You actually want me to...

as predicted.

In the second game, WE took advantage of their blue side position and got a lineup that they were comfortable with. With the help of Sadness and Teacher Ma's on-the-spot bursts, WE managed to drag the second game out for more than 30 minutes and win.

In the third game, TES regained the blue side, continued to shut down WE's hero pool, and secured the victory, taking the lead in the match.

Match score: 2:1

At this moment, the WE team knew that they were hovering around the brink of death.

Why is a best-of-five series considered the hardest to upset?

Because usually, after three games, the opponent's individual skill level, team coordination, vision control, and individual ganking and support habits are all fully exposed to the opponent.

This also includes WE's most fatal weakness: its hero pool.

After the third game, TES had almost seen through WE's weaknesses. Although WE regained the blue side, they knew that TES would find a way to counter them in the fourth game.

WE's only chance to win now is for the players to have a breakout performance and to avoid any mistakes during the match. But while this sounds simple, it's not so easy to do. In the rest room, although the WE team was still encouraging each other, the slightly serious expressions on their faces ultimately betrayed their true thoughts.

"Do you think we can win?" Without any pretense or hesitation, after realizing the awkward atmosphere in the room, Teacher Ma decided to throw caution to the wind and directly ask the question.

"It's hard to say. It might be possible, but the chances of success are slim."

Is it 30%?

"Perhaps... even less." Missing responded with a wry smile, feeling utterly helpless. As the team's commander, Missing knew best what made TES so formidable.

It's not about tactical system or teamwork.

In both of these areas, WE is currently slightly stronger than their opponents.

What made them most desperate for TES was the terrifying skill of their players in lane and their almost inexhaustible champion pool. In terms of skill, like in the first three games, several times their 2v1 situations not only failed to produce results, but they almost lost a player to the opponent, or even a double kill.

As for the champion pool... there's probably no team in the entire LPL with a deeper champion pool than TES; they can practically pull out anything and everything.

"But just because our win rate isn't high, are we going to give up?" Coach Ma looked at his teammates and asked loudly, "Just because we don't have any veteran players or star players, are we going to give up?"

"Old Ma..."

“Outside the venue, Cheng Ge and his group are watching us, as are Tui Ge and his group, and countless fans are also watching us. I believe that from their God’s perspective, they should be able to see our current situation more clearly than we do.”

"But look at your phones, go check the live stream, go check the official Weibo account, they haven't given up on us yet!"

“Our most trusted seniors and fans haven’t given up on us yet, so why, why did we give up on ourselves first? So what if we were a dark horse? Wasn’t ES a dark horse? Wasn’t OMG a dark horse? They were still defeated by us.”

"I can accept that we give it our all and still get defeated; that means we're not good enough, and we can always come back in the summer split. But what are you guys doing? The game isn't over yet! We still have a chance!"

"We still have a chance!!!"

If we're talking about pressure, the one under the most pressure is actually Coach Ma. Just like when you have to target both carries when playing against TES, other teams playing against WE also have to completely shut down Coach Ma.

In three matches, more than a dozen bans were given to his hero pool.

But he also won one game, didn't he?

The outcome is still uncertain; we could all be dark horses. Just because our opponents are famous and have a deep pool of heroes, does that mean they are destined to lose?

No, he doesn't accept it.

Teacher Ma wouldn't accept it, his dignity wouldn't accept it, and his passion for esports wouldn't accept it either.

In a sense, WE's League of Legends division is actually a very pitiful division.

Because it lacks funds, it cannot afford to hire overly famous heroes, and it cannot even retain its veteran player Xiye. It can only pitifully train its own youth team and cultivate its own players.

Although they are all young players, young players have their advantages: they are young, proud, unwilling to admit defeat, and dare to take on challenges.

Especially arrogance, something many veteran professional players have already lost.

It was just that at this moment, Teacher Ma once again stirred it up.

Yes, the competition isn't over yet, is it?

If they are afraid simply because of the strength of their opponents, or because of their own weakness, how can they live up to the expectations of their predecessors, or the coaches and team leaders who fight alongside them?

They haven't lost yet, have they?

A burning fighting spirit ignited everyone's spirits, and their old fighting spirit returned to everyone's heads, even though a momentary burst of passion might not be enough to help them defeat their powerful enemy.

But at least, at least they should try again.

The spirit of Team WE must never be lost in their hands.

Missing stretched out her right hand, looking at her teammates with overwhelming shame. As a veteran who joined the team in S8, she should have been the one to step up and boost morale in this situation, but in the end, it was Coach Ma, who had been bearing immense pressure, who stepped forward.

In this respect, he failed in his duty.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have shown those emotions."

"No, it's my problem. I haven't been able to play the role of the center in these few games."

"If I could practice another top laner, our drafting wouldn't be so difficult."

"In the next game, I will definitely find a way to take control of the team's rhythm."

At this moment, one by one, the young players stepped forward to admit their shortcomings. Young people don't have so much pretense; these were brothers who had worked hard day and night in their small rooms. If they made a mistake, they simply admitted it.

