When Ye Shaoyang first joined Tianhuan, there were quite a few rumors circulating about the bad blood between him and Qu Jiang. Some said Ye Shaoyang used connections to get ahead, pushing Qu Jiang out of the mid-lane position, suggesting there must be some shady dealings within the team—otherwise, how could Lieyang, a rookie, become the starting mid laner? Why would Qu Jiang, a player who rarely made mistakes, switch to support?
Today, all these questions were answered.
Seeing the two embrace, Coach Lin felt deeply gratified.
Back when he asked Qu Jiang to give up the mid-lane position he had held for three years to a rookie, Qu Jiang surely must have felt wronged deep down. It was just that he had always been easygoing and good-tempered, so he calmly accepted the team's arrangement.
Today, Ye Shaoyang told Qu Jiang through his actions: In my heart, you are also an excellent mid laner. I have never looked down on you. You can be my right-hand man; let's go crush the opponents together!
Whether mid laner or support, he was an indispensable member of Tianhuan!
Qu Jiang winning MVP for the first time was also proof of his strength.
Winning this game felt great. Morale was high among all Tianhuan members, and Cheng Xing was so excited he almost jumped up.
Coach Lin came into the soundproof booth in time to encourage the players: "The second game was played very well. From this game, we can see that Beimu is not invincible. They are strong in all three lanes, but they also have weaknesses. Our Tianhuan is not inferior to Beimu."
In fact, the current Tianhuan's overall strength was indeed not as good as Beimu's, especially in the marksman position, where the gap was a bit large.
The key to winning the second game was lineup countering. Beimu's warriors had short range, while Tianhuan's dual carries had very long attack ranges. It was a case of long-range kiting short-range; as long as the opponents couldn't catch them, they could wear them down to death.
But Beimu wasn't stupid; they would definitely adjust their lineup for the third game.
Zhao Xinping's strongest heroes weren't warriors… but marksmen.
The players sat down one by one, and Coach Lin smiled and said, "For the third game, bring out your favorite heroes and play freely. Try to team fight with Beimu as much as possible. Only through head-on collisions can we discover our own problems."
Inside Beimu's soundproof booth, the coach looked calm: "The dual-warrior system does indeed have the flaw of short range. The second game was my BP mistake; we couldn't catch them and were kited to death. For the third game, Xinping, take a marksman."
Zhao Xinping nodded: "Okay."
She had debuted as a marksman and only started playing warrior when she participated in the World Doubles Tournament with Zhao Xin'an in Season 8.
Two warriors were easier to win with in the Doubles Tournament, after all, marksmen were too squishy and died easily. The siblings also made it to the World Finals in Season 8, winning the Doubles Tournament championship and being awarded the honorary title of "Professional 9-Dan" in Gods War.
In the entire Huaguo region, there were only 6 currently active 9-Dan players—Chi Shuo and Xu Zhuo, champions of the World Singles Tournament; and Fang Zhengqing + Xie Yuan, Zhao Xinping + Zhao Xin'an, champions of the World Doubles Tournament.
Winning a world championship was enough to prove a player's individual strength.
Zhao Xinping's warrior side lane had achieved decent results in world competitions, but her favorite was actually marksman. This season, her stats had consistently been number one on the marksman rankings, and she didn't fall behind at all, even when dueling international-level marksmen.
They couldn't use the dual-sided lane system again for the deciding game.
Bringing out the marksman Zhao Xinping, who was best at confronting Tianhuan head-on, would increase their chances of winning.
"Friends in the audience, welcome back. The third game of Tianhuan vs. Beimu is about to begin. Let's enter the BP for the third game!"
"Tianhuan returns to the Blue side and prioritizes banning the protective support [Light of Blessing]. Beimu bans the jungle carry [Stealth Rogue]!"
"Tianhuan's second ban goes to [Shield of Glory], also banning a protective support; Beimu's second ban is the mid laner [Abyssal Lord], a mage assassin."
"Judging from the BP, the marksman position is completely open. Is Beimu going to take a marksman? After all, warriors aren't afraid of [Stealth Rogue] at all; only marksmen fear this kind of assassin who goes invisible to cut the backline?"
Just as the words fell, both sides began their selection.
Tianhuan's first pick directly snatched [Wind Elf] to protect Cheng Xing's marksman position.
