get away! He glanced back at his Red outer tower, shaking his head in panic. Flash! FLASH! A veil of light wrapped around his Rumble and carried him a short distance towards his outer tower. But Irelia followed right behind him. She then attacked him with her blade, and again.

《First Blood!》

Team Guangzhou’s Lee Sin had lost most of his health and mimicked Zhang Hao’s flash. Zeng Rui in turn mimicked the flash from Team Guangzhou’s Irelia and then continued attacking Lee Sin. Lee Sin had more health remaining than Zhang Hao’s Rumble did when he flashed, but the distance to his outer tower was larger for Lee Sin than it’d been for Zhang Hao. This gave Zeng Rui’s Jarvan IV all the time he needed to strike his opponent down.

《You have slain an enemy!》

When the voice announcer boomed in his ears, Zeng Rui glanced at Zhang Hao and said over the team’s voice chat, “Why didn’t you focus on Lee Sin with me?”

“Sorry, sorry,” Zhang Hao replied, grimacing. “I panicked. My screen started turning red and I thought that if I Flashed away, I could survive and then you could get the kill. I don’t know. I’m sorry.”

✹

The fight in bot lane raged back and forth. Both sides made small missteps, forcing them to use their health potions. It was around the 5th minute of the game that both sides had nothing left. Their health bars were running low and reason dictated that they had to recall back to base and restock on health potions and recover their health bars. But neither side did that. They kept pushing, kept searching for openings to abuse, kept trying for the kill.

Lin Feng narrowed his eyes and mumbled, “Interesting. He isn’t half bad. Nothing like Silent mind you. Nor Shi Hang from four years ago… But still, he isn’t half bad.” He chuckled and added, “Doesn’t mean I won’t stomp him all the same though!” Hmm… I do have to pay some attention here. Our wards have run out… Our wards have run out. He said over the team’s voice chat, “Lee is ganking bot. Look out, Tang Tang.”

“Mhm!” Tang Bingyao replied. She then briefly hesitated before asking, “Want me to go back to base and grab some wards?”

“Nah, we gucci,” Lin Feng answered, laughing. “Lee Sin’ll be here before the wards run out. Besides, if they think they can take this fight, let them think that! It’ll make it that much more fun when we stomp all over them!”

Across the stage in Team Guangzhou’s soundproof booth, Seo was grinning. Laughing. He glared at Lin Feng’s Kalista and mumbled under his breath, “Yeah, you’re better than that fugly bitch. Way better… You’re beating me in CS! But that won’t mean much once you die to this gank. And you’re too stupidly arrogant to even notice it!”

“Push, push!” Team Guangzhou’s Jungler said over the team’s voice chat as he had his Lee Sin run up the bot lane, making sure to stay far enough back so that the Red minions from Team Shanghai couldn’t spot him.

“GoGoGo!” Seo shouted over the team’s voice chat.

Team Guangzhou’s Support nodded. He had his Thresh run forward all the way towards Team Shanghai’s side of the lane and then threw his Lantern behind him with Dark Passage! He waited a brief moment, just long enough for Lee Sin to click on it, and then flashed. A veil of light fell over his Thresh and carried him a short distance forward, right on top of Lin Feng’s Kalista. Flay! He whipped his chain and scythe back and knocked up and slowed Kalista! He followed up with Death Sentence.

Lin Feng chuckled when he saw Thresh’s Flash and grinned when he saw Lee Sin flying in right after. He hit an auto attack on Thresh and lunged to the side, dodging the Death Sentence. There was a short cooldown for his passive. Team Guangzhou’s Lee Sin used this to mark him with Sonic Wave. But that was exactly what Lin Feng wanted. There’s no way he can resist. And… here… we… go! He slammed down on his D key–Flash! A mottled flash of light wrapped around Lin Feng’s Kalista and carried her towards her outer tower. Team Guangzhou’s Lee Sin had activated Resonating Strike and was now flying after her, unable to control his movements.

“Tang Tang!” Lin Feng shouted over the team’s voice chat.

“Mhm!” Tang Bingyao replied. When Lee Sin landed inside the range from the outer tower, she had her Braum hit him with Winter’s Bite! Freezing ice was propelled from his shield and applied a slow and the first stack for Concussive Blow!

“Oh my god! That’s so beautiful!” Su Xue exclaimed. She leaned towards her microphone and continued, “She dodges the hook and then tricks Lee Sin into tower range! Oh my god!”

“Holy shit…” Zephyr mumbled. “That’s… That’s… Wow!”

“WIN FENG!”

“WIN FENG!”

“WIN FENG!”

Lin Feng’s Kalista threw a spear at Lee Sin before he even landed, lunging further underneath her tower. She followed up with another one, applying the third stack for Concussive Blow. What followed was a brief moment in which Lee Sin could Flash, in which he could escape. But he’d used his Flash in the top lane. He couldn’t escape. And then the third spear struck him and applied the fourth and final stack of Concussive Blow. He was stunned underneath the enemy outer tower.

Red team’s outer tower charged up and then fired an energy shot at Team Guangzhou’s Lee Sin! Outside the tower’s range, Tristana and Thresh were trying to run interference, to draw away attention from Lee Sin and allow him to escape. But the outer tower, as well as Lin Feng and Tang Bingyao, ignored them. They all focused their full attention on Lee Sin. Until his health dropped to the last few percentages. That was when Lin Feng mumbled, “Rend!” His Kalista clenched her fist to pull on the telekinetic strings attached to her spears. The spears were ripped out from Lee Sin, the subsequent damage killing him!

《You have slain an enemy!》

“Holy shit! Dude! Holy shit! Did you see that? Did you?” Zuo Cheng asked his teammates from Zhejiang University. He then leaned over his Toplaner and shouted to the players from Fudan University, “Dudes, dudes! Holy shit! Did you see what a beast Lin Feng is? What a beast! Damn! Did you see how he stomped Goalie? That was intense as all shits! That penta at the end there? I thought for sure he wasn’t going to get it, but then he did!”

Qiu Yijie from Fudan University stared at the large LCD screen above the stage. It was showing the game’s highlights and all of them featured Riven. He shook his head and mumbled, “I knew they were good. But… But there’s good and there’s this. How did he… That penta at the end? Wow!”

“It’s, it’s… yeah,” Sun Ruinian agreed. He looked at Zuo Cheng and said, “Shi Hang warned us about him–”

“As did Aurous us,” Qiu Yijie interjected.

Sun Ruinian glanced at the Support from Fudan University and then continued, “Shi Hang and I guess also Aurous… Two Midlaners from the LPL are telling us to watch out for that kid from Team Shanghai. We should’ve seen this coming, yet somehow I still find it hard to believe. He didn’t just beat Goalie. He stomped him!”

Zhejiang University and Fudan University were both from East China and had played against Team Shanghai already. They had a level of understanding about Lin Feng. The same couldn’t be said for the other competing teams or the fans up in the stands. They were in shock. The team hyped up to become the eventual Champions were on the brink of being knocked out.

Murmurs swept through the audience. There was a distinct difference between being told a team was good and seeing them being good. They’d all heard about how Lin Feng had beaten AyDeeCee and how Team Shanghai had bested Zhejiang University. But it wasn’t until this series against Team Guangzhou that it started to dawn on people just how good Team Shanghai was. Fans and competing teams alike started to agree with each other that Team Shanghai wasn’t some underdog and that they weren’t some dark horse appearing out of nowhere, they were real competitors competing for the championship title, and they had been since the very start of the tournament. They were the team to beat.

Fan Yuan was the manager for Team Beijing. He was sitting with his team in the player seating area, listening to the lively discussion around him. He finally turned his attention to Team Shanghai’s soundproof booth and focused on the player standing at the center of all this. Lin Feng. Who are you? He chewed on his lips and scrunched his eyebrows. I thought I knew who you were. We watched you play against Zhejiang University. We prepared for that level of play! And then. Then you do this? Goalie isn’t some random Midlaner in Bronze, yet you made him look like that… He shook his head, troubled. How could I have underestimated you this much…? I should’ve known better…

“I think…” Fan Yuan started, dragging it out until his team members all turned to look at him. “I think we need to stop making jokes about how bad Team Shanghai is and start to really worry about them.”

Zhang Hongyi stared through the glass windows from Team Shanghai’s soundproof booth at Zeng Rui with bloodshot eyes. What is this bullshit!? Your useless ass should’ve been knocked out by now! Dammit! He replied through gritted teeth, “Stupid Koreans can’t get anything right.”

“Fan Yuan is right,” Yu Ping said. His stomach clenched when the words left his mouth. It was difficult to admit, because it wasn’t Team Shanghai that impressed him, or worried him. He looked at Lin Feng and narrowed his eyes. Those Riven mechanics were so damn smooth. Everything just worked out. It always does for you, somehow. I need to admit that maybe it isn’t luck. Maybe you’re actually that good. He rubbed his face and groaned. Why is it so hard to admit? He’s better than me. He is better than me. Fuck! He quietly added, “He’s good.”

✹

Chu Fang leaned back in his chair, relaxed. Smiling. There was a short break between the games. That was the opportunity a coach had to redirect his team and prepare them for what was coming next. But Chu Fang wasn’t the coach for Team Shanghai, he was the manager. He took care of everything outside of League of Legends, so that when Team Shanghai had to play, they were at their best. It was different for Manager/Coach Yin from Team Guangzhou. He was very much hands on. And that was what Chu Fang was enjoying right now. He watched the metaphorical smoke rising up above Coach Yin’s head and he laughed as Coach Yin kicked a chair and then stormed up onto the stage.

“Poor guy doesn’t know what hit him!” Chu Fang said to no one in particular. He then turned his attention to Team Shanghai’s soundproof booth. Through the glass panels he watched his team huddle up in a circle. They’re looking good in this series. And with Zeng Rui and BunBun taking care of the coaching part, there’s nothing for me to worry about. I can just… He glanced back at Team Guangzhou’s soundproof booth, where Coach Yin was visibly screaming and yelling at his players. I can enjoy the show. He started laughing loudly.

✹

Zeng Rui looked at the faces from his teammates that were so close to his. A shiver ran up and down his body. This was a level of intimacy he wasn’t comfortable with. But he also understood how it helped team morale, so he pushed through his own struggles and focused on the job ahead. He said, “Team Guangzhou is probably tilting hard right now. Let’s push this third game and secure the win.”

Zhang Hao raised his head and looked across the stage at Team Guangzhou’s soundproof booth. He laughed and said, “They are tilted! Look at their coach! He’s losing it–”

“Come on, focus,” Zeng Rui interrupted. He turned his head to look at Tang Bingyao and asked, “You were struggling at the end there. Are you good to go one more game?”

Tang Bingyao bit on her lips and looked down at the ground, gently caressing her painful pinky. I’m not letting the team down! I’ll push through it! Mhm! She looked up at Zeng Rui and mumbled, “I think… Yeah, maybe. Mhm.”

“What about Lin Feng’s plan?” An Xin asked. “The one from last night.”

Lin Feng glanced at An Xin and then started grinning. He clenched his fist and replied, “Yeah! We haven’t punished them nearly enough! We should go with my plan! I told you it’s a great plan! Imagine their faces when we stomp them! They’ll be so mad!”

Zeng Rui’s eyes grew wide and round. I… I thought… That was just a joke, right? You don’t really plan on… He looked at An Xin with a mix of confusion and worry and asked, “You’re joking, right?”

“Why would I joke about that?” An Xin asked. She shrugged and added, “I think it’s a fun plan. Let’s go with it!”

“You sure…?” Zeng Rui asked.

An Xin nodded. She winked at Zeng Rui and said, “Don’t worry about it. It’ll work out. Trust us!”

✹

Zephyr sat back down at the caster desk and rolled his shoulders. He looked at Su Xue next to him and smiled back at her. “You ready?” he asked.

“Yep!” Su Xue replied, excited. She pointed at the monitor and added, “I think they’re about to start!”

Zephyr turned his attention to the main monitor and nodded. He replied, “They’re all in the lobby. They’ll start any– There we go! It’s starting!” He glanced at the camera in front of them. A small red light started flickering on it. They were live again. He grabbed his microphone and said, “We’re back for the third game between Team Guangzhou and Team Shanghai! And what a series this has been so far, don’t you agree, EveningSnowfall?”

“Mm-mhm! Mm-mhm!” Su Xue replied, nodding. “Team Shanghai is showing Team Guangzhou every corner of the Rift! And I can’t begin to imagine how Team Guangzhou feels after that penta kill in the previous game! They were looking like they were going to make a comeback and then, well, boom! All their chances were gone because Lin Feng got a penta kill on his Riven!”

“And what a penta kill that was!” Zephyr continued. He shook his head and said, “It sent chills down my spine! I got goosebumps from that penta! That was the best penta and the best play of the tournament so far! Huh, it might even be the first penta of the tournament. I wonder if we’ll get another one…”

Su Xue laughed and said, “Me too! I can’t wait to see Lin Feng get another penta!” Her eyes grew round as she heard her own voice in her headphones. Shit! I need to stop doing that. She shook her head and looked at the large monitor. She pointed at it and said, “Look! They’re racing through Champion Select!”

Zephyr looked at Su Xue and chuckled. He then turned his head to focus on the monitor and replied, “They really are. Bans are done and they’re almost– They’re through Champion Select! That was the fastest I’ve seen in a while! Let’s see who they’ve all picked…”

Round of 16 Winter Collegiate Cup, Game 3

Team Guangzhou (Blue) versus Team Shanghai (Red)

Top: Irelia versus Rumble

Jungle: Lee Sin versus Jarvan IV

Mid: Twisted Fate versus Morgana

Ad-carry: Tristana versus Kalista

Support: Thresh versus Braum

“That is a surprise!” Zephyr said into his microphone. “Look at that mid pick from Goalie! Twisted Fate! Now, mind you, Twisted Fate isn’t a bad pick. He’s a very strong pick even! But Goalie is known for his AP assassins. He hasn’t played anything but AP assassins this entire tournament! Until now!”

Su Xue grabbed her microphone and took over. She said, “It looks like the pressure is getting to them! They know they need to change something if they want to win. Looks like this is their last ditch effort to turn the tides and get a game back against Team Shanghai!”

“Wait, wait! Hold up!” Zephyr suddenly said. He scrunched his eyebrows and looked at his screen again. Team Guangzhou and Team Shanghai were in the loading screen. There were two rows of five Champions. Beneath each Champion portrait stood a Summoner Name. He focused on the names below Team Shanghai’s Champions and muttered, “An Xin is playing in the mid lane, Zeng Rui in the Jungle, Lin Feng as ad-carry and Tang Bingyao the Support? What?”

“Are they crazy!?”

“Hahaha! I love this! The disrespect!”

“Imagine if they beat Team Guangzhou like this? I’ll bet you those guys from Team Guangzhou will uninstall the game and tell their friends they never even played anyway!”

“It would be hilarious if Team Shanghai won. But… What if they lose? Why would they risk this? Isn’t this just giving Team Guangzhou a way back into this series?”

“Cocky kids will be cocky kids. Hopefully they’ll learn some humility from this game.”

Su Xue smiled. She’d been there the previous night when Lin Feng came up with the idea. This is something only Lin Feng could come up with! She pushed the microphone against her lips and said, “I have some secret information. Earlier, before this series, I spoke with Team Shanghai and they told me about this strategy. They made me promise not to say a word about it unless they used it. So I can tell you guys now…–” 

“Tell us!” Zephyr exclaimed. He looked at Su Xue and added, “What is the strategy!?”

“There really isn’t much to it,” Su Xue explained. She giggled and continued, “Lin Feng and An Xin are very good players. They can play multiple roles. So as for this game? The plan they have going in? It’s to confuse their opponents and make their opponents underestimate them! And if I look at Team Guangzhou’s soundproof booth…” she pointed at the monitor which showed the players from Team Guangzhou furiously arguing, “… look at them! I think Team Shanghai’s plan is working! Team Guangzhou is going to be so upset that they forget to pay attention! By the time they do, they’ll realize that Team Shanghai isn’t being cocky. All they’re doing is putting on a good show!”

✹

Zeng Rui glanced past Lin Feng at An Xin, then looked back at his monitor. At his Jarvan IV. How did I let them talk me into this? Why am I playing Jungle…? I’m a terrible Jungler! I only know the normal pathing and I do know where to ward and everything, but I’m not BunBun! I don’t have her awareness! I don’t know when to be where and I don’t know exactly how hard I can push these Champions! I don’t even know about the Champions in the lanes I’m ganking! I’m the Support! I… I need to Support in the Jungle. Yeah. I can do that. He glanced at An Xin again. I get why we’re doing this. We kind of had to…

Tang Bingyao’s finger injury was causing her enough trouble that she couldn’t play her best game. And even her best game wasn’t enough to beat Seo. She simply wasn’t that good yet. Zeng Rui chewed on his lips and slowly nodded. Tang Tang needs rest. She can play Support. It doesn’t require as many quick movements and with Lin Fe– Maple as ad-carry, we’ve got nothing to worry about. Even if he’s half as good an ad-carry as a Midlaner, he’ll still crush Seo. But what about BunBun? He grimaced and looked at Twisted Fate’s summoner portrait. Goalie is still a very talented Midlaner. Lin Feng can beat him, of course he can! He’s goddamn Maple! But BunBun isn’t Maple… Can she…?

“Why do you look like you need to poop?” Lin Feng asked over the team’s voice chat.

Zeng Rui was pulled away from his thoughts when he heard the question. He turned his head to look at Lin Feng and found a pair of eyes looking straight at him. He mumbled, “Uh, me?”

“Yeah you!” Lin Feng replied. “Oooh!” He smacked his forehead and laughed. He said, “You’re worried! You always worry! But you’ve got nothing to worry about! I’m a really good ad-carry and BunBun is a great Midlaner! She’s definitely better than that Goalie anyway!”

An Xin looked past Lin Feng at Zeng Rui and smiled. She nodded and said, “He’s right, you know? I’m not as good as he is, but I’m at least as good as Goalie. I can guarantee you that much.” She turned her head back to look at her screen. At Goalie’s Twisted Fate. She narrowed her eyes. I’m kind of sad that I didn’t use my Korean ID for this tournament. Now Goalie won’t recognize me… Oh well, maybe he’ll remember me when I play against him. I did leave a deep impression on him. She giggled. I doubt he’ll ever forget about that.

✹

《Welcome to Summoner’s Rift!》

The announcer’s voice blasted through the headsets from Team Guangzhou. The five players sat behind their computers, tense. They were 2-0 down in this best of five series. And the main plan going into this third game was to play better. That was what Coach Yin had demanded from them. 

The three Chinese players stared at their screen, upset. They were playing their best, they were giving it their all, they were trying everything in their power to win their lanes and beat Team Shanghai! But they were getting outclassed. It was that simple. And on top of that, to make it so much worse for them, Goalie and Seo were both furious. From the start of the series until now, they were steaming with rage. There was nothing fun about this match against Team Shanghai for the three Chinese players. They gritted their teeth and clicked their mice, mad.

