The first two games ended in a 1:1 draw. The third game was extremely crucial: winning 2:1 would count as 1 victory and +1 net score; losing 1:2 would mean 0 victories and -1 net score.
Although all teams in Group S were guaranteed a spot in the playoffs, only the top four would enter the Winner's Bracket. Everyone wanted to be in the Winner's Bracket because it offered a second chance (double elimination), whereas in the Loser's Bracket, a single mistake could lead to elimination.
Everyone knew these rules well, but Coach Lin didn't mention them to add pressure.
He looked at Ye Shaoyang and said, "Let's play steadily in the deciding game and see if we can win through details."
The break ended, and both sides began the BP for the deciding game.
Tianhuan didn't ban Bounty Warlock, as Jingzhe wouldn't possibly play it for two consecutive games. Jingzhe didn't ban the Black Wolf carry jungler system in the third game either. The first phase of BP for both sides still targeted the support position.
Many supports capable of initiating with ultimates or providing dispel protection were sent to the Ban list.
Tianhuan, on the Blue side, first picked the marksman [Wind Elf].
The commentator explained, "Tianhuan taking a mobile marksman is to ensure the marksman position isn't instantly cut down! Wind Elf has multiple dashes and relatively strong self-preservation ability."
"Jingzhe chose the [Machine Gun Hunter] and [Mechanical Expert] tower-pushing combo."
"Tianhuan's 2nd and 3rd picks are [Frost Goddess] and [Black Dragon Knight] top laner!"
"Jingzhe's 3rd pick took [Vampire Duke] top laner, capable of tanking and fighting, with comprehensive overall strength."
The first phase of BP was quite standard. Compared to the first two games where both sides brought out entirely new systems, in the third game, both sides sought stability simultaneously, picking conventional lineups.
At times like this, it came down to details and mechanics, because everyone was very familiar with all the heroes.
In the P2 phase, Tianhuan banned two of the opponent's high-burst mid laners, while Jingzhe targeted the jungle position.
Coach Chen asked Captain Fang, "What jungler do you think Chi Shuo will pick?"
Fang Zhengqing said, "He should pick a carry jungler."
Coach Chen thought that, according to the reverse elimination method, Chi Shuo would most likely pick a tool man jungler this game.
So he sent tool man junglers like [Fighter] and [Paladin] to the Ban list.
Jingzhe's fourth pick selected jungler [White Bear], leaving the last counter-pick slot for the mid laner as usual.
"I remember in previous matches, Qu Jiang played [Frost Goddess] in the support position. So, it's still uncertain whether Tianhuan picked Frost Goddess for mid lane or support."
"Yes, if Frost Goddess is support, Tianhuan will pick another mid laner in the 4th or 5th slot."
Two heroes appeared in the selection boxes simultaneously: jungler [Stealth Rogue] and support [Time Traveler].
Coach Chen: "…Didn't you say he wouldn't pick a carry jungler?"
Fang Zhengqing looked innocent: "I said he would pick a carry jungler."
Coach Chen didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "The problem is, everything you say has to be reverse eliminated."
Fang Zhengqing said, "Maybe they predicted my prediction, so two negatives made a positive?"
Fang Zhengqing, who never had tacit understanding, actually guessed the hero Chi Shuo would pick this game.
Stealth Rogue, one of Chi Shuo's signature heroes, a classic carry jungler capable of turning invisible to flank and cut the marksman.
Tianhuan's lineup selection was complete: Frost Goddess in the mid lane, Time Traveler as support.
Fang Zhengqing thought for a moment and said, "I'll take Illusionist to counter Frost Goddess. Ah-Yuan, be careful in the bot lane yourself, don't let the Rogue sneak up on you while invisible."
Xie Yuan: "Understood."
Both lineups were locked.
The two commentators said, "In this game, both sides chose relatively common lineups in the league with high stability. In a real team fight, winning or losing is still uncertain."
"If Frost Goddess can freeze a few opponents, it will be very easy for Tianhuan to fight; if they get stunned by the opposing White Bear, or if the marksman gets insta-killed by the Illusionist's combo, Jingzhe will win easily."
"Yes, Jingzhe's bot lane is a very fast tower-pushing combo. If Jingzhe quickly takes down the outer tower in the early game, Tianhuan will fall into a slight disadvantage. Both sides should play around the bot lane this game."