Beimu immediately took [Sharpshooter] and [Berserker], marksman + top laner.
"Beimu indeed took a marksman for the bot lane! Xinping's marksman appears again. Currently the number one ranked marksman in Huaguo, her [Sharpshooter] is a true Sniper God, with a bullet hit rate of almost 99%!"
Feather from Team Yaoguang had previously used [Sharpshooter] to get a fake pentakill during a fixed match and was praised to the skies by fans. In reality, the strongest [Sharpshooter] in the Huaguo region had always been Zhao Xinping; her national server record was unsurpassed.
This was also the hero who made her famous.
The valiant and heroic female Alpha captain, the calm sniper, the Season 7 Best Rookie, and the Season 8 World Doubles Champion, Zhao Xinping.
She had countless fanboys and fangirls, and her fan base was no smaller than veteran players like Chi Shuo and Fang Zhengqing.
Seeing her [Sharpshooter] appear, deafening screams and applause erupted at the match venue. Some fans even shouted, "Sister, I want to have your babies!"
This caused a burst of laughter from the surroundings.
The moment Coach Lin left the marksman position open, he had anticipated this result. He looked at Chi Shuo and said, "Chi Shuo, we need to choose a jungler who can dive the backline to cut her. Should we take [Bloodstained Assassin]?"
Chi Shuo thought for a moment and said, "[Bloodstained Assassin] is too squishy. Taking [Ninja] is safer."
Coach Lin nodded: "Okay. 3rd pick take mid laner. Yangyang take [Goddess of Destiny] to coordinate with [Ninja]. Give all the jungle economy to Chi Shuo."
Ye Shaoyang: "No problem."
Tianhuan's 2nd/3rd picks secured the [Ninja] and [Goddess of Destiny] pair, a mid-jungle dual assassin combo obviously targeting Zhao Xinping's marksman position. Following that, Beimu's 3rd pick took the mid laner [Dark Witch].
Sean had practiced this hero on the international server. She could send out a "Puppet Witch" clone of herself to occupy a position in advance. Activating her ultimate "Lich's Bane" could deal AoE magic damage, making her burst output in team fights terrifying. She could also swap places with her puppet, making her control quite flexible.
Ye Shaoyang laughed: "He really split apart this time."
Cheng Xing said: "That's right, [Dark Witch] can split into two heroes, haha. We can't type during the match; otherwise, it would be very fitting for Sean to send a [Split Apart.jpg] emoji right now."
Qu Jiang said, "It's okay, I'll add an emoji pack for him when I edit the video later."
The atmosphere on Tianhuan's side was relaxed, without the slightest tension of a big match.
In the second phase, Tianhuan started targeting the jungle, consecutively banning two utility junglers, [Fighter] and [Swordsman]. Beimu targeted the top lane position, banning the two warriors Old Qin preferred recently, [Vampire Duke] and [Kung Fu Master].
Beimu's 4th pick selected the support [White Bear]. Tianhuan's 4th/5th picks took the support [Holy Paladin] and the engage top laner [Black Dragon Knight]. Dual knights as the team's bodyguards. A team fight lineup was definitely needed to ensure tankiness.
Beimu's final counterpick took the jungler [King of Fighter], who could be played as a utility tool, coordinating with White Bear for chain crowd control to stun the opponent's key carry and assist teammates in dealing damage.
Both sides began quickly swapping heroes.
Brother Dong analyzed: "In the deciding game, both sides chose relatively standard lineups. Tianhuan has top and support as two frontliners, with mid, jungle, and marksman as 3 damage dealers; Beimu has jungle and support as two frontliners, with warrior, mid, and marksman as 3 damage dealers. Both lineups have their pros and cons; the outcome of team fights is hard to say."
Mu Mu teased, "The marksman is still key in this game. Team fights will definitely involve trying to insta-kill each other's marksman. Beimu has a lot of crowd control skills here. White Bear sitting down can stun people, King of Fighter punching can knock people out, and Berserker chopping down can also stun people. Xiao Xing is really going to be stunned to death!"
Brother Dong laughed: "That's why he brought Purify this game, full of survival instinct."