Goalie was furious. He wanted to kill Lin Feng! He ground his teeth, glaring across the stage at Team Shanghai’s soundproof booth. You son of a bitch! Do I really look that easy to you? Did you get bored? Is that it? Did you get bored? Did you want to give someone else the pleasure of beating me because I’m bad? FUCK YOU I’M NOT BAD! I’m not bad! He closed his eyes and slammed his hand on the desk. FUCK! Fight me! Fucking fight me! I’ll show you who sucks! I’ll beat you! He growled in Korean, “I’ll make you pay for this humiliation!”

“We’ll both make him fucking pay!” Seo exclaimed. He pushed his hand against his twitching nose, trying to make it stop. He then pointed at Lin Feng and shouted in Korean, “You think you’re all amazing because you’re good at Mid? You think that alone is enough to be a good ad-carry? Or do you think I suck? Is that it? Are you saying I suck? FUCK! You really don’t know what’s good for you! I’ll kill you! I’LL FUCKING KILL YOU!”

✹

Lin Feng had his Kalista run down the bot lane, past the inner tower and towards the outer tower. He then glanced at Tang Bingyao and said over the team’s voice chat, “It’s been a while since we duo’d. Remember the NetCow Cafe how we always stomped our opponents? That was fun! Let’s do like we did then!”

“Mhm!” Tang Bingyao replied, nodding. “I’d like that!”

Team Guangzhou’s Support looked at his screen, flicking around his mouse to check every corner of the battlefield. Fiora is coming from Team Shanghai’s Jungle. She’ll intercept Team Shanghai’s Sejuani. Goalie will kill their Kalista near the mid lane and there’s nothing Morgana can do to stop them. Mundo is just throwing cleavers in the middle of the fight. Annoying, but… Riven, Riven… He searched around the map, until he noticed a summoner icon appearing above him on his minimap. His eyes grew wide and round. Shit! He’s behind us! Behind us! He shouted through trembling lips, “B-b-behind us! Riven is behind us!”

Seo had his Vayne continue auto attacking An Xin’s Sejuani while glancing at the minimap. So that’s where you are! Finally! It’s time to show you who the better player is! Now that I’ve got my Quicksilver Sash… His lips curled up and he narrowed his eyes. I’ma kill you so hard! NO ONE WILL REMEMBER YOUR FACE! He squeezed his mouse until it squeaked and groaned, then pinged on the Riven and shouted over the team’s voice chat, “Leona! Intercept! Stun Riven!”

Zeng Rui saw Team Guangzhou’s Leona stop attacking An Xin’s Sejuani and start running towards Riven. He glanced at Tang Bingyao’s health bar. It was dropping fast and would soon run empty. BunBun is right. I can’t save Tang Tang. Too late to do anything for her. But Lin Feng… The thundering… He said over the team’s voice chat, “Tang Tang! Ult me!”

Tang Bingyao’s Kalista had linked her fate with Zeng Rui’s Morgana at the start of the game. She now used that link to pull Morgana’s soul into her body with Fate’s Call! This was the first part of Kalista’s ultimate skill. The second part allowed Morgana—Zeng Rui—to hurl herself in any direction!

Team Guangzhou’s Leona and Vayne were stacked on top of each other for a brief moment as Leona passed by on her way to intercept Lin Feng’s Riven. Zeng Rui narrowed his eyes and clicked on his mouse. Morgana’s soul shot from Kalista’s body! Bone, muscle and flesh grew around her soul, reforming her body midflight! She then barreled into Leona and Vayne and knocked them both up into the air! She followed up with Chains of Agony. Her wings unfurled and she hovered above the ground as she released the full force of her Celestial power! Chains forged from darkness and pain shimmered into existence around her and latched onto Vayne and Leona!

“Nice going!” Lin Feng exclaimed over the team’s voice chat, grinning. His Riven was on the water’s edge, while Vayne and Leona were in the middle of the river. The chains wrapped around them slowed them, and would stun them shortly. Lin Feng cast Valor and followed up with Broken Wings! His Riven dashed into the river and swept out with her blade, cleaving both Vayne and Leona!

Seo felt his stomach clench, physically hurting him. He wanted to scream and yell, but he gritted his teeth. He bit his tongue. Morgana’s Chains of Agony would stun him soon. He could cleanse that with his Quicksilver Sash, but then there was Riven who could stun him with a Ki Burst. I just have to outplay him! Outplay him very hard! Show him how much better I am than him! That’ll show him and everyone else! He smiled just a bit and activated the Quicksilver Sash. A cleansing light broke the dark chains as a dark shadow fell over Vayne. Final Hour! Vayne gained attack speed and, more importantly, gained an invisibility aspect to Tumble. She used that to disappear into the shadows before Riven could stun her.

“Wanna run? Lol,” Lin Feng mumbled, grinning. He dropped down a vision ward to reveal the invisible. “Gotcha!” He said with a smirk as he locked onto Vayne. He had his Riven move towards her with the second cast from Broken Wings. It was another sweep of the blade combined with a short dash, similar to the first cast. He followed up with the third cast from Broken Wings. Riven grabbed the hilt of her blade with both hands and leaped forward! She raised her reforged blade above her head and hacked down on Vayne, knocking her up into the air! And finally, while Vayne was in midair, Riven gathered the excess runic energy on her blade and swept out! Wind Slash!

《You have slain an enemy!》

《An ally has been slain.》

“Two amazing kills by the Midlaners!” Zephyr exclaimed into his microphone. He chuckled in disbelief and added, “They both took out the ad-carry on the opposing team! I can’t believe this!”

Su Xue nodded and said, “Yeah, yeah, look. Look!” She pointed at the screen. An Xin’s Sejuani had lost quite a bit of health to Seo’s Vayne. The others from Team Shanghai now all turned to her. Fiora Lunged past Zhang Hao’s Dr. Mundo to get to her, Goalie’s Fizz ran back up the river towards her and Lee Sin was already on top of her! “BunBun’s in trouble! She’s gonna get focused down! They’re gonna kill her!”

An Xin grimaced. In her attempt to help Tang Bingyao’s Kalista earlier, she got caught by Seo’s Vayne and Condemned against the river wall. It was basically a large boulder that ran from the edge of the mid lane to a fair bit into the river. She was at the far edge and dashed into Blue team’s Jungle, trying to draw Team Guangzhou’s Champions away from Lin Feng’s Riven. He had to survive. Fizz, Lee Sin and Fiora chased after her, round the boulder and onto the jungle pathway that led to the mid lane. “Ready?” she asked over the team’s voice chat.

Lin Feng glanced at his skill bar. There were still a few more seconds until he could use Broken Wings again. He replied over the team’s voice chat, “Almost! … Almost! … GO!”

An Xin activated Flash. A veil of light fell over Sejuani and carried her back across the boulder into the river, where Lin Feng’s Riven was waiting. Team Guangzhou’s Fiora flashed after Sejuani and Goalie’s Fizz used Playful/Trickster to jump after her. Both of them landed in front of Lin Feng’s Riven, who swept at them with the first cast from Broken Wings. He continued with the second cast.

Team Guangzhou’s Fiora activated Grand Challenge on An Xin’s Sejuani! It revealed the Four Vitals! If she got the kill, that would spawn a healing field which would see her survive the Riven. Which would help Goalie’s Fizz survive. She Lunged to the side, away from Fizz. She then stabbed Sejuani, striking one of the four vitals! She continued running until she was behind Sejuani and stabbed again. Two vitals were down! If I can get the last two, I don’t even need to kill her! I’ll get the healing fiel– A red, debilitating energy fell over her, hampering all her stats. Shit… SHIT!

Lin Feng ignored Fiora running around An Xin’s Sejuani trying to spawn the healing field. Fizz was an assassin whose skills were on cooldown. He was harmless for another couple of seconds. It was far more important to take him out right now. Lin Feng narrowed his eyes and grinned. You’re already dead! Broken Wings! His Riven grasped her weapon with both hands and raised it above her head as she leaped at Fizz! She then hacked down on him with such force that he was knocked up into the air! She followed up with an auto attack, and another!

《Double Kill!》

Goalie’s pupils constricted. He sat there in Team Guangzhou’s soundproof booth watching his screen turning different shades of dull grey. Over the rim of his monitor, he could see the audience jumping and cheering. He could almost hear their screams. “GG TO TEAM SHANGHAI!” “GOALIE SUCKS!” “GOALIE IS THE WORST MIDLANER EVER!” “KOREANS ARE A JOKE!” “HE IS SUPPOSED TO BE GOOD? HA! WHAT A JOKE!” He started breathing in short, fast bursts. His heart slammed into his ribcage and sweat stood guard on his forehead. How…? How? How!? HOW!

《An enemy has been slain!》

Goalie blinked and forced himself to look at the teamfight. Fiora had killed An Xin’s Sejuani and the healing field spawned. Lee Sin had walked around the boulder and dashed to Fiora’s side with Safeguard. Goalie licked his lips, fighting the swirling sickness in his stomach, and nodded. We’re still in it. Still in it. We can’t give up now. They’ve got the health and her ultimate is down! He said over the team’s voice chat, “Kill Riven! Kill her!”

Coach Yin from Team Guangzhou sat in the player seating area. He saw what Goalie saw. An opportunity. Team Shanghai was really just Team Lin Feng. And Lin Feng’s Riven had most of her skills on cooldown. Coach Yin shot up to his feet and shouted, “KILL RIVEN! KILL HER! WE WIN IF YOU GUYS KILL HER! WE WIN!”

Back up on stage, Lin Feng was grinning brightly. His first kill was Seo and his second Goalie. They were the ones he wanted to kill first. Now he could have fun with the rest from Team Guangzhou. He rolled his shoulder and took a long, deep breath. Lee is going to try and hit me with a Sonic Wave and then there’s Leona’s Zenith Blade that should be off cooldown. He moved his fingers across his keyboard, feeling the pressure of several keys in particular. E left, then hit S. Stop. Move back and dodge it all! He chuckled, waiting for the animation from Lee Sin’s Sonic Wave. There. He had his Riven dash towards the left with Valor. He then stopped and took a step right back. A solar image of Leona’s sword pierced the air where he just stood. Dodged it all!

“Holy fuck! Can you guys please hit a single skillshot!?” Team Guangzhou’s Toplaner exclaimed over the team’s voice chat. He breathed out in frustration. The healing field disappeared. The brief moment in which they held the advantage was quickly closing. They had to get Riven now! “Get him! Fucking get him already! MOVE!”

“I am! I am!” Team Guangzhou’s Jungler replied. But he didn’t have to move. Lin Feng’s Riven was already on top of him, hacking at him with her auto attacks. Each swipe, each stab, each cut took a surprisingly large nick out of his health bar. FuckFuckFuck! Why is she so strong? Why did Goalie have to feed her!? Where is Leona? Why isn’t she here already!? He glanced up the river where Leona was running from. Her Zenith Blade earlier had been from the maximum range. Fuck me!

Zhang Hao’s Dr. Mundo and Zeng Rui’s Morgana were also both still alive. Zeng Rui was blocking Leona from getting to Lin Feng, while Zhang Hao had his Dr. Mundo hurl Infected Cleavers at Team Guangzhou’s Lee Sin. Team Guangzhou’s Toplaner looked at it and gritted his teeth. We can’t get Riven like this. He flicked his mouse over towards Morgana and mumbled, “Screw it! I’ll just get her!”

Lin Feng raised his eyebrows in surprise when he saw Fiora giving up on Lee Sin. “Well, that’s easy then,” he mumbled over the team’s voice chat, barely audible.

“I’ve got your back, bro!” Zhang Hao replied, laughing. He had his Dr. Mundo throw another Infected Cleaver at Team Guangzhou’s Lee Sin, which applied a slow effect. “He can’t run away now! Get the kill!”

Lin Feng grinned and said, “Thanks, HaoBro! Knew I could count on you!” He glanced down at his skill bar. His ultimate had a long cooldown, but his other skills were counting down to the last few seconds or already available. He then looked at Fiora and Leona. I’m getting my penta! My penta! He grinned and clicked on Lee Sin one more time. Riven cut him down with her blade.

《Triple Kill!》

Su Xue had jumped to her feet after the first kill. Right now, she was dancing. Cheerleading for Lin Feng. She chanted into her microphone, “Win Feng! Win Feng! Who’s getting the penta? Win Feng! Win Feng!”

Zephyr laughed and added, “That dodge of the Sonic Wave and Zenith Blade was mad! Yeah, I’ll get on board with you!” He got up to his feet, followed in her rhythm, and shouted, “Win Feng! Win Feng!”

The speakers boomed his name across the venue. He was the hero of this game. The chant spread around the stands and it wasn’t long before everyone was shouting, “Win Feng! Win Feng! Who’s getting the penta? Win Feng! Win Feng!”

Team Guangzhou’s Fiora dodged a Dark Binding with Lunge, which was an impressive feat. But the audience didn’t seem to care. Nor did they change their tune when Team Guangzhou’s Leona slammed her Shield of Daybreak into Zeng Rui’s Morgana to stun her. Even when the voice announcer informed the fans that after killing Sejuani, Fiora picked up a second kill on Zeng Rui’s Morgana, no one cheered for her. They were all cheering for the Riven who was running up on Fiora from behind. The Riven who used the dash from Valor to close the distance, who used a Ki Burst to stun both Fiora and Leona and who stabbed and hacked away with a combination of auto attacks and Broken Wings casts to slay Fiora!

《Quadra Kill!》

“WHO’S GETTING THE PENTA?”

“WIN FENG!”

“WIN FENG!”

“WIN FENG!”

“WHEN’S HE GETTING THE PENTA?”

“NOW!”

“NOW!”

“NOW!”

Team Guangzhou’s Leona had a big health bar and all her skills had some form of crowd control. She turned around and started running, hoping that would be enough to save her. And for a brief moment, she believed it would. Riven’s skills were on cooldown, so she didn’t catch up right away. But there was still Dr. Mundo. He threw an Infected Cleaver at her, and slowed her. Before the slow could break, another Infected Cleaver struck her. All the while, Lin Feng’s Riven caught up and started to hack at her armour.

Lin Feng grinned, his eyes shining brightly. His teammates were cheering him on over the voice chat. They all knew what was coming. He glanced down at his skill bar. Broken Wings was almost back off cooldown. Let’s end this in style! He chuckled and said over the team’s voice chat, “Thanks, HaoBro. I’ve got this now!”

“Roger!” Zhang Hao replied, laughing. He then stopped throwing Infected Cleavers at Leona.

Lin Feng pressed down on the Q key–Broken Wings! Riven swept out with her blade, shearing through Leona’s health bar! Before the animation ended, she already followed up with an auto attack. It was the famous animation cancellation! She then swept out with her blade for a second time and combined it again with an auto attack! Leona’s health bar dropped to single digits. “Broken …” Lin Feng shouted, laughing. Riven gripped her broken sword with both hands and leaped at Leona. “… WIIIIIIIINGS!”

《Penta Kill!》

“HE’S DONE IT! HE’S DONE IT! PENTA PENTA PENTAAAAAAA!” Su Xue squealed. She bounced up and down in excitement. She looked at Zephyr and then at the monitor showing Team Shanghai’s soundproof booth. She quickly wiped a few tears from her eyes and then shouted, “He did it! Lin Feng really did it! He said he would, and he did! He really did!”

Zephyr watched the reaction from Su Xue, smiling. Feels good to cast a game like this, huh? He nodded and then placed his microphone against his lips. He shouted, “And that’s an ace for Team Shanghai! What a teamfight! From looking lost to a penta kill! A PENTA KILL! WOOOOOOOOOO, WIN FENG!

✹

Coach Yin from Team Guangzhou fell back into his chair. He stared at the large LCD screen above the stage, at the replay of the teamfight. His team started the fight exactly right. They were getting back into the game and were at a point where they could take a fight on their terms. And that was how this fight had looked. They got the jump on Team Shanghai’s ad-carry and pinned down Team Shanghai’s Jungler. From there it should’ve been an easy fight. They should’ve cleaned up. H-how… How did we lose that? How did it turn out so poorly?

The replay focused on Lin Feng’s Riven as she ran around the Red Buff Camp, past the Wraith Camp and into the river. That. That’s where it went wrong. Coach Yin shook his head in disbelief. How is that Riven this good? It shouldn’t… I scouted across the world for the best players in this age bracket and found Goalie! I personally visited him and convinced him to join our project! He was supposed to be the best! He was the best! How… Where… Where did this Lin Feng come from? Who is he? He turned his head just far enough to look at Team Shanghai’s spot in the player seating area. Chu Fang, Chu Fang… Where did you find him? How did you keep him hidden? Who is he? Who!?

Chu Fang didn’t notice Coach Yin looking at him. His undivided attention was focused on the large LCD screen. More specifically, on Maple. This brings me back all the way to Season 1. The way I always got so nervous watching him play! How he made my heart race and how he made me wish for him to kick ass! And then he does! He always does! This is so amazing to watch! I get to see him rise up the ranks again! I get to see the legend of Maple firsthand! I’m there! And he’s getting there again too! If he plays like this… Screw this tournament, he’s right back up there with Rake! He clenched his fists and mumbled, “I can’t wait to see how far you’ll go this time!”

✹

Lin Feng hit the recall button and then looked around him at his teammates. He grinned brightly, searching for their compliments. He finally exclaimed, “Ha! My Riven is still so good!”

“You got the penta! You got the damn penta!” Zhang Hao replied, laughing in disbelief. “I can’t believe it! You turned that right around and got the penta!”

Tang Bingyao tilted her head to look at Lin Feng and smiled. She said, “Mhm! That was really amazing!”

Zeng Rui mumbled through gritted teeth, “Yeah. Grats.”

“Grats? What are we congratulating him for!?” An Xin asked. She raised her eyebrows and continued, “What did he turn around? If he didn’t go for a stroll through their Jungle, we would’ve won that fight from the start!”

Lin Feng scratched the back of his head and replied, “Well, eh, you see, we won! Right? We won the teamfight and I got the penta! Who cares about the specifics? I got my penta!”

An Xin rolled her eyes and said, “Just don’t do anything stupid for the next few minutes so that we can win the game!” She then turned her head to look at Lin Feng, caught his eye, and smiled. She mouthed, “Good job.”

“BunBun is right,” Zeng Rui said. He looked at his teammates and continued, “We should finish this one. Let’s take Baron and then push.”

Team Shanghai didn’t have to worry about Team Guangzhou stealing Baron Nashor from them. Most players from Team Guangzhou were still dead when Team Shanghai engaged the large, purple wurm. The Baron buff boosted the stats from Team Shanghai’s Champions, widening the gap with Team Guangzhou even further. And on top of that, the Baron Buff also buffed nearby minions.

Zeng Rui took on his role as shotcaller again. He guided Team Shanghai to the bot lane where they took the inner tower. Then he had Zhang Hao’s Dr. Mundo split push in top while the rest stayed in bot to lay siege on the inhibitor tower. Team Guangzhou was powerless to stop them. The inhibitor tower and inhibitor in bot lane were the first to fall, quickly followed by those in the top lane. Super minions spawned from the Blue Nexus and marched to Team Guangzhou’s base.

An army of Blue minions led by Super minions battered Team Guangzhou’s base, while the five Champions from Team Shanghai aced Team Guangzhou one final time. There was no suspense to the fight. It was a stomp in its truest form. The Nexus towers were the next to fall. Everyone then shifted their focus towards the Nexus itself. Its health dropped quickly until the first cracks showed on the large crystal. The energy contained within slammed against it and broke out moments later. It twisted and spun in midair before morphing into the victory emblem.

