You promised a top lane tutorial, but you're just using Worlds as material for your videos?

Chapter 158 Damn it, EDG, you banned Yasuo, what am I supposed to see?
"Shiba Mata, you're really bad!"

Don't be fooled by the fact that Imp and Mata teamed up in the bot lane and won the S4 World Championship together.

However, Imp and Mata have never gotten along well.

The main reason is that Mata always dislikes Imp, thinking he's not as good as Deft.

This is something that has always made Imp very unhappy.

No man can tolerate being told he's inadequate.

Now, Mata has finally teamed up with Deft, whom he has been longing to be with.

But the result?

They still got completely crushed by SKT!

Seeing KT get crushed by SKT in two games in the finals, imp finally got some revenge.

Of course, imp needs to get rid of this disgusting feeling completely.

That would require LGD to face KT at the World Championship, and for imp to personally crush Deft once again, to truly humiliate Mata.

Hearing imp's complaint, PYL, who was playing the first game, laughed and said, "Isn't KT supposed to be a super team? They've been hyping them up all spring season, and this is what they've got?"

"What kind of galactic battleship is this? They might not even make it into the World Championship!" Zhou Dian chimed in.

Zhou Dian had a very bad impression of Mata.

The main problem is that this guy has had a very poor professional attitude during his two years playing in the LPL.

One-handed Jayce, Windspeaker Zyra—these are all masterpieces created by Mata in the LPL over the past two years.

Taking such high salaries from LPL clubs, yet displaying this kind of professional attitude, is somewhat disgusting.

"Ha! It's not like we won't make it to the World Championship, is it?"

PYL continued, "KT just can't beat SKT, which is normal, but they can easily beat other LCK teams, right?"

"Hard to say!" Zhou Dian shrugged.

However, the LGD players didn't continue this topic.

Seeing Zhou Dian return, Dgc gathered the team members and started discussing the upcoming LGD semifinals.

Although we had prepared a lot before the competition.

However, more discussion and reflection can't hurt.

After a while, a staff member came in and told us to get ready to go on stage.

Zhou Dian and his teammates got up one after another and followed head coach Dgc toward the door of the locker room.

"Alright, everyone, welcome back to the 2017 LPL Spring Split Playoffs semifinals, which are currently being broadcast live!"

"Next up is today's second semi-final BO5!"

"Hello everyone, I'm Wang Duoduo!"

After the semi-final match between WE and RNG, a new commentary team was assigned to commentate on the second match.

After Wang Duoduo finished his brief opening remarks, the bald man next to him quickly added:

"Hello everyone, I'm Haokai!"

Haokai is a commentator who often holds his breath and speaks a long passage in one breath during his commentary, making it seem like he's about to run out of breath.

Therefore, he is jokingly referred to by many viewers as the "oxygen tank commentator".

He explained that he needed oxygen.

After introducing himself, Wang Duoduo continued, "Hey, during the first match, everyone in the audience, including us commentators backstage, was really excited!"

"Brilliant, absolutely brilliant!" Hao Kai echoed.

"Indeed, whether it was WE, who finally made it to the LPL finals, or RNG, who fought hard for four games but unfortunately lost, both teams brought us the highest level of competition!"

"The upcoming match between LGD and EDG is also captivating the hearts of countless fans."

"Before the competition, we still need to give everyone a chance."

Wang Duoduo's advertising method is quite smooth.

As they talked, the conversation naturally veered towards advertising.

There's no way around it; the sponsors are the bosses.

There are strict quotas for how many commercials a commentator needs to run during each match.

Missing an advertisement will result in a fine.

After reading a long advertisement, the camera focused on the main stage.

The starting players for both LGD and EDG are already seated on the bench.

However, there is still some time before the match officially begins.

Both teams are currently adjusting their equipment.

At this moment, the starting lineups for both teams were displayed on the big screen.

For LGD, the lineup is: top laner Zhou, jungler Eimy, mid laner GodV, bot laner imp, and support PYL.

For EDG, the lineup is: top laner Mouse, jungler Fireloli, mid laner Scout, bot laner Zet, and support Meiko.

They're all the same starting lineups they mainly use in regular season games.

EDG's starting jungler today is still Ai Luoli.

Clearlove7 was on the pre-match roster.

But he hasn't played a single game throughout the entire Spring Split, so it's impossible to let him play in this important match now.

However, the factory manager also accompanied the team to the site today.

He's sitting in the EDG lounge right now.

After the starting lineup was introduced, the big screen displayed some game data from the two teams' regular season matches.

Next, we will compare the regular season statistics of the players in each of the five positions on both teams.

When the top lane stats were revealed, Zhou Dian ranked first among all top laners in the LPL regular season in all offensive-related data.

The camera immediately focused on Zhou Dian.

The LGD fans in the audience immediately cheered.

The semi-final match between LGD and EDG.

Before the match, LGD was naturally the more favored side.

But their opponent is EDG after all.

During that period, EDG was a god in domestic wars.

Therefore, many LGD fans are still very nervous about facing EDG, and they dare not guarantee that LGD will definitely win this game.

However, when Zhou Dian appeared on camera, many LGD fans immediately felt much more at ease.

A person's name, the shadow of a tree.

Zhou Dian is the biggest source of confidence for LGD fans right now.

Moreover, the thought that Zhou Dian would be facing Mouse as the top laner today made LGD fans feel even more secure and confident! At this moment, the two commentators also started talking about Zhou Dian.