The camera focused on Cheng Xing inside the soundproof booth. Xiao Xing's hands were tapping rapidly on the keyboard. The match hadn't started yet; he was typing nonsense there, maintaining hand feel while showing off the keyboard's colorful lighting effects. The young boy's expression didn't look nervous at all, his mouth opening and closing as he said something unknown.
Mu Mu said, "It seems the players of Tianhuan are in good condition, and Beimu is also very relaxed. Let's enter the final duel of Tianhuan vs. Beimu!"
The match officially began.
The pace of the third game was noticeably faster than the previous two.
It wasn't that both sides were anxious to take this game, but that both sides were fighting for the initiative, wanting to control the situation themselves.
Beimu had their jungle invaded by Chi Shuo in the first two games. In this game, they simply turned passive into active, conversely, invading Tianhuan's Blue Buff. Tianhuan quickly defended.
Both sides tussled in the jungle for a long time. Zhao Xin'an's Berserker playstyle was very ferocious; known as "Mad Dog," fighting you desperately with a large blade. Even with Old Qin's Knight having high defense, he was chopped down to a sliver of health and had to retreat.
Chi Shuo beat the opposing jungler to low health. Sean and Ye Shaoyang poked each other, both dropping below half health.
Zhao Xin'an's Q skill refreshed. Chi Shuo immediately said: "Retreat!"
Once the Berserker came chopping with his big blade, the two squishies would likely both die here.
Chi Shuo gave up the Blue Buff and quickly went to steal the opposing Blue. After getting the Blue, he came back to take his own Red. A double buff start wasn't a collapse, but due to the skirmish in the jungle just now, Old Qin had used Flash to escape, which was a small loss.
Chi Shuo reminded him, "Old Qin be careful, the opposing mid laner might gank you."
Without Flash in the top lane, if the mid laner went to support, the combined damage of Sean and Zhao Xin'an could kill even a thick-skinned tank, let alone a tank without defensive items in the early game.
Qin Yizhu immediately said, "Understood, I'll play cowardly."
Bot lane, marksman and support 2v2 on both sides.
Cheng Xing clearly felt immense pressure. Zhao Xinping's sniping accuracy was too high. Although Qu Jiang was constantly blocking bullets for Cheng Xing in front, Zhao Xinping could always find gaps, bypassing Qu Jiang to snipe Cheng Xing who popped up to clear minions.
[Sharpshooter] was a hero very strong in laning. Without items in the early game, one shot could take away 40% of a squishy marksman's health. Getting hit twice meant having to recall, otherwise, the next shot would take the head.
Cheng Xing was sniped twice and forced to recall.
Qu Jiang froze the minion wave under the tower for Cheng Xing to farm, but it took more than ten seconds for Cheng Xing to heal and return to the lane. Two minions were hit by the defense tower down to one drop of health, and Cheng Xing didn't make it in time to last hit. Missing two minions, plus the river crab, his level had fallen one level behind Zhao Xinping.
Chi Shuo glanced at the bot lane situation and said, "Xiao Xing hold on, wait for me to hit level 6 to help bot."
After all, Sister Xinping was the number one [Sharpshooter] on the national server. It was normal to suffer a bit when laning against her. Cheng Xing wasn't afraid of suffering losses; as long as he didn't die, he could slowly drag the game out and farm until late game.
Soon, Chi Shuo reached level 6 first and quickly came to the bot lane. Ye Shaoyang also came to support bot.
Sean alerted: "Mid MIA."
Zhao Xinping said, "Definitely coming to gank me, retreat."
She retreated very decisively, taking the support directly back to the jungle. Tianhuan's gank attempt failed, but fortunately, Cheng Xing, who had been suppressed, took the opportunity to push the minion wave, gaining some breathing room.
At the same time, Old Qin in the top lane also retreated quickly. Beimu's mid and jungle support to top lane also failed to catch anyone.
The commentator said, "Both sides' players have very keen senses, retreating very timely. Both junglers returned empty-handed from ganking this wave, only pushing a minion wave. But with Beimu's jungler appearing in the top lane, is the Small Dragon being given up?"
Chi Shuo indeed started the Small Dragon.
Tianhuan's 4 members were doing the dragon in the bottom jungle. Suddenly, the opposing support threw a White Bear over. The White Bear didn't stun anyone, but it clearly revealed vision of the dragon pit. Following that, an ultra-long-range bullet shot over with a "bang." The Small Dragon itself was at low health. Just as Chi Shuo was about to use Smite, it was stolen by this snipe from [Sharpshooter]!