VICTORY!

Five Champions stood at the outer boundary of their base. The players from Team Guangzhou were all looking at their team captain, waiting for his word. Goalie looked at his minimap and grumbled. Everything was going wrong, and just when they needed to scale a bit more to win this game, Team Shanghai forced their hand again. He said through gritted teeth, “We fight.”

Team Guangzhou moved into action, bringing all the wards they could carry. Seo and Goalie also bought two scrying orbs. The first was used to reveal the Baron pit. It confirmed Team Shanghai hadn’t yet started fighting the strongest boss monster. The second scrying orb was used to gain intel on the top side of the Jungle, near the Wraith Camp. It exposed Morgana and Sejuani, who started retreating.

Goalie said over the team’s voice chat, “We push. Leona, vision ward here …” he pinged on the brush that connected most of the top side Jungle with the mid lane. “… and ward here, here and there.” He continued pinging on the top side Jungle, pointing out every brush and nook he wanted vision on. All the while, Leona had her Oracle Lens active, revealing the wards from Team Shanghai which the others from Team Guangzhou destroyed.

Goalie watched his minimap and panned his camera around the map. We need to play this right. It’s still a bit early, but if we play this right… We just need to get that Riven down fast. He took a long, deep breath and then said in broken Chinese over the team’s voice chat, “Leona no exhaust. No fight her. Drag, drag, drag!” He then turned his head to look at Seo and continued in Korean, “I want you to stay back. It doesn’t matter if you don’t get damage off at the start of it. We just need to make sure Riven doesn’t get that initial jump on you. From there I trust you can outplay them all?”

Seo nodded, glaring at his monitor. He replied, “I can and I will!” He ground his teeth and clenched his fists. I’m gonna get the stupid Kalista bitch first and then that Jungler one. I don’t care what her Champion is! Their team sucks! They all fucking suck! Suck! SUCK! SUCK–

“Remember! Biggest threat Riven!” Goalie reminded everyone over the team’s voice chat. He explained, “She damage, others not. I kill Kalista.”

✹

Zephyr shifted around in his seat at the caster desk, nervous. Excited. He leaned towards his microphone and said, “Team Guangzhou has come out of their base! And like I predicted, Team Guangzhou is quite strong! Team Shanghai agrees and decides to give up control over Team Guangzhou’s top side Jungle!”

“Not exactly,” Su Xue replied. She pointed at the bot lane and continued, “Team Shanghai still has Dr. Mundo pushing the bot lane. Of course they aren’t engaging a 4vs5! Just wait until Team Guangzhou has to respond to the Dr. Mundo!”

Zephyr looked at the minimap and smiled. He grabbed his microphone and said, “This is gonna be good! Fiora is meeting Mundo in the bot lane! Both Champions have their Teleport up! It’s gonna be a game of who is the better Teleporter! This could be the game-deciding teamfight and it looks like it’s all going to come down to who gets the drop on the other team with a brilliant Teleport!”

Su Xue nodded with her eyebrows raised. “True, true,” she said. “Very possible. Yes. Or, and hear me out here, this fight will be won by the best player! I won’t be naming names, but I’m foreseeing a certain player winning this fight all by him…– er, or herself!”

“Now that! That would be something to watch!” Zephyr exclaimed, laughing.

✹

An Xin pressed the Tab key and looked through the most recent item upgrades on Team Guangzhou’s Champions. She then said over the team’s voice chat, “Lin Feng, don’t engage this one. Vayne’s got a Quicksilver Sash. She’ll just cleanse your stun. Let us engage first.”

“Don’t worry! Don’t worry!” Lin Feng replied, laughing. He scratched the back of his head and continued, “I was planning to just jump their backline and kill them all! And I don’t really care if Vayne has a QSS or not… I’ve got Flash and Ignite! He isn’t surviving!”

An Xin shook her head and rolled her eyes, then turned to look at Tang Bingyao and continued, “Tang Tang, I need you to be careful too. Fizz or Fiora is going to jump on you. Save your ultimate for when that happens. Be ready to outplay them. Just that bit more and then you can rest your finger a bit, okay?”

Tang Bingyao nodded and replied, “Mhm! Okay!”

An Xin looked past Tang Bingyao at Zeng Rui and was about to give him his tasks, when he beat her to it. He said over the team’s voice chat, “I’ll do my best to keep my Black Shield ready for Riven. We can’t lose her.”

Zhang Hao looked at his teammates, his Dr. Mundo farming in the bot lane, and suggested, “If you guys get a few deep wards back up, I’ll try and Teleport behind them. Once I get their attention, Lin Feng can jump in and win the fight!”

“I like the sound of that!” An Xin replied, nodding. She then turned her head to look at Lin Feng and asked, “What do you think? Easy enough right? Hack sword, get kills, win fight. Even a goldfish like you can do that!”

Lin Feng narrowed his eyes and breathed in, staring at his monitor. We’ve played around long enough! I’m going to make those guys remember my promise to them! No one will remember who they are! He grinned and said over the team’s voice chat, “No worries! Penta kill coming right up!”

《The Blue Team has destroyed a Turret!》

“Nice work, Zhang Hao!” An Xin exclaimed. She smiled and added, “Just keep pushing to the inner tower now! See how far you can get!”

Zhang Hao nodded and replied, “Yeah! But I can’t really push the next tower. Fiora is there and I can’t lose too much health towerdiving her or I won’t be able to come around later… I think I’ll just throw cleavers at her from outside tower range. Be a nuisance and all!”

“Mm-mhm,” Lin Feng replied, though he wasn’t really listening to Zhang Hao. He was slowly entering the zone. The scrying orb Team Guangzhou had used earlier had dropped a ward inside the Baron Pit. He used the first two casts from Broken Wings to move towards it and destroy it. Then he moved to the wall at the far back of the Baron pit and activated the third cast from Broken Wings. His Riven leaped over the wall and hacked down on the Jungle ground beyond!

Summoner’s Rift appeared inside Lin Feng’s mind. A perfect visual representation. He glanced at the minimap and filled in where Team Shanghai’s Champions were, and then what he knew about Team Guangzhou. Fiora is in bot. Then we’ve got Leona and Lee trying to get vision at the river entrance right below the Baron pit. They can only do that if Fizz is nearby for protection. Vayne can’t be too far away either, probably back a bit… Hmm, she’s doing the Wraith Camp. A bit of extra gold and it’s right next to the river entrance.

An Xin glanced at Lin Feng and noticed the focus with which he was staring at his monitor. She asked, “Are you seeing a flank?”

“No,” Lin Feng replied. He shook his head and explained, “They’re playing it really safe. If I go in right now, you guys won’t be able to follow up in time. And 1vs4 is suicidal, even for me!” He continued scanning the river and the top side Jungle. He tried out possibilities in his mind and considered their chances of success. Wait. Wait. He panned his camera over the Red Buff Camp and scrunched his eyebrows. He asked, “Anyone know if they warded Red?”

Zeng Rui frowned and said, “You want to go all the way around there? That’s even further away from us! How are we supposed to follow up on that?” He shook his head and pinged on the Jungle entrance where Lee Sin and Leona were. He continued, “If we start pushing them here, they’ll know something is up. They’re going to be searching for you. It won’t work.”

“No, no! It’s fine! Don’t worry about pushing!” Lin Feng replied. He laughed and said, “I’ll engage. You guys just follow up from there!”

“Wowowow! Look at Riven! What’s she doing there!?”

“Haha! What the fuck! He’s gone sightseeing in Team Guangzhou’s Jungle!”

“Holy shit! She’s going for the flank! That’s sick if she can pull it off!”

“No way that’s gonna work. She’s far too deep! What’s she thinking!?”

“When Team Guangzhou sees her, they can just switch to her… This ain’t gonna work…”

“Fuck me, what a waste! They could’ve just done a 5vs5 and won it!”

“Oh boy, oh boy!” Zephyr exclaimed. He pushed his microphone against his lips and said, “Look at that Riven! Some balls she’s got! But you know something? I think it’s brilliant! Team Guangzhou has been trying to get wards in their Jungle, but they’ve had to prioritize a path towards the Baron pit and that brush Riven is in is really out of the way! They’ve got no idea she’s in there! Imagine if Vayne goes there to ward it! That’d be game over!”

Su Xue clenched her fists and mumbled, “Do it, Lin Feng! Get them!” She then reached for her microphone and said, “Just imagine a Riven suddenly jumping your backline from behind you! This is totally gonna work!”

“Eeeh,” Zephyr replied, hesitating. He shook his head and explained, “I don’t know. I can think about two clear problems. First off, Riven is way too far away from her teammates. If Team Guangzhou gets the engage… Well, you get the idea. On top of that, Team Guangzhou is going to realize Riven is missing. It’s pretty damn obvious she isn’t with the rest of her team.”

✹

Goalie moved his lips around, panning his camera across the river. Where’s Riven? We haven’t seen her… Last we saw of her, she cleared the ward in the Baron pit… He narrowed his eyes and moved his camera towards the Baron pit. You can jump the wall and then you can go to the Red Buff Camp and continue to flank us… He chuckled and shook his head. Yeah, you’re that kind of player. Alright, two can play that game! You wanna circle behind us? Let’s make you completely irrelevant! He ordered over the team’s voice chat, “Go in! ENGAGE!”

Fiora retreated just far enough behind her inner tower so that Zhang Hao’s Dr. Mundo didn’t have vision on her. She then panned her camera to a ward that was placed inside Team Shanghai’s top side Jungle and started teleporting towards it. A red pillar of light descended on the ward which was in Team Shanghai’s fog of war!

Zephyr jumped to his feet and leaned over the desk, leaning on it with one hand and clutching the microphone with the other. He shouted, “Fiora is getting the flank! Team Shanghai hasn’t got a clue!”

“See!? Told you so! Riven is way out of position! Now Team Guangzhou easily wins this!”

“Mundo doesn’t know! He isn’t teleporting! Oh my god, MUNDO! MUNDO! TP!”

“This is going to be a 5vs3! Shit! I’m almost feeling bad for Team Shanghai!”

“They’re gonna lose this one because of Riven! Feels fucking bad man!”

“Gg to Team Guangzhou! We’ve got ourselves a series!”

“Kalista! Kalista! Kalista!” Goalie ordered over Team Guangzhou’s voice chat.

Team Guangzhou’s Leona suddenly flashed into the river and pointed her sword up at the sky, calling down a Solar Flare! The beam of light slammed down on top of Tang Bingyao’s Kalista and An Xin’s Sejuani, stunning them both!

Lee Sin hopped to a ward in the river with Safeguard and then struck out with his fist–Sonic Wave! A pressurized blast of air shot forward and struck Sejuani! Resonating Strike! He dashed at Sejuani and gave her a swift kick!

Goalie’s Fizz was too far away from the fight, so he flashed forward to bridge the gap. He followed up with Chum the Waters! Fizz threw out a small fish that struck Kalista! It started swimming around her, a portal to the deep opening up beneath her! A shadow moved in the depths of the water.

Zeng Rui warned over the team’s voice chat, “Tang Tang! Go mid! Fiora is behind us! Escape mid!” He stopped thinking about protecting Lin Feng’s Riven and started worrying about helping Tang Bingyao survive. He had his Morgana cast her Black Shield on Tang Bingyao’s Kalista and then ordered, “Zhang Hao! Teleport!”

“Coming!” Zhang Hao replied. He stopped walking and teleported to the ward closest to Tang Bingyao’s Kalista. Any plan about finding a flank was gone out of the window. The only important thing right now was to make sure that Tang Bingyao’s Kalista survived the initial engage.

Tang Bingyao waited for the fish from Fizz’s Chum the Waters to hit her. She then activated her Quicksilver Sash! A cleansing light wrapped around Kalista and both broke the stun from Leona’s Solar Flare as well as freed her from the fish! She then followed Zeng Rui’s orders, running towards the mid lane.

“Kalista broke free from everything!” Su Xue exclaimed into her microphone. She sat up a bit straighter and continued, “She had the QSS and broke free! But Fiora is still behind her! She’s coming from behind! This is bad! This is all kinds of bad for Team Shanghai!”

“WOOOO! SHE’S STILL DEAD!”

“GET HER, FIORA!”

“COME ON, KALISTA!”

Zeng Rui flicked his mouse towards Team Guangzhou’s Morgana and tapped the Q key. A Dark Binding conjured from dark magic struck Fiora and rooted her! Zeng Rui then shouted, “Run, Tang Tang, run!”

Team Guangzhou’s Lee Sin and Fizz were right on top of An Xin’s Sejuani. She didn’t think, just smashed the R key! Glacial Prison! Sejuani threw a True Ice bola at the two from Team Guangzhou. It struck Lee Sin and froze him in place. But Goalie had cast Playful just in time for his Fizz to hop on top of his trident and use the brief moment of invincibility to dodge both the effects and the damage of the Glacial Prison!

“He dodged it! He dodged it!” Zephyr screamed into his microphone. “I can’t believe it! He dodged it!”

“Those reflexes! DAMN!”

“HOW!? HOW!?”

“That was… WOW!”

Goalie stared at his monitor, unblinking. Focused. You first, Kalista. He watched Tang Bingyao’s Kalista Flash away from him, very much like he expected. It was what he’d been waiting for before casting the second half of his E skill. Trickster! His Fizz hopped off his trident towards Tang Bingyao’s Kalista! He followed up with Urchin Strike, dashing through her and stabbing at her with his trident! He then cast Ignite on Kalista, the unquenchable flames blazing to life on her skin, before activating his last remaining skill. Seastone Trident! An aura wrapped around his trident and boosted its power!

An Xin barreled forward with Arctic Assault, trying to reach Tang Bingyao’s Kalista and help her survive. But in her rush, she paid no attention to Seo’s Vayne appearing in the river, not her position right next to the Jungle wall. A thick, massive bolt slammed into her, knocked her off her feet and then pinned her to the wall. She was stunned!

“Team Shanghai is getting destroyed!” Zephyr exclaimed. He shook his head, incredulous, and continued, “They’re getting torn apart! They’ve looked so good all game, but this fight is all about Team Guangzhou! They’ve practically won already!”

Su Xue bit on her lips and nodded. She said into her microphone, “Hmm. It was a good engage by Team Guangzhou. A 5vs3. There isn’t much Team Shanghai can do to stop that. Dr. Mundo just arrived. But I don’t see that changing much either… Lin Feng, where are you?”

Zeng Rui wasn’t shotcalling like he usually did. This fight wasn’t his. He hadn’t come up with the tactic, nor with the scenarios in case of a fallout. He was in the dark, unsure of what to do. An Xin glanced at him and saw him struggle. She grimaced and then said over the team’s voice chat, “Zhang Hao, pin Fiora down! Good! Zeng Rui, you, stop trying to help Tang Tang. She’s dead. Focus on their backline. Lock down what you can. Damage control. Damage control!” She finally turned her head to look at Lin Feng and urged, “Lin Feng, I need you to hurry! It’s almost too late!”

“Almost there!” Lin Feng replied, grinning. He had his Riven run past the Wraith Camp towards the river. The players from Team Guangzhou were just ahead of him, not paying any attention to him at all. He pressed the R key to activate Blade of the Exile! Green, runic energy burst from Riven’s body! It coated her skin, boosting her stats, and reforged her broken blade! Lin Feng then locked onto Seo, his grin broadening. He lightly tapped the keys with his left and tightened his hold on the mouse, mumbling, “We’ve only just begun!”

Lin Feng hummed to the rhythm of Riven’s boots hitting the mossy grass of the Jungle. To his left was a Camp of wolves, to his right the big Blue Sentinel. And straight ahead of him, past the confines of the Jungle and into the bot lane, stood a lone brush. Five more seconds till I get him. He grinned. Oh Vay-ayne! Come out, come out wherever you are! He clicked on the brush and then tapped on the Q key for the first cast of Broken Wings!

Riven swept out with her broken blade, covering a slightly larger distance than she did running. A wave of minions marched her way from Red team’s inner tower. She ignored them and went straight for the brush. When she was only a couple of steps away from it, she cast Blade of the Exile! Green, runic energy erupted from her body! It coated her skin, boosting her stats, and it reforged her blade! She followed up with the second cast from Broken Wings, swiping out with her blade and arriving at the brush.

Seo watched death approaching. Hopeless. His anger turned into rage and reached such levels that there wasn’t a clear thought left in his head. Darkness played at the edge of his vision and his heart kept slamming against his ribcage. He jabbed at the E key, making his Vayne pull the large crossbow from her back and squeezing the trigger. A thick, massive bolt pierced Riven and pushed her back. But there was no wall or structure behind her, nothing to pin her to. She dashed straight back at him with Valor. He jabbed at his keyboard harder, more frantic.

Lin Feng’s Riven raised her sword and shrieked, “Ki Burst!” Energy seeped out from her feet and shot out around her! It grabbed onto Vayne’s feet and locked her in position! Riven followed up with Wind Slash into the third cast from Broken Wings! A sharp wave of energy cut through Vayne right as Riven hacked down on Vayne and knocked her up! She then continued with an auto attack, and another.

《You have slain an enemy!》

Zephyr shook his head and said into his microphone, “There was no escaping that. Riven is so fed. It’s ridiculous how much damage she does. Even Flash wouldn’t have saved Vayne there.”

“Mm-mhm! Mm-mhm!” Su Xue agreed, nodding. She then added, “But it’s not the damage part that was impressive here. It was finding the opportunity that was impressive! Lin Feng knew just when to roam through Team Guangzhou’s Jungle to get to Seo before his Vayne could complete the recall! That’s really good timing!”

✹

Summoner’s Rift had the Dragon and Baron Nashor, and this game also Riven. Lin Feng’s Riven was levels ahead of everyone else and he also had more items than anyone else. Team Guangzhou knew they had to stay far away from him if they held any hopes of turning this game around and winning it. That was precisely what Goalie explained to his teammates. He forbade them to fight Riven and instructed them to look for opportunities to catch the other members, those not fed, out of position.

At 19 minutes, Tang Bingyao had her Kalista run to the mid lane to catch a wave of minions for some extra gold and experience. She didn’t have vision on Goalie’s Fizz, but believed she was close enough to her outer tower in case he did appear. She underestimated Fizz’s speed and damage.

Goalie’s Fizz charged into the lane and activated his ultimate–Chum the Waters! A fish struck Tang Bingyao’s Kalista and started swimming around her, a portal to the deep opening up beneath her feet. Fizz followed up with Playful into Trickster, pole vaulting to cross the gap between him and Kalista. He then targeted Kalista with Urchin Strike, dashing through her and piercing her with his trident!

The portal to the deep opened wide enough for Megalodon to jump up and take a bite out of Kalista! Seo’s Fizz stood at the edge of the portal, his trident glowing from the effects of Seastone Trident! He jabbed at Kalista, each empowered attack shearing away at her health bar!

《You have slain an enemy!》

Tang Bingyao looked at her dull grey screen and slowly shook her head. She mumbled over the team’s voice chat, “My bad. I thought I could get away…”

At 19:30 minutes, Zeng Rui’s Morgana was moving through the bottom half of the river, placing down wards. He glanced at his minimap and searched for where Team Guangzhou’s Champions were. Fizz is still mid and their Jungler is top. I should be fine to place a ward in their Blue Buff Camp. If I can just get it in the brush next to it… He glanced at the mid lane again, then had his Morgana slip into Red team’s bottom side Jungle.

