You actually want me to...

Flame Tail Far Fang: Gale Form [Senna + Caitlyn]

Kal'tsit and Amiya: Dark Form [Syndra + Kayn]

Stranger's Flash: Lightning Attacker Form [Kennen + Ryze]

They tried all sorts of bizarre combinations and finally managed to put together some usable gadgets. Then, under the guidance of the expert, they finalized the design and were ready to deliver a powerful blow to their playoff opponents.

"See, I told you, trying new things is never a bad thing."

If they practiced in the same way as normal scrims and ranked games, TES would never have been able to make such a big improvement in such a short time. But by changing their approach, the improvement is completely different. This is because it is not about vertical development, but about horizontal expansion, which naturally makes the difficulty different.

"You've got some skills, but don't you dare copy other people's techniques like that! A tadpole smelling a frog, you're sniffing your mother!"

JKL was completely numb.

The reason why skilled players can show off their skills is because they play every day, and showing off has become muscle memory. You, a student, are just blindly following them and playing randomly. Isn't that nonsense? A perfectly good ranked game has been ruined by Roland's attempts to recreate famous moments, resulting in several disastrous performances.

"Tch, a bullfrog standing on a crab's head, my skills are top-notch, haven't you noticed that once you become skilled, your skills are incredibly cool?"

"Handsome as he may be, what about the potential for harm?"

Everyone was about to throw up. Before, the only thing that was difficult for everyone to keep up with when this guy played Pyke was his gameplay. After all, Pyke's initiation speed was ridiculously fast; one person could charge in and nine others wouldn't be able to react in time.

Since he successfully learned from the top players, his hero pool in this area has been quietly expanded, which is ridiculously absurd.

However, the biggest benefit of this training was that it allowed them to discover many heroes that were suitable for them to play.

Everyone has different preferences when it comes to heroes. Just like some people can play Draven, some can play Aphelios, some can play Kalista, and some can only play traditional attack speed AD champions. Everyone has their own level of acceptance, and no one can judge what type of hero a person is suitable to play, just like everyone has different favorite colors.

Some people like pink, perhaps because they are kind; some people like red, perhaps because they are strong; some people like black, perhaps because they are fashionable; some people like white, perhaps because they are pure; some people like blue, perhaps because they are soft-hearted; and some people like yellow. Please share some of your study materials with me.

This is the difference in mastery between individuals. Some heroes have never been favored by the meta and have a low margin for error, so few professional players practice or play them. But now that they have come into contact with them, they suddenly realize that they have them. In fact, it is possible to actively create a suitable lineup for this hero through the coach's adjustments.

As the saying goes, heroes are dead, but lineups are alive. A deeper hero pool means fewer restrictions in the draft phase.

Of course, due to TES's recent learning and experimentation, their recent scrim results have been consistently poor. Their clumsy top and jungle, hopeless mid lane, unskilled support, and foul-mouthed bot lane have gradually become notorious in the LPL's public opinion circles.

However, the audience has gotten used to it.

This team always does this before major tournaments: their official Weibo account pretends to be dead, the players go silent, and there are always reports of them getting crushed in scrims. Then, when the official tournament starts, they do the same thing again. They're practically a one-to-one replica of TSM.

It's been over a week since we've heard anything from TES. Have all of them disappeared?

New fans are still asking questions, while veteran fans are already laughing.

[I'm really used to it. I don't really get used to these guys not disappearing and playing dead for a while before a match.]

Indeed, we'll just have to wait for new content. Lately, I've seen many streamers avoid talking about this, but they all seem to be really looking forward to TES.

Playing dead, it's an old tradition.

Anyway, with the playoffs approaching, there are plenty of exciting matches to watch. Even if TES makes a statement now, their match is scheduled for a later time. Instead of staying in this dark live stream, it's more exciting to rewatch Hero Microphone a couple more times.

As for whether we can research and develop some kind of cutting-edge technology?

That would be perfect.

As a casual viewer of esports events, I've always had only one opinion: you're awesome, I'll handle the explanations for Newton.

Since the playoffs are a double-elimination format with four teams advancing, and TES is in second place and positioned below, the team that TES might face first could only be one of the four teams: RA, BLG, WE, or OMG. When Roland and others saw this grouping, they almost died laughing.

