Believe me, I really am a professional League of Legends player.

Chapter 82 The Factory Manager Wasn't Like This After All! (Please Subscribe)

Inside the EDG backstage lounge, when WE's base exploded on the screen, Abu and QuickStar were extremely agitated.

"Nice! Well done, brothers!" Abu jumped up from his seat, waving his arms vigorously with a big smile on his face. Then he walked quickly to the door to welcome the triumphant team members.

Coach Quickstar rubbed his hands together vigorously, his face beaming with excitement and a smug expression of "I knew it!" He kept muttering, "I knew it! I knew his Taliyah pick would have this effect. He never disappoints me, Perfect!! Flawless!"

In the center of the screen, Taliyah's stats were 7-0-5, with an economic lead of over 3,000 against her opponent, making her the undisputed MVP!

"Did you see that, Manager Abu?" Quickstar excitedly ran out with Abu. "That's why I insisted on letting him try more roles, even heroes he hadn't picked before. It's mainly because his game understanding and ability to drive the pace of the game are phenomenal!"

"Truly phenomenal! The rhythm of this game, from laning to roaming, and then to the skill usage in team fights, was just perfect. I loved this game so much!"

Abu nodded repeatedly, unable to contain his smile. "Your judgment is correct. I was too conservative before. Li Fan is a real treasure. Because of his performance, Mingkai has evolved. Today, this mantis has the same flavor as before!"

After saying this, Abu's thoughts seemed to drift back to a few years ago, to the era when the factory manager dominated the wilderness.

Through the match just now, he seemed to see again the cunning and perfectly coordinated Nodo in the mid lane.

Just then, the player who won the match had already reached the entrance of the lounge through the player tunnel. Seeing the coach and manager Abu standing outside, they wondered why the two of them were standing there.

"Wow, Li Fan, that positioning in the mid lane to dodge skills and get a double kill just now." Abu first gave Clearlove, who was walking in front, a hug, and then casually put his arm around Li Fan's shoulder.

"Well done, everyone played well!" Quick Star immediately went up to each of his teammates and patted them on the back. "Especially the mid and jungle, they set the pace really well, the bot lane held firm, and the top lane did a great job withstanding the pressure."

Then he walked directly to Li Fan's side and said in accented Chinese, "Li, Very Good!"

Li Fan replied with a smile in English: "It's because you did a good job with the draft, Coach, that you gave me room to perform."

After exchanging pleasantries, the atmosphere in the lounge became even more harmonious.

I discovered that practicing English is not only helpful for playing CS on the European server, but it's also very useful for communicating with coaches.

"Alright, alright, you played beautifully in the first game, but we've only won one game in a best-of-three series, so let's all calm down." Abu clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention.

"Coach Quickstar, let's quickly prepare the draft for the next game. WE will definitely make adjustments in the next game, especially in the mid lane. Xiye won't be defeated so easily. We can celebrate when we win the game."

Upon hearing this, everyone stopped smiling and became serious.

As Abu said, WE is an extremely resilient team that will never be defeated by a single loss.

This match is especially important at this stage as it will determine the competition for first place in Group B.

EDG won. Although they still need to rely on WE's performance to secure first place in the group, if they lose, they won't even be able to rely on WE's performance.

Quickstar picked up the tactical board, his expression turning serious again: "Yes, we're on the red side next game, so the draft will be a bit passive..."

Meanwhile, the atmosphere in WE's lounge was somewhat somber.

The crushing defeat in the first game felt like a boulder weighing on everyone's hearts, especially for Xiye, whose team collapsed in the mid lane. He kept his head down and was extremely dejected.

Coach Hongmi looked at the players but did not immediately react or conduct a harsh tactical review.

He knew that what the team needed most at this moment was to rebuild their confidence, so he walked over to Xiye and patted him on the shoulder.

"Xi Ye, raise your head." Redmi's voice was gentle. "The loss in the last game was not your fault. It was because we all underestimated Unreal players."

He then turned his attention to the other team members: "His Taliyah proficiency far exceeded our expectations. Our intelligence was flawed, and that is my responsibility. However, in a best-of-three match, losing the first game does not mean the end."

"Believe in me, and believe in yourself, Su Hanwei! You are one of the best mid laners in the LPL. We have witnessed your laning ability and your carry ability countless times."

"What does one game mean? In the next game, pick your most confident hero, show your true colors, and we will still win, because we are WE!"

Redmi's tone was full of trust.

These words were like a warm current, and Xi Ye's expression improved considerably. He took a deep breath, raised his head, and his eyes became firm again: "I understand. I will fight back in the next game."