Seo had spotted Zeng Rui’s Morgana placing wards, and smiled. The clouds of swirling darkness in his mind spread apart just far enough for him to find that singular sparkle of light. An opportunity; a chance to get back into this game. He had his Vayne hide in the brush next to the Blue Buff Camp and waited for Zeng Rui’s Morgana to go too deep. They always do.

Zeng Rui kept glancing at his minimap, double and triple checking that no one was moving in his direction. Nothing showed a potential collapse on him. So he pushed onwards, deeper into Red team’s Jungle until he was right in front of the brush next to the Blue Buff Camp. He breathed out, relieved, and placed down the ward. It revealed Vayne. Zeng Rui’s eyes grew wide and round and he mumbled, “Shit!”

Seo’s Vayne Tumbled to the side, dodging Morgana’s Dark Binding. He then made full use of his Vayne’s passive skill that boosted his movement speed while chasing an enemy to run after Morgana. He grinned. Yeah, you use that Black Shield! Good, good. I’ll just wait it out. No worries. You can’t get away from me! Yes, yes! Cast your Soul Shackles! Do it! He had his Vayne stop running as the Soul Shackles flew his way. They only reached so far around Morgana. All he had to do was let the distance between them grow a bit, just enough to make the magical shackles miss him, and then he continued the chase–his boosted movement speed allowing him to catch back up to her.

Silver bolts struck Zeng Rui’s Morgana. Every third was followed by an explosion of true damage. Zeng Rui’s Morgana ran into the river. Team Shanghai’s bot lane outer tower was destroyed, but the one in the mid lane was still up. So he took a right in the river and ran up, shouting over the team’s voice chat, “Help! Help!” But there was no one around to help him. Tang Bingyao’s Kalista had died in mid and An Xin was on the wrong side of the map.

Seo’s Vayne caught up to Morgana and then passed by her, just enough to get the angle. There was the wall from the Dragon pit behind Morgana. Vayne raised the large crossbow from her back and squeezed the trigger. The thick, massive bolt pinned Morgana to the wall. Another round of silver bolts followed.

《You have slain an enemy!》

Sun Ruinian from Zhejiang University watched the large LCD screen and shook his head. The fans behind him were cheering for their team from Guangzhou and the casters were further boosting the hype. All of them were focused on the kill and how Seo had dodged the Dark Binding and kept his Condemn until the Black Shield wore off. But there was something else entirely that kept Sun Ruinian’s attention. His mechanics are great, no doubt. He is a Korean Challenger. But his awareness. To know to wait in that brush there. That’s difficult to deal with. He nodded and said to no one in particular, “This guy… Seo… We can’t underestimate him.”

✹

Zephyr reached for his microphone and said, “That’s now twice in as many minutes that Team Guangzhou catches Team Shanghai out of position! All the while staying far away from Riven! I have to say, the game is getting closer. If this happens another time or two, we’ll find it back to even.” He briefly paused to glance at the statistics and then continued, “We’ve basically got Riven versus Fizz and Vayne. Kalista is kind of useless at this point. If Fizz and Vayne get scale a bit more, we’ve got ourselves a real series!”

“Except…” Su Xue replied. “I don’t think Kalista is all that useless. Sure she got caught there and she isn’t as fed as Riven or Fizz or Vayne. But that doesn’t make her useless! If Team Guangzhou focuses all their attention on Riven, she’ll still be doing a ton of damage to them!”

“Right. If,” Zephyr agreed.

Down in the player seating area, Yin Wei from Team Guangzhou leaned back in his seat. For the first time in this series, he felt in control. His two Korean imports were getting kills and their only opposition was a fed Riven. He smiled wickedly. It’s just the Riven, like the caster-guy said! Goalie and Seo versus that stupid kid from Shanghai! This is going to be our win! There is no way those two lose to that kid! They’ll catch up and surpass him and then all those kills your stupid Riven has won’t mean anything! My team is going to win this game and the next two! We’re going to the quarterfinals and you can go back on your plane and go home!

✹

Zeng Rui said through gritted teeth, “I knew something was off. But I couldn’t see it… Sorry guys, my bad. We really can’t let that Vayne get much stronger.”

“My bad too,” Tang Bingyao added over the team’s voice chat. “I really thought I could get away faster, but it’s just…” She bit on her lips and sucked back the tears gathering at her eyes. A lump filled her throat. I have to tell them. I can’t play three more games… She continued, “My… My pinky. It hurts. I don’t know if I can…”

An Xin looked at the minimap and saw Team Guangzhou moving towards the Dragon pit. She glanced at Lin Feng who was staring intently at his screen. He can carry this. She nodded at herself and then said over the team’s voice chat, “Don’t worry, Tang Tang. Don’t worry. Don’t strain yourself. If it doesn’t go, it doesn’t go. Until then, we’re going to end this game asap. Right, Lin Feng?”

《Red Team has slain the Dragon!》

Lin Feng panned his camera down to look at the Dragon pit. The players from Team Guangzhou were walking away from it. He narrowed his eyes and replied, “Yeah. Let’s end this. We’ll force this. Hmm, Okay! Help me push top!” He pinged on the inner tower in the top lane, while he had his Riven sneak into Team Guangzhou’s top side Jungle and towards the brush right next to the Red Buff Camp.

An Xin and Zhang Hao responded to Lin Feng’s pings. They pushed through the top tower and marched together with the minions towards the inner tower. The plan was simple. Get the towers in exchange for the Dragon. And if Team Guangzhou tried to defend it by running towards the inner tower, they’d run past Lin Feng.

“Oooh!” Zephyr exclaimed at the caster desk. He looked at his monitor that showed the game in spectator mode. He saw exactly where everyone from Team Shanghai and Team Guangzhou was. More specifically, he saw four players from Team Guangzhou recalling back to base to run to their top lane from there, while Lee Sin was running through the top side Jungle to the top lane.

Su Xue smiled and said into her microphone, “That’s gonna be a kill! Calling it right now! Lin Feng is going to get another one!”

Coach Yin from Team Guangzhou hit himself on the head, repeatedly. “God dammit! You stupid noob! Place a ward! Throw a Q! Don’t go into the damn brush blind! You can’t see what’s in there! STOP RUNNING! DON’T– Oh my god. You learned nothing…”

Team Guangzhou’s Lee Sin ran through the Jungle and straight into the brush that Lin Feng was hiding in. In his hurry, he wasn’t even looking at his Lee Sin. His camera was focused on the top inner tower. His screen suddenly flashed Red and his teammates started barking at him over the voice chat. He hit Spacebar, centering his camera on his Lee Sin, and saw Riven hack away the last of his health.

《You have been slain.》

Team Guangzhou’s Jungler stared at his dull grey monitor, embarrassed. Humiliated. He’d made such a rookie mistake. An unforgivable error. He said through gritted teeth, “Sorry. I shouldn’t have… If I’d…–”

“Shut it!” Goalie interrupted. He looked at the Jungle and forced long, deep breaths. Riven didn’t need to use anything there. And they’ve got Mundo and Sejuani to attack the tower. Those two are so tanky that they can just towerdive us. The three of them are just far stronger and then there’s the crowd control from Riven and Sejuani… We can’t fight them. We just can’t… He shook his head and said in broken Chinese, “We retreat. Base.”

Lin Feng’s Riven moved through the Jungle and came out behind Team Guangzhou’s inner tower. Zhang Hao’s Dr. Mundo and An Xin’s Sejuani barreled into tower range from the other side. They were pretending to engage on Team Guangzhou, and it had the desired effect. Team Guangzhou retreated fast, giving away their tower, giving away an important game objective which would allow Team Shanghai to close out the game faster.

Zephyr said into his microphone, “That was a good disengage from Team Guangzhou. The Condemn from Vayne probably saved his life! Just… I find it strange that Riven didn’t use her ultimate. Neither did Sejuani. Dr. Mundo is the only one who did and his ultimate has such a short cooldown that it’ll be up before the next fight anyway!”

“Yeah, I’m thinking this was all planned,” Su Xue agreed. She looked at the monitor showing the game and continued, “Look how they made Fiora Flash and Leona burn her Exhaust. Those are long cooldown skills. Team Shanghai really got the most out of this without wasting any cooldowns basically. It’s a really cool play if you ask me!”

✹

“Nice work,” Zeng Rui said over the team’s voice chat. His Morgana had respawned on the fountain and he was now looking around the map, searching for their next objective. He eventually continued, “I think we maybe should attack bot lane next. I don’t think we can attack their inhibitor towers yet.”

“Why not?” Zhang Hao asked. He turned his head to look at Zeng Rui and continued, “You think it won’t be enough with my ultimate? I can tank that tower for days! We just need Lin Feng to kill them all and he won’t need days! Seconds will be enough for him!”

“No,” Zeng Rui replied. He shook his head and explained, “Two reasons. One. They’ve got Vayne. He can meld through your health bar. The tower might not be scary to you, but that Vayne definitely is! And two. Vayne has Condemn. Leona has two stuns. Lee Sin has his Dragon’s Rage. They all have skills that can limit Lin Feng’s movements. At the outer and inner towers, that comes less into play because there’s more room to maneuver. But the inhibitor tower has far less room and more walls to think about! Lin Feng will just get perma CC’d and killed if we dive.”

Tang Bingyao nodded and said, “Mhm. But what do we do then?”

Zeng Rui smiled and replied, “Like I said, I think bot–”

“Baron! That’s it! We’re doing Baron!” Lin Feng interrupted. He grinned and continued, “We’ll force them to come and stop us, because with Baron they can’t defend their base. And when they come, I’ll penta them!”

An Xin giggled and said, “I like the sound of that.”

Zeng Rui felt the faint twitching of his eyelid. I’m the shotcaller! Me! Dammit! DAMMIT! He gritted his teeth. Why does his plan have to make more sense…? Why didn’t I decide on it…? He shook his head and agreed, “That might be better, yeah. You’re… You’re right.”

✹

The players from Team Shanghai all recalled back to base. Zhang Hao had his Dr. Mundo running down the bot lane to split-push. The goal was to drag attention away from Baron Nashor while the rest of the team set up vision there. And in case he was needed, he had his Teleport available and could join them in seconds. The others all bought wards and vision wards and started warding the entire top half of the map.

“They’re planning to force Baron! They have to be!” Zephyr said into his microphone. “It’s such a bold move! But it makes sense! They can’t push the base, so they’re going to force Team Guangzhou to leave their base! Shit! The more I think about it, the more sense it makes! What a brilliant move by Team Shanghai!”

Su Xue nodded and chimed in, “If they get the Baron, they win the game! There’s no way Team Guangzhou can stop them when they’ve got the Baron Buff!” She clenched her fists under the caster table and mouthed, “Come on, Lin Feng! Finish this! I know you can!”

“There’s only one thing that Team Shanghai needs to keep in mind,” Zephyr continued. “And that’s that Team Guangzhou isn’t as far behind as they were a couple of minutes ago. Fizz and Vayne are both big threats damage-wise, while Team Shanghai only really has Riven. Sure, they’ve got some tanky units in Sejuani and Dr. Mundo, but beyond that? I don’t know, EveningSnowfall. I think Team Guangzhou might actually win this one if they play it well.”

Su Xue chuckled and replied, “Fat chance.”

Goalie stared at his screen, unblinking. He watched the flames from Ignite burning away at his health. Riven swept at his Fizz with her blade, the second cast from Broken Wings. The next one would knock him up. Her reforged blade’s damage was too high and after another auto attack, his screen started flashing red. He gritted his teeth and glanced down at his skill bar. There were four big icons, three for his main skills and the fourth for his ultimate. They were all greyed out with a timer counting down until he could use them again. 

I can’t outplay him. I’ve got nothing… I… I need help. I need help dammit! Goalie looked at Fiora who’d cast her ultimate skill–Grand Challenge–on Lin Feng’s Riven. This skill revealed the four vitals on Riven. Fiora needed to hit all four of them to summon a healing field. If she can get the healing field up, then Riven can attack me all she wants. She won’t kill me! He licked his lips and said in broken Chinese, “Fiora! Ult vital! Attack healing field!”

Team Guangzhou’s Toplaner glanced at Goalie who sat to his left. He’d grown used to the broken Chinese over the previous couple of months. More than that, they’d built a type of understanding. He’d learned how to best support Goalie to bring the best out of him. Right now, that meant supporting him in getting a kill on Riven. And the best way to do that was by giving Goalie some health so that he could survive long enough to get that kill. He replied over the team’s voice chat, “I’m trying. I am! But the way this Riven moves? I don’t know, I just can’t get it…”

Zephyr leaned over the caster desk, pushing the microphone to his lips. He shoutcasted, “Riven is so quick on her feet! So nimble! Look at how she’s just toying with the Fiora! This is amazing! How is she doing this?”

“Fiora can’t get more than 2 vitals! She won’t get her healing field up in time!” Su Xue exclaimed, clenching her fists until the knuckles were white. Come on, Lin Feng! Show them!

“Damn right!” Zephyr continued. “Team Guangzhou is really trying to shut this Riven down here, but it’s looking like it’s too late. And now– WATCH THAT!”

Lin Feng grinned. He’d forced Fiora to walk to his right to try and stab at the third vital, while Fizz was to his left. He then activated Valor! His Riven dashed through Fizz, after which she turned around and raised her blade over her shoulder. Green, runic energy gathered on the blade and gained its sharp property. Wind Slash! Riven swept out with her blade and fired the energy wave at Fizz and Fiora! She followed up with the third cast from Broken Wings, grabbing the hilt of her weapon with both hands and raising it above her head. She then leaped at Fizz and hacked down on him!

《Killing Spree!》

Team Guangzhou’s Toplaner ground his teeth. Goalie was yelling into his ears in a combination of broken Chinese and Korean, but the message came across. He was pissed. Very, very pissed. Team Guangzhou’s Toplaner closed his eyes for a brief moment. I can run but Goalie will get even worse then. He wants to get a 1 for 1 trade and if I get those four vitals and the healing field… His eyes flashed open and he clicked on Riven, then pressed down on the Q key–Lunge!

“He’s still going in! He’s still going in!” Zephyr exclaimed. “Doesn’t he see the Sejuani? SHE’S RIGHT THERE!”

Team Guangzhou’s Fiora Lunged at Riven and then ran after him, past the middle of the lane and towards Blue Team’s outer tower. He forgot about his minimap, or the cooldowns on his skills. All he could hear was Goalie yelling at him and all he could see was Riven taunting him by merely being alive. He only noticed An Xin’s Sejuani when she barreled into him with Arctic Assault and knocked him up. He then got hit by her Glacial Prison. A snowstorm slammed into him and froze him stiff! Stunned.

“Sweet!” Lin Feng exclaimed, laughing. “I can’t believe he kept coming!” He had his Riven stop running away and turned around to face Team Guangzhou’s Fiora again. Then he auto attacked her. His Riven’s blade hacked, cut and stabbed Fiora, whittling down her health until it ran empty.

《Double Kill!》

“WOOOOOOOO! WIN FENG WIN FENG!”

“THE DOUBLE! IT’S THE FREAKING 1VS2 DOUBLE KILL!”

“That outplay was fucking sick! Like holy hot diggity damn! Can you believe that?”

“I need to see those two from Team Guangzhou raging! They gotta be raging right about now, right!?”

“BEST RIVEN IN KOREA! WE’VE GOT OURSELVES THE BEST RIVEN IN CHINA AND KOREA AND THE WORLD! WOOOOOO! WIN FENG! WIN FENG!”

“The way that Riven linked together her skills. How she animation cancelled and knew just how to position herself to keep the Fiora from proccing her ultimate… Like, just, how? How did she do that? How is that kid that good? He could be in the LPL! Heck, he can probably make it to Worlds!”

Yu Ping sat in the player seating area together with his teammates and coaches from Team Beijing. He glanced at them, listened to them gulping in awe, and sunk far away into his chair. He wished to be invisible, to get far away from anyone who knew him. Because he knew they would ask him what he thought about this play by Riven, and he knew they were going to ask him if he could do the same. He shook his head and mumbled, “I couldn’t… What that Riven just did…” He looked back at the large LCD screen and then down at Team Shanghai’s soundproof booth. What that Riven just did was insane. There’s no one that good… Except for him.

✹

At 13 minutes, Team Guangzhou’s Jungler and Support decided that they had to help mid. Goalie was starting to lose really badly. To the point where it looked like the game might be lost because Riven could start pushing towers. So the two snuck through Blue team’s Jungle, evading Team Shanghai’s wards and arrived in the mid lane.

Team Guangzhou’s Lee Sin placed a ward down behind Riven and hopped towards it with Safeguard! He followed up with his ultimate skill–Dragon’s Rage! He lifted his foot high above the ground and then borrowed the strength of a Dragon as he struck Lin Feng’s Riven with a roundhouse kick! There was so much force behind the kick that Riven was sent flying backwards!

Goalie smiled, barely. He knew where Riven was going to land and he knew Riven didn’t have her ultimate back up yet. He cast Chum the Waters. A small fish flew towards where Lin Feng’s Riven was going to land. And hit Riven as she landed. A portal began opening beneath Riven, the shadow of Megalodon appearing in the deep beneath.

“Ah crap!” Lin Feng exclaimed. He shook his head, his fingers gliding over his keyboard. He activated Blade of the Exile! Runic, green energy reforged his blade and boosted his stats! He followed up with Broken Wings, sweeping his blade out towards Lee Sin! He continued with the second cast from Broken Wings and then the third before finishing the combo with a Wind Slash!

《You have slain an enemy!》

“HE GOT THE KILL! HE GOT THE KILL!” Zephyr screamed into his microphone. He shook his head, incredulous, and added, “He got the kill!”

The portal to the deep beneath Lin Feng’s Riven opened wide enough for Megalodon to jump out! The enormous shark knocked Riven up into the air and took a large bite out of her health bar! Right then, Leona raised her sword to the sky and called down a Solar Flare! The smouldering heat slammed down on Riven and stunned her! Leona followed up with the Exhaust, its debilitating red aura washing over Riven, and left the rest to Goalie.

Goalie’s Fizz dashed at Lin Feng’s Riven with Urchin Strike, stabbing him with the trident. He followed up with Seastone Trident to empower his auto attacks and Ignite. Unquenchable flames started burning on Riven’s skin, while the auto attacks with the trident dealt a ton of damage.

The stun from Solar Flare was about to wear off, so Team Guangzhou’s Leona cast Shield of Daybreak! She slammed her shield into Riven and stunned her again! All the while, Goalie’s Fizz continued attacking Lin Feng’s Riven, cycling through his skills until he killed Riven.

《Shut Down!》

“Aaah, that’s no fun,” Lin Feng complained. He looked at his dull grey screen and shook his head. He then shrugged and added, “Whatever, I got a kill. It’s fine.”

Across the stage in Team Guangzhou’s soundproof booth there was an odd atmosphere. The Jungler and Support cheered for the kill, but Goalie didn’t join them. He just stared at his monitor, at the dead Riven. I got the bonus gold for the shutdown. But what’s the point? What’s that going to do for me? We won that fight because we had three Champions throw all our skills and Summoner Spells at him, and he still got a kill! I’ve got a bit more gold now, but so what? So what…? He felt a cold chill run up and down his spine, tickling his nerves. He didn’t even have Flash or Ignite up. Next fight he will have those again as well! Then what? He’ll dodge my ultimate or Leona’s ultimate and then we’re fucked. Fucked. FUCK!