Cheers erupted at the venue, and Beimu fans screamed Zhao Xinping's name frantically.
Yao Mu said excitedly, "Sister Xinping is indeed cool! I thought she was going home just now, but she squatted by the Blue Buff and stole the Small Dragon unexpectedly with an ultra-long-range flick snipe!"
Brother Dong praised, "Sharpshooter is the easiest hero to steal dragons with, after all, the range is too long. Stealing a dragon from Captain Chi's hands is truly not easy!"
Chi Shuo said calmly, "My bad."
Ye Shaoyang smiled and comforted, "It's okay, just a Small Dragon. We'll steal the Baron later."
The Small Dragon indeed didn't have much impact, and the early game gold bonus wasn't much. Chi Shuo discovered Zhao Xinping's position, quickly chased into the enemy jungle, forced out Zhao Xinping's Flash, and then stole the enemy's Blue Buff, so it wasn't too much of a loss.
Everyone returned to their respective lanes to continue farming.
After a moment, both junglers finished clearing the second round of jungle monsters. Sean said, "Mid MIA, gank bot?"
Zhao Xinping: "Let's try a wave."
Ye Shaoyang and Chi Shuo supported bot lane again. Beimu's jungle and mid also arrived at bot lane.
Viewers with the God's eye perspective noticed that both sides were rapidly gathering in the bot lane. A big battle was imminent.
This time, Zhao Xinping didn't retreat. She crouched under the tower, squinted to aim, and blind-sniped directly into the grass!
Ye Shaoyang was hiding in the grass.
Beimu didn't have vision of that bush, but she guessed Ye Shaoyang would come to gank her, so she took a blind shot and actually hit [Goddess of Destiny] hiding there. Ye Shaoyang's lips quirked up slightly. Since you found me, I won't be polite! He pressed the attack signal, followed by Flashing directly into the tower, stunning Zhao Xinping with a charm!
Qu Jiang quickly followed up to tank the tower damage, and Ye Shaoyang burst down Zhao Xinping with a combo.
But because Zhao Xinping had sniped him once just now, he was also at low health and was killed by the defense tower.
—[Tianhuan Lieyang (Goddess of Destiny) killed Beimu Xinping (Sharpshooter)]
—[Beimu Xinping (Sharpshooter) killed Tianhuan Lieyang (Goddess of Destiny)]
Two messages popped up one after another.
Immediately following, messages kept scrolling on the screen.
—[Beimu Sean (Dark Witch) killed Tianhuan Fanxing (Wind Elf)]
Less than two seconds later, another kill message.
—[Tianhuan Shuoyue (Ninja) killed Beimu Sean (Dark Witch)]
The pace of this 4v4 wave was too fast. In the blink of an eye, 2 people died on each side. The two commentators didn't react in time, and the director immediately played a slow-motion replay. Mu Mu couldn't help but sigh: "Both sides are playing very fiercely! Lieyang is still so tough, Flashing under the tower to trade with the opposing marksman. After all, the marksman is Beimu's core; trading his life isn't a loss."
"Beimu's jungler rushed over to control Xiao Xing, and Sean immediately followed up with burst, insta-killing Xiao Xing. Captain Chi, lying in ambush nearby, followed up and insta-killed Sean."
"This 2-for-2 trade was brilliantly played; both sides are stubborn!"
"Such an intense match will also look more exciting to the audience."
Compared to the slow operational dragging of pace by both sides, this kind of direct confrontation, Flashing to insta-kill, and fierce team fights with all ultimates unleashed was indeed more exciting from the audience's perspective.
Applause continued at the venue.
Both mid laners and marksmen died and went home together. After respawning, they each cleared a wave of minions. Immediately after, Sean and Ye Shaoyang shouted simultaneously: "Mid MIA."
Zhao Xinping: "Coming again?"
Cheng Xing: "Coming again!"
The bot lane became very lively, another 4v4 for both sides.
This time, Zhao Xinping's positioning was more cautious. Before the team fight even started, she directly hit the frontliner Qu Jiang with a snipe. Ye Shaoyang wanted to go insta-kill her, but she Flashed plus sniped and hit Ye Shaoyang with another crit.