As the commentators finished analyzing the lineups, the match officially began.
The audience noticed that Cheng Xing didn't bring Flash this game but brought Purification (Cleanse) instead.
Because the [Illusionist] Fang Zhengqing chose was a one-shot burst mage assassin. Once controlled, a squishy marksman would be insta-killed.
During team training, he had been insta-killed by Ye Shaoyang's [Illusionist] countless times. Bringing Purification might save his dog life.
Ye Shaoyang boldly brought Flash; he was confident he wouldn't be solo killed.
At the start, both sides contested buffs.
After pulling back and forth for a while, our blue buff was stolen by the opponent. Chi Shuo wanted to invade their blue but found someone defending the blue buff area, so he went home to take the red buff first.
Ye Shaoyang glanced at the opponent's position and said, "Old Qin, come with me to take their red."
The two quietly circled through the jungle and quickly stole the opponent's red buff.
In the end, our side got two reds, and the opponent got two blues.
Although neither side lost out, this meant Chi Shuo couldn't reach level 6 immediately.
Chi Shuo was very calm. Since he chose a carry jungler hero like [Stealth Rogue] with strong assassination capabilities, he had to be prepared for jungle invasions and restricted growth.
When he played this hero in the past, there were even many instances of a disastrous start where the opponent stole 3 buffs, leaving him with only one. Today, Ye Shaoyang changing strategy immediately to steal a red counted as timely damage control.
Because Chi Shuo couldn't reach level 6 immediately, Xie Yuan in the bot lane farmed very comfortably.
In the 2v2 bot lane, after getting the relatively mobile Wind Elf, Cheng Xing wasn't suppressed by Xie Yuan and could clear every minion wave smoothly. Although the river crab was stolen by the opponent, one crab didn't matter much.
In the top lane, Old Qin played quite aggressively after getting the red buff, suppressing the opposing top laner under the tower.
In the mid lane, Fang Zhengqing's positioning was flexible, and Ye Shaoyang couldn't freeze him. Similarly, Ye Shaoyang always kept his distance from Fang Zhengqing, so Fang Zhengqing couldn't stun him either.
The first small dragon was ignored directly.
Neither jungler was level 6, nor were the others. Fighting the small dragon risked getting counter-killed.
The match entered a stable farming phase until Fang Zhengqing reached level 6 and learned his ultimate.
Ye Shaoyang immediately warned, "Mid miss."
Almost simultaneously, the opposing support also warned, "Rogue is level 6 and invisible, can't see where he is."
Both bot lanes retreated quickly.
Cheng Xing retreated under the tower, and Xie Yuan was also retreating.
Ye Shaoyang analyzed immediately, "Opposing mid laner went top."
If Fang Zhengqing went to support bot, Xie Yuan wouldn't have retreated directly under the tower. He retreated because he was definitely worried Chi Shuo would insta-kill him. Therefore, Fang Zhengqing must have gone to the top lane.
At this time, Chi Shuo was near the mid lane. Ye Shaoyang pinged the top lane, and the two circled from their own jungle to the top lane at extreme speed. Just as they arrived, they saw a summoned bear descend from the sky and suddenly stun Old Qin!
Old Qin was forcefully killed twice in the last game, so he played very cautiously this game. Seeing 3 opponents tower diving again, Old Qin was beaten to critical health by the Illusionist's burst combo. Just as he was about to die, he suddenly flashed—
A reverse flash directly into Jingzhe's back line! The "Black Dragon Roar" ultimate instantly taunted the opposing jungler and mid laner. Almost simultaneously, Ye Shaoyang cast his W freezing skill to follow up on Old Qin's taunt control. Chi Shuo flanked and cut in, and the three coordinated a burst combo to insta-kill Fang Zhengqing!
The opposing top laner Vampire Duke activated his lifesteal ultimate and took the head of the low-health Old Qin.
——[Tianhuan Shuoyue (Stealth Rogue) killed I Am Very Square (Illusionist)]
——[A Mountain (Vampire Duke) killed Tianhuan Zhuhuo (Black Dragon Knight)]
Two messages popped up simultaneously. Both sides traded 1 for 1, used up their skills, and retreated tacitly.
