After the Ban/Pick phase ended, the coaches from both sides shook hands on stage before exiting.
Lin Feng extended his hand with a beaming smile, while Coach Chen's smile was noticeably stiff—he had frantically banned Junglers in the second phase to target Chi Shu, but it turned out to be a waste of effort. Chi Shu had already locked in [Abyssal Lord] for the Jungle long ago!
In the past, when playing against Tianhuan, coaches had a headache because Chi Shu and Ye Shaoyang's hero pools were too deep, and there weren't enough ban slots. In the future, playing against Tianhuan would mean a new headache: when Tianhuan picked a certain hero, was it for Chi Shu or for Ye Shaoyang?
Being a coach was truly too difficult!
Coach Chen returned to the backstage area with a bitter expression.
The players of Jingzhe's 2nd team looked at their coach's ugly expression and asked apprehensively, "Coach, Lie Yang picked [Sharpshooter] to play against Captain Fang's [Kraken]. Is Captain Fang at a bit of a disadvantage?"
Coach Chen sighed helplessly. "That's not just a bit of a disadvantage—it's a massive disadvantage!"
As an artillery mage, [Kraken]'s greatest advantages were his long range and high burst damage.
Because of his attack range, when laning against other mages, he could throw out an ultimate from a super long distance, instantly crippling or killing his opponent. In team fights, he could also aim at the enemy backline, open his ultimate to delete someone, and quickly create a numbers advantage.
[Kraken]'s counters were [World Ending Mage], who also had ultra-long range and could one-shot people with an ultimate, or [Illusionist], who could ambush from the grass with an instant-kill combo. Coach Chen had banned these two heroes during the BP phase, hoping Fang Zhengqing could open up the situation from the Mid lane and establish an advantage.
However, Lie Yang actually took [Sharpshooter] to the Mid lane? This unexpected choice completely nullified [Kraken]'s advantage—You have long range? My range is longer than yours!
Coach Chen rubbed his forehead helplessly. "I always knew Lie Yang had a deep hero pool and could play all Mid-lane heroes, but I never expected he would dare to bring a Marksman onto the professional stage, and in a critical match point game at that. Sigh, this Lie Yang is truly impossible to predict."
The player Ye Shaoyang had indeed brought too many surprises… and scares to the Huaguo region.
Coach Chen stared at the big screen with a solemn expression, and the 2nd team members didn't even dare to breathe loudly.
In contrast, inside Tianhuan's viewing lounge, Xie Xiaotian from the 2nd team said with excitement written all over his face, " during scrims, Brother Yang's [Sharpshooter] hit me so hard I didn't dare leave my tower! With Captain Chi's coordination, they can definitely secure First Blood, right?"
Coach Lin smiled and said, "Watch carefully. Fang Zhengqing isn't that easy to kill."
The match began. Chi Shu's [Abyssal Lord] went with Ye Shaoyang to invade the Blue Buff.
This was also the first time the audience had seen [Abyssal Lord] equipped with [Smite], playing in the Jungle position.
Chi Shu started accumulating shadows from the moment he left the base. By the time he reached the jungle, he had already saved up three.
Fang Zhengqing knew that [Abyssal Lord] needed mana, so at the start, he led his teammates to invade the Blue as well. The two sides just happened to miss each other. In the bottom lane, Qu Jiang and Cheng Xing intercepted Xie Yuan and Li Yunmo, facilitating Chi Shu and Ye Shaoyang's attempt to take the Blue.
Chi Shu sent out two shadows to hit the Blue Buff. Ye Shaoyang crouched at the side and helped him snipe the Blue Buff once. Chi Shu recalled the shadows, used [Smite] to take the Blue Buff, leveled up to 2, and immediately swapped places with a shadow he had placed in the side bush earlier. Leading two shadows, he rapidly returned to his own Red Buff jungle.
He killed the Red Buff, swapped positions with the third shadow, and continued to clear small monsters…
The audience only saw Chi Shu moving rapidly through the jungle, three shadows drifting back and forth like the wind.
Yao Mu watched this scene in surprise. "[Abyssal Lord]'s jungle clear speed is actually quite fast!"
Brother Dong analyzed, "Actually, a Level 1 [Abyssal Lord] clears the jungle very slowly. This mage assassin relies solely on skills for damage; his basic attack damage is negligible. The Q skill has a 10-second cooldown. Even if he uses three shadows to repeatedly trigger marks, it would take a long time to take down the Blue Buff. The key to that play just now was Lie Yang sniping once from the side, helping him knock off half the Blue Buff's health, allowing Shuoyue to reach Level 2 at maximum speed."
Yao Mu said, "That's right. Starting from Level 2, because of the position-swap skill, [Abyssal Lord]'s jungling efficiency improves qualitatively. Swapping positions also applies marks. With three shadows swapping back and forth, he can also roam quickly through the jungle, saving travel time."
Brother Dong summarized, "So, playing this hero in the Jungle requires help from teammates. In solo queue, it's best not to use him for jungling. Your Mid laner definitely won't have the same tacit understanding as the Sun-Moon duo, right?"
Netizens were left speechless.
Compare our chemistry with the Sun-Moon duo? Are we worthy?
[If I take Abyssal Lord to the Jungle in solo queue, I'll be flamed to death by my teammates.]
[Casters, please don't misunderstand the skill level of the audience. We can't play this hero at all.]
[My shadows only know how to hit walls, thanks~]
[Ask the Mid laner to help me take Blue? Keep dreaming, he'll only steal my Blue!]
Thanks to Ye Shaoyang's assistance, Chi Shu started with double buffs. Added to the flexible mobility of the three shadows, Chi Shu also successfully snatched the Mid lane river crab. His tempo was ridiculously fast.
When Jingzhe's Jungler was Level 5, Chi Shu was already Level 6.
In most cases, Chi Shu would usually take the Small Dragon at Level 6 or gank the enemy Marksman in the bottom lane to relieve pressure on Cheng Xing. Fang Zhengqing pinged the Small Dragon pit and said, "Support, check vision. Prepare for a dragon fight."
Just as his voice fell, a bullet suddenly shot out from the distant grass—
With a crisp bang, the bullet struck Fang Zhengqing's [Kraken] perfectly!
Since [Sharpshooter] had a longer attack range than [Kraken], the audience with their omniscient view could see that Ye Shaoyang was currently crouching in the grass behind his own tower. Using the vision provided by the minion wave, he aimed from an ultra-long distance, flick-sniped, and accurately hit Fang Zhengqing!
One snipe from [Sharpshooter] was enough to take out half a squishy mage's health bar.
Realizing the danger, Fang Zhengqing immediately flashed backward.
But in the next moment, three masses of shadows suddenly darted out from the side brush. [Abyssal Lord]'s shadows applied 7 marks in an instant, and the half-health Fang Zhengqing was instantly killed.
——First Blood!
The kill went to Chi Shu.
After the kill, Abyssal Lord's ultimate refreshed. Chi Shu continuously swapped places with his shadows to dodge the tower shots, successfully retreating to