Starting with Zaozi Ge, a dream lineup

Chapter 128: The "Bloodstained Fight" Arrives Ahead of Schedule

Before we knew it, it was 2 p.m. on the 31st. At 4 p.m., the final match between Rw and Rng would begin.

Li Luo leisurely boarded RNG's bus, and all four members of both the second team and the first team arrived at the competition venue in Xi'an.

The atmosphere inside and outside the stadium was exceptionally lively today, and the organizers put a lot of effort into it.

Knowing that it's New Year's Eve, coupled with the clash between the new season's star powerhouse Rw and the S7 champions, the atmosphere inside and outside the venue was incredibly intense.

Chinese New Year traditions from ancient times to the present are all preserved, and red lanterns are hung on the streetlights for three kilometers around the venue.

Originally intended as a fun event, the Demacia Cup has surprisingly achieved an attendance rate of 97%, comparable to the Spring and Summer Finals, making it the first major event of S8.

In the past, there would have been two commentators today, and they would usually have brought in a new commentator from the second channel to give them some experience.

But today, the Haier Brothers, including Doll and Miller, along with Pdd, all came to the venue to host the event.

Even the outer field was managed by management guru Guan Daxiao and Rita, who were in charge of the tempo during halftime.

"Rw fielded their entire roster today, with the experienced Crisp as their support, and the jungler, Haro, was the same as in the semifinals against IG."

Colonel Guan looked at the lineup for the first match on the broadcast and spoke first.

"Let's take a look at RNG. Apart from Xiaohu playing, RNG didn't immediately bring in their first team players. It seems they want to continue giving their second team players some experience and see how things go before deciding whether to play them or not."

Rita chimed in.

"Hey, you know what, ever since RNG started the Demacia Cup, without Uzi, RNG's playstyle has become more focused on the mid and jungle setting the pace and coordinating with the top lane to fight."

"This is somewhat similar to other teams in our LPL. We haven't seen the usual 'four-protect-one' or 'four-man gank-two' strategies much anymore."

Looking at the highlights of RNG before the Demacia Cup final on the big screen, Guan Daxiao said.

"If RNG's previous playstyle was characterized by having multiple cores and protecting one player, their strength lay in playing steadily and solidly, unlike the second team, which could crush everything once they gained an advantage."

"But looking at the death count, RNG is giving away an average of 20-30 kills per game, which is a big difference compared to their previous 5-14 record."

"That's right, RNG's second team is more like a scaled-down version of IG. Every position is very skillful and they dare to play aggressively. But the difference between being skillful and being reckless is very small. If you succeed in your skillful play, you will make a fortune and become famous. If you fail, like Able in this game, you will collapse completely."

Rita doesn't understand games very well, but she can still say a few words about these basics.

"It's unclear whether RNG's second team should stick to their winning ways and keep fighting in the S8 meta, or whether the first team should play a more conservative and steady approach. Both strategies need to be adjusted according to the meta, and Coach Chris must be having a headache right now."

Guan Daxiao and Rita are an old duo, and they are quite knowledgeable about the off-field situation.

If RNG hadn't won the S7 championship, the current commentary would be heavily biased towards the "Korean" style of play, and the coaching would also be based on the Korean team's operational strategy.

Focus on farming and development, using vision to control the enemy, avoiding proactive attacks, and prioritizing farming and counter-ganking.

Wait for the opponent to make a mistake, or engage in a team fight when you have a sure chance of winning; your team composition must be strong throughout the early, mid, and late game.
However, after RNG's victory, all the commentators, including members of various LPL teams, have opened up new ways of thinking.

The regional characteristic of "fierce fighting," which was originally supposed to emerge after the Intercontinental Cup, appeared on the LPL stage six months earlier.

Amidst the casual conversation, the competition officially began.

The red team, Rw, chose Gnar for top lane, Azir for mid lane, Nidalee for jungle, and Kalista and Shen for bot lane.

RNG, on the blue side, selected Vladimir for top lane, Syndra for mid lane, Lee Sin for jungle, and Varus and Tahm Kench for bot lane, a classic combination that was quite strong in the early stages of S8.

Both sides received their lineups, and they were basically satisfied with them.