At the other end of the room, the team leader, Little Beast, looked at the young people's renewed spirits and a smile of fatherly satisfaction spread across his face.

Yes.

That's it.

This is the kind of spirit and will that WE players should have.

Be true to yourself and to others.

The game is not dead, the battle continues to the death!

Metamorphosis: Chapter Nine: The Extended Game

Upon returning to the arena, the TES team could clearly sense the newfound fighting spirit emanating from the faces of the WE players.

"What the heck? They have a Sun Ce on the other side? And he's even using skills during halftime?"

"It looks like they're determined to fight us to the death, which is commendable. But if they think they can win the game just by relying on their fighting spirit, it would be a huge disrespect to our professional careers." Before going on stage, Karsa glanced at the WE team opposite him, his heart unmoved.

Young players, of course, have fighting spirit, which is a good thing, and he's even quite happy to see that. But if they're facing him, then sorry, you're destined to lose.

In short, pay more attention.

"Huh? Snacks? What snacks?"

"Shut up, you stinking dog. You can eat whatever you want after the game, so don't bark now." Looking at Roland's silly antics beside him, Ah Shui couldn't help but feel a bit of a headache. Of course, he could understand Roland's behavior.

Excessive mental exertion can lead to a strong craving for sugar. This is similar to how people used to crave something to replenish energy when spending all night at internet cafes or at home – that's the principle behind it.

Of course, this kind of illness is only temporary, and he will be able to adjust immediately once the competition starts.

The match began quickly.

First round of bans:

WE: Varus, Syndra, Trundle

TES: Kalista, Pantheon, Jarvan IV

Actively banning an AD carry basically forces the opposing team to ban one Miss Fortune and one Aphelios on each side, while also freeing up the mid laner's champion pool for the draft phase.

One round of PICK:

WE: Galio, Miss Fortune, Braum

TES: Thresh, Aphelios, Olaf

At this point, the draft phase begins for both sides. For WE, the two bans in the second round present a choice: ban Rumble and Corki to make Ma Laoshi invincible in the mid lane, or ban Gangplank and Mordekaiser in the top lane to give their engage composition more room to maneuver.

After thinking about it, WE decided to prioritize Mr. Ma.

Second round of bans: Lu Xian, Airplane, Camille, and Jin Fu were all eliminated.

In their fourth pick, TES secured the Renekton.

WE's lineup needs an engage champion to carry Galio, but with Camille, Jarvan IV, and Sett all banned, and their signature Renekton also picked, WE's only option is Nocturne. However, picking Nocturne means their jungler can't pick a carry jungler. This choice has once again been thrown back to WE by TES.

After much deliberation, WE finally picked Nightmare and Excavator as their fourth or fifth pick.

The lineup consists of top laner Nocturne, jungler Rek'Sai, mid laner Galio, and bot laner Miss Fortune and Braum. This lineup focuses on early and mid lane support and has a low margin for error. It is extremely reliant on ultimate cooldowns. If you can't kill the opponent in one push in the late game, you will die. It is a standard WE system lineup.

The final choice came back to TES.

Their strategy is clear: they need an AP mid laner who can cause some trouble for Galio, has anti-gank capabilities, and maintains strength in the mid-to-late game.

Then the options become clear.

Last pick: Vladimir for mid lane. Knight once again demonstrated his terrifying champion pool, quietly pulling out an unpopular champion from his pocket.

"vampire?"

"Hiss, if this comes out, it will really test TES's ability to withstand pressure on the side lanes." After a brief moment of hesitation, the commentators cautiously replied. After all, Knight usually picks early to mid-game heroes to set the pace, so picking Vladimir this time is a bit strange.

Of course, the lineup is fine.

TES's lineup: Top lane Renekton, Jungle Olaf, Mid lane Vladimir, Bot lane Aphelios + Thresh

Their top and jungle were strong in the early game, but their combined strength as a top, mid, and jungle player couldn't match up. But that's okay, their bot lane still had lane priority. With Aphelios and Thresh in the bot lane, if the enemy Rek'Sai dared not help the bot lane early, Karsa had no doubt that his bot lane duo could push the enemy under their tower and then dominate them.

The competition has now begun.

At the start, Kasa chose to farm from top to bottom, avoiding the opponent's starting route.

Unfortunately, while Olaf is indeed not afraid of Rek'Sai in a one-on-one fight, he doesn't have lane priority in the mid lane. Once he takes the conventional jungle route, the enemy Galio pushes the lane and heads into the jungle, leaving Karsa completely helpless.

At this point, Karsa has to rely on his long-lost muscle memory: sticking with the bot lane carry.

"Push the bottom lane a little in the early game to help me secure the river crab."

"No problem, bro. By the way, you've been getting better and better at selling 369 lately, Karsa." Roland replied to Karsa while also casting a sympathetic glance at the top laner.

To be honest, the top lane is an advantageous lane for Renekton against Nightmare.

However!

There's an excavator across the street.

Due to the mid-lane's early-game weakness, TES's top and jungle players had to make sacrifices to some extent, such as being hesitant to engage in risky plays. 369 is now firmly remembering the coach's instructions, as long as...