✹

The second Dragon of the game spawned and at 14 minutes Team Shanghai moved to take it. The players from Team Guangzhou started gathering to try and contest. The Support Leona was placing wards to get vision and Seo was searching for angles to pick someone off. But then Goalie’s voice sounded over the team’s voice chat, “Let them. No fight.”

“What? Why?” Seo asked, narrowing his eyes. “I’m stronger now!”

“Riven, Flash and Ignite,” Goalie explained in his broken Chinese.

The three Chinese players from Team Guangzhou had learned early on not to challenge Goalie on his calls. So when he told them to let Dragon go, they focused back on what they were doing before. But Seo wasn’t quite there. He was proud of his rank as a Korean Challenger. He was proud of his skill! And though he recognized Goalie was a better player, he didn’t believe the difference was all that big. He gnashed his teeth and looked at the Dragon pit. Leona had warded deep enough so that he could see Tang Bingyao’s Kalista hurling spears at something in the fog of war. They’re taking the Dragon and we’re… We’re…

Seo glanced at Goalie and saw the twitching eyelid, the slightly raised nose and the narrowed eyes. He also doesn’t like it. But he knows we can’t win it. Maybe… He hit the Tab key and looked at Team Shanghai. At the 5/1/0 Riven. FUCK! I didn’t realise mid was going this bad! How the… I need a Quicksilver Sash! The active skill on it lets me cleanse stuns. The Riven will one-shot me without it. I need five more minutes. That’s all I need! Five minutes! Then I’ll get my QSS and I’ll wreck that stupid fucking Riven and tear that ugly ass grin off his beggar face!

《The Blue Team has slain the Dragon》

“Dragon to Team Shanghai!” Su Xue cheered. She smiled and analysed, “That’s two Dragons now for Team Shanghai. And they’ve also got the mega fed Riven! I don’t see how Team Guangzhou is going to fight themselves back into this game…”

Zephyr turned his head to look at Su Xue and analysed, “That’s not entirely impossible. Riven is clearly fed. Team Guangzhou needs to find a way to get someone on their team just as fed. Now this obviously isn’t going to happen by ganking mid. We’ve seen what happens when they try that. And I don’t believe it’s smart to gank top either. Dr. Mundo is just so tanky. It’s going to take so much time and resources to kill him. I don’t see how that’d be worth it. But the bot lane…” He briefly paused for dramatic effect and then concluded, “There are possibilities in bot. And a fed Vayne? Ain’t no one stopping a fed Vayne. Not even Riven.”

“I guess,” Su Xue replied. “I just don’t see bot lane suddenly losing so hard after staying even for the better part of the previous game and this one.”

✹

Zhang Hao was farming minions in the top lane with his Dr. Mundo. He felt in his element. Mundo was a Champion with a lot of health and regeneration. More specifically, his low cooldown ultimate allowed him to regain all his health in a matter of seconds. The first couple of levels were a challenge, because he didn’t have the items or skills available to survive. But at this stage of the game, nearly 16 minutes in, it would take more than just Fiora to kill him. So he pushed his lane, killed minions, and drew attention to him and away from the other lanes. I can just run and the others can scale faster! I’m playing grea– He suddenly spotted Fiora, who he thought was recalling back to base, teleporting. He shouted over the team’s voice chat, “Careful! Fiora is teleporting somewhere!”

A red pillar of light fell down on the bot lane behind Tang Bingyao’s Kalista. Zeng Rui’s eyes went wide in shock. They were pushing into Red team’s outer tower. He knew it was dangerous, but he thought he’d cleared the wards behind them and he had vision on the river. When did they get that ward there? How did I miss that!? I can’t miss– He gritted his teeth and slammed on his keyboard, casting Black Shield on Tang Bingyao’s Kalista. He then ordered over the team’s voice chat, “Back! Retreat!”

Black Shield would protect Tang Bingyao’s Kalista from crowd control skills for five seconds. The only way to break it was with magic damage. But with Fizz in the mid lane, Team Guangzhou didn’t have that magic damage. Tang Bingyao nodded and replied, “Mhm! Okay!” She then moved her mouse hand, grimacing at the pain from her pinky, and had her Kalista run back towards the Blue team’s outer tower.

Team Guangzhou knew there was no point in casting crowd control skills on Tang Bingyao’s Kalista right now. But the bottom lane was long and Zeng Rui had cast Black Shield early. It would take more than five seconds to get away. So Leona ran after Kalista and counted down the seconds, quietly mumbling them. Five… Four… Three… Two… One… He pressed the E key–Zenith Blade! A solar projection of Leona’s sword pierced Tang Bingyao’s Kalista! It solidified and pulled Leona in, who then slammed her shield against Kalista and stunned her with Shield of Daybreak!

Zeng Rui panned his camera around the bot lane. Lee Sin appeared on a ward in the river, running down. Behind them, Fiora almost finished her teleportation and Zhang Hao couldn’t stop her. What can we do? BunBun is too far away and Lin Feng is busy in mid… He said through gritted teeth, “Ult me Tang Tang!”

Tang Bingyao nodded. She repeatedly pressed down on the R key to cast Fate’s Call. When the stun from Shield of Daybreak was about to wear off, Leona raised her sword to the sky and called down a Solar Flare! Come on, faster! Don’t let it be perfect! She kept pressing the R key but now also added in the D key to Flash away. Then, right when the solar flare slammed into the ground, a veil of light wrapped around her while Zeng Rui’s Morgana turned to spirit form and entered her body.

The Flash carried Tang Bingyao’s Kalista away from the stun. Leona and Vayne were a fair bit behind her now, with Lee Sin near them. There was only Irelia who could kill her now. She tightened the grip on her mouse, ignoring the pain flaring in her pinky. “Knock Irelia up!” she said to Zeng Rui.

Zeng Rui aimed at Team Guangzhou’s Irelia. This was the second part of Kalista’s ultimate. He could fire himself, like a human cannonball. And whoever he connected with, they’d get knocked up! That should give Tang Tang enough time to get away. The others are far enough awa– His stomach dropped. Seo’s Vayne had a movement speed bonus when moving towards enemy Champions. And she also still had Flash. She’s dead. Tang Tang is dead. He moved his mouse away from Irelia and more towards his outer tower and activated the second part of Fate’s Call.

Seo’s Vayne found the angle on Tang Bingyao’s Kalista. He took the large crossbow from his back and squeezed the trigger, Condemning Kalista to the wall behind her. GOT YOU NOW, BITCH! STUPID, STUPID, CUNT! He breathed faster, adrenaline pumping through his veins. He had her now. He knew it. Her health dropped from his silver bolts. Every third, a small explosion hit her with true damage. Seo smiled, grinned. Laughed. “See who’ll remember your face now, you whining ass bitch!”

《You have slain an enemy!》

“Sorry, Tang Tang,” Zeng Rui said over the team’s voice chat. “I saw Vayne get the angle and knew there was nothing I could do.”

Tang Bingyao nodded and replied, “Mhm. It’s fine.” She then put her hands beneath the desk and carefully rubbed her painful pinky. This isn’t good. I’m now dying because of this… Maybe– No! I’m not giving up! Am. Not.

Lin Feng grinned and asked, “He wasted his Flash, right? I’ll put him back in his place! Right after we take their inner tower!”

“We’re pushing for the inner?” An Xin asked, watching the minimap. Team Guangzhou was pushing to take the bot outer tower after killing Tang Bingyao’s Kalista. And she was in the mid lane with Lin Feng, pushing the wave and moments away from destroying the outer tower.

《A turret has been destroyed!》

“Help!” Goalie shouted over Team Guangzhou’s voice chat. “They keep push!”

Seo glanced at his Midlaner and replied in Korean, “Just hold it for a bit longer. We’ve almost got bot. Almost…”

《A turret has been destroyed!》

Lin Feng’s Riven was incredibly fed. Her high attack damage meant that she could take a tower down incredibly quickly. The Blue minions marched at the mid inner tower and started attacking it. Goalie’s Fizz was hovering in the distance, but didn’t dare to get too close. Between Riven and Sejuani there were so many stuns that he’d just die if he got too close.

Goalie glanced at his minimap again. He wanted to scream at his teammates. The mid lane inner tower was so much more important than the bot lane outer tower. One gave the opponent control over the Jungle and the other was an out of the way tower no one really cared about. He gritted his teeth and mouthed, “Idiots!” He watched his teammates running towards the mid lane, but knew they were far too late. “Idiots. All of them.”

《A turret has been destroyed!》

“Good call by Team Shanghai!” Su Xue said. She leaned closer to her microphone and continued, “They knew bot was lost, so rather than protecting it they took something far more valuable in mid!”

Zephyr nodded and explained, “My co-caster here is completely right. The mid lane inner tower is just so much more valuable than the outer tower in bot. And it’s not like Team Guangzhou could keep pushing bot either, because then Team Shanghai would’ve just taken the inhibitor tower and inhibitor.” He briefly paused and then continued, “On a positive note for Team Guangzhou, at least Vayne is scaling now. He’s got that kill he needed. Now what he really needs is to get a few more. Buy that QSS and outplay the Riven. It’s a steep task, I know, but it’s the only way for Team Guangzhou to win this one.”

✹

Seo looked around the map and took stock of the game. They were 17 minutes in and only the Riven was really fed. He also understood that he was the only one who could realistically stop the Riven, especially with the tower in mid destroyed. Goalie’s gonna be pissed. But sucks to be him. He got his towers destroyed! Bot is still going great! I’m doing great! I can push these minions and then I’ll finally have enough money to buy a Quicksilver Sash! Watch that Riven try to stop me then! He clicked on the minions, his Vayne’s high attack speed allowing him to tear through them. When all minions of the latest wave were dead, he retreated to the brush between his inner and outer tower–just to be safe–and started recalling back to base. He opened the shop and typed out ‘Quicksilver Sash’ in the search bar.

“SEO! SEO!” Team Guangzhou’s Jungler shouted over the team’s voice chat.

“SEO! RIVEN!” Goalie yelled.

Seo scrunched his eyebrows and closed the shop window, annoyed by the many ‘retreat’ pings booming in his ears and flashing on his minimap. What are those guys– OH SHIT! His eyes grew wide and round. Riven was running straight at him! He glanced down at the recall timer. Three more seconds to finish the cast. Not enough! He looked at his inner tower and then searched where his teammates were. No one was nearby. It was just him and Riven. Fuck… Fuck! FUCK FUCK FUCK! He narrowed his eyes, his stomach clenching so much that it hurt. FUCK! WHERE THE FUCK DID THAT NOFACE, UGLY BEGGAR GUY COME FROM!?

Goalie was trying his best to last hit minions underneath his tower, frustrated. This second game against Team Shanghai wasn’t going anything like he imagined it’d go. The gank that was supposed to launch him into a convincing lead had backfired. We were 2 against him! How did he stay so calm? Why didn’t he try to run? Everyone runs! How did that fucking dog ignore me to kill the stupid Lee Sin? FUCK! He gritted his teeth, glaring at the waves and fire flowing below Riven’s feet. They were the visual representation for the Blue and Red buffs. One lowered skill cooldowns and the other added a burn effect to every auto attack. Two buffs to change the entire dynamic of the lane.

The fact that Riven was a kill up was bad enough for Goalie. It made it far more difficult to win the lane. Yet at the same time it was also still winnable. But a Riven powered by the Blue and Red buffs was invincible. One well executed combo by her could kill him. That was why he sat under his tower, grumbling, trying to get a couple of last hits while staying as far away from the Riven as he possibly could. But even underneath his tower, protected by its powerful energy shots, he didn’t feel safe.

Lin Feng’s Riven was the first to hit Level 6. Goalie knew it was coming, but it still stung at his ego when it happened. He felt his stomach clench and the faint taste of bile traveled up his throat and swirled in his mouth. How the fuck am I supposed to fight this fucking double buff dog!? Maybe if I have my ultimate and catch him off… But then I first need my ultimate. Level 6… He glanced at his experience bar that was almost full. Just one more minion, then I recall and buy another stupid ass ring to get some more damage. It’ll put me behind in the long game, but if I can get something from it… Yeah. And when I get back, that double buff will be  gone!

Goalie watched the minions that were fighting at the edge of his outer tower’s range. Three blue caster minions fired their magic at Red caster minions. One of them had fallen to low health. Just that one. Then I back. Goalie hovered his mouse over the caster minion and cast Urchin Strike. His Fizz dashed through it and sheared away the last of its health with his trident! A small flash of light blazed around Fizz. The level up animation! Great! Now I–

Lin Feng’s Riven moved. She dashed forward with Valor and fluidly continued with the first slash from Broken Wings. Goalie’s eyes went round in shock. His entire being screamed at him to escape before Riven could cast Ki Burst and stun him. He slammed down on his E key–Playful! Fizz planted his trident in the ground and hopped on top of it. Right then, with Fizz sitting far above the ground safe from a potential Ki Burst, Goalie realized his mistake. Fuck. FUCK! That fucking dog baited me!

Most people in the stadium didn’t notice Goalie had fallen for Lin Feng’s trap. All they saw was an exchange between the Midlaners without much actual damage done. Even Zephyr and Su Xue at the caster desk thought as much. But there were several people in the player seating area who understood what was going to happen next. Qiu Yijie from Fudan University was the first of them to say it out loud. “Goalie used his E too early. Lin Feng can tower dive him now.”

Lin Feng sat up a little straighter, grinned a little brighter. He mumbled just loud enough for his teammates to hear, “Oh, you messed up bad!” He licked his lips as his left hand glided across the keyboard, pressing various keys with accurate precision.

Goalie’s Fizz jumped off his trident back towards his tower. When he did, Riven chased after him and activated her ultimate skill. Blade of the Exile! Runic energy, the representation of her sheer willpower, burst out from her body! It reforged her broken blade and boosted all her stats! Fizz splashed down on top of her and dealt some damage. In the distance, the outer tower was charging up an energy shot. She ignored both, stabbing at Fizz and following up with the second cast from Broken Wings–another sweep of the blade! She then raised her weapon up to the sky and screamed, “Ki Burst!”

Green, runic energy exploded out around Riven! It swept across Fizz and stunned him! Riven followed up with another auto attack, cancelling the end of the animation with the activation of Wind Slash! This second part of her ultimate skill gathered the excess runic energy on her blade and gave it the weapon’s sharp property. She then released the energy. It cut through the air. It cut through Fizz! His health bar almost disintegrated!

Riven grasped her blade with both hands and raised it up above her head. She then jumped at Fizz with the third cast from Broken Wings and hacked down on him! The sheer power contained within this attack knocked Fizz up into the air right as the stun from Ki Burst wore off! There, as he dangled in the air, Riven stabbed him with her blade. Twice.

《You have slain an enemy!》

There was a stunned silence in the Tianhe Stadium. The audience stared at the large LCD screen, shocked. Gobsmacked. Then, from the speakers installed all around the stadium, Su Xue’s voice blasted. “YEEEEEES! YOU DID IT! YOU LITTLE PUNK, YOU DID IT! YOU SOLO KILLED THAT ARROGANT ASS!”

Zephyr turned his head to look at Su Xue. He covered the microphone with his hand and asked, “Little… punk? Arrogant ass? What?”

Su Xue’s joy fell flat. Her eyes grew wide and round as she slowly turned her head to look at Zephyr. She bit on her lips and asked, “Did I really just say that…?” Her face flared when Zephyr nodded. Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit! I’m a caster! I have to be impartial! I’m the impartial judge here! I can’t take sides! She smiled and said into her microphone, “Uuuh, what I meant, yeah, I was just channeling my inner high schooler! That’s it! That was my best inner high schooler! You know how those high school kids are!”

Zephyr covered his mouth to stop a burst of laughter. He then leaned in towards his microphone and said, “Well, that was some high school cheer, EveningSnowfall! But you’re right! The high schooler did it! He got the solo kill! And what a solo kill that was! Did you see it coming? I didn’t! The way he just towerdove there? Absolutely amazing!”

“WOOOOOOOO!” Su Xue cheered, smiling uncomfortably. Please tell me no one heard that! Yeah, everyone was too busy cheering for Lin Feng! She nodded at herself again and then added, “That was a fantastic display of skill by Lin Feng from Team Shanghai!”

“That dive was sick! OH MY GOOOOOD!”

“WOOOOOOOOO!”

“WIN FENG! WIN FENG! DOING WHAT NO ONE ELSE CAN!”

“Fucking insane! In-fucking-sane!”

“I didn’t even see that mistake from Fizz! How did that guy… HOLY SHIT HE’S GOOD!”

“Some LPL level skills right there! That guy’s going pro!

“WIN FENG TO THE LPL! WIN FENG TO THE LPL!”

The players from Zhejiang University found themselves on their feet, cheering for Lin Feng and Team Shanghai. Leading them was Zuo Cheng. He’d wrapped his hands around his mouth and shouted, “See? SEE? I TOLD YOU ALL! Lin Feng is waaaay better than Goalie! He wrecked Goalie! Look at that! Look at that! Did you guys see that? He solo killed Goalie in a towerdive! HE TOWERDOVE GOALIE AND GOT THE KILL!”

Chu Fang, Vice President of the Shanghai Esports Organization, looked around the player seating area at the players from various teams who were up on their feet cheering for Team Shanghai. Then he looked at those still seated and found most of them clapping and applauding. He grinned, gratified. He’s doing it! We’ve got ourselves Maple! The guys from Guangzhou and Beijing won’t know what hit them! How stupid are they thinking they can beat us. We’ve got Maple!

The coaches from Team Beijing and Team Guangzhou watched the replay of Lin Feng’s kill on Goalie on the large LCD screen, shocked. Team Beijing’s coach kept glancing at Yu Ping and tried to figure out who between him and Lin Feng was the better player and if there was something he could do to help his team. But his team wasn’t playing right now. He still had time to come up with a solution. That wasn’t the case for Coach Yin from Team Guangzhou. He was pulling on his hair, desperate, and cried out, “How is that kid this good!? How is he beating Goalie!? I found Goalie in Korea! He made it all the way to the Top 10 Korean Challenger ladder! How did the Shanghai division find someone even better! How is this possible!?”

In Team Guangzhou’s soundproof booth, Goalie sat behind his computer, seething. The dull grey colours stung, but not as much as the people he could see cheering over the rim of his monitor. They were all cheering for a solo kill on him. He gritted his teeth and slammed his fist down on the desk. I hate him! I hate him so much! So fucking much! I’ma kill that dog! I’ll show him! I’m gonna, gonna, gonna… “Aaargh! I’ve never been this humiliated!” He yelled in Korean. His teammates glanced at him but he ignored them. He glared at Lin Feng’s Riven and mumbled, “You watch your back. Sleep with an eye open. I’m going to get you!”

✹

Only 8 minutes into the game, Team Shanghai held a commanding lead. Mid was practically lost for Team Guangzhou and bot was struggling. But top was still relatively even. So when the opportunity for a gank presented itself, they jumped on it. Goalie’s Fizz snuck away from the mid lane and joined Lee Sin in the tri brush behind Blue Team’s outer tower.

