Starting with Zaozi Ge, a dream lineup

Chapter 99 The Wind's BAR Shakes!
The All-Star Game is essentially a process of showcasing a new version.

Therefore, both sides had prepared their own strategies before the match, and there was no tactical counter, so the ban/pick phase was very quick.

Feng Ge initiated the banning of Zilean, Pantheon, and Leona, the champions that Faker had previously picked against LMS.

These three champions were already at their peak strength in the preseason, even a bit overpowered, especially Leona, whose strength was further enhanced by the increased poke of the bot lane AD carry, combined with Leona's strong engage.

On win rate websites, the win rate of the Japanese heroine once soared to 58%. As long as you have good awareness, picking her is a no-brainer.

Feng's targeting was very effective, but LCK's approach was less effective.

kkoma used all his ban slots on the bot lane, first banning Ezreal, who shone in the S8 preseason, and then banning Draven and Miss Fortune as well.

It's worth mentioning that with the rework of talents and equipment, the armor penetration Draven build has gradually become the mainstream in solo queue games.

Early game items are cheap, quick to complete, and deal high damage. Combined with the current meta of strong support champions, the win rate has reached around 55%.

The difference in raw strength between the two teams is evident from their ban/pick strategies.

LCK didn't seem to be targeting LPL's top, mid, and jungle players at all, giving Xiye and 957 free rein to play all the champions. This also shows kkoma's trust in Kuwei and Faker's abilities.

"Wow, Kkoma's performance here is different from the S7 semifinals. Coach K has now realized how terrifying Uzi is, and has banned several popular AD carries."

"After all, Uzi's Ezreal is top-tier. As for Draven and Miss Fortune, if those two are allowed to play, the bot lane is basically doomed."

The doll standing next to Miller laughed and wasn't surprised by Kkoma's ban.

"Baby, I've actually heard a lot of rumors lately. Uzi is picking all sorts of heroes in scrims. Kkoma might have miscalculated."

Pdd is a top figure in the industry, and he has heard about RNG's performance in training.

"I wonder if Feng will let the Rat King play Varus here. The Rat King's Varus performance throughout S7 and in previous ranked games has been quite terrifying."

As they were talking, accompanied by the powerful sound of drums, the first hero from the LPL appeared in the selection: top lane Annie.

In a meta dominated by Aery, top lane Annie with Aery and a semi-tank build is not only annoying in lane, but her Flash + R combo in team fights is also unpredictable. Most importantly, Annie has virtually no counters in the top lane.

Players who can counter Annie can't use Comet Aery, and players who use Comet Aery can't counter Annie. The best outcome is for both sides to develop peacefully.

Since Kkoma released Annie, there's no reason not to take her.

When it came to the LCK side's picks, under kkoma's command, the first and second picks quickly locked in the bot lane duo: Varus and Tahm Kench, currently the top 1 duo in the patch.

Following that, LPL also locked in the classic combination of Lucian and Braum.

"With Omaha and Braum, isn't this bot lane duo a bit weak?"

Miller frowned as he watched as the champion Gnar was picked for the withered player, and then looked at the LPL's champion selection.

Commentators' understanding of the game version comes from constantly watching matches and trying to figure out the intentions of the players and coaches, thereby improving their game comprehension.

However, this version came too suddenly. The All-Star Game was just a few days after the update, and at that time, judging from the data on the data website, Obama had even fallen out of the top ten.

On paper, the bot lane duos are evenly matched, with a 40/60 split.

Varus has a long range, and with the help of Comet's damage and Tahm Kench's strong protection, he is stronger than Omaz in lane from any perspective.

Seeing that RNG had cautiously placed their mid-jungle duo last, kkoma didn't hold back either.

They banned both Malzahar, a champion Xiye is known for, and Rammus, a champion that Clearlove had performed brilliantly with in the previous games.

Feng then banned Jayce and Xerath, two long-range, fast-clearing champions, bringing the final picks for both sides. "Ambition picked his signature Sejuani, clearly reserving the counter pick for Faker!"

"Feng Ge's ban/pick strategy is a bit..."

When Miller saw Ambition's Sejuani pick, he was about to express his opinion when he immediately saw LPL's last two picks, and he was completely stunned.

Ekko + Lee Sin!

"Huh? Feng's draft pick really stunned me. You know, Ekko has one of the lowest win rates in the mid lane this patch. If the LCK picks a long-range champion for Faker with Aery, Ekko won't be able to play in lane."

The child was also confused.

"Ignoring hero strength, Feng's draft picks were indeed very deceptive. Now let's see how Coach Kkoma chooses."

The problem was all thrown to Kkoma. Coach K frowned, flipped through his notebook, and had no idea about the lineup. Helpless, he could only hand over the initiative to Faker.

"Sang-hyeok, you decide what to play yourself. The opposing team's lineup is unpredictable; I don't really understand it either."

"Let's get the Tsar; we're lacking a mid-to-late game damage dealer."

Once the time was up and both teams had their lineups set, the first set looked very conservative.

Top Lane: Annie vs. Gnar
Mid Lane: Lee Sin vs. Azir
Jungle: Ekko vs Sejuani
ADC: Lucian vs Varus

Support: Braum vs. Tahm Kench
Amidst enthusiastic cheers from the crowd, the competition officially began.

Apart from Lee Sin in the mid lane taking Ignite and Faker's Azir taking Heal, everyone else had the standard Summoner Spell setup.

The bot lane in this version has finally returned to normal, with the AD carry taking Heal and the support taking Ignite.

As soon as the game started, the commentator's shocked voice came from the speakers.

"Xiye is actually playing Lee Sin mid, and Clearlove is jungling with Ekko. What kind of flexible playstyle is this? Although we don't lack AP damage with Annie, this Lee Sin in mid is just too much."

"There are a few dedicated Lee Sin streamers in the Chinese server, but they all play jungle; they only use Lee Sin mid in casual games."

PDD also expressed his confusion, saying that playing Lee Sin mid lane would mean there would be one less person in the mid-to-late game!
The familiar Wudaokou battle tactics were deployed, but neither side showed any intention of fighting.

Master An rode his pig to the blue buff gate, glanced at the dancing blind man, then turned back to the blue buff area, waiting for the Rat King and Mata to help him jungle.

However, in the last ten seconds before the blue buff spawned, Lee Sin and Ekko, who were in good positions, along with Lucian and Braum in the river bush near the bottom lane, suddenly gathered together and headed towards the blue buff.

The initial positioning of both sides prevented the LCK team from setting up defensive wards, so the LCK players were unaware that four LPL players had already moved in.

As soon as the blue buff jumped out of the crack in the ground, Sejuani swung her whip. Rat King and Mata didn't notice anything unusual and continued to help Ambition jungle.

The director's camera also focused on Ekko, who was hiding behind the blue buff wall!

"3 seconds, 2 seconds, 1 second, in!"

The factory manager silently counted down the time, used his E skill to fly over the wall, and precisely used Smite to steal Ambition's blue buff.

When he saw a figure tumbling towards him, Sect Leader An cried out in alarm and prepared to punish the person, but he was too late.

A blue sonic wave flew over the blue buff's corpse and landed on Master An.

The call to attack has sounded!

(End of this chapter)