"Very good!" Redmi nodded in satisfaction, then began to outline tactics, "Next game we're on the blue side, we have an advantage in the draft..."

“We can capitalize on the meta strengths, or target the areas where they performed well last game. Condi, next game you need to pay more attention to vision and protection in the mid lane, help Xiye establish an advantage, and then we can snowball it…”

"We are currently in first place in the group, and if we maintain this position, we will have the strength to win."

After a short break, both players returned to their seats.

"Welcome back! The second game of EDG vs. WE is about to begin. EDG is currently leading 1-0!" Wawa's voice echoed throughout the stadium through the speakers.

"Yes, after a short rest, let's see what adjustments WE will make in the second game, especially regarding Xiye in the mid lane. Can he face Unreal in such excellent form? Unreal is definitely the biggest surprise of this season, their performance has been incredibly impressive," Miller analyzed.

Rita continued Miller's words, saying, "And this time WE is back on the blue side, with the right to pick heroes first, which will make things easier in the draft phase. I wonder if WE will change their initial tactical plan?"

On the big screen, the image showed the BP interface.

"Alright, the second draft phase officially begins. Blue side WE, red side EDG!"

"WE immediately banned Taliyah, who performed exceptionally well in the last game, as their first pick! This choice is not surprising, given how outstanding she was."

"EDG banned Camille this game. Sure enough, EDG's tactics are different on the red side. They didn't choose to let Camille through."

"Indeed, when WE is on the blue side, they tend to give more strategic support to the top lane. I don't think banning Camille is a big problem."

WE's second and third bans were given to Clearlove's Jarvan IV and Li Fan's Lucian.

In fact, WE also has Lucian in the mid lane, and it's paired with Maokai's Ardent Censer system, which is their hidden trump card.

The idea is actually very simple: we plan to use it in a more important competition.

However, WE originally planned to use it in the Spring Finals.

The result was something they never expected... RNG was invincible throughout the regular season, but they were swept 3-0 by them.

Ultimately, this strategy was brought out again during the Mid-Season Invitational.

EDG banned Condi's Rengar and 957's Kled in their second and third picks.

WE's first pick of Lee Sin as jungler can be considered a form of banning instead of picking.

EDG immediately picked their mid and jungle champions: Rek'Sai and Ryze.

"Another new hero?" Doll seemed shocked.

"Unreal is indeed an unpredictable professional player."

Despite having no training records, they keep drawing heroes from their pool.

It seems like banning Lucian won't make much difference; his champion pool is so vast that he's hard to counter.

WE continued to prioritize picking over banning, starting with the Ashe and Sona combo.

Confirm that the bottom lane has absolute dominance over you, then leave the top and mid lanes open.

It's clear that WE is targeting them very obviously.

Under these circumstances, Quickstar didn't dare to take any risks and quickly gave Zet more Varus.

If the bottom lane doesn't pick first, and it gets banned in the second round of the draft, then there won't be any heroes left, so the bottom lane will be under a lot of pressure.

After all, this is Mystic... Zet already faced a lot of pressure in the laning phase last game. If it weren't for Tahm Kench's strong protective abilities and Taliyah's occasional pressure on the bot lane, the bot lane would have collapsed long ago.

This match is clearly not going to be that simple. WE certainly doesn't want to give up on this game either.

In the second round, EDG first picked the support champion Alistar...

The bot lane was completely outmatched, so there was nothing WE could do. In the second round, they banned all the support champions who could withstand the pressure, including Lulu and Tahm Kench.

So they could only choose the tallest person from among the short ones to get the bull's head.

The counter pick is reserved for top laner Mouse...

But WE really came on strong.

Locking out Twisted Fate and then picking Fizz in the top lane! This is a move to provide top-tier macro support.

EDG hesitated for a moment but still picked Maokai and Fizz to withstand the pressure.

But to be honest, top lane Fizz is still quite intimidating.

After all, an Ignite can easily kill a tanky tree in the early game.

Of course, for top laners like Fizz and Ekko, only 957, GimGoon, and Long can pick them in the LPL.

Others don't have this tactical position.

This also shows that these three people are good at their operations.

This finalized the lineups for both sides.

Blue side WE: Top lane Fizz, Jungle Lee Sin, Mid lane Twisted Fate, Bot lane duo Ashe and Karma.

Red side EDG: Top lane Maokai, jungle Rek'Sai, mid lane Ryze, bot lane duo Varus and Alistar.

Of course, if EDG's lineup has an advantage, its ability to end the game is very strong.

Furthermore, in this match, Xiye also brought Cleanse as his Summoner Spell.