Zhang Hao’s Dr. Mundo was throwing cleavers at the minions there, passively farming. When he walked a bit close to the wall of trees and boulders separating the lane from the Jungle, a fish flew at him. Hit him. It started swimming around him, a portal opening beneath. A dark shadow appeared from the depths, waiting for the portal to grow big enough.

After casting his ultimate skill–Chum the Waters–Goalie’s Fizz dashed at Dr. Mundo with Urchin Strike! Lee Sin joined behind him with a Sonic Wave into Resonating Strike! From the other side of the tower, Fiora Lunged into the fight, stabbing Dr. Mundo with her rapier! That was when the portal beneath Dr. Mundo fully opened and Megalodon jumped out, knocking Dr. Mundo up in the air and mauling him!

Dr. Mundo was known for his high health bar and frightening regenerative abilities. More specifically, his ultimate skill called Sadism was basically a second health bar! But there was a very clear counter to this. Ignite. The unquenchable flames didn’t just burn away at his health bar, they also lowered the efficacy of health regeneration skills and abilities! Goalie’s Fizz cast Ignite, then followed up with Playful! He stabbed his trident in the ground and hopped on top of it, stopping the outer tower from firing energy shots at him. When the tower switched aggro to Lee Sin, he hopped back down from his trident with Trickster, activated Seastone Trident to empower his basic attacks and dug the three prongs from his trident in Dr. Mundo!

《You have slain an enemy!》

“Tower, tower!” Goalie ordered over the team’s voice chat, the hints of a smile appearing on his face. Getting a kill on Dr. Mundo wasn’t the same as getting revenge on Lin Feng’s Riven. But it was something. A lifeline to help him get back into this game. He smiled and panned his camera across the map. Down in the bottom side river, Team Shanghai was countering their play at top by taking the Dragon, but he’d expected as much. He’d be disappointed if they hadn’t done that. This is all going as I want it to go. This is how it should be! Now all that remains for me to do… He zoomed in on the Riven and gnashed his teeth. All that remains is to kill that dog!

“Woooo! A kill in top on Mundo!” Su Xue exclaimed, smiling. I’m impartial! 

Zephyr glanced at Su Xue and then said into his microphone, “Team Guangzhou got the kill on Mundo and the top outer tower from that gank. But Team Shanghai used that opening to take the Dragon. That’s a pretty standard trade.”

“I think we also can’t forget about what’s happening in the mid lane,” Su Xue added. She pointed at her monitor and continued, “Lin Feng’s Riven has almost destroyed it. That isn’t a direct advantage, but it could prove important later on. And. On top of that, we can’t forget that Team Guangzhou’s Botlaners backed away real quick when their team made the play in top. Imagine what could’ve been if they stuck around!”

Zephyr laughed and said, “A beautiful skirmish is what could’ve been! But slow and steady is the game plan for Team Guangzhou’s Botlaners this game! And who can blame them? Vayne is a Champion that only gets stronger as the game progresses. He’s perfectly happy letting this game drag on to the ultra late game!”

“Mm-mhm!” Su Xue agreed.

Zephyr’s deduction was spot on. In Team Guangzhou’s soundproof booth, Seo had retreated deep under his outer tower, far away from a possible gank by Team Shanghai. He’d moved his camera towards the Dragon pit and watched Team Shanghai slay the creature, steaming. Calm, calm. Goalie’s right. I need to be calm. I’m playing Vayne. Late game! I’ll be the hyper carry in the late game. I’m one kill up. This is only going to get better! I’ll make those… those… He closed his eyes and forced himself to take deep, long breaths. Stay calm. Don’t call them names. That’s just going to work you up– FUCK THOSE BASTARDS! I’M GONNA KILL THEM ALL AND MAKE SURE NO ONE REMEMBERS THEIR FACES! He slammed his fist on the desk in frustration.

✹

There was a short lull in the game. The players from both sides returned to farming their respective lanes and the Jungle. But this could never last long. Top lane was completely in Team Guangzhou’s Fiora’s control. But at the same time, Zhang Hao’s Dr. Mundo was tanky enough where he could survive everything she tried. He simply clung to a defensive position halfway up his lane and farmed minions. If Fiora tried to push, she’d become susceptible to a gank from An Xin’s Sejuani; if she didn’t, she’d fall behind in levels due to lost experience. So she had to take a different tactic. More specifically, she roamed down to the mid lane for a gank.

Lin Feng’s Riven was pushing so hard in the mid lane that Goalie could only place his Fizz defensively next to his outer tower. Even then, the tower only had a couple of auto attacks worth of health remaining. Goalie chewed on his lips and grumbled quiet complaints, clicking around his tower furiously. That all changed when he glanced at his minimap and saw Fiora running down the river. A smile crept onto his face. The slightest opening is all I need! Thanks Fiora! He smashed down on his keyboard to activate Chum the Waters! His Fizz stabbed his trident forward to fling a fish at Riven! It hit Riven and started swimming circles around her, a portal to the deep opening beneath her.

“A GANK! A GANK! THEY’RE GONNA GET THE RIVEN!”

“FINALLY A COMEBACK KILL! LET’S GOOOOO!”

“WE’RE FROM GUANGZHOU AND WE’RE PROUD!”

“TEAM GUANGZHOU, LET’S FUCKING GOOOOO!”

Zephyr chuckled and said into his microphone, “Sounds like we’ve got some fans from Guangzhou in the stadium with us today! Let’s give it another one for Team Guangzhou!”

“Team Guangzhou! Woooooo!” Su Xue exclaimed, cringing. It feels all kinds of wrong to cheer for Team Guangzhou… But I’m impartial! No one is more impartial than I am! I’ll hype up both sides and then cheer nice and loud when Lin Feng wins!

Lin Feng narrowed his eyes. He counted the seconds until Megalodon would jump at him through the portal to knock him up and how long until Fiora would arrive in the lane–a ward had revealed her seconds earlier. He placed a finger on the D key. Flashing was the only way to escape the initial engage. He turned his complete focus to Goalie’s Fizz. You’ll jump on me first, won’t you? You’re impatient like that.

Team Guangzhou’s Fiora arrived in the brush right above the mid lane and the portal to the deep beneath Lin Feng’s Riven was growing wider. Goalie couldn’t wait any longer. He dashed at Lin Feng’s Riven with Urchin Strike and followed up with Playful! He hopped on top of his trident and waited to see where Lin Feng was going to escape to, ready to flash after him.

Fiora was in the lane and almost upon Lin Feng’s Riven and the Megalodon could jump through the portal at any moment. Yet Lin Feng didn’t Flash. He waited, patient. Careful. Then it all happened. A mottled flash of light wrapped around Goalie’s Fizz as he guessed the direction in which Lin Feng was going to escape, the Megalodon jumped out from the water and Fiora Lunged at Lin Feng’s Riven! And Lin Feng flashed. A veil of light fell over his Riven and carried her a short distance towards Red team’s outer tower. Behind him, Fiora stabbed Megalodon who failed to knock up Lin Feng. And even further behind him, Goalie’s Fizz had flashed the wrong direction.

“OH MY GOD! HE JUST…” Zephyr cried out. “HE JUST DODGED IT ALL!”

Su Xue clenched her fist, her knuckles white, and shouted, “THAT’S LIN FENG FOR YOU!”

“HOLY DAMN!”“OH MY GOOOOD!”“DID HE JUST? YEAH HE DID!”

“BEJEBUS!”

Goalie’s eyes twitched and his mouse hand trembled. He glanced up towards his outer tower where Riven was. How did he…? He just… His mind was numb, his passive self taking control over his body. He clicked towards Lin Feng’s Riven, though all his skills were on cooldown.

Lin Feng was in his element. He was playing a high mechanical Champion and relied on his high mechanical skills to outplay not one but two Champions. His fingers glided over his keyboard in practiced motion and he moved his mouse in short bursts with frightening accuracy. There were two targets in front of him. Two victims. He grinned as he activated Blade of the Exile!

A thick hue of runic energy appeared around Riven. It reforged her blade and boosted her stats! She followed up by jumping towards Fiora and Fizz and sweeping out with her blade! This was the first cast from Broken Wings and brought her exactly in range for a double stun! Riven pointed her reforged blade up at the sky and shouted, “Ki Burst!” Green energy exploded outwards and smashed into Fiora and Fizz! Both were stunned. She then cast Ignite on Fizz while also stabbing at him with an auto attack!

Real Riven players learned Broken Wings at Level 1, and Lin Feng was a real Riven player. When the first minion wave marched past the outer tower into the mid lane, he followed along with them. Red minions came from the other side of the lane. Lin Feng focused on them, ignoring Goalie’s Fizz trailing behind the Red minions. He watched their health bars drop and zoomed in on a melee minion in the front. Two more attacks to kill it. Broken Wings! Riven swept out with her blade and then, before the animation from Broken Wings could finish, hacked at the minion with an auto attack!

“Oooh!” Zephyr said into his microphone. He leaned in closer to his monitor and watched Lin Feng’s Riven continue into the 2nd part of Broken Wings. It was again perfectly linked together with an auto attack to claim a minion’s life. He continued, “Oooh! That’s one fast combo there! This Lin Feng looks like a Riven main!”

Su Xue nodded and added, “You see how he backs away after every skill? He’s doing that to make sure the minions don’t start focusing him and also to keep some distance from Fizz! What he’s doing there, that’s real big brain!”

On screen, Lin Feng’s Riven finished her Broken Wings combo with its third and final cast. She leaped up into the air, both hands locking around the handle of her weapon, and then hacked down! The minions underneath her blade were knocked up into the air! She then struck the lowest health one with an auto attack and killed it.

“He’s looking like a boss on that Riven! Goalie is just sitting back there!”

“When I try to do that on Riven, I just get attacked and killed… Why isn’t Goalie attacking?”

“Because that Riven is good! Can’t you see how he’s animation canceling perfectly there?”

“It’s so easy not to notice that. But what he’s doing up there? That’s some real skill!”

“I’m a Riven one-trick pony and even I can’t link it together that well!”

✹

Goalie stared at his monitor. Glared at it. Your Riven is half decent. But you think you’re going to win this game by showing off that combo? Is that your plan for this game, to scare me off with your CS ability? Fucking dog! I’ll show you what I think of your Riven! He glanced at the bottom corner of his screen and confirmed he needed one more minion kill to hit Level 2. Lin Feng’s Riven had already gotten to Level 2.

A blue caster minion was about to die. Goalie had his Fizz thread through the field of minions and arrived exactly in time to land the final attack on the caster minion. It died and he hit Level 2. Urchin Strike! His Fizz dashed through Riven and struck out with his trident! While he did that, he learned his second skill: Playful/Trickster.

Goalie narrowed his eyes and pressed the E key. His Fizz slammed his trident into the ground and jumped on top of it just as Riven shouted out a Ki Burst! Green energy exploded through the ground around and between them, but it stopped just short of Fizz’s trident! Goalie smiled. Shitty reaction speed there, dog. He then flicked his mouse and cast the second part of his E skill—Trickster! Fizz jumped off his trident back towards his side of the lane. Water splashed around him when he landed, dealing damage to the nearby Blue minions.

Lin Feng’s finger hovered over the Q key. He wanted to dash after Goalie’s Fizz and return the poke, but hesitated. Something tingled at the back of his mind, an itch that gave enough discomfort for him to think twice. He glanced at his minimap and chewed on his lips. Their Lee is going to be somewhere here soon. I’ll be ready for that instead. 

The players watching the game from the player seating area visibly relaxed. Most of them were pretty vocal about Goalie being the better Midlaner, but few had actually believed those words. It wasn’t until now, when Goalie showed faster reaction speed than Lin Feng, that they started to believe Goalie was the better player.

“Knew it. I just knew it! Goalie just had an off game! Yes. That’s all that was!”

“I know right!? I was like, no way, last game. This looks like the Goalie I know again!”

“Team Guangzhou is still the team to watch out for! Yes. Totally!”

Qiu Yijie from Fudan University listened to the people around him and shook his head. They’re just trying to convince themselves. They would learn so much more if they watched the game and compared it to their own and learned how to improve from that. Oh well… He turned to look at his teammates and said, “Watch what happens carefully. We’ve seen him play. He never holds back unless there’s something to gain from it. Feels like that something is gonna happen soon.”

✹

At 4 minutes, the minion wave in the mid lane was pushing towards Red team’s outer tower. Goalie smiled, proud of himself. His Fizz was Level 3 and could now deal enough damage to scare Riven. All he needed was a good gank. He glanced at his minimap. His Jungler was already waiting in the brush right above the mid lane. Now I just need to bait him. Make him waste his skill– He laughed. He didn’t even need to ask for it. Riven swept out with her blade and cleaved three melee minions. This was the first cast from her Broken Wings.

“FightFight!” Goalie shouted over the team’s voice chat. He moved his mouse over Lin Feng’s Riven and activated Urchin Strike! His Fizz dashed at Riven and pierced her with his trident! From above, he saw Lee Sin place down a ward and hop towards it with Safeguard, quickly closing in on Lin Feng’s Riven. Goalie smiled wickedly. You’re dead! Stupid dog!

Zephyr reached for his microphone and shouted, “It’s the gank! Team Guangzhou has got the first gank again! Just like last game! But this one looks like it might be a kill! RIVEN MIGHT DIE!”

Lin Feng breathed slowly, calmly. This was the second time Goalie’s Fizz engaged him. The first time, on purpose, he’d waited a brief moment before casting Ki Burst. That trick paid off now. Fizz planted his trident in the ground and hopped on top of it, expecting the Ki Burst. Lin Feng grinned. This Goalie is so predictable! He waited for the Fizz to come back down with the second part of the skill while also giving Lee Sin the time to get a bit closer. Then, right before Fizz splashed down on the ground, he activated Flash. A veil of light fell over his Riven and carried her a short distance straight towards Lee Sin.

“He’s going all in!” Su Xue exclaimed. She leaned towards the microphone and continued, “Riven is going for the kill on Lee Sin!”

“He’s crazy! He’s nuts! Why isn’t he running!?”

“He’s mental! He’s insane! He could’ve escaped!”

“He’s sick! He’s delusional! Why didn’t he run when he could’a!?”

Team Guangzhou’s Lee Sin was fully expecting Lin Feng to try and escape. So much so that when Lin Feng jumped on him, he jumpscared. His hands refused to move and he just stared at his screen, watching Lin Feng’s Riven sweep her blade at him and cleave him! In the distance, he could hear Goalie say something. What’s he saying…? He blinked and focused on the voice. “FIGHT! IDIOT! DO SOMETHING!” It shook him awake. His hands moved back into action. He flicked his mouse over Lin Feng’s Riven and cast Sonic Wave! A discordant sound wave flew from point blank range at Riven!

Lin Feng was ready for the Sonic Wave. He’d been watching Lee Sin’s every motion, searching for the activation of the skill. When he saw it, he activated Valor! His Riven dashed to the side, a shield wrapping around her, and dodged the Sonic Wave!

“H-how…” Zephyr mumbled into his microphone, slack jawed.

Su Xue chuckled and shouted, “That’s Lin Feng for you! And just wait until Bu– An Xin shows up at just the right time!”

Everyone in the stands and down on the grass focused on the minimap. An Xin’s Sejuani was running towards the mid lane, just like EveningSnowfall had said. Shock stunned them dead silent. The blowing of the wind and the sound of traffic off in the distance together with the ingame sounds blasting from the speakers was all anyone could hear at the Tianhe Stadium.

Lin Feng’s Riven jabbed her broken sword in the air and shouted, “Ki Burst!” A green energy shot out on the ground around her! It latched onto Lee Sin’s feet and stunned him! She then hacked at Lee Sin, while Lin Feng shouted over the team’s voice chat, “BUNBUN!”

An Xin chewed on her tongue which stuck slightly out of her mouth. Her Sejuani was further away than she’d have liked. She ran out from the top side Jungle and ran towards the outer tower in the mid lane. Above her was a large boulder and above that the brush from which Lee Sin had appeared. I’m almost in range, almost… She flicked her mouse and timed the stun from Ki Burst. I need to go now! She tapped twice on her keyboard, first to cast Arctic Assault and then Flash. Her Sejuani charged forward as a mottled flash of light wrapped around her. It carried her a short distance through time and space. She kept her momentum and slammed into Lee Sin, knocking him up into the air!

An Xin breathed out and glanced at Lin Feng. That was close. He was faster than I expected… Faster and better. She breathed out again, loudly. Then she chuckled and said, “No need to yell. I’m always here at your beck and call, you know that.”

“Of course!” Lin Feng replied, laughing, clicking on Lee Sin. His Riven brandished her blade and hacked and cut and stabbed at him!

Zephyr shoutcasted, “And another auto attack! And another! Lee Sin’s health is at critical levels! A few more hits and that’s the kill! Can he stop this!?”

Team Guangzhou’s Lee Sin fell back to the ground. Goalie was shouting in his ears, telling him to Flash away. He gritted his teeth and slammed the buttons on his keyboard and clicked on his mouse! But Lin Feng’s Riven linked her skills together too well. All this time, she’d been holding onto the third and final cast from Broken Wings. This one contained a knock up effect. Before Lee Sin’s feet could touch the ground again, he was knocked up again!

Lin Feng calculated the damage he still needed to do to kill Lee Sin. It’ll be close. If he flashes in time… No point in risking it. He cast Ignite on Lee Sin as the Jungler from Team Guangzhou came tumbling back down to the ground. Unquenchable flames lit up on Lee Sin’s body and burned away his health bar! It secured the kill, but not before Lee Sin flashed away. One last act of panic and confusion.

《First Blood!》

“HAHAHA! HE GOT IT! HE GOT THE KILL!”

“AND THE PANIC FLASH! HE EVEN GOT THE FLASH!”

“WIN FENG! WIN FENG! DOIN’ WHAT NO ONE ELSE CAN!”

“Fuck me that was intense. What an outplay! WOOOOOOOO!”

“Think I pissed my pants! This game is so exciting!”

“AND I JIZZED IN MY PANTS! YEAH I JIZZED IN MY PANTS!”

“Goalie is screwed!” Zephyr exclaimed. He grabbed his microphone and leaned back in his chair before continuing, “Just look at that! Riven never cared about killing Fizz there! He just wanted the double buff from Lee Sin! I feel so bad for Goalie right now… Playing in a solo lane against an opponent with double buff is the worst experience ever!”

Su Xue smiled and said, “That’s Lin Feng for you! Knows exactly how to win his lane, and then wins it! His skills were great there! But let’s not forget about An Xin! She arrived exactly in time! If she’d been a second later, Lee Sin would’ve escaped!”

“I’m not so sure about that,” Zephyr replied. He shook his head and continued, “That Lin Feng actually kept the third cast from Broken Wings all the way until the end there. If Sejuanie had been a bit later? He would’ve just knocked Lee Sin back up and waited for her. That’s what makes it all the more impressive!”

Su Xue’s eyes went wide open in surprise. I-I didn’t even think about that… She glanced at Lin Feng and shook her head, incredulous. How is he so good? She then smiled and balled her hand into a fist. Good kid! You didn’t let me down! You made me proud! She took a long, deep breath and then said, “Riven’s got the lead in mid! I bet Goalie is stewing real hard on that! But there’s nothing he can do right now! He’s going to need all the help he can get from his teammates if he wants to turn this game back around!”

