I just turned eighteen, and you want me to make a comeback?

When Flash Wolves' support player, Snake, hovered his finger above Yasuo's portrait for the third time, a short gasp suddenly came from commentator Miller's microphone—only 17 seconds remained before the ban/pick phase ended.

The roar from the audience surged through the soundproof glass like a rising tide. A female fan in the front row, holding a light stick that read "Flash Wolves: Eternal Calamity," bit her glow stick between her teeth and frantically slapped her support board with both hands.

On the commentary stage, Wawa pushed up his reflective black-rimmed glasses, his Adam's apple bobbing as he uttered the name that sent shivers down the spines of casual players in the Rift: "Yasuo! Flash Wolves' final pick in the decisive game is the Unforgiven!"

Let's rewind to the locker room before the game.

On tactical coach Maokai's tactical board, Yasuo's portrait was circled three times in red, with the words "ROX Aurelion Sol system weakness" scrawled next to it. Top laner Ale tapped Jayce's icon with a tactical pen: "They picked Ornn and Sejuani in the first three picks. This lineup is too aggressive in the mid-to-late game. Yasuo with Ghost can interrupt Jayce's QE cooldown."

Mid laner Wei Shen stared at the screen at the effect of Riaso's E skill and suddenly said, "The enemy mid laner Kuro's Aurelion Sol only has a 32% R-Flash hit rate this season."

In the VIP box of the venue, the ROX coaching staff slammed their tactics notebook onto the table.

The analyst stared at the Flash Wolves' roster stats, his shirt collar soaked with cold sweat: "Their draft completely abandons the traditional marksman position. Yasuo and Foygo's double engage will turn team fights into a nightmare." The assistant coach grabbed the walkie-talkie and roared: "Get Kuro to switch to Exhaust immediately! He can't break Yasuo's Wind Wall with Cleanse!"

As the match entered the draft phase, ROX secured three top-tier champions in the first three picks: Ornn, Sejuani, and Aurelion Sol, building an impenetrable teamfight initiation system. Flash Wolves, on the other hand, steadily secured Fryegger, Kennen, and Nautilus. When it came to the final pick, the camera panned across the ROX players' bench, and jungler Dandy's lips curled into a disdainful smile—in the current meta where mages are rising in power, the win rate of warriors and assassins has fallen below 45%, let alone Yasuo, whose margin for error is extremely low.

"This pick of Yasuo is either a godlike moment or a scapegoat."

Miller's voice trembled. The broadcast switched to the player's first-person perspective, and the words "Yasuo" printed on Snake's mousepad were blurred by sweat. The moment the lock-on sound effect played, the ROX coaching staff's tactical board shattered, and wood chips flew onto the note that read "Ban Janna to counter Yasuo."

During the game loading screen, Wei Shen's ID "Clearlove7" was faintly visible under Yasuo's cloak—this legendary ID that once dominated the jungle was about to unleash a storm in the mid lane.

The live stream chat was flooded with comments like "Happy Wind Man" and "This game is going to be entertaining," with thousands of messages appearing every second. Meanwhile, on professional player data websites, Yasuo's win rate was fluctuating down to 0.0% in real time.

During the level 1 team fight in the blue buff area, ROX's Jayce precisely used QE to severely damage Nautilus, but GodV's Yasuo used minions to E into the crowd, perfectly blocking the subsequent damage with his Wind Wall. The commentator, Remember, exclaimed, "Look! Yasuo's E skill has a cooldown reset mechanism; he completed 5 dashes in 0.3 seconds!" In ROX's command voice chat, Kuro anxiously shouted, "Don't use Flash! He has no damage output after using E on minions!"

Six minutes in, Wei Shen's Yasuo was crouching in the river bush. The instant Aurelion Sol's W approached, his Wind Wall suddenly activated, followed by an R-Flash and EQ combo that knocked Aurelion Sol into the air. The LED screen on the arena's ceiling exploded with golden light effects, and the screams of the audience, mixed with the system notification "First Blood," soared into the sky. In the replay, Wei Shen's APM (actions per minute) skyrocketed to 387 during the combo, nearly 50% higher than a typical mid-laner.