Ryze's W skill hasn't been nerfed in this version. Using it directly will root the target for 0.75 seconds, and if you apply E, the root time can be extended to 2 seconds.

I'm worried that if the combination of the excavator and Ryze disrupts my rhythm, it will be a big problem.

Bringing a purifier can provide some stability and might even play a crucial role.

The factory director and Kangdi were messing around in the riverbed.

With Fanzima and Ashe arriving as reinforcements, Factory Manager ran away without even looking back.

After all, he's not afraid of a one-on-one fight in the jungle, but if your bot lane duo comes, he definitely won't be able to win.

This allowed both sides to transition to the laning phase relatively smoothly.

However, Li Fan didn't really have any ideas about cards with purification effects.

Ryze is unlikely to solo kill Twisted Fate, but he can gain lane control.

So now all you need to do is push the lane and free up time to gank other lanes.

After all, Twisted Fate has a relatively long reach, so he doesn't face much pressure when facing Ryze.

Three minutes later, after clearing the bottom half of the map, the factory manager's excavator quietly moved to the vicinity of the middle lane.

"Is there a chance? He brought purification, but we can push him a bit," the factory manager said in the voice chat.

The card has a cleanse ability, making it very difficult to kill directly, but if you can force out the key skill, the next wave will be much easier.

"He positioned himself very carefully, always staying behind the minion wave, making it difficult to initiate with his W to root the enemy," Li Fan responded.

"Let's give it a try! I'll force him to trade skills with me."

The factory manager would never have thought this way before...

It was only recently that Li Fan changed his mind about many things.

The excavator emerged from the riverbed grass and approached the card directly.

When Xi Ye saw the excavator appear, he didn't panic immediately because he maintained a good distance. The excavator wouldn't be able to hit him if it walked over normally. He retreated while preparing to cut the cards.

This kind of overt approach is more about deterrence, showing that the purification process has been successful.

But at that very moment, the factory manager made an unconventional move!
Without warning, the excavator used its E skill, Dig a Tunnel, followed by Flash.

The cards have been boosted!
"Factory manager, step up!" Miller's voice instantly rose.

Xi Ye never expected that the factory manager would so decisively use Flash to top him.

He has no desire to be replaced by someone else.

Almost at the same time that the factory manager knocked the card away, Li Fan's Ryze also moved!
Flash followed by EW!

Ryze's body surged with runes, and the surge of magic followed by rune imprisonment instantly froze the card that had just landed back in place!
Although Xiye used Cleanse the moment he was controlled, removing the root effect, Ryze's E skill's additional effect and W's initial damage had already been dealt!
Li Fan followed up with an Overload, and the blue orb accurately hit the card!

Xi Ye was so frightened that she broke out in a cold sweat and quickly pulled herself back without looking back.

However, the instant he flashed to the ground, a burning damage number popped up on his body!

It's the excavator's red buff that slows you down and causes continuous burning!

After the factory manager charged up and dealt maximum damage, he also applied the red buff's burning effect with his basic attacks.

When both Ryze and Rek'Sai deal maximum damage, the red buff's burn damage becomes extremely deadly.

That negligible burn damage wiped out the card's last bit of health.

First Blood!

The first blood notification sound echoed through the Rift once again!
"He's dead! Twisted Fate got burned to death by the red buff... My god, the teamwork between Clearlove and Unreal is amazing! This mid-jungle synergy really killed Twisted Fate, who had Cleanse and Flash!" Wawa shouted excitedly.

"Xi Ye used all his abilities, including Purify and Flash, but he still died. This is so heartbreaking!" Miller's tone was full of regret.

On the WE player bench, Xiye stared at his gray screen, opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a word for a long time.

He thought that bringing purification was enough to be safe, but he did not expect the other party to launch an attack in such a forceful way.

Condi's Lee Sin only arrived in the mid lane at this point, and could only watch as the Rek'Sai and Ryze drove off, and could only tearfully eat the mid lane minions.

"My... I didn't expect him to use E-Flash directly." Xi Ye's voice was somewhat low.

"It's okay, stay calm. Our lineup is stronger in the late game, and Ryze doesn't have Flash anymore. I'll gank him later, and he'll definitely die." Although Condi was also anxious, he still comforted him.

However, this possibility is actually not high, because Ryze will not take the initiative to attack if he does not have Flash, so Twisted Fate's Gold Card will not be able to stun him, and Lee Sin has no control, so coming to the mid lane is purely to scare people.

Another crack has appeared in the middle lane...

The game started off a bit rough, with Twisted Fate's rhythm faltering.

However, one thing is definitely true: they do become stronger in the later stages.

(End of this chapter)