The top one is the hellish AI, and the bottom one is the easy AI, right?

This grouping really made Roland and the others laugh.

"Wow, anyone who didn't know better would think we'd been paying Riot Games for in-game currency."

"Indeed, SN, FPX, and EDG, all our old rivals, are up there. I bet RNG is terrified. These teams that manage to fight their way out could probably wipe them out in no time." Even just thinking about it, Da Huang could feel just how outrageous the bloodshed in the upper half of the map was.

"With the group stage like this, it would be really unacceptable if we still couldn't make it to the finals. Moreover, I don't think we should underestimate the teams in the lower half of the group. The weaker they appear on the surface, the more they can hide their strength. What people see on the surface is ultimately different from what they actually experience."

"For example?"

“For example, we train until we vomit every day, but they say it’s talent. How pathetic.”

. . . . . .

. . . . . .

. . . . . .

PS: Ever since [Adaptive Applause], [Adaptive Camera] has also appeared. Luckily I wasn't there, otherwise I'm afraid we'd have to add [Adaptive Network].

PS2: My group's Tian Zeyuan has issued a divine decree for today's match: T1 3:1 RNG. Please be aware.

Final Chapter: Chapter One: Coach, I Want...

The double-elimination format created a situation in the S11 Summer Playoffs that was difficult to replicate in previous years.

First, FPX emerged as a dark horse in Group A, fighting their way through to the semifinals, and then knocked EDG and RNG into the loser's bracket. Doinb's deep champion pool and LWX's stable late-game performance played a major role, resulting in an unexpected surge of strength.

If that were all, it wouldn't be so bad, but the focus is on Group B.

In the relatively weaker Group B, WE, who were TES's second-to-last opponent in the regular season, suddenly exploded into action, successfully overcoming three rounds and once again advancing to the semifinals in front of TES, leaving most LPL viewers saying they had misjudged them. Among them, the performance of the top-tier player, Beisheng, and the Jinx picked by Elc in the bottom lane created an overwhelming attack, showcasing the youthful storm.

The TES team was pretending to be dead online, but because of WE's explosive performance and Smile's excitement, a bunch of people were constantly bombarding the players' Twitter and official Weibo accounts with comments. As a result, TES's more than a week-long closed training camp was officially lifted.

It just goes to show how difficult it is to please netizens.

However, this generation of netizens does have a tough time. They are both fathers and mothers on weekdays. One second they are posting "Mom loves you" in the Weibo comment section, and the next second they are cursing "I am your father" in the game. It is understandable that they have such emotional fluctuations.

"See? I told you these kids were holding back, but you didn't believe me." Looking at WE's three bright icons on the playoff schedule, JKL had no chance to refute Roland's provocation.

Although the opponents in Group B are not as strong as those in Group A, the team's strength is definitely evident from winning three BO5s. However, in their eyes, WE's weakness is also obvious: they are extremely reliant on the performance of their jungler and support.

"Actually, the fact that there have been so many upsets in this year's double-elimination tournament is quite obvious. This year's World Championship may not be about who has the strongest team going, but rather who has improved the fastest." White Crescent stepped forward and set the tone for the playoffs from a macro perspective.

The same is true.

Do you think EDG and RNG are weak?

They ranked first and third in the regular season, and their players are all well-known. So why did they lose to FPX? It's because they couldn't keep up with the others in terms of learning speed and their hero pool didn't keep up with the needs and understanding of the current meta. How can you compete with that?

In the current version, the game has truly entered the era where warriors are invincible with "coughing blood, blood hands, and death dance". Traditional hard carry ADs are starting to decline from their pedestal. But FPX can go against the meta and pick hard carry ADs like Aphelios, and they can also pick utility champions in the bot lane. Doinb in the mid lane can even pick up the strongest champions in the current meta. So how do you fight against them?

The difference in learning speed translates into a difference in overall strength on the field, that goes without saying.

"Indeed... but this year, I don't think our learning speed is any worse than theirs, especially after such a long period of training." As they spoke, the contestants in the room were extremely confident.