"This isn't the Yasuo you play in random games!" The commentator, Zhihuan, said with a crack in his voice. "Flash Wolves have turned Yasuo into a tactical nuclear weapon! They exploited Aurelion Sol's lack of mobility and used a double-entry system to forcefully tear apart ROX's formation!" In front of ROX's Nexus, Yasuo pressed Ctrl+5 the moment he got a quadra kill, and his "Western Cowboy" skin was revealed as his cloak billowed in the explosion.

In the post-match interview area, Wei Shen wiped the sweat from his forehead, his hand still trembling slightly in front of the microphone: "In the scrims, we tried 17 different ways to deal with Aurelion Sol, and finally found that only Yasuo could limit his output radius in the mid-game." The camera panned across the ROX players' bench, where Kuro's knuckles were white as he gripped the mouse. On his Aurelion Sol stat panel, his teamfight participation rate was only 38%—his worst performance of the season.

Following the match, CPL tactical analysts collectively updated their hero priority rankings. Yasuo's ban rate surged from 23% to 78%, and in professional players' ranked game records, videos featuring "AP Yasuo mid lane tutorials" surpassed ten million views. Meanwhile, in the Flash Wolves' tactics room, Maokai added a new line of red text to his whiteboard: "When the meta tells you 'you can't,' that might be the opportunity to break through."

Because the Flash Wolves' mid laner was GodV, people seemed to have a high probability of understanding that Yasuo was the top laner choice.

This last move was definitely something no one had expected.

"Yasuo? This is a bit too much, isn't it? [Why do I feel like E-G is playing with fire?]" Ze Yuan was very surprised and looked at Flash Wolves' final choice with a shocked expression.

"It seems that the Yasuo pick is also quite good. Yasuo's mobility gives him a high probability of dodging Jayce's skill poke, and Yasuo's Wind Wall is also very effective in limiting the opponent's lineup."

"Furthermore, Yuanshen is definitely a top-tier Yasuo player. This top lane matchup is really something to look forward to. Flash Wolves' draft picks today were truly unexpected; it seems they came prepared!"

PDD was quite surprised; the current situation was something he hadn't expected at all.

In terms of the draft picks, ED still had the advantage.

However, this choice of Yasuo also appears to be quite extreme, because the team composition makes his margin for error very low.

If Yasuo falls behind in lane, his laning phase will become very passive.
This could have far-reaching consequences, potentially affecting the entire Flash Wolves roster.

Given the current situation, the skill requirements for Yasuo are extremely high, but the fact that Yuan Shen is currently handling his gameplay is still somewhat appreciated.

As the loading progress bar on the big screen climbed to 99%, commentator Miller's voice carried a deliberately suppressed excitement: "In the first game, both sides had standard Summoner Spell configurations—but don't forget, Flash Wolves' last pick of Yasuo will make all strategies unconventional."

In the blue light of the Nexus, ROX mid laner Kuro's Jayce was firing arcs of electricity from his fingertips. He stared at the enemy Yasuo's summoner spell bar, his pupils shrinking slightly—Sprint and Heal, an extreme choice to forgo Flash and force a close-range fight.

Peanut's voice came through the headphones: "I'll start with red buff and rush to level 3, then gank mid." Kuro tapped the keyboard, his QE combo leaving scorch marks on the ground. He had repeated this move three thousand times in scrims, his hand speed so fast that the afterimage was barely visible.

On the Flash Wolves' side, mid-laner Yuan Shen rested his wrist on the edge of the keyboard, Yasuo's cloak fluttering in the fountain. He glanced at his teammate Olaf's movements—Kasa's Smite was in hand, and the three wolves in the red buff area were already low on health.

"Level 1, learn E." He uttered four words into the microphone. The Titan, who was being assisted by Snake, paused for half a second, then pressed the signal: "I'll tank the tower for you."

The first-level regiment sparked a conflict at the river crab site.

ROX's Alistar suddenly flashed and used his ultimate, but Yasuo skillfully dodged it by using his E on a minion. Yuan Shen's mouse drew a strange arc on the map, and as Jayce's Q skill grazed past his clothes, he had already E'd into the enemy backline, his Wind Wall precisely blocking the subsequent auto-attack.

