LOL: What does "mid-lane hybrid expert" mean?

Chapter 100 A Frown

The first day's six matches have concluded.

LPL: 4-0

LCK: 2-2

LMS: 0-4

Thanks to the posts shared by users on Tieba, everyone witnessed the aggressiveness of forums from other regions.

[Westbound, this is the number one region we've been hyping up. Besides SKT, can any of the other teams put on a decent performance?]

[I only care if SKT gets to play more games in the best-of-five series.]

SSG couldn't even beat EDG, who are worst at international competitions, and their win against JT required a late-game comeback. MVP was completely dominated by OMG in the early game. I thought LCK had a strong roster this year, but it turns out only SKT is strong.

In the official tournament vlog, I saw KT's AD carry Deft and EDG's support Meiko communicating closely, leading me to suspect that KT might have leaked other teams' strategies.

[Damn, do SSG's tactics really need to be leaked? You guys are acting like you've never even seen Taliyah before; you couldn't even defend against one of her ultimates!]

We urge all players and coaching staff of KT to come forward and clarify: this is a competition concerning the honor of our region, not child's play.

【————】

[Our LMS team is in a mess. We lost all four games on the first day. I'm not buying tickets to support Mengtian anymore.]

I've given up hope for my region; I just hope the upcoming matches will be more interesting.

Why is there absolutely no tension in these inter-regional matches? LPL players even call Karsa "Brother Karsa" when they want to take a photo with him.

Perhaps the tournament organizers have noticed the online discussions, or perhaps the first Intercontinental Championship really needs a boost in terms of buzz.

To boost attendance, the organizers worked overnight to produce a trailer for the next day's matches. Within just two hours of its release, the video's views climbed to the top of the event channel.

The first segment that sparked discussion was the interview with KT's head coach.

"If we don't win the championship this time, I'll swim back from here. That's my promise to the LCK teams." This less than ten-second interview was cut into a separate clip, and its reposts on Weibo and the Anti-Fighting Bar quickly surpassed the original video.

However, everyone just takes it as a joke. After all, although KT is called a super team, super teams in various sports have never had a good ending. In addition, Deft often falters in international competitions. Perhaps it would be more impactful if SKT's head coach Kkoma said this.

The second segment is about EDG.

When the scene switched to the post-match MVP selection, many viewers belatedly realized that the official commentators for each region had given different MVP choices.

The LPL officially awarded the MVP to Li Yi, who opened up the game, while the LCK chose Ming Kai, who dominated the pace of the game for Ambition, and the LMS awarded it to Iboy, who had the highest damage output gap.

Although the official promotional video only included one line from the LMS commentators: "We acknowledge the different styles of mid-laners," many observant viewers still managed to find the original clip.

Only after clicking on it did I realize that the meaning of the sentence was completely opposite in the context before and after.

In that full commentary, the LMS commentator was actually expressing a somewhat reserved opinion. His general idea was that while this team-oriented mid-lane playstyle does have its merits in the current version, it should be a transitional direction for older mid-laners who are aging and whose skills are declining. For a newcomer like Li Yi to play like this right from the start would be somewhat opportunistic.

The commentator then listed a series of famous mid-laners such as Faker, Pawn, and BDD, attempting to prove a point: no matter what style a mid-laner later transitions to, they must start as an assassin to prove the ceiling of their talent.

He even specifically mentioned Doinb from the LPL region, saying that even though this player is now keen on Karma and Lulu, he started out as a pro at playing the assassin Katarina.

Combined with the clip of JT's mid laner Fofo's pre-match interview, the LMS region's intentions are quite clear.

Provocation!

"Hello everyone, I'm Fofo, the rookie mid laner. I'm really looking forward to facing off against Li Yi at this Intercontinental Cup. I know he's also a very talented rookie mid laner, so I hope he'll choose some mechanically demanding champions and give me a serious laning match—"

Holy crap, the tension's building!

[Don't fall for it, Cup King! This is clearly a provocation!]

[They first assume a premise that "you can't be a genius unless you start as an assassin," then force the Cup King into this trap—how ​​insidious!]

[Don't care about outside opinions, keep winning until they get used to it, Master Yi!]

【————】

[When someone takes advantage of you, how can you not fight back? What's the difference between you and the turtle-shell team?]

Have you ever read cultivation novels? If you lack the courage to accept challenges from fellow cultivators of your generation, this will become a mental demon on your future path, making your Dao heart unstable and your golden core flawed!