✹

Most people in the audience didn’t play League of Legends at the highest level. They just enjoyed watching it, letting themselves be informed about the quality of a play by the casters. The people in the player seating area watched the game a bit more analytically. But when it came to Lin Feng’s kill on Lee Sin, even they were simply mesmerized by the play. They let themselves get carried away by the casters, cheering for Team Shanghai and a beautiful kill!

There were only a couple of players not celebrating this kill. They sat in their seats, silent. Stunned. They were the handful that understood just how much skill it took to do what Lin Feng just did. One of them was Yu Ping. He slowly shook his head, his breathing a bit faster than usual. If I were playing Riven there, I could’ve dodged the Fizz thing. No problem. And the Lee Sin Sonic Wave isn’t that hard to dodge with Valor or Flash either. And then… then I’d have retreated. How… How did he even get the idea of going in for the kill? How did he know he had enough damage? How did he know to keep the third strike from Broken Wings until the end there? How did he… How, how, how… He looked through the glass panels of Team Shanghai’s soundproof booth at Lin Feng. Was that just cocky? Or did you know? Did you calculate everything and… That can’t be. Even I… He breathed in, trying to calm himself down. If that’s the real you, then I’m fucked. I need to do something… Think of something!–

“Nice!” Zhang Hongyi shouted next to Yu Ping, interrupting his thoughts. “Kill him! Kill him!”

Yu Ping glanced at his teammate and then followed his gaze up to the large LCD screen. It was showing the bot lane. Team Guangzhou’s Leona had landed a Zenith Blade on Tang Bingyao’s Kalista and dashed at her. Before she could land a stun with Shield of Daybreak, a Black Shield wrapped around Kalista and protected her from crowd control. But the engage from Leona’s was only a diversion. A trick to force Zeng Rui into using his Black Shield.

Seo’s Vayne ran past Tang Bingyao’s Kalista and Tumbled to get the angle on Zeng Rui’s Morgana for Condemn! She then pulled the large crossbow from her back and squeezed the trigger. A thick, massive bolt shot through the air and struck Morgana, lifting her off her feet and pinning her to the wall behind her! Stunned!

A silver ring appeared beneath Zeng Rui’s Morgana, followed soon after by a second one. Team Guangzhou’s Leona also appeared in front of him, waiting for the stun to wear off, ready to prolong it with Shield of Daybreak.

Zeng Rui ordered over the team’s voice chat, “Tang Tang! Get out! I’m dead!”

“Mhm!” Tang Bingyao replied. She had her Kalista run past Zeng Rui’s Morgana and back to the outer tower. In her headphones, she heard the sound of an arrow striking Morgana followed by the explosion of true damage from the three silver rings beneath Morgana’s feet.

Team Guangzhou’s Leona slammed her shield into Morgana right before the stun from Condemn wore off. This gave Seo all the time he needed to auto attack. Silver rings appeared beneath Morgana one after the other. Every third, they exploded and dealt true damage. And then he killed her.

《You have slain an enemy!》

Zeng Rui grimaced watching his screen turn grey. He then turned to look across the long desk at An Xin and said over the team’s voice chat, “Vayne burned her Flash there. A gank would be perfect.”

“On it!” An Xin replied, smiling.

✹

An Xin took a Jungle path that led her past a few camps to the bot lane, where she arrived at the same time as Zeng Rui did. Team Guangzhou’s Botlaners had been pushing Tang Bingyao’s Kalista after Zeng Rui died and were because of that overextended. Zeng Rui had his Morgana run into the lane, past the protection of his minions, while An Xin’s Sejuani appeared in the bot lane from the river entrance above.

“They’re doing it! It’s gonna be a kill!” Su Xue shouted into her microphone!”

Zephyr nodded and waited briefly. Team Guangzhou’s Botlaners were too far away from their outer tower to escape. So rather than try and both survive, Leona body blocked the three from Team Shanghai and helped Seo’s Vayne escape. Zephyr then said into the microphone, “And that was a quick and easy kill. Team Guangzhou practically gave that to Team Shanghai!”

“It’s 2-1 again! Team Shanghai is in the lead!” Su Xue cheered.

Zephyr nodded and said, “Right now the difference is all with the Junglers. That gank in bot was a good, decisive gank. But while we focused on that, another gank happened in the top lane. It was slow and lacklustre and Team Guangzhou didn’t get anything out of it. That’s 0-2 in ganks for Team Guangzhou and 2-0 for Team Shanghai. That’s the real difference.”

The gank in the top lane failed because Zhang Hao was playing defensively on an already tanky Champion. Ganking him was never going to work unless he grossly misplayed or if Team Guangzhou came with three Champions or more. But Lee Sin revealing himself in the top lane did allow for other plays to be made elsewhere on the map. More specifically, in the mid lane. Lin Feng raised his eyebrows in surprise and mumbled, “Oh? Lee is top? Odd…” He then shrugged and smirked and said, “Guess I’m getting another kill.”

Yu Ping’s voice drifted through the stunned silence that was the player seating area. Everyone was staring at the large LCD screen in disbelief. For the last couple of weeks, the Guangzhou Esports Association had gone to great lengths to promote their team. To show to everyone exactly how skilled Goalie was and that there was no one who could beat him. Until now, no one had beaten him. But this first game against Team Shanghai changed all that. Lin Feng’s Talon never looked in trouble against Goalie’s LeBlanc. Not really, anyways.

“Team comp. That’s all there is to it,” Shenyang University’s team captain mumbled. He repeated it, this time with a bit more conviction. “Team comp. That’s all there is to it.” He looked away from the large LCD screen at Yu Ping. He’s right. This is all team comp. He let go of the breath he’d been holding and said, “Team comp. That’s all there is to it.”

“Yeah! Team comp! That’s all there is to it!” another player shouted. He got up from his seat and looked around at the others in the player seating area. He continued, “Lissandra was the perfect counter for LeBlanc! And even if that failed, they had Braum protecting Corki. And if even that failed, they still had Gragas with his Explosive Cask! They had everything to deal with Team Guangzhou’s team! The guy over there is right! Team comp! That’s all there is to it!”

Zuo Cheng from Zhejiang University listened to the discussion and looked at the player who was explaining his understanding of what happened. And he laughed, long and loud. The people around him stopped arguing and all turned to look at him. He looked back at them and said, “You blind fools! Did we watch different games or something? Goalie got schooled!”

“Goalie’s an A+ Midlaner!” someone argued. “He’s almost in the percentage ranking! People of his skill level play in the LPL and might even make it to Worlds! Are you really trying to say this Lin Feng from Team Shanghai is better than Goalie? Don’t be ridiculous! It was a fluke, at best!”

Another player nodded and chimed in, “Did you guys see how much help that Lin Feng got? If it wasn’t for Lissandra and Braum helping him out, he would’ve never gotten so far ahead! Team Comp! Definitely! It was definitely that!”

Sun Ruinian watched the players around him argue about Lin Feng’s exact level of skill and about how Team SHanghai had secured this first win against Team Guangzhou. He chuckled and shook his head. All these guys know about Team Shanghai is that Zeng Rui is a decent enough player on the Ionia server. He’s the only one from their team who’s made a name for himself. And then there’s the four question marks. No one knows a thing about them, except that Lin Feng beat AyDeeCee. But what’s that when you compare it with all the hyping up that the Guangzhou Esports Association has done for Team Guangzhou? They’ve been shouting that Goalie is some kind of God! He sighed and said to Zuo Cheng, “Drop it. It’s not worth it.”

“But they’re blind!” Zuo Cheng argued. He turned his head to look at Sun Ruinian and continued, “You saw that game! Lin Feng was getting ganked and didn’t get any ganks! Yet he still won! That’s skill! He’s better than Goalie! But these… these idiots can’t see it!”

Loud protests erupted around them. Two players even broadened their tiny shoulders and flexed their miniscule biceps, trying to look intimidating. Sun Ruinian pulled Zuo Cheng down and smiled apologetically at them. It sussed the situation. He then turned his head to look at Zuo Cheng and quietly explained, “What did you expect? These guys have been under the impression for months that their biggest opponent this year is going to be Goalie from Team Guangzhou. Every game until this last one has only confirmed that impression. And now, suddenly, they see someone playing better. Of course they’re looking for excuses! What did you expect?”

“But Lin Feng was clearly better…” Zuo Cheng mumbled, deflated.

Sun Ruinian smiled and replied, “Yeah, he was. We know that and those guys …” he pointed at everyone in the player seating area. “… they know it too. They’re just not willing to admit it yet. Give it two more games. They’ll change their tunes.”

✹

Zephyr pulled off his headset and leaned back in his chair, throwing his feet up on the desk. He glanced at Su Xue sitting next to him and said, “What a game! Who would’ve thought that Team Shanghai was gonna pull that crazy win! Nice job on all the research by the way!”

Su Xue took her own headset off and placed it carefully in front of her, making sure the wires didn’t get twisted. She then turned her head to look at Zephyr and smiled. She replied, “Thanks! I was really nervous there at the start, but I think I got the hang of it after those first few plays! It was a fun game to cast too! There was just so much happening all the time!”

“You’re a lucky one,” Zephyr said, laughing. He rolled his neck and continued, “Pretty straightforward action. There basically wasn’t a dull moment we had to fill and there weren’t any complicated teamfights either. Kind of surprised by that to be honest with you. Mostly with Goalie. He’s the one who usually leads Team Guangzhou. But that kid did not look on his A+ game there. I don’t know what it was, but he just looked out of it! I’m really hoping he’ll be back to his normal self next game. ‘Cause, I mean, someone of his status should really be beating every Midlaner he’s up against in this university tournament.”

Su Xue fought hard to keep the snort back. He really thinks Goalie is better than Lin Feng? How? She shook her head and replied, “I don’t know. I thought Lin Feng played it pretty well. I can totally see him beat Goalie again in the next game!”

Zephyr laughed and replied, “Sure, sure. Whatever, I’ma take a piss. I’ll be back in a minute.”

Su Xue watched Zephyr get up and leave the broadcast room, biting her lips to stop herself from laughing. Only after he closed the door behind him did a smile creep up on her face. He really believed what he was saying! He really thinks Goalie is better than Lin Feng, even after that game! This is going to be so fun next game! She glanced at the monitor showing Team Shanghai’s soundproof booth. The five players she knew so well were sitting in a circle, discussing something. They’re probably preparing their tactic for the next game. Come on, guys! Lin Feng! You can do this! Show everyone how good you are! I’m rooting for you!

✹

Coach Yin barged into Team Guangzhou’s soundproof booth, furious. He looked around the room at the five team members and shouted, “What the fuck was that!? I thought you guys said you had this! You were going to beat them with their own Champions? You got your fucking asses kicked!” He paused, forcing himself to take a couple of deep breaths, then continued, “Goalie, what the fuck? That Lin Feng is trash! I watched it all with my own two eyes! That kid can’t play for shit! All he did was farm and wait for the rest of his team to carry him! I don’t give a fuck that he beat AyDeeCee or whatever. He’s not a starplayer. You are a starplayer, Goalie. Live the fuck up to that!”

The interpreter strung together a quick summary from Coach Yin’s outburst. He looked at Goalie, waiting for a response. But Goalie wouldn’t even meet his eyes. He sat behind his computer, staring at his screen. Furious himself.

“I don’t want to see that a second time,” Coach Yin continued, barking. “I want to see a focused team that is trying to win! We’ve got two Korean Challengers on our team for fucks sake! How are we losing to four no-namers and that Support idiot from the Ionia server? Get your heads in the game!” He focused on Goalie and concluded, “Goalie. Pick a Champion you’re good with. Lead the team like I know you can. Show everyone how good you really are! I know you’re better than this! Now come on!”

Goalie closed his eyes as he listened to the interpreter finally catching up to Coach Yin. He nodded and mumbled, “Yeah. Okay.” But his mind was somewhere else. He glanced across the stage at Team Shanghai’s soundproof booth and scrunched his eyebrows. Who is that kid? How… I was careless and got upset because he annoyed me yesterday. But still, he was good. There were a few moments where I felt like I was even playing against Rake– He shook his head violently, then slapped it for good measure. Don’t be stupid. You underestimated him and he was a bit better than you expected. Readjust. Calm down and focus. I’m the best player at this tournament. He looked over his shoulder at Coach Yin and said in broken Chinese, “I beat him. Trust me.”

“Good. That’s what I wanted to hear,” Coach Yin said. He then walked past Goalie and stopped behind Seo, who was staring at his feet, and asked, “Now you want to tell me what the fuck was going on with you last game? I thought you were a Korean Challenger. You looked like a boosted Challenger. Did that girl on Team Shanghai boost you? That it?” He briefly paused and then asked, “Are you really telling me she’s better than you are?”

“I’M BETTER THAN HER!” Seo screamed. He slammed his fist down on the desk and repeated, “I’M BETTER THAN HER!”

“Then show it,” Coach Yin replied.

Seo gritted his teeth, white hot fury dying his face. He slowly nodded and said, “I will. I will beat her. Crush her. Make sure no one remembers her face! Her ugly ass face!”

✹

After a brief interlude, the players from Team Shanghai and Team Guangzhou got installed behind their computers again and moved into Champion Select for Game 2. The large LCD screen above their soundproof booths flashed to life and revealed to the audience the six banned Champions. Team Shanghai had gone for three meta Champions, while Team Guangzhou banned Lissandra, Braum and Talon.

“Looks like Team Guangzhou doesn’t want a repeat from last game,” Zephyr said into his microphone, his voice carried through the speakers to the audience.

Su Xue nodded and chimed in, “Yeah! Three Champions from the previous game are banned!–” She stopped herself when Team Shanghai locked in their first Champion. Riven. She scrunched her eyebrows and mumbled, “Riven? Is HaoBro really going with Riven…?”

Haobro? Zephyr glanced at Su Xue, confused. He glanced through his notebook at the names from Team Shanghai. Oh! He leaned towards his microphone and said, “That does look like a Riven top! Zhang Hao is Team Shanghai’s Toplaner, so he’d be playing her!”

✹

Team Guangzhou’s Toplaner sat up straight in his gaming chair. A chill was still running up and down his spine, reinvigorated every time he thought about how Coach Yin had barged in after their loss in the previous game. We can’t lose again. We won’t! We’re going to beat these noobs! Starting with this stupid Toplaner! “Hmm, Riven, huh?” he mumbled. “Let me show you just how much better I am than you! You only won because of Gragas! But this game, this game is going to be mine!” He then clicked on the summoner portrait of Fiora and locked her in.

Team Guangzhou’s Jungler looked at Goalie and asked, “Who? Lee Sin?”

Goalie looked at Team Shanghai’s Champion. Riven… Why would they pick her first…? He took a long, deep breath and then replied, “Lee Sin.”

Team Shanghai were up next for their second and third pick. They went with Sejuani who was a tanky Jungler and Kalista who was one of Tang Bingyao’s best ad-carry Champions.

It was Team Guangzhou’s turn again to pick two Champions. Seo informed his Support he wanted something defensive, so the Support locked in Leona. He then nodded at Goalie and asked, “You want to pick now or want me to go first?”

Goalie shrugged and said, “I’ll go first. Won’t change my pick anyway.” He moved his mouse over Fizz and locked him in.

Zephyr grabbed his microphone and shouted, “It’s Fizz in the mid lane! Goalie is sticking to what he’s familiar with, ability power assassins!”

“I’m really curious to see what Lin Feng is going to play,” Su Xue replied absentmindedly. Her focus was still on the Riven pick. HaoBro never plays Riven. He doesn’t like the style! But Lin Feng does! Are they going to lane swap? Or– She finally realized it, her eyes growing wide. She leaned in towards her microphone and said, “What if… what if that Riven pick is a mid Riven?”

✹

Lin Feng laughed when he saw the Fizz pick. He leaned back in his chair and mumbled, “Fizz, hmm? A bit interesting. Could be fun.”

An Xin glanced at Lin Feng and shook her head. Doofus. She then turned her head around to look at Zhang Hao and asked, “What you wanna play against Fiora?”

“Uhm…” Zhang Hao started, hesitating. He finally replied, “Mundo. Yeah, I’ll go with Dr. Mundo. That way you don’t really have to gank my lane. I’ll be able to hold my own.”

“That makes our team really AD heavy,” Zeng Rui noted. He mulled over it briefly and then added, “I’ll go with Morgana. That way, we’ve still got some AP.”

Su Xue jumped up from her chair, forgetting to grab the microphone, and shouted, “I was right! I’m right! That’s Riven mid!”

“But… How?” Zephyr asked, surprised. “What kind of team comp is this? Are you sure Riven is going mid? What if this is some weird Morgana mid and Riven top and Mundo Support? Or maybe it’s Riven Support? She does have her Ki Burst for some crowd control…”

“It’s obviously Riven mid!” Su Xue countered, grinning. Just wait until you see Lin Feng’s Riven! You’ll get it then!

“Team Zephyr or Team EveningSnowfall? Who is going Mid? Place your bets here!”

“Has to be Morgana, right? You want that AP damage and she won’t get much damage if she’s going Support!”

“Full AD teams have been becoming the flavour of the month, so who knows…”

“Yeah, I guess. Still, weird ass team.”

“Maybe their plan is to confuse Team Guangzhou into a surrender?”

“LOL. That’d be brilliant! Imagine Team Guangzhou surrendering ‘cause they don’t understand Team Shanghai’s team comp! Hahaha!”

“Right!? But let’s be realistic here. This has to be a stomp by Team Guangzhou. There’s no way they’re losing to that whacky ass team from Team Shanghai!”

Back in Team Guangzhou’s soundproof booth, Goalie and Seo were caught up in a similar discussion as the rest of the crowd. But they only had 70 seconds to decide on their final pick. With 20 seconds left to go, Goalie turned to look at Seo and said, “We’ll stick with our original plan. Doesn’t matter what they do. Lock in your Champion. And Seo?” He briefly waited to get his ad-carry’s full attention and then continued, “Calm down a bit. Play like I know you can.”

Seo closed his eyes and breathed in. He then opened his eyes, locked in Vayne and then breathed out. He replied, “Got it. I will.”

✹

Zephyr turned his head and looked at Su Xue. He muttered, “Oh my god, you were right… You were right! It really is Riven mid! It’s really Riven mid!”

Su Xue smiled and replied, “Lin Feng has played Riven before all the way back in the high school tournament he played. That was long ago, but it was really good back then! So I thought maybe…”

“Wow!” Zephyr exclaimed. He shook his head and continued, “You’ve done more than just some homework. It’s like you’ve watched every single game Lin Feng has ever played!”

Su Xue giggled and replied, “You could say that.”

Back in Team Guangzhou’s soundproof booth, Goalie narrowed his eyes. Riven, huh? First Talon and now Riven? You’re trying to take the piss out of me, aren’t you? That’s what you’re doing. First acting like you don’t know who I am and now taking the piss out of me! But don’t think I’ll let you do that. I’ll show you what I do to people who look down on me! He gripped his mouse and tightened his grip just the right amount. Then he placed his other hand on the keyboard, feeling the touch of the keys against his fingers.

Over in Team Shanghai’s soundproof booth, An Xin looked at Lin Feng and asked, “Since you’re playing Riven, you should be fine, right? I won’t need to gank?”