Fang Zhengqing frowned and said, "Their support arrived very fast."
In the second game, Tianhuan's collapse point was in the top lane, so this game they focused on defending the top lane. It seemed Jingzhe's plan to crush Old Qin with the same tactic wouldn't work.
Fang Zhengqing made adjustments immediately: "Attack bot."
After both sides revived, Fang Zhengqing went to clear a wave of mid-lane minions. Once his ultimate cooldown was ready, he went to gank bot. Ye Shaoyang pinged a warning sign in the bot lane: "Bot be careful."
Chi Shuo rushed over quickly.
The bot lane turned into a 4v4 team fight!
The two commentators looked at each other. "This game, when Jingzhe ganks top, Tianhuan goes top; when Jingzhe ganks bot, Tianhuan also goes bot. It seems… quite tacit?"
"Aren't Captain Chi and Captain Fang famous for having no tacit understanding? Could it be Lieyang commanding?"
The camera happened to switch to the soundproof booth. Ye Shaoyang looked serious, his eyes focused intently on the computer screen, his mouth moving non-stop, saying something unknown. Chi Shuo, sitting next to him, looked solemn and didn't speak.
It really looked like Ye Shaoyang was commanding?
In the 4v4 bot lane fight, both sides pulled back and forth. Chi Shuo flanked to instant-kill Xie Yuan, but Xie Yuan flashed away; Ye Shaoyang tried to freeze Fang Zhengqing, but he dodged with flexible positioning. Fang Zhengqing tried to kill Cheng Xing, but Xiao Xing used Purification instantly, and Qu Jiang immediately activated his speed boost skill to protect Cheng Xing's retreat.
The result was a huge exchange of skills, but in the end, no one managed to kill anyone.
The two commentators: "Ah this… exchanged a wave of skills, but no one died."
"Mn, a bunch of Flashes and Purifications used. Both marksmen escaped with a sliver of health."
"However, Machine Gun Hunter clears minions very fast and has high tower-pushing efficiency. Tianhuan's bot lane defense tower lost a bit of health, while Jingzhe's defense tower is still at full health."
"Although this gap is small, professional teams can sometimes seize small details to snowball."
The commentators' guess came true.
Although Cheng Xing and Qu Jiang weren't suppressed this game and could clear every minion wave smoothly, the Mechanical Expert and Machine Gun Hunter tower-pushing combo could force a demolition without a minion wave.
The Mechanical Expert released mechanical soldiers to tank the tower, then activated the [Interference] skill so the defense tower wouldn't attack his mechanical soldiers. The Machine Gun Hunter used his long-range Q skill to strafe the tower with extremely fast attack speed, chipping away the defense tower's health.
Even if Cheng Xing cleared the mechanical soldiers immediately, he couldn't instantly kill all of them.
Chi Shuo couldn't stay in the bot lane forever; he had to farm the jungle and take buffs. Ye Shaoyang couldn't support the bot lane forever either; he had to clear mid-lane minions.
Jingzhe's support Li Yunmo had strong awareness. He would seize the timing when Chi Shuo and Ye Shaoyang couldn't come to support bot to forcibly tank the tower with mechanical soldiers and push. After several consecutive waves, Tianhuan's bot lane defense tower was ground down forcefully.
——Friendly defense tower has been destroyed.
The match reached 10 minutes.
Ye Shaoyang looked at the situation and said, "Xiao Xing retreat to the second tower to prevent being flanked."
Once the bot lane defense tower broke, Xie Yuan was liberated. He could push the minion wave out and then return to his jungle to farm or come to the mid lane to help.
Losing a tower started the snowballing; this was also a common strategy for strong teams.
Tianhuan fell into a slight disadvantage, but Ye Shaoyang wasn't anxious. The opponent picked a tower-pushing combo, so it was normal for them to push towers faster. Failing to kill anyone in that gank bot earlier was also within his expectations.
It was just a disadvantage. As long as it wasn't a total avalanche, there was always a chance to turn the tables.
Ye Shaoyang said, "Top be careful."
He had a hunch that after pushing the bot tower, Jingzhe would likely swap lanes to quickly take down the top tower as well.
Sure enough, the Mechanical Expert and Machine Gun Hunter appeared in the top lane, while the Vampire Duke swapped to the bot lane to farm.