Ye Shaoyang wouldn't let her go even at low health, tanking the tower to continue chasing. Chi Shuo's Ninja sent out a clone to dash and catch up quickly, killing Zhao Xinping with one slash.
Just as Zhao Xinping died, Ye Shaoyang died too.
Yao Mu was speechless: "Is Yangyang going to trade lives to the end?"
Brother Dong smiled and said: "Actually, there's nothing wrong with Lieyang's playstyle. [Goddess of Destiny] doesn't need much economy; skill damage relies more on levels. So, it doesn't matter much if he dies a few times. However, if [Sharpshooter]'s economy isn't high enough, in the late game, when Tianhuan's frontline builds defense items, her snipes won't deal damage."
Both died, but Goddess of Destiny dying didn't matter much, while Sharpshooter dying mattered a lot.
Then why not trade?
Ye Shaoyang was staring at Zhao Xinping to trade heads this game. It's fine if you kill me; as long as my teammates can kill you, it's not a loss.
Zhao Xinping was killed twice in a row, severely affecting her economic development.
Of course, Cheng Xing wasn't much better. The opposing jungle and Sean teamed up to cut him; Qu Jiang couldn't save him even with substitute activated. After Sean "split apart," the Dark Witch's clones chased Cheng Xing. Cheng Xing's multiple dashes were useless under the encirclement of the opposing Dark Witch's two clones swapping places.
In the livestream room, netizens excitedly spammed the screen.
[Both Marksmen: How about we uninstall the game?]
[The survival environment for marksmen is really too difficult.]
[This game is played so desperately, ignoring operations and just fighting head-on? Doesn't look like Tianhuan.]
[Last game of the regular season, just fight, who cares so much!]
Actually, it wasn't that Ye Shaoyang and Chi Shuo didn't want to drag out operations, but this game's lineup was inherently biased towards fighting. Coach Lin also said, "Try to team fight with Beimu as much as possible, play freely."
Only through team fights could they discover problems in Tianhuan's coordination. Fighting more team fights was good for them.
Nothing to be afraid of; fight you on sight.
By 15 minutes into the match, the kill count for both sides had become 8:8.
Most kills erupted in the bot lane; both sides were staring at the bot lane to fight.
In the backstage viewing area, Xie Yuan couldn't help laughing: "This game is so exhilarating to watch, constantly team fighting. Usually, a kill score of 4:4 at this time is already considered intense, but today it's 8:8."
Coach Chen also sighed: "Yeah, haven't seen Tianhuan play so passionately in a long time."
At 20 minutes into the match, both bot outer towers and top outer towers were pushed down. Everyone rotated to mid lane.
Zhao Xin'an and Qin Yizhu, who had been watching the show in the top lane, could finally join the team fight.
Tianhuan played very proactively in this team fight. Qin Yizhu suddenly Flashed + Ulted jumping into the crowd, a "Black Dragon Roar" taunt controlling the opposing backline. Qu Jiang Flashed + Shield Bash, seamlessly chaining control with Old Qin. Their skill connection was excellent, controlling both the opposing Sean and jungler.
Ye Shaoyang and Chi Shuo followed up with damage, killing the mid laner first.
Cheng Xing activated his ultimate, jumping rapidly around the periphery to snipe. He fired a few enhanced basic attacks, but Zhao Xin'an kept staring at him. In that brief 1 second when Cheng Xing's jump skill refreshed, Zhao Xin'an suddenly seized the opportunity to rush over, activated berserk mode, and swiftly sliced Cheng Xing to death with two cuts!
On Beimu's side, Sean was killed by the combined efforts of Ye Shaoyang and Chi Shuo.
Zhao Xinping hid too far away; her position couldn't be seen at all. A bullet shot out from ultra-long range, accurately sniping Ye Shaoyang. Ye Shaoyang was left with only a sliver of health, and Chi Shuo immediately covered his retreat.
Zhao Xinping crouched down to continue aiming. Seeing the bullet about to kill the low-health Ye Shaoyang, Old Qin suddenly sidestepped to block the bullet for him. Ye Shaoyang and Chi Shuo retreated home, while Old Qin was cut down by the combined efforts of Big and Little Zhao.