Lin Feng ruffled his hair, grinning, and said, “Yep! Just camp bot! Or top… You can leave mid to me!”

✹

Winter Collegiate Cup, Round of 16, Game 2

Team Shanghai (Blue) versus Team Guangzhou (Red)

Top: Dr. Mundo versus Fiora

Jungle: Sejuani versus Lee Sin

Mid: Riven versus Fizz

Ad-carry: Kalista versus Vayne

Support: Morgana versus Leona

《Welcome to Summoner’s Rift!》

The Champions from both teams spawned on the Rift. Starter items appeared in their inventory and then they walked towards their respective lanes. There were no early invades, with both teams throwing some wards down in the river but otherwise staying near their outer towers. This gave Zephyr and Su Xue a few extra minutes to discuss the unexpected matchup in the mid lane.

Zephyr leaned towards his microphone and analysed, “Riven is a relatively good pick against Fizz. She doesn’t have much to worry about, especially early on. If Fizz tries to jump on her, she can just stun him with Ki Burst. And from there, well, Fizz should be happy if he escapes with his life! But that doesn’t mean it’s hopeless for Goalie. Fizz has this great skill called Playful/Trickster. If he times it just right, he can hop on top of his pole and dodge the stun. Then he suddenly wins. It’s really the first game all over. We’ve got a skill matchup in the mid lane!”

Su Xue nodded along with Zephyr’s analysis. She then grabbed her microphone and said, “Right, right, I totally agree! You’ve given a great analysis! But…” She dragged the pause, making everyone want to hear what she had to say next. Then she continued, “I predict Lin Feng is gonna stomp Goalie and win his lane in the first 10 minutes of the game!”

Goalie gritted his teeth in frustration. How do I say this in Chinese? Why can’t these three idiots learn some Korean? That’d make this so much easier. He glanced at his teammates bar Seo and briefly closed his eyes, remembering the characters he’d practiced over the last six months. He then breathed out and said over the team’s voice chat, “Not give up us. Top bad. Focus. Focus!”

Team Guangzhou accepted they were behind. The overbearing arrogance disappeared from their game as they took a more defensive approach. This was especially evident in the top lane, where Irelia stopped trying to contest Zhang Hao’s Lissandra for every CS and instead stuck close to her outer tower.

At 15 minutes, Zhang Hao was forced to push all the way to Blue team’s outer tower to get last hits on Blue minions; his Red minions killed them otherwise. He glanced down at his minimap. There were wards in the river and the Jungle, covering his flanks. But he still didn’t feel comfortable, a chill running up and down his spine. He lightly pressed on the E key, ready to escape across a Glacial Path.

Team Guangzhou’s Irelia let a couple of Red caster minions attack her, just enough for her health to drop below Lissandra’s. She then cast Bladesurge on one of the caster minions, killing it. That reset the skill. She Targeted Lissandra and cast Bladesurge again, followed by Equilibrium Strike! She hacked her blade down on Lissandra and stunned her!

Goalie’s LeBlanc appeared on Zhang Hao’s minimap. He ran past the brush in which the Red ward was and into the lane. Distortion! LeBlanc jumped and then she mimicked Distortion for a second jump! She arrived next to Lissandra before the stun could break and cast Ethereal Chains! They sprung into life around her and fired at Lissandra, twisting around her and immobilizing her!

Zhang Hao’s eyes widened in shock. He pressed on the E key and mumbled, “Glacial Path! E! E! E!” Each next word was filled with more hurry and a bit louder. He clicked frantically and tried to Flash away. But he couldn’t move. He could only watch on, helplessly, as Irelia and LeBlanc combined their highest damage skills to empty out his health bar.

《You have been slain.》

Zephyr leaned over the caster desk, clutching onto his microphone, and shouted, “Beautiful! Absolutely beautiful! This hasn’t been Team Guangzhou’s game, at all. But it’s these few moments that show they do have the skill! What a beautiful kill!”

“Wooooooo!” Su Xue exclaimed, pumping her fist into the air. She glanced at Team Shanghai’s soundproof booth and saw Zhang Hao deflating a bit but not much else of a response to his death. They’ve still got it all in their control. It’s just one death, and it’s on HaoBro! She smiled and analysed, “Team Guangzhou correctly identified Lissandra as a threat they had to shut down. Zhang Hao was getting really far ahead and if he was allowed to keep going like that, he would’ve taken over the game singlehandedly! Now he has to be a little bit more careful again! But the kill went to Goalie, which doesn’t help the Irelia much.”

“WaitWaitWait!” Zephyr suddenly shouted. He pointed at the monitor and continued, “Everyone, shut up! Stop cheering! LOOK! They’re fighting in bot!”

When Goalie appeared in the top lane, Lin Feng started moving towards the bot lane. And by the time the voice announcer informed everyone about Zhang Hao’s death, Lin Feng arrived at the river entrance to the bot lane. He said over the team’s voice chat, “Engage!”

Tang Bingyao nodded and replied, “Mhm!” She then pressed the W key, which was imitated by Corki. He revved up, flying higher and faster, and dropped bombs down behind him! This was Valkyrie, a gap closer skill. His helicopter slowed down in front of Draven, followed by Corki pushing another button on his dashboard. This one activated the Gatling Gun on the underside of his aircraft. Bullets pierced Draven and decimated his health bar!

Team Guangzhou’s Thresh ran through the minions to get a clear line of sight on Tang Bingyao’s Corki. But before he could get that, Zeng Rui’s Braum jumped in front of Corki with Stand Behind Me and raised his shield defensively in front of him. Hunkering down behind it, Corki combined auto attacks with his Gatling Gun while also hurling a Phosphorus Bomb at Draven.

Lin Feng’s Talon ran into the bot lane and then blinked behind Draven with Cutthroat. He put his free hand around Draven’s chest, then placed his dagger to Draven’s throat and put pressure on it as he drew it across. He followed up with an auto attack, digging his dagger into Draven’s back, and then with Rake! He threw several daggers that sliced through Draven and then tugged on the strings connected to them, pulling them back.

Seo tried to escape. To get away from the Corki and Talon. But Zeng Rui’s Braum had hit him with Winter’s Bite, which applied the first stack of Concussive Blows. Corki’s auto attacks added two more stacks and Talon added the fourth and final stack. Seo’s Draven was stunned. He glanced at his Thresh Support, who was backing away, and snarled. Fucking dogs!

《You have been slain.》

《Unstoppable!》

“And that’s how you do it!” Su Xue shoutcasted. She turned her head to look at Zephyr and continued, “That was some burst damage from Corki and Talon, don’t you think?”

Zephyr laughed and replied, “Holy damn yeah! That was great! And Corki’s got her fifth kill! She’s unstoppable!”

“WOOOOOOOOOO!”

“TEAM SHANGHAI FOR THE WIN!”

“GIMME YOUR ENERGY! GIMME YOUR ENERGY!”

“THAT’S OUR TANG TANG, SHE BUILT DIFF’RENT!”

“THAT SHIT WAS BUSSIN’ BUSSIN’!”

Lin Feng looked at his cooldowns. He hadn’t yet used his ultimate skill or Flash or Ignite. He looked at his minimap, considered his options briefly, then said over the team’s voice chat, “BunBun, with me!” He then walked up into the river, feigning a retreat to the mid lane, then curved back and snuck into Blue team’s bot side Jungle.

An Xin saw Lin Feng’s Talon move on her minimap and smiled. She’d practiced this exact tactic repetitively with Lin Feng, and to great success. She replied over the team’s voice chat, “Coming!”

Zephyr scratched his eyebrow and muttered, “This… This… Oh shit!”

“Oh shit indeed!” Su Xue replied, laughing. She pointed at the monitor and continued, “This is a tactic those two really love to use! I’ve seen them play it so many times I can’t even remember how many times! But it’s a lot! So, what they do is like this. See that brush there, the one next to the Krug Camp? Yes! The one separating the bot lane from the Jungle, exactly! So what they do is they sit in there and wait for the ad-carry to come back. And then they kill him again! It really tilts people!”

The audience listened to Su Xue’s explanation and watched Lin Feng and An Xin move into position. There were a couple of people in the player seating area who nodded along, namely those from Zhejiang University. They’d experienced this tactic firsthand. They talked with each other about it, the people around them picking up on it and sharing that with those around them. The information spread out like a wave and before Seo had even respawned, everyone was talking about how he was going to die again when he walked back to lane.

“Oh my god! Those kids are so dirty! That’s such a nasty tactic!”

“I can’t help but feel bad for Team Guangzhou… Even if those Koreans are dicks!”

“NOT! That’s what you meant to add at the end right? That you don’t feel bad for those dicks!”

“Hahaha! Can’t wait to see him die again! Did you see that video of what he did to that girl from Team Shanghai?”

“Right! That was him! Oh shit, I hope so badly that he’s gonna get camped so hard that he won’t get off the fountain anymore!”

“Make them surrender at 20! WOOOOOOOOO!”

✹

Seo stared venomously at his grey screen. More specifically, at his outer tower. It was at full health only a couple of seconds ago. But right now, three players from Team Shanghai were destroying it. They’d forced his Thresh Support to retreat to their inner tower too. He felt the anger and humiliation evolve into a form of rage he’d never felt before. His mind was a swirling mist of darkness, the only interruption being her face. He saw the blood staining the left side of her face as she held onto her pinky, and he wanted to punch her! He wanted to make her hurt so badly! It’s all her fault! It’s all because of her! She was an arrogant bitch when I was so nice to her and asked her out! And then the next day she falls on the ground and blames me! IT WASN’T MY FAULT! IT WASN’T! I DIDN’T DO ANYTHING!

《A turret has been destroyed!》

The voice announcer echoed in Seo’s ears. His eyes turned red and his hand was shaking. That. Fucking. BITCH! I’m gonna kill her! I’M GONNA KILL HER! The death timer ran out. His Draven spawned on the fountain. He moved his camera towards the bot lane and clicked. He panned his camera a bit further to where Tang Bingyao’s Corki was farming minions. Zeng Rui’s Braum hovered around, disappearing in the Jungle every couple of seconds. He’s just warding probably. Doing Support things. I’ll kill her! When he moves away, I’ll kill her! I’LL KILL HER! 

Seo’s Draven left the base and ran past his inner tower. There was a Jungle entrance to his left, and then another one right after that. That second one was a brush. It nagged at his mind. There was something about that tall grass. He squinted his eyes and looked at it, until Tang Bingyao’s Corki appeared on his screen. The brief moment of clarity was gone. Hatred was all that was left. He threw down a ward in the brush as was habit and then clicked on Tang Bingyao’s Corki. I’ma force her to back, then farm up a bit and then I’ma stomp her! I’ma stomp her and kill her and make her– His eyes went wide in shock. WHAT THE FUCK ARE THEY DOING THERE!?

Lin Feng grinned, beating imaginary drums, and shouted, “GoGoGooo!”

Seo still had Flash available, never having been able to use it in the previous fight. He slammed down on his keyboard. A veil of light wrapped around his Draven and carried him back towards his inner tower.

An Xin waited briefly, just long enough to see where Seo’s Draven flashed to. Then she activated Body Slam and Flash! Gragas recklessly charged forward with immense momentum as a mottled flash of light wrapped around him. It carried him and his momentum a short distance, dropping him down right in front of Seo’s Draven. His big frame then slammed into Draven and knocked him up! Gragas followed up with his ultimate skill! He threw an Explosive Cask behind Draven. The force unleashed by the explosion sent Draven flying straight towards Lin Feng’s Talon!

Lin Feng laughed and commended, “Nice one, BunBun! Thanks for giving me the kill!” His fingers were already gliding across his keyboard, perfectly linking together his skills to deal as much damage as quickly as possible. From Cutthroat into Rake into Noxian Diplomacy and finally Shadow Assault! Daggers cut into Draven and sliced through his back and his chest! They drained his health bar until there was nothing left of it!

《You have slain an enemy!》

Seo stared at the different shades of dull grey on his screen. Dead. Again. Corki stood on top of his body farming minions, almost as if teasing him. His hand started trembling so violently that he kept knocking against the table, but he didn’t feel or hear it. His mind was overcome with rage. There were no more coherent thoughts. Only hatred. Hatred for the girl who’d turned him down. Hatred for the girl who’d pushed him away. Hatred for the guy who claimed no one would remember him after this series. “I’ll fucking kill all of you!” he growled.

Su Xue fell back in her chair and laughed, incredulous. She pointed at the screen and wanted to ask something, only to realize Lin Feng wasn’t there sitting next to her. Right, I’m not streaming. I’m casting! She reached to the caster desk and grabbed the microphone. She moved it to her lips and shouted, “WOOOOOOO! Just like I predicted! The dirty play by Team Shanghai worked perfectly! They’ve got another kill on Draven!”

Zephyr sat in his chair, stunned. It wasn’t until he heard Su Xue talk that he remembered he was also casting. Going into this series, he’d been informed that Team Guangzhou was the better team. That this was going to be the Team Guangzhou show and that it was up to him to hype that up. But this wasn’t the Team Guangzhou show. This was the Team Shanghai show! He shook his head, incredulous, and said, “Draven has spent so much time on the fountain that even if Corki wasn’t like a million kills ahead, he’d still be levels ahead of Draven! This is crazy! Team Shanghai is manhandling Team Guangzhou!”

“WOOOOOOO! GET CAMPED, BITCH!”

“When a movable object meets an unstoppable force!”

“How does that feel? Knowing you can’t buy yourself a win!”

“They’re soooo camping that Seo for what he did. Did you guys see that video!?”

“TEAM SHANGHAI! WOOOOOO!”

✹

Team Guangzhou’s Nexus was still in one piece. Technically, they were still in the game. But it was becoming increasingly obvious that they’d lost. Team Shanghai had such a commanding lead that they could force objectives. Dragons were theirs and they also took down the mid and top outer towers. Team Guangzhou didn’t even try to contest. None of them had the health to tank an unstoppable Corki!

“Team Shanghai is ahead and now that we’re getting to teamfights, we can see that Team Shanghai’s team composition is also far better,” Zephyr analysed from the casters desk. “They’ve got Braum and Gragas in the frontline. And Lissandra is basically a third frontline unit with how tanky she is right now. Then consider Talon and Corki’s damage and it’s hard to see Team Guangzhou achieving anything.”

Su Xue leaned towards her microphone and continued, “Team Guangzhou put all their eggs in the ‘win the lane, win the game’ tactic. But they lost their lanes. Take Draven. He’s useless at this point! And then there’s Goalie’s LeBlanc. What she needs to do at this stage of the game is find ways to pick off Corki or Talon! And she can probably nuke them down if she gets on top of them. But how is she going to get on top of them? Team Shanghai has Braum and Gragas who can both knock her away, and then there’s also Lissandra who can lock LeBlanc down in a Frozen Tomb!”

Zephyr nodded and took over, “You’ve hit the nail on its head, EveningSnowfall! This game is as good as over! The Nexus might still be standing, but Team Guangzhou isn’t going to magically turn this around. They needed to win this in the early game. Even if they drag this game out, their team composition is so much worse for teamfights that it really doesn’t even need to be mentioned.”

✹

The game passed the 20 minute mark. Team Shanghai methodically took down towers and secured the Dragon for a third time. Zeng Rui left nothing to chance. He made everyone buy wards, told them where to place those wards, and called when and where to engage enemy Champions. They took a couple of small fights, picking up a couple of kills. But Team Guangzhou rarely fought back, instead choosing to retreat all the way back to their Nexus towers.

At 27 minutes, all three inhibitor towers and inhibitors were destroyed. Super minions were marching into Team Guangzhou’s base. Zeng Rui watched that, then glanced at the health bars of his teammates. They weren’t topped off. He briefly hesitated before saying, “We’re going to take the Baron, recall back to base and then push to finish.”

“Can’t we just finish it here?” Lin Feng asked, confused. “We’ve been dragging it for so long already…”

An Xin looked at Lin Feng who said directly to her left and then past him at Zeng Rui. She smiled and said, “It’s good to take it slow and push for a certain win.” She briefly paused, waiting for Lin Feng’s shoulders to droop, and then continued, “But let’s end this one. There’s nothing they can do.”

Lin Feng looked at An Xin, surprised. He then grinned and shouted, “Let’s do this!”

Zeng Rui pursed his lips but relented. He said over the team’s voice chat, “Alright. We’ll wait for the next wave of super minions and then finish this game.” He leaned forward and looked across the line of computers at Zhang Hao and said, “You ult LeBlanc. Lin Feng and Tang Tang will just deal damage. I’ll have my ultie ready …” he nodded at An Xin, “… and if anything goes wrong, you ult them all away and we escape.”

An Xin winked and replied, “Will do.”

“The wave is coming! Let’s finish this!” Lin Feng exclaimed, excited.

Zhang Hao’s Lissandra carved a Glacial Path and blinked towards the icy claw when it was on top of Goalie’s LeBlanc. He locked her up within the Frozen Tomb. Lin Feng followed right behind him, blinking behind Seo’s Draven and then activating Shadow Assault! Talon threw blades out in a circle around him, slicing through all five Champions from Team Guangzhou! Tang Bingyao’s Corki stayed at a distance and fired a Missile Barrage!

Health bars dropped fast and Team Shanghai scored an ace before the super minions did any damage. They then turned their attention towards the Nexus towers and finally the Nexus itself. Cracks spread on the Nexus as steel and magic slammed into it. The crystal broke and the energy within exploded up into the sky, where it morphed into a Victory emblem for Team Shanghai.

VICTORY

“TEAM SHANGHAI TAKES THE LEAD!” Su Xue cried out into her microphone. “They’re up 1-0 against the favourites from Guangzhou!”

“WOOOOOOO!” Zephyr screamed. “WHAT A GAME! WHAT. A. GAME!”

“TEAM SHANGHAI FOR THE WIIIIIIIIN!”

“WOOOOOOO!”

“SICK GAME! SIIIIIIIICK!”

“GIMME MORE! GIMME MORE! I WANNA SEE MORE OF THIS!”

“Those kids are so good, DAYUM!”

“Korean imports are worth only this little!”

“TEAM GUANGZHOU GOT WRECKED BY GIRLS! HAHAHA!”

The players from Team Beijing sat in the player seating area, stunned. The cheers from the audience slammed against their backs, forcing them up on their feet. Their hands moved as if on their own volition, clapping and applauding Team Shanghai.

Sun Lei was the substitute Midlaner for Team Beijing. He rubbed his eyes and muttered, “D-did that really just happen? Why didn’t Goalie carry? Is he sick or something?”

Team Beijing’s ad-carry stared at the large LCD screen above the stage and mumbled, “What about Seo… What was he doing…?”

“But Seo is just a Korean Challenger, Goalie is a Top 10 Korean Challenger!” Team Beijing’s Support exclaimed. He shook his head and continued, “He got a lead at the very start. I’ve never seen him fail to push that advantage into a win! How did he not win this game…?”

“Team comp,” Yu Ping replied. He looked around at his teammates and explained, “Like the caster girl said. Team Shanghai countered Team Guangzhou’s team comp. That’s all there is to it.” He then turned his head to look at Team Shanghai’s soundproof booth and added, “But it does look like I underestimated their Midlaner. He did better than I expected.”