In the top lane, Old Qin fought 1v2. His Knight cleared minions relatively slowly, and a wave was quickly pushed over by Xie Yuan. Li Yunmo immediately released mechanical soldiers, and Xie Yuan didn't try to kill anyone, just frantically hitting the tower. The top lane defense tower lost half its health in the blink of an eye.
Chi Shuo and Ye Shaoyang went to support top, intending to flank and insta-kill Xie Yuan. However, as soon as Chi Shuo appeared, a purple ball of light suddenly smashed onto him—it was the Illusionist's Hallucination Stun!
Fang Zhengqing was hiding in the side bush specifically to protect the marksman. With the jungler stunned, Xie Yuan retreated immediately.
The kill score remained 1:1.
Jingzhe gradually snowballed using the minion wave advantage in the bot lane.
In the backstage viewing area, Coach Lin frowned and said, "Jingzhe's macro play is very strong."
Xie Xiaotian was a bit anxious: "They keep chipping away at the defense towers' health like this without fighting head-on, pushing a wave and retreating. If this goes on, the slight disadvantage will turn into a huge disadvantage."
Coach Lin said, "Mn, let's see if Shaoyang can find an opportunity."
Disadvantage games? Ye Shaoyang had played plenty of them.
Sometimes, even when all outer towers were pushed and only the crystal remained, a single wave could turn the tables.
For professional players—
As long as the crystal isn't broken, it's not a loss!
A truly powerful team can't just play with the wind (advantage); they must also learn to handle headwinds (disadvantage).
There was nothing wrong with Tianhuan's playstyle this game, and support was timely. But Jingzhe's marksman-support combo pushed towers too fast. Forcing a demolition with mechanical soldiers and Interference without a minion wave was indeed indefensible.
Tianhuan needed to farm and find an opportunity to start a team fight to reverse the situation.
At 14 minutes, the top outer tower was ground down.
Tianhuan lost a tower in both top and bot lanes, making the situation even more unfavorable.
Tianhuan's fans began to get anxious. Many fans at the scene held their posters high, seeming to use this method to give the players some encouragement.
Everyone knew Jingzhe was a strong team ranked top two in Group S. The 5 members hadn't changed and had full tacit understanding. Tianhuan had a major lineup overhaul, so losing was normal.
But fans didn't want to see Tianhuan lose.
Intellectually understood, but emotionally unwilling to accept!
What to do?
Yangyang needs to think of a way; it can't go on like this!
Many fans placed their hopes on Ye Shaoyang, the commander of this match.
But the reason strong teams are strong is that their details are very perfect. For Jingzhe, this game was a smooth ride. having taken down two enemy towers, all they needed to do was stabilize operations and slowly snowball.
Make the snowball bigger, and when the economy far exceeds the opponent, fight a team battle, and it's a sure win.
So at this time, Jingzhe wasn't in a hurry to fight team battles. They just managed minion waves, top and bot, repeatedly. After pushing the top and bot waves across, they would rotate to mid and group up to push mid.
Managing three lanes simultaneously and timing the minion waves' arrival required a very high macro view from the commander. Undoubtedly, Fang Zhengqing was an excellent commander, and Jingzhe's macro play this game was indeed very good.
Fans were dying of anxiety.
But in the camera, Ye Shaoyang's expression in the soundproof booth remained calm throughout.
When Jingzhe grouped up to push mid again, Ye Shaoyang suddenly said, "Captain Chi, go split push bot. The four of us will defend mid. You take down their bot tower."
Chi Shuo: "Okay."
Ye Shaoyang was commanding this game, so everyone had to listen to his decisions at critical moments.
Chi Shuo went invisible to the bot lane.
At this time, Jingzhe's overall economy was 3000 higher than Tianhuan's. In a disadvantage game, how dared Tianhuan fight 4v5 in the mid lane?!
If Jingzhe tower-dived to force an initiation, Tianhuan could collapse directly!
Fans sat up anxiously, afraid that Tianhuan's 4 members would be wiped out in the mid lane.
However…
Things weren't as bad as everyone thought.
Jingzhe's White Bear initiated, the Mechanical Expert released mechanical soldiers to tank the tower, and Xie Yuan positioned very cautiously. Fang Zhengqing used a burst combo trying to kill Cheng Xing, but Ye Shaoyang cast a Frost Goddess magic shield on Cheng Xing at the critical moment, saving his life. Jingzhe wanted to chase, but Ye Shaoyang signaled: "Retreat!"
