Reborn in S14, crush the entire league!

If the game is a battlefield, then the draft phase is the logistics.

So Maokai has already won the first game!

NIP's first three moves were exactly what he expected.

"With Xin Zhao being picked and Lee Sin being banned, there aren't many good counter options left for the jungler. Mai Zijian will most likely give Aki Maokai to complement Rookie's aggressive carry playstyle."

"If we want to play top, mid, and jungle, we definitely can't pick Shyvana. The enemy team will definitely ban Renekton and Rumble in the second round, but we can pick Gnar. Then the enemy top laner won't have many good lane matchups."

As Maokai predicted, NIP indeed banned Renekton and Rumble, limiting 369's choices.

Then Ah Shui helped 369 steal Gnar, catching Mai Zijian off guard once again!

After much hesitation, I finally decided against giving the pheasant fancy moves and instead locked in a more resilient Quesanti.

A last resort.

The champion pool for the pheasant is limited to offensive champions, so there aren't many good options for countering Gnar.

"Top Esports' draft picks this game were very targeted, making it very difficult for NIP with every move!" Tongxi exclaimed.

Miller nodded in agreement: "First, let Tahm Kench pick Xin Zhao, who has the highest jungle pick rate, then pick Senna to break up the Tahm Kench-Senna bot lane duo, and then in the second round of bans, let 369 pick Gnar to limit Dead Mountain Chicken's champion selection."

"In terms of the draft picks, Top Esports' coaching staff has already won by a large margin!"

As a former player, Xiongxiong naturally understood the strategic maneuvering involved and praised, "Maokai truly deserves his reputation as the man who led EDG to the 21 World Championship; he's not to be underestimated!"

However, his opinion remained firm: "Although NIP's draft didn't go as planned, in the end, it all comes down to skill. Top Esports giving JackeyLove Senna is like 'cutting off their own arm,' it's not a good choice."

"..."

As a last resort, after hesitating for another twenty seconds, Mai Zijian chose to give Photic Jinx.

Let's gamble on a mid-to-late game team fight!

As expected, this was still not unexpected for Maokai.

"It's basically a choice between Jinx and Aphelios. I doubt the enemy team would dare to go head-to-head with Kalista!"

The famously unpredictable coach, Maokai, delivered a near-perfect draft pick show at this moment.

Of course, there's one last step left.

"Chen Xiao, the counter slot is yours. Take whatever you're confident in!"

"Your goal this time is... to annihilate Rookie in the mid lane!"

It was rare for Mao Kai to utter a swear word, and Chen Xiao naturally didn't want to disappoint him.

"Since Rookie chose to play Corki this game, I'll play Tristana!"

"He shoots down planes, I shoot down cannons, that makes perfect sense!"

Upon hearing Chen Xiao's outrageous words, Ah Shui subconsciously glanced at the official staff behind him.

Then, seeing the female referee covering her mouth and laughing, I quickly reminded her:

"Stop, you'll see you're wrong when you're on the post-match microphone!"

Xiao Tian thought for a moment: "You'll probably have a new nickname then, 'Cannon Bro'?"

Chen Xiao shuddered and quickly waved his hands, "I was wrong, I was wrong, I shouldn't have said that!"

He had completely forgotten about the post-match microphone incident and thought he was playing a practice match at the training base.

The official editors are really good at creating hilarious content!

However, Maokai hesitated again: "If we pick Tristana, it'll be a pure melee team, and the enemy top laner has Quesanti!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Xiao continued, "So what if we have Quesanti? We have 9-ge in the top lane, and even KA-ge has certified Gnar's skill level. Why are you worried about Quesanti?"

"Besides—" he patted his chest to indicate:

"We're sure to get lane priority in mid this game. Then Xiaotian and I will gank top lane a few more times and make sure Shanji doesn't get ahead!"

Xiao Tian sighed helplessly, "Why are you dragging me into this... But it's okay to gank the top lane a few more times. I've been annoyed with Shanji for a long time."