Team fight 1-for-2, Tianhuan's mid-jungle retreated with low health.
The mid outer tower was pushed. Beimu quickly invaded the jungle to seize resources, then went to do the Baron.
As a result, after Chi Shuo and Ye Shaoyang went home to heal, they immediately rushed to the Baron spawn point. Ye Shaoyang suddenly Flashed over and used a charm to root the jungler in the dragon pit. Chi Shuo's shadow clone moved forward quickly, one slash to the back for a crit, plus a Smite, and actually stole the Baron!
Zhao Xinping: "…"
Audience at the venue: "…"
Yao Mu laughed: "Sister Xinping's long-range snipe at the start unexpectedly stole Tianhuan's Small Dragon. This time, Tianhuan's mid-jungle synergy suddenly stole Beimu's Baron. Is this instant karma?"
Brother Dong said: "Tianhuan can be considered successfully avenged. Stealing the Baron this wave can delay Beimu's offensive."
Naturally, Zhao Xin'an wouldn't let Tianhuan's mid-jungle leave just like that after stealing the dragon. He activated berserk and chased Ye Shaoyang like a mad dog, his big blade hacking horizontally and vertically. Ye Shaoyang was hacked to low health. Zhao Xinping aimed from a distance and instantly sniped him dead, collecting his head.
Beimu could have quickly pushed down three lanes of towers with the Vanguard Captain, but now having the Baron stolen, they could only defend and clear minions, giving Tianhuan's Cheng Xing time to farm.
The match dragged to 25 minutes. Tianhuan used the stolen Baron to counter-push Beimu's outer towers.
Both sides tugged back and forth for a few minutes. All three lanes of outer towers were gone, leaving only the lonely high ground.
Both sides pushed the high ground with minion waves, and the situation fell into a stalemate again.
The match had reached the 30-minute mark of late game. The audience on site was very nervous.
At this time, the kill score was 15:14, with Beimu slightly ahead in kills. In Group S, matches with over 10 kills were very rare, meaning both sides had been constantly team fighting, very fiercely.
The Baron respawned again. Beimu, having just had the dragon stolen, simply didn't do the Baron this time, force-pushing with three lanes of minions. Tianhuan retreated to defend the high ground. In the high ground team fight, [Sharpshooter]'s advantage of long attack range was utilized to the extreme. Tianhuan couldn't find Zhao Xinping's position, allowing Zhao Xinping to snipe a shot.
Yao Mu said excitedly: "Hit again! Sister Xinping's hit rate on Sharpshooter today is as high as 100%. This bullet hit Tianhuan's backline marksman right on. Xiao Xing must go home to heal. Beimu takes the opportunity to force push, taking down the mid lane tower!"
Brother Dong said, "Sean's ultimate was beautiful!"
Sean's [Dark Witch] could send out a witch puppet to stay at a certain position. When activating the ultimate, it would deal AoE dark magic crit damage. This ultimate hit Tianhuan's frontliners Old Qin and Qu Jiang right on, instantly dropping their health by half. Zhao Xinping followed up with two snipes to cripple them.
Zhao Xin'an activated berserk and rushed in wanting to cut the backline. Cheng Xing, who returned after healing, immediately Flashed to the side, activating dash skills to output damage rapidly. In the blink of an eye, the mid lane minion wave was cleared by Cheng Xing. Beimu rotated to top lane to continue fighting. Cheng Xing exploded with hand speed to clear the top lane minion wave. Ye Shaoyang and Chi Shuo cleared the bot lane together.
Beimu's offensive was repelled.
A moment later, they came to attack the high ground again with minion waves.
Qu Jiang and Old Qin backhanded an engage. Chi Shuo and Ye Shaoyang wanted to flank and insta-kill the opposing marksman, but Zhao Xinping was positioned too far away. She Flashed over a wall to escape, and Chi Shuo couldn't catch up.
Beimu's support White Bear tanked the defense tower's damage.
Zhao Xin'an activated berserk, rushing forward simply like he didn't want his life.
He rushed onto the high ground, trading life for life, forcibly hacking Cheng Xing to death!
Although Cheng Xing and Old Qin teamed up to kill him, once Tianhuan's marksman died, the high ground was hard to defend.