Simultaneously, he cast an ultimate backhand, covering the area with a blizzard to seal the opponent's movement.
Support [Time Traveler] immediately activated "Time Retrace" to speed up the retreat. Jingzhe's top laner flashed over to chase the rear, but Tianhuan retreated too fast, quickly falling back to the inner tower, so they couldn't catch up.
The mid outer tower fell, but no one from Tianhuan died.
Meanwhile, the invisible Chi Shuo popped up in the bot lane. He quietly led a wave of minions and stole Jingzhe's bot tower.
"The jungler didn't join the team fight but went to steal a tower instead. This decision was very wise. Because even if the jungler was present, they might not have been able to repel Jingzhe's attack. Jingzhe would still tower dive to force an initiation, and the mid tower was bound to fall!"
"Exactly. Jingzhe's support can let mechanical soldiers tank the tower for forced demolition. If Tianhuan stubbornly defended the tower 5v5, they would collapse easily. Pretending to defend and retreating in time, letting the jungler steal a lane, counts as timely damage control, right?"
Seeing this, Coach Lin smiled. "Shaoyang's decision was very calm. Forcing a tower defense was unnecessary."
Xie Xiaotian sat up excitedly. "Captain Chi's jungler can turn invisible. As long as he doesn't appear, Jingzhe can't judge where he is!"
Coach Lin nodded. "Yes, this is also a psychological war. If the invisible jungler doesn't appear, your Jingzhe marksman can't position too far forward; you have to guard against being flanked and insta-killed by the jungler."
Psychological warfare is also a part of the game between both sides.
Xie Yuan indeed thought Chi Shuo was ambushing on the flank, so he wasn't very aggressive when chasing. This was the potential threat caused psychologically to the opponent by an invisible jungler.
Failing to kill anyone in this wave but pushing the mid tower wasn't a loss. It was just that the minion wave and mechanical soldiers were cleared by the Frost Goddess's ultimate, so they couldn't continue pushing and had to wait for the next wave.
Chi Shuo pushed the minion wave all the way to Jingzhe's second tower before recalling.
He could turn invisible, so it wasn't that easy for Jingzhe to encircle him. This wave of split pushing salvaged the situation a bit, but overall Tianhuan was still at a disadvantage.
At this time, Tianhuan lost all three outer towers, while Jingzhe only lost one.
Jingzhe continued steady operations, and the economic difference between the two sides was approaching 5000.
Tianhuan's 5 members grouped up to clear minions, retreating quickly to defend the high ground.
"This has turned into a prison game! Tianhuan is in danger this game."
Everyone thought Tianhuan was doomed to lose this game.
But Jingzhe's first push with minions failed to take the high ground smoothly.
The Frost Goddess had strong tower defense capabilities. A blizzard ultimate covered the mid lane, preventing the opponent from rushing up forcefully. In the top lane, Old Qin's roar taunt interrupted Jingzhe's rhythm of rushing the tower, while Cheng Xing positioned quickly to defend the bot lane.
Dividing the work to clear minion waves in three lanes quickly is a technique for high-ground defense battles.
Usually during internal training, Coach Lin often let the 2nd team start with an economic lead of several thousand, forcing the main team to play disadvantage games. This training obviously had an effect.
Facing a disadvantage game today, Tianhuan defended the high ground methodically, and no one made mistakes due to panic.
Even Cheng Xing, who was most easily insta-killed, positioned quickly to clear a wave of minions in the high-ground defense battle, then ran back to the crystal with a sliver of health.
Fang Zhengqing frowned slightly.
Tianhuan had always been a resilient team. It was difficult to take the high ground with minions. He glanced at the Grand Dragon's spawn time and said, "Retreat, go back to take the Grand Dragon."
Jingzhe's 5 members retreated quickly, looting resources along the way.
Ye Shaoyang pinged the Grand Dragon location: "Go check dragon."
Old Qin asked, "Try to steal?"
Ye Shaoyang: "Don't steal, just stall their rhythm of taking the dragon."
Old Qin: "Received!"
Ye Shaoyang said to Chi Shuo, "Captain Chi, go steal bot."