In the first game, the coaches on both sides seemed to have reached a tacit understanding, wanting to probe the opponent's strength. So, apart from basically disabling the overpowered items in the current version, they also casually banned other items.

Rw's traditional Gnar + Azir strategy needs no further introduction. Ever since these two heroes shone brightly in the World Championship, they have basically become the heroes that every mid and top laner professional player has to practice.

Now, after being coached by Chris, RNG has become a fighting team.

Judging from the style of the second team and the lineup they fielded today, it's clear that last year's RNG was a team focused on protecting the bot lane. When the bot lane was ahead, RNG had an incredibly easy time, and even when behind, they could pull off miraculous team fight comebacks – this has become a widely accepted consensus.

However, Chris did the opposite, using the advantages of other lanes to drive the bottom lane, which made all the fans and those who were watching the game excited.

Judging from historical records, RNG's overall strength is far superior to Rw's.

But no one expected that the first game today would be so close.

Azir has a strong ability to drag the game into the late game, so RNG also wants to open up the situation in the mid lane in the early to mid-game, so as to bring the advantage to other lanes.

Although Xiaotian and Xiaohu managed to kill Doinb once, Azir didn't suffer too many losses thanks to Haro's timely lane control.

Under RNG's aggressive pace, Rw made more and more mistakes.

Doinb, a traditional AP mage, didn't play smoothly, so for a while, the previously dazzling HB roaming style faded into obscurity.

However, in the mid-game, Doinb still managed to capitalize on the power spikes of Azir and Gnar, resulting in several impressive team fights.

A Guang slammed down three enemies in one wave, and Donib followed suit, flying over as well. The bot lane's Kalista, accompanied by Shen, unleashed a knock-up control and dealt high damage.

With a triple kill, Doinb's Azir has fully developed and the necessary generals are basically complete. Any RNG player who gets poked a few times will be doomed.

RNG was once overwhelmed by Azir's disgusting lineup, which pushed down their mid-lane inhibitor tower, and it seemed that RNG was powerless to turn the tide.

Even the three commentators, looking at Tsar's newly bought stopwatch, felt that RNG was going to lose their first game today, as the gap in strength between RNG's second team and RW's first team was still quite obvious.

However, the ending took an unexpected turn.

Xiaohu astutely seized upon Rw's strategic blunder, using Tahm Kench's ultimate to fly onto A Guang's solo lane. With Vladimir in front and Syndra and Tahm Kench behind, the tanky Gnar had no way to stop him and gave up his own kill.

Taking advantage of A-Guang's death, RNG pressed the Baron, and Doinb rushed over to defend.

Unfortunately, Rw's teamwork was still lacking, and they became disjointed. Xiaotian seized the opportunity and kicked the skateboard shoes back, resulting in a 3v5 situation.

Rw got hit with an Ace.

RNG also gave up on taking Baron and pushed straight down the middle lane, destroying Rw's base right in front of A-Guang before the four players could respawn.

"Wow, what a pity, what a pity. This wave was completely Rw's own decision-making mistake. It's been 40 minutes, and A Guang shouldn't have gone to the top lane to split push alone."

"Especially during the time when the dragon is spawning, A-Guang relied on his teleport, but he didn't expect the toad to drive up and bring people to catch him."

Miller said regretfully.

"It seems that RNG's second team has inherited the excellent tradition of the first team, always able to pull off a miraculous team fight in desperate situations."

The doll said with emotion.

"Xiaohu has grown really fast. It's clear that this gank on the top lane was his decision. As the team captain, Xiaohu has finally taken on his responsibility."

"Yes"

"Xiaotian, the newcomer, also came from our YM team. He cooperated well with Xiaohu in this game and showed good chemistry. Although he is not as experienced as Xiangguo, he seems to be a good fit for the RNG team."

Pdd chimed in, but he didn't forget to praise his own YM team. The match had garnered a lot of attention, so advertising for his team was a great idea.

"Barring any unforeseen circumstances, RNG will use all their main players in the next match for some practice."

The doll continued.

"Qiqi's performance in this game can only be described as mediocre. Laozei was also very comfortable in the bottom lane. If it weren't for Aguang's mistake in the last wave, the MVP of this game would probably have been given to Laozei."

"The 7-1 record is impressive, but facing the current Uzi, I wonder if the old thief can maintain this form?"

(End of this chapter)