Ye Shaoyang and Chi Shuo failed to catch Zhao Xinping and turned back to kill Sean. Sean couldn't just stand there waiting for them to kill him either; he only died after activating his ultimate and crippling both of them. Zhao Xinping hid in the distance and took the opportunity to snipe and insta-kill Ye Shaoyang.
In the blink of an eye, 4 people died on each side in a team fight.
Tianhuan only had Chi Shuo left, while the opponent only had the marksman Zhao Xinping left.
The hearts of the audience on site were in their throats from nervousness.
But Ye Shaoyang knew that it was very difficult for an assassin to defend the base. The opponent had a very long attack range, but Chi Shuo had no skills left. Zhao Xinping crouched in the distance, flick-sniped 180 degrees, and crippled Chi Shuo with the last bullet.
There were still 2 minions left on the high ground. Chi Shuo only had a sliver of health. He used his shadow clone to move forward and quickly cleared the small minions.
However…
Another wave of minions arrived in the top lane. Beimu controlled the minion waves very well.
Chi Shuo couldn't clear this wave of minions.
Zhao Xinping didn't go to kill Chi Shuo. Standing in the distance, she moved rapidly in a snake-like pattern, focusing only on hitting the tower.
Before Chi Shuo could clear the minions, Zhao Xinping destroyed the defense tower.
The screen turned gray.
Chi Shuo took his hands off the keyboard and whispered, "Sorry, my bad…"
Before he could finish speaking, his body suddenly fell into a warm embrace. Chi Shuo froze for a moment, looked up, and saw Ye Shaoyang smiling and hugging him, whispering, "No need to apologize, you did your best."
Chi Shuo's heart shook; he suddenly didn't know what to say.
All words seemed so pale and powerless.
Ye Shaoyang hugged the captain gently and said seriously, "In last year's playoffs, Tianhuan played Beimu. I watched your match from below the stage. Tianhuan was eliminated by Beimu 2:3. At that time, you also defended until the last moment, falling in front of the crystal. It was also at that time that I decided to join Tianhuan and fight alongside you."
Everyone remembered that match vividly. In Season 9's Tianhuan, bot laners Old Nie and A-Ning's condition declined, mid laner Qu Jiang couldn't keep up with Chi Shuo's rhythm, and top laner Old Qin performed mediocrely. It seemed natural for Tianhuan to lose to Beimu.
But this season was different. Although they lost to Beimu, they didn't lose shamefully. They traded blows with Beimu, dragging it into a 30-minute endurance match.
When they lost in Season 9, Chi Shuo was very sad because that was Old Nie and A-Ning's last match. They retired with regrets and left this arena.
But this time, the feeling was completely different. He wasn't sad at all.
Ye Shaoyang smiled and said, "Losing to Beimu last season was an end; Old Nie and the others retired with regrets, and I know you felt bad inside. But this loss is a beginning. In the playoffs, we still have hope."
Chi Shuo looked up and met Ye Shaoyang's gaze. He looked at Chi Shuo and said seriously, "So, don't think you have to shoulder everything just because you're the captain. We will shoulder it with you."
Chi Shuo gently raised the corners of his mouth, a warm current surging in his heart.
Who is Tianhuan's captain anyway? How come Yangyang looks more like a captain?
Ever since Master retired in Season 7, Chi Shuo had always shouldered all external pressure as Tianhuan's captain. When they lost matches and were scolded, he would stand up to bear all the infamy and protect the team members well.
But today, Shaoyang gave him the warmest hug.
In the past, when they lost matches, although teammates would comfort each other, Qu Jiang and Old Qin didn't dare to hug him actively because Captain Chi was too cold.
But Ye Shaoyang was bold; at this moment, he forgot about the difference between Alpha and Omega.
He just wanted to hug this person.
To tell this captain: You are not fighting alone, so don't carry it by yourself every time.
You've carried it for three whole years; aren't you tired?
Chi Shuo extended his arms and hugged Ye Shaoyang tightly into his embrace: "Before, I always comforted teammates when we lost matches. This is the first time someone has comforted me."
Ye Shaoyang froze for a moment.
It was his captain's occupational disease acting up, subconsciously comforting teammates after losing.