Chi Shuo: "Understood."
The audience with the god's-eye view discovered that Chi Shuo went invisible again, following his own minions setting out, slowly heading towards the bot lane. At this time, Jingzhe had already started the dragon.
They set up a defensive posture when starting the dragon. The support blocked the bush, the mid laner squatted on the side, and the top laner, jungler, and marksman farmed the dragon quickly.
After all, having the Grand Dragon stolen unexpectedly in the first game, it would be unjustifiable to have it stolen again!
Jingzhe's formation was impeccable.
However—
Ye Shaoyang brought Flash this game!
You support blocking the bush won't let us pass? We can flash over.
Old Qin and Ye Shaoyang flashed almost simultaneously. Old Qin used his ultimate "Black Dragon Roar" first to taunt people near the dragon pit. Ye Shaoyang followed closely with the "Three Feet of Ice" control and the "Blizzard" ultimate!
In the dragon pit position, the Frost Goddess was particularly comfortable in team fights.
The ultimate covered a whole area directly!
Ye Shaoyang's economy wasn't bad this game. He didn't miss a single minion during the laning phase in mid. Although his equipment couldn't compare to Fang Zhengqing's, he could still deal decent damage.
With the two coordinating chain control, plus Ye Shaoyang's ultimate coverage…
Xie Yuan was forced to retreat.
Fighting the dragon inside the Frost Goddess's blizzard ultimate? Before the dragon died, he would die first!
Ye Shaoyang's ultimate covered the entire dragon pit directly. It was irrational for Jingzhe to tank the blizzard ultimate to fight the dragon. After all, Chi Shuo might be squatting nearby. If everyone got to low health, Chi Shuo entering to reap would mean a disaster.
Xie Yuan retreated to the side of the dragon pit, turning back to shoot one by one.
Fang Zhengqing naturally wouldn't watch Tianhuan interrupt their rhythm. He dashed over immediately, unleashing a burst combo on the Frost Goddess. The Vampire Duke activated his ultimate and slashed at Ye Shaoyang—
Just as the Frost Goddess was about to die, her health suddenly returned to 50%.
The commentator said excitedly, "Support activated Time Retrace skill, health returned to 2 seconds ago!" "Yes, this Time Retrace was activated very timely. Flashing over to disturb the opponent taking the dragon, the Frost Goddess would definitely be focused and killed. But the support's Time Retrace made the opponent's wave of skills effectively wasted."
Time Retrace healing returns teammates to their health value from 2 seconds ago.
Jingzhe failed to instant-kill Ye Shaoyang, and as a result, Ye Shaoyang's health recovered. Fang Zhengqing had no skills now. Cheng Xing seized the opportunity immediately, jumping and positioning to shoot him. Fang Zhengqing retreated quickly.
Xie Yuan fought back against Ye Shaoyang beside the dragon pit. Both sides pulled back and forth at the dragon pit for a long time, and then…
The Grand Dragon was quickly reset by Old Qin.
The Grand Dragon, originally beaten to about 30% health, instantly recovered full health.
Jingzhe crowd: "…"
Worked for nothing!
At this time, the audience with the god's-eye view discovered that Chi Shuo had already arrived invisibly at the bot lane river. Minions from both sides met in the river. When both sides' minions beat each other to critical health, he appeared suddenly, cleared the wave with a Q skill, and then continued to push forward with the minions.
Li Yunmo said alertly, "Jungler is bot!"
They thought Tianhuan would come to steal the Grand Dragon. Since Chi Shuo never showed up, he must be squatting nearby waiting for a chance to steal the dragon or kill people. To steal the dragon, your jungler must be there, right?
Unexpectedly, Chi Shuo actually went to split push bot!
You carry jungler, you damn run to split push during the critical Grand Dragon fight?!
The Grand Dragon spawned in the upper area, and Chi Shuo was pushing the bot lane, a very long distance away.
It was too late for Jingzhe to deal with the bot lane now. Fang Zhengqing frowned and said, "I'll go back to defend."
Ye Shaoyang said calmly, "Keep them here, don't let them go home."
Qu Jiang placed an ultimate "Space Shuttle" on Jingzhe's retreat path, preventing them from recalling immediately. Ye Shaoyang followed closely with a slow skill. The opposing top laner couldn't bear it anymore and hacked the Frost Goddess to death with two slashes.