The audience gasped in unison, and the camera captured Kuro's furrowed brow—his prediction of Yasuo's movement was 0.2 seconds faster than in the practice match footage.

The battle in the jungle unfolds simultaneously.

Karsa's Olaf, wielding his battle axe, approached the blue buff, the notification sound from the enemy bot lane warding coming through his headset. "Peanut's in the red buff area." His voice was icy cold as he precisely finished off the Gromp with his Q skill, and leveled up his W skill, Reckless Swing, at level three.

At this moment, on the minimap, ROX's Lee Sin revealed vision at the F6 camp, and Karsa smirked – this was a deliberate bait. In lane, the duel between Yasuo and Jayce reached a fever pitch. Kuro, taking advantage of his range, constantly harassed with his Q skill, but every time the projectiles came, Yuan Shen's Yasuo was like a wind-riding sprite, E past melee minions and auto-attacking at close range.

During the third blood exchange, Jayce's health was reduced to 65%, forcing Kuro to use the Corruption Potion.

The live stream chat was flooded with comments like: "His E skill cooldown is amazing!" "Jayce is going to get flamed and forced to retire after missing three Qs!"

Four minutes later, Peanut's Lee Sin suddenly appeared in the mid-lane tri-bush. Yuan Shen's Yasuo was prepared, and the moment Lee Sin used his Q skill, he used his E skill on his own cannon minion to turn around and create distance.

Karsa's Olaf emerged from the river at the perfect moment, his axe striking the Lee Sin who had just used Flash. The commentator, Remember, exclaimed, "Olaf's ultimate, Ragnarok! This counter-gank completely disrupted ROX's rhythm!"

The vision control system in the jungle has been upgraded simultaneously.

ROX's support Thresh placed a control ward in the river bush, only to see Yasuo suddenly E into their own jungle, his Wind Wall blocking Lee Sin's Sonic Wave. Yuan Shen's APM soared to 350, and he E'd through six camps, leaving a decoy at the blue buff.

As Peanut's Smite struck the low-health jungle monster, Karsa's Olaf leaped out from the shadows of the dragon pit, and the slow effect from his tomahawk made it impossible for Lee Sin to move.

Six minutes in, a solo kill occurred in the mid lane.

Kuro's Jayce timed Yasuo's E skill cooldown perfectly, using his EQ combo to accelerate the chase.

But Yuan Shen suddenly used Ghost, E to close the distance with his own backline minions, and then used Q followed by a basic attack to trigger Electrocute. When Jayce tried to use E to create distance, Yasuo's Wind Wall blocked his escape route, and the final basic attack brought Jayce down under the turret.

The cheers from the crowd shook the stadium ceiling, causing dust to fall. In the replay, Yasuo's E skill completed seven dashes in 1.7 seconds.

At this point on the minimap, Karsa's Olaf had already secured the first Rift Herald.

ROX's coaching staff's tactics board was covered in red circles, and an assistant coach, tugging at his tie, roared, "They're using Yasuo as bait; Olaf is the real tempo setter!"

Meanwhile, on the Flash Wolves' bench, the substitute mid-laner stared at Yuan Shen's gameplay log and discovered that his E skill hit rate was as high as 92%—a statistic that had never been seen in professional matches before.

When the Rift Herald crashed into the mid-lane second turret, Yuan Shen's Yasuo had already built attack speed boots and a small curved blade.

He weaved back and forth between minions under the tower using his E ability, while Jayce's projectiles could only explode into golden ripples on the wind wall. The audience held up signs that read "Yasuo is awesome," and the commentator, Zhuan, exclaimed, his voice cracking, "This isn't a normal laning phase! Flash Wolves used Yasuo's mobility to completely shred ROX's rhythm!"

However, the damage from the E skill is limited, making this a very risky move. A slight mistake could put Yasuo on the defensive. Smeb, a top-tier Jayce player, has made all top laners tremble with fear with his Jayce in the LCK. His understanding of Jayce is undoubtedly masterful. His greatest strength lies in his E-Q combo for poke damage. Jayce's primary source of damage is the E-Q combo.