However, sensing Chi Shuo's tightening arms, Ye Shaoyang's heart suddenly softened. Actually, no matter how strong a person is, they also need others' care. Chi Shuo had always been calm and steady, but he bore the greatest pressure.
He also needed someone to share the burden.
Ye Shaoyang smiled and patted Captain Chi's shoulder: "It's okay, we'll win it back in the playoffs."
Audience at the venue: "…??"
Tianhuan's fans originally wanted to cry. After all, they played for over 30 minutes and lost in the end; everyone felt bad. But seeing the scene of Shuoyue and Lieyang smiling and hugging, everyone's tears suddenly got stuck.
Uh… doesn't seem necessary to cry?
Anyway, even losing, they enter the winner's bracket!
Thinking of it this way, Tianhuan's fans also let it go and started applauding one after another.
Yao Mu said: "Today's game was very exciting. Sister Xinping is indeed the number one Sharpshooter on the national server. The 100% accuracy sniping in this match also let us witness the strength of the league's top marksman! Of course, Tianhuan's performance was also commendable. Whether it was Lieyang trading his life to insta-kill the marksman, the mid-jungle synergy stealing the Baron, or the final high ground defense battle, consecutively repelling Beimu's attacks—Tianhuan's wonderful performance also deserves our applause!"
"Congratulations to Beimu for winning this match 2:1. The regular season has concluded completely. Next, the All-Star voting channel will open on the official website. Netizens can vote for their favorite players…"
The commentator began to explain the rules of All-Star voting.
Inside the soundproof booth, Ye Shaoyang finally let go of Chi Shuo. Looking back, Qu Jiang, Old Qin, and Cheng Xing were all smiling, especially Qu Jiang. That smile of "I understood something" made Ye Shaoyang suddenly realize something was wrong.
Fck! I was too excited just now and forgot I'm an Omega again!
Chi Shuo defending the crystal until the last moment reminded Ye Shaoyang of last year's playoffs, Tianhuan vs. Beimu. Sitting below the stage then, watching Chi Shuo hold on until the very end, he finally decided to join Tianhuan because Chi Shuo's tenacity of never giving up moved him, making him believe that with such a captain, Tianhuan had hope.
Losing to Beimu again just now, he just wanted to tell Chi Shuo: You still have me, this comrade-in-arms, by your side.
This time, I'll carry it with you!
Playing the match got him so worked up he momentarily forgot he and Chi Shuo weren't purely "good brothers."
Ye Shaoyang coughed lightly to mask his awkwardness.
To prevent CP fans from imagining things again, he turned his head and hugged the smiling Qu Jiang.
Qu Jiang: "…"
Pulling me as a shield? Sure.
A moment later, Beimu's 5 members came to the soundproof booth to shake hands. The Tianhuan group had already adjusted their emotions and stood up politely to congratulate them. After they left, Ye Shaoyang said: "Our overall strength is still slightly behind Beimu's; there's nothing wrong with admitting it. But we still have room for improvement. Don't lose heart, everyone!"
Cheng Xing whispered: "I'm far behind Sister Xinping. I will work hard to catch up to her."
Old Qin said: "I'll also learn from Xiao Zhao's reckless playstyle."
Chi Shuo looked at Ye Shaoyang, meeting his bright eyes.
—We'll just win it back in the playoffs.
Their gazes exchanged, conveying the same meaning.
Chi Shuo raised the corners of his mouth and looked at his teammates: "Let's go, time to leave."
Tianhuan's 5 members came to the big stage, bowed collectively to the audience, and were met with warm applause from the crowd.
The regular season came to an end.
Tianhuan entered the S10 playoffs winner's bracket as the second seed in the group.
This season, Beimu's players in all three lanes were very strong. They spent such a huge price to buy a world-class mid laner from the European region, obviously aiming for the world championship.
But Tianhuan's goal was also the world championship.
In the S9 playoffs, Tianhuan was eliminated by Beimu. Could they rewrite their fate in S10?
There were still 2 months until the playoffs. Tianhuan still had time to adjust, and fans had not given up hope.
Of course, Tianhuan's players would work even harder.
This team had not yet reached its peak condition.
The end of the regular season was just a new starting point for them. In the playoffs, the players' individual strength would be stronger, and team fight coordination would be more tacit. Tianhuan would appear before everyone with a brand new look.