【Cup King, take this! If you win this game, JT, you can do whatever you want when you return to the LPL, and no one will say a single bad word about you again.】

[Here it comes! I feel like CupKing is about to unleash his power! I looked at his ranked game history from last night to this morning, and he's been playing Yasuo for an entire page!]

Faced with the pre-match challenges from JT and the LMS region, two completely different attitudes have emerged on the LPL forums.

However, in terms of both quantity and popularity, the latter call to "take up the challenge" is much louder.

As stated in the currently popular e-sports novel "The King's Avatar": How many viewers can understand your high-end tactics, and how many people can comprehend the technical content of your so-called complex teamwork?

Most players prefer to watch one-on-three battles in arena matches and team battles where players turn the tide of battle!

7 Month 7 Day!

Although the results on the first day were one-sided, this did not dampen the enthusiasm of the audience on the second day.

Conversely, even the first match of the following day, a completely uninteresting clash between M17 and MVP, saw significantly higher attendance in the arena and more viewers online than the previous day.

Of course.

The audience hoped the match would end as soon as possible, ideally after fifteen minutes—oh, it seems surrendering isn't allowed in professional matches anymore.

So much so that even though MVP had the upper hand throughout the game, whenever the opposing M17 managed to get a kill and try to gain momentum, a wave of "disappointment" would appear in the live stream.

As an appetizer, it should be treated with the same care and attention as an appetizer!

Finally, this long battle lasting 38 minutes came to an end with the MVP winning, and the audience was finally able to put down what they were doing.

The second match is between EDG and JT!

Because of the heated pre-match challenge, this game has become the most popular game on major betting websites, with some even betting on "which hero Li Yi will choose in this game".

coming!

"Welcome to the second day of the Asian Games! Hello everyone, I'm your commentator, Duoduo!"

"I'm commentator Zeyuan!"

In the commentary booth, Wang Duoduo, the newly promoted e-sports poet, was filled with mixed emotions. He never expected to be so lucky, encountering such a fascinating and high-profile match in his first official game.

"In this match, our LPL team EDG will face off against the LMS team JT! I'm sure everyone has been following the pre-match discussions on various forums. This is going to be a very intense match!" Wang Duoduo's voice was full of enthusiasm, as if he were making his first appearance in a major tournament.

Guan Zeyuan then chimed in: "Yes, Fofo said directly in a pre-match interview that he wanted to have a match with Li Yi."

A clash between heroes. This statement immediately put all the pressure on EDG. However, from what I understand, LeeE isn't the type to be swayed by public opinion. Let's see what he chooses today!

"Let's look at the bans and picks. EDG on the red side banned Syndra, Caitlyn, and Zac, while JT on the blue side banned Karma, Galio, and Thresh!"

"Here it comes, the blue team's first pick!"

The assassin from Shadow Stream locked onto the target, and a huge cheer erupted from the crowd.

"Fofo's Zed, the Master of Shadows! To be honest, this is practically a challenge. Even though I know you've been secretly practicing Yasuo, a champion that can counter Zed, in ranked games, I'm still going to pick him anyway. Let's see if you dare to respond directly!"

The EDG players' bench at this moment.

Coach Nofe stood behind Li Yi, not in a hurry to speak. He knew in his heart that it was not appropriate for him to make the decision for Li Yi at this time.

"Li Yi, it's your decision."

At this moment, Li Yi was staring at the screen.

The sound waves coming through the headset poured into his headphones from all directions of the venue. The cheers and commotion were mixed together. He knew that these sounds were not directed at him, but were probably just forcing him to respond.

Accept the challenge, take the hit, draw your sword, engage in a solo lane battle. Whoever calls for the jungler is the one who concedes defeat. Being afraid to engage in a skill-based duel means you're scared.

"Isn't that childish?"

Perhaps you'd be better suited to playing fighting games like King of Fighters '97, and having a real 1v1 manly battle with the kids.

In Summoner's Rift of League of Legends, the SoIo tournament championship has always been just a way to save face for the "no-title shockwave"—besides, I, Li Yi, have never cared about statistics or public opinion when I play matches, let alone for any so-called "show-off" effect.

I came here to win the game.

Third floor of the red building, locked!

The entire room fell silent for a moment.

The commentators and audience, including the opposing player, all frowned.

Lava behemoth!