Zhou Dian's stats, performance, and regular season MVP award are all things that have been discussed before.

The two did not discuss the match itself, but instead talked about what neutral viewers expected most from it.

"I remember Zhou Shen said very solemnly yesterday that he was going to play Yasuo today!"

"I wonder if we'll see Zhou Shen's Yasuo in the first game!" Wang Duoduo said.

"We should be able to see it!" Hao Kai said. "Zhou Shen is a man of his word!"

"Hmm, if Zhou Shen really picks Yasuo, then all the viewers are in for a treat!"

After a pause, Wang Duoduo continued, "Who doesn't love watching Yasuo!"

Meanwhile, on the EDG players' bench.

EDG's head coach, Nofe, asked Mouse in his broken Chinese, "Should we ban Yasuo?"

Upon hearing this, Mouse fell silent.

To be honest, he was thinking of banning Yasuo.

Although in the last regular season match between LGD and EDG, in the game where Zhou Dian played Yasuo, EDG's top laner was Korol, and Zhou Dian didn't suffer from the torment of the top laner Yasuo.

But in the first two games of that BO3, and in the usual scrims between LGD and EDG, Mouse was tormented by Zhou Dian quite a bit.

Now that Mouse is at the top of the table, he's a little scared.

He doesn't want to be used as material for Yasuo tutorials!

But if we really ban Yasuo, wouldn't it seem too cowardly?

These days, who bans Yasuo in a competitive match?
Zhou Dian only said "I want to play Yasuo" before the match, and you banned Yasuo right away.

Wouldn't that seem like fear?
Are they already at a disadvantage before even fighting?
Seeing Mouse remain silent, nofe said, "You don't need to consider anything else. Let's just think about it from the perspective of the game. If you think it's good against Yasuo, then we won't ban it. If you think it's not good against him, then we'll ban it!"

With nofe's level of Chinese proficiency, he definitely couldn't explain such a long sentence clearly.

So he was speaking Korean.

Scout then translated the message into Chinese and relayed it to Mouse.

Scout has a very good work ethic.

Since joining the LPL, he has been working hard to learn Chinese in order to communicate better during matches.

In less than a year, his Chinese has become very good.

In contrast, some Korean players who play in the LPL are unwilling to learn Chinese.

He simply doesn't speak during matches.

Even worse, some local teammates need to learn Korean so they can accommodate them.

Upon hearing Scout's words, Mouse made up his mind.

"Then let's ban Yasuo!"

If others call you a coward, then say so!
If we really get turned into a source of material for a game, that would be even more frustrating.

Mouse thinks that since Zhou Dian dared to say before the match what hero he would play, it's quite something.

There must be some crazy trick waiting for them.

It's better to ban it.

It's not that I'm scared, it's mainly so that the team can win the game.

After a somewhat lengthy chat during the commentary, the BP interface finally appeared on the big screen.

LGD on the blue side, EDG on the red side.

"Alright, everyone, the first game of the BO5 semifinals between LGD and EDG is about to begin with the draft phase!"

Wang Duoduo breathed a sigh of relief; it had finally begun.

"Because LGD's regular season record is better than EDG's, LGD has the right to choose sides in this BO5!"

"In this first game, LGD deliberately chose the blue side!"

"It seems LGD is mainly testing the waters in the first game!" Haokai added. "If they make their move right away, then we'll choose the red side!"

After playing through the entire regular season, both the audience and the commentators have gained a certain understanding of LGD's playing style.

If LGD chooses the red side, it means they are determined to win this game.

At this moment, both sides have started banning heroes.

First round of BP.

LGD banned Zyra, Malzahar, and Varus.

EDG banned Kog'Maw, Fiora, and Yasuo.

"LGD banned Zyra first, while EDG banned Kog'Maw."

"The champion Kog'Maw has a very high pick/ban rate in the current playoffs, and also a very high win rate!" Wang Duoduo said.

"Big Mouth. Well, how should I put it!"

Hao Kai continued, "The main reason is that this hero is not weak in lane now. With a support like Lulu or Nami, he can beat anyone in lane and is unlikely to be at a disadvantage."

"Then, in the mid-to-late game, Kog'Maw's combat ability became just too strong!"

Regarding the bans from both sides, the two commentators provided very detailed and logical analyses, offering a long and eloquent explanation regardless of whether it was reasonable or not.

However, when EDG banned Yasuo as their third pick...

The commentary suddenly stopped.

"They're really banning Yasuo!"

Wang Duoduo's voice rang out at the right time, preventing the commentary booth from falling into an awkward silence.

Meanwhile, in the live broadcast room, many viewers had already started to cheer.

The comments section refreshed rapidly.

【Huh? Ban Yasuo? What does that mean?】

Oh dear, someone chickened out. I won't say who!

【Wait, what's with banning Yasuo? Who bans Yasuo in matches these days?】

[Damn EDG, what am I supposed to see if you ban Yasuo?]

[Exactly! Are you suggesting we watch EDG's top laner play Maokai?]

[The cheerful guy is gone, who's going to make up for the lack of happiness I feel?!]

[Cowardly EDG, cowardly EDG, cowardly EDG!]

[Seven isn't playing, and Yasuo is banned too. This is boring, really boring. I'm going to watch the LCK finals next door!]

[Let's go, let's go watch SKT!]

【.】

(End of this chapter)