——[A Mountain (Vampire Duke) killed Tianhuan Lieyang (Frost Goddess)]!
Ye Shaoyang said, "Retreat."
Qu Jiang activated speed boost and led teammates to retreat quickly. In the bot lane, Chi Shuo brought the minion wave to the high ground.
——Friendly defense tower has been destroyed.
By the time Fang Zhengqing and the others returned home, the bot lane high ground had actually been stolen.
Fang Zhengqing: "…"
He was really very 'square' (panicked) now.
Chi Shuo didn't join the team fight but went invisible to steal the tower. He really didn't expect Tianhuan to have such a cheeky operation.
What he expected even less was that Chi Shuo didn't go home after stealing the tower but quietly hid in the blue buff jungle. Xie Yuan and the support were farming small monsters in their own jungle, wanting to farm money for the last item, Guardian Angel.
As a result, Chi Shuo popped out suddenly with a combo and instant-killed the marksman.
Xie Yuan: "…Doesn't he go home?!"
Fang Zhengqing was speechless: "His recalling action in the bush was a fake move, tricking us."
At the scene, Tianhuan's fans cheered excitedly: "Captain Chi 6666!"
Ye Shaoyang also said, "Beautiful!"
Chi Shuo had always been a player good at seizing opportunities. Going to steal the tower was Ye Shaoyang's arrangement. However, hiding in the jungle to ambush and instant-kill the marksman was Chi Shuo's own idea.
In this way, Jingzhe couldn't continue to push the high ground. Their tower-pushing rhythm was forcibly interrupted. Tianhuan had time to catch a breath. Cheng Xing followed the support quickly to farm jungle monsters, farm money, and build equipment.
Cheng Xing finally completed his three-item set, and Ye Shaoyang also completed his fourth core offensive item.
Tianhuan had the capability to fight a team battle now!
In the next wave, Jingzhe pushed forcefully with minion waves in three lanes.
To prevent Chi Shuo from stealing bot again, they pushed bot first.
Ye Shaoyang said, "Hold the bot lane!"
In the high-ground tug-of-war, Jingzhe's White Bear and Mechanical Expert initiated forcefully together. White Bear sat on Cheng Xing's face, and Fang Zhengqing came over with a combo. Cheng Xing hurriedly activated Purification and dashed to dodge!
The opponent's burst was too high; Cheng Xing had only 1 HP left.
But the advantage of high-ground defense was that he was two steps away from the spawn point. Running home restored him to full health.
Cheng Xing ran back to recover full health, then turned around to join the fight again. Ye Shaoyang used the blizzard ultimate to block the path.
Chi Shuo flanked quickly.
At this time, the opposing Illusionist had no skills, White Bear had no skills, Vampire Duke had no skills…
The marksman was frantically hitting the tower from a distance; the defense tower had only a sliver of health left.
Chi Shuo broke invisibility and came out.
Raid, backstab, critical hit!
Xie Yuan's health bar was emptied instantly!
He stood up with Guardian Angel, but the moment he stood up, Chi Shuo aimed another critical slash at him.
——[Tianhuan Shuoyue (Stealth Rogue) killed I Am Very Round (Machine Gun Hunter)]!
After the marksman was killed, Chi Shuo continued to chase the mid laner. Fang Zhengqing had just used a set of skills. Seeing Chi Shuo chasing over, he retreated quickly, but how could a squishy mid laner be a match for a high-burst jungler?
Chi Shuo took Fang Zhengqing's head with two critical hits.
——[Tianhuan Shuoyue (Stealth Rogue) killed I Am Very Square (Illusionist)]!
——Double kill!
This wave of Chi Shuo turning invisible to flank cut down the opposing dual carries.
On the front line, Cheng Xing, after recovering full health, activated his ultimate and moved frantically while outputting damage, jumping and shooting. The opposing front line was already crippled by Ye Shaoyang's blizzard. Cheng Xing killed the opposing top laner with several consecutive shots.
Before dying, the opposing top laner took Ye Shaoyang with him, but he was also shot dead by Cheng Xing.
"This high-ground battle, 1 for 3, Tianhuan held the high ground!"