The training matches between teams from various regions, one-on-one coaching from top players in the Chinese server, plus a roster of top-tier players with a vast pool of heroes, and most importantly... White Crescent isn't the kind of stubborn coach. If he doesn't know something, he simply says so; if he can't do something, he'll say so directly. Then he'll decisively hand over the decision-making power to the team's players. So what are they afraid of?

"That's true. Well then, let's prepare to receive information from the outside world. We've been closed off for so long, and there are indeed occasions where we need to show our faces."

"and many more!"

At that moment, Roland suddenly spoke up, stopping White Crescent from assigning the next task.

"what happened?"

It was as if he had shouted "All eyes are on me!" in the crowd. Immediately, a group of eyes in the room converged on him, as if they were looking forward to his profound remarks. According to the ancient procedure, this was the pre-battle oath-taking ceremony, and the team leader was supposed to set a flag to boost morale.

Seeing this, Roland sighed softly and said with a solemn expression:

"Coach, I have to take care of something important. It feels like a gentle breeze, like a mountain wind caressing my forehead, taking away yesterday's worries and bringing up a shy blush. I look back at you one last time, say goodbye, and gently press the button. The water swirls away, like a fish happily going on a trip."

Speak like a human.

"Coach, I need to go to the bathroom."

"roll!!!"

-------------------------------------

next day

The Hongqiao Tiandi Performing Arts Center in Shanghai is where the semifinals of the other half of the bracket will determine the winner.

The winner, now equipped with a resurrection item, will face off against FPX from Group A in a decisive battle.

The losing team will go to the loser's bracket to face off against EDG, the current winner of the loser's bracket.

As a team that has won three consecutive matches and is getting stronger with each battle, WE is undoubtedly full of confidence in this match. Everyone who knows about winning streaks understands that it is a process of continuous accumulation of momentum. In this process, the players of the team will become more and more confident and more daring to make moves, and they will be able to perform better than usual. Everyone can feel this to some extent when they are on a winning streak in ranked matches.

Even a winning streak achieved by simply lying down is the same; as the saying goes, those who lie down are like C, isn't luck the same as skill?

"As expected of the semi-finals, there are more people here than at the regular season. What do you guys think?" As soon as Roland arrived at the venue, he went to a spot where he could feel the roar of the audience and listened to the ambient sounds for a while.

"Alright, alright, no matter how lively the atmosphere is, when we're playing, we'll put on our headphones and not care about anyone. That's enough." JKL is a veteran player who experienced the peak of S7 and is already used to these so-called atmospheres. "If you get sick during the match, the noise level here might be much higher than you imagine."

"No way, this is the semi-finals, I'm taking it very seriously." Roland widened her big, bright eyes and solemnly assured JKL.

"Really?"

"Absolutely, that's because I have you. With your help, it's like Liu Bang having Han Xin, Liu Che having Huo Qubing, and Cao Cao having Guo Jia. We're practically invincible."

"Sounds pretty good, you know how to talk."

Looking at the two support duo walking arm in arm at the front, White Crescent's lips twitched slightly. Although it sounded pretty good, he seemed to remember... these three were all big shots who died young?

Ok.

I hope I've misremembered.

Finale: Chapter Two: Grand Theft Auto Tactics

As this is the semi-final, the lineup of commentators for this match is exceptionally strong:

Commentator 1: LPL's "Causality Weapon" Director General's main role is to manipulate the game to the way he wants it to be.

Commentary 2: 957, the original second-generation WE veteran top laner, mainly played the role of single-handedly defending against the big man.

Commentary 3: PYL, the former support player for LGD, mainly aims to counterbalance 957 and side with TES.

However, Roland remained completely unfazed. Long before the semi-finals, he had already used his account, with the ID "WE必胜", to send several rockets to Daxiao's live stream, using the club's money, of course.

Expenditures category: Office supplies.

"Believe me, today we have the advantage, whether from the perspective of strength or from the perspective of metaphysics."

As the saying goes, "Know yourself and know your weaknesses, and you will win every battle."

Why was WE able to pull off such a stunning upset and make it all the way to the semifinals? Besides their excellent performance and quick learning ability, the fact that the senior student didn't have high hopes for WE in the cafeteria was definitely a major factor.

Since that's the case, let's face the enemy head-on! Let's take WE's path and leave them with nowhere to go.