This truly tests a player's understanding of Jayce's mechanics and their ability to anticipate the opponent's positioning. Although Yuan Shen learned his E skill at level one, he didn't blindly rush in to harass. Early game minion damage to champions is quite high. And without the Q skill's bonus, the E skill's harassment is practically ineffective against Jayce. He might even get caught in a combo, since Jayce has his ultimate at level one, and the current Yasuo (a champion in the game) can't handle that. So, although Yuan Shen played aggressively, he was actually quite cautious and skillful, giving the impression of wanting to engage in a direct fight.

However, Smeb's playstyle was not affected at all. As the top laner in the LCK, he continued to play his traditional style.

In the early stages, they gained a blood advantage, using their superior reach to deplete Yuan Shen's only remaining health potion.

ROX's mid laner Kuro, playing Jayce, held onto his Q skill, watching the enemy Yasuo draw a silver arc between the melee minions—the enemy Yasuo's E skill [Sweep] had a cooldown of 1.2 seconds, exactly 0.3 seconds faster than his QE combo.

"He's using his E skill on cooldown."

Kuro called out to the team's voice chat while glancing at the minimap at his teammate Lee Sin's movements. Peanut's Smite had 47 seconds left, a time difference that Karsa's Olaf astutely spotted. Near the Honey Fruit in the jungle, the Flash Wolves jungler's axe was already glowing crimson.

Yuan Shen's Yasuo suddenly launched an attack while last-hitting his 17th CS. The instant Jayce used his ranged form to auto-attack the backline minions, he E'd past two melee minions to get close, and his Steel Tempest hit precisely—the critical strike effect exploded on Jayce's shield, and the audience gasped in unison.

Kuro immediately switched to melee form to counterattack, but Yasuo had already used his E skill to retreat back to the edge of the turret's attack range.

"Don't get carried away." ROX's top laner Smeb's voice came through his headset. His Kennen was locked in a stalemate with Flash Wolves' Gnar in the top lane. "Jayce's pressure must be established before level six."

Kuro licked his dry lips, keeping Jayce's energy bar at 70%—a safe threshold to ensure the QE combo could be executed at any time.

The battle in the jungle escalated simultaneously. Peanut's Lee Sin placed a scout at the red buff, only to find that Olaf had already taken the river crab with Smite. "Kasa is in the bottom half of the map." His voice was wary, his fingers rapidly tapping on the ward control button.

At this moment, Flash Wolves' support player, Snake, was placing a control ward in the mid-lane tri-bush. This action made Kuro break out in a cold sweat—every move he made was under the enemy's vision surveillance.

At four minutes, the CS difference between Jayce and Yasuo was kept to 3. Kuro tried to poke with a QE combo, but Yuan Shen's Yasuo could always predict the projectile's trajectory, using E to pass over the cannon minion while simultaneously casting a wind wall.

When Yasuo's Q skill hit the Wind Wall for the third time, commentator Miller slammed his fist on the table: "Look closely! Yasuo's timing for releasing the Wind Wall perfectly covers Jayce's ranged form's basic attack range!"

On the ROX coaching staff's tactics board, a red pen crossed out the words "Jayce's pre-level 6 pressure".

The assistant coach pushed Yasuo's E skill usage data to the main screen: "His E skill on minions has a 0% failure rate, which means we can't catch his skill downtime at all." At this moment, Peanut's Lee Sin was trying to gank from behind, but Karsa's Olaf had placed a Vision Orb in the blue buff area in advance, and the purple vision orb exposed Lee Sin's movements.

Online gaming has reached a fever pitch.

Kuro timed Yasuo's E skill cooldown perfectly, switching to melee form and dashing in with EQ. But Yuan Shen's reaction was lightning fast—the instant Jayce closed in, Yasuo instantly used his W skill to create a wind wall, followed by using E to pull away his own backline minions. Amidst the cheers of the audience, the replay showed this maneuver achieved an APM of 380, 27% higher than the average professional mid-laner. (End of Chapter)