"Exactly! Tianhuan only lost a mid laner, but Jingzhe lost marksman, mid laner, and top laner. The remaining tool man jungler and support have no ability to defend the tower!"
"There's a minion wave in the bot lane. Tianhuan can push back!"
"Could it be a turnaround?!" The two commentators looked at each other.
Lying in the crystal, watching the gray screen, a smile finally appeared on Ye Shaoyang's face: "One wave, one wave. Everyone did a beautiful job!"
Chi Shuo led his teammates to push forward quickly.
Jingzhe's dead players had respawn times exceeding 40 seconds. The bot lane high ground had been stolen by Chi Shuo earlier, so they could push straight to the crystal in one wave.
When the minion wave reached the crystal, Xie Yuan just revived. He ran out to clear minions, but Chi Shuo activated his invisible ultimate directly to flank and kill him, preventing him from clearing minions.
Following that, Fang Zhengqing revived. Old Qin used his body to block Fang Zhengqing's ultimate and died in front of the opposing crystal.
The two joined hands to protect our minions.
Cheng Xing's palms were full of sweat. He positioned quickly, frantically hitting the tower.
Hit the tower, hit the tower!
At this moment, only the opposing crystal was in his eyes!
Cheng Xing moved back and forth, and the crystal's health dropped rapidly. Finally, everyone heard the crisp sound of the crystal shattering.
——Victory!
The moment the word "Victory" popped up, many Tianhuan fans at the scene almost cried.
They actually won?
High-ground battle, a one-wave turnaround push back, they could win even this?!
The voices of the two commentators were also excited: "Tianhuan turned the tables in a disadvantage game. The key was the handling of that Grand Dragon fight! Stealing the opposing high ground bought time for everyone to develop, allowing the main damage dealers to complete key equipment as soon as possible!"
"Yes, that wave of stealing the high ground and assassinating the marksman delayed Jingzhe's rhythm by at least 2 minutes. The commanding in this game was very calm!"
"The MVP of this match is… Tianhuan Shuoyue!"
"Although Shuoyue's record is prettier and was rated MVP, I think this game's MVP could also be given to Lieyang! The handling of the Grand Dragon fight was the key turning point for the turnaround in the disadvantage game! Lieyang used his own life to keep the opponents there, preventing them from going home to defend, allowing his teammate to steal the opposing high-ground tower!"
"Stealing the high ground triggered a chain reaction. The final wave of defensive counterattack pushed back the opposing crystal. Let us congratulate Tianhuan for winning this match 2:1!"
Cheng Xing wanted to cry a little. So this was how it felt to turn defeat into victory in a disadvantage game.
They had practiced huge disadvantages so many times within the team. When it really came to the match, everyone knew how hard it was to turn the tables in a disadvantage game. After all, the opponent was a strong team from Group S!
However, Ye Shaoyang still seized the opportunity.
Four people stalled the opponent's rhythm of taking the dragon, while Chi Shuo infiltrated alone to steal the tower.
The originally impeccable Jingzhe was torn open by Tianhuan just like that!
Cheng Xing shouted loudly: "My Brother Yang is awesome! Master is awesome!"
Looking back, Brother Yang and Master were already hugging each other.
Ye Shaoyang was all smiles, his eyes looking at Chi Shuo shining like stars: "You were amazing! I didn't expect you could still instant-kill the opposing marksman, buying so much time for everyone."
Chi Shuo's voice was low and gentle: "On the frontal Grand Dragon battlefield, you sacrificed yourself to stop them. In the back, I had to recover some losses so it wouldn't be a loss."
Ye Shaoyang tightened his arms and hugged him hard: "Good job!"
This was Chi Shuo, always calm and keen. Ye Shaoyang's command this game was actually the common split-push steal tower tactic of 4-1 distribution in disadvantage games. But Chi Shuo maximized the benefit of his tactic, assassinating the opponent marksman unexpectedly, dragging until everyone in Tianhuan had their equipment formed.
In the final team fight, utilizing the terrain advantage of the high ground, they turned defeat into victory!
At this moment, Ye Shaoyang profoundly realized—having such a teammate was truly the fortune of his life.
Commanding is important, but a teammate who can help you realize your tactical ideas is actually more important!
In the future, no matter how great the headwinds and difficulties, with you here, I will not be afraid.