Hearing Chen Xiao praise him like that, 369 was also pleased and said, "I'll definitely crush Shanji in the top lane this game, he'll never be able to get back up!"

Since everyone has said that, Maokai doesn't have much to say.

"Let's go with Tristana then. Play aggressively in mid lane this time, so Tian can invade without thinking!"

The jungle fighting abilities of Maokai and Xin Zhao are not even in the same league.

As long as he has lane control, Xiaotian can dominate Aki in his jungle!

But all of this depends on lane control in the mid lane.

……

The moment the small cannon was locked in, gasps of surprise erupted from the audience.

The live stream chat instantly erupted in a flurry of comments and discussions.

Holy crap, Top Esports is so generous, giving a rookie a Cannon minion?

Is this going to be a head-on clash in the mid lane? This is Rookie's comfort zone!

[The small cannon does have an advantage in lane against the plane, but it also depends on who is playing it.]

[Little Cream's Tristana is his specialty; he was fearless against anyone in OMG last year! But this time, Lucifer is the one playing him...]

I seriously doubt Top Esports' mid lane performance. I've already invested all my points in NIP, just waiting to cash in!

【…】

Miller also frowned, taking a pessimistic view:

"Top Esports' draft was pretty good in the first half, but their last pick of Tristana wasn't very wise!"

"With a tanky frontliner like Quesanti and Tahm Kench protecting them, it'll be really hard for Top Esports to beat this physical damage-heavy team if the game drags on to the late game!"

Xiongxiong also expressed his incomprehension: "And is it really a good choice to let Lucifer and Rookie go head-to-head? It would have been better to pick Azir or Syndra as the last pick to fill the gaps in the lineup."

Tongxi, resting her chin on her hand, guessed, "I reckon Top Esports doesn't want to engage in mid-to-late game team fights with NIP; they plan to end the game before 30 minutes!"

Amidst the commentary and analysis, the game officially entered the loading phase.

The lineups for both sides have been finalized.

TES: Top laner Gnar, Jungler Xin Zhao, Mid laner Tristana, ADC Senna, Support Nautilus.

NIP: Top laner Quesant, Jungler Maokai, Mid laner Corki, ADC Jinx, Support Tahm Kench.

Before leaving the stage, Maokai patted Chen Xiao heavily on the shoulder: "Whether you get swept 2-0 or advance to the next round, it all depends on you!"

Chen Xiao smiled and gave a salute: "Mission accomplished!"

……

Ten seconds later, the camera officially focused on Summoner's Rift.

Chen Xiao, piloting a small cannon dressed in a firefighter's uniform, bought his starting gear and took the lead, leaving the spring.

This is his favorite skin; he thinks the water cannon feels amazing to use.

Ah Shui followed suit, shouting his classic catchphrase: "GOGOGO, if you're slow to leave, you'll lose half the money!"

There's still no plan for a level 1 team fight this game.

In order to secure line control, everyone unanimously decided not to take unnecessary risks.

The team already has a lane priority advantage based on its lineup. If it falls into a disadvantage because of a level 1 team fight, then it would be a huge loss!

The same applies to NIP; their lineup is inherently weak in the early game, and they are likely to collapse in a level 1 team fight.

They lined up in a row in the jungle, keeping an eye on each other.

A peaceful start!

After controlling the cannon back to the lane, Chen Xiao kept his eyes fixed on the blind spot in the enemy mid lane.

And start with a small soldier.

Upon seeing Rookie's plane emerge, he immediately tapped W to jump onto it.

Start the blood transfusion!

Rookie was clearly startled by his action, and hesitated for a second before throwing his Q skill, Phosphorus Bomb, at him!

"Perfect timing!" This was exactly what Chen Xiao wanted.

He jumped up not only to replenish his blood, but also to force out the plane's skills!

Xiongxiong saw right through his plan: "Lucifer's cunning! After seeing Rookie's starting item was Cull, he jumped right in, forcing out Corki's Q skill and drawing minion aggro, thus gaining a level 2 advantage!"

"This is the source of Longsword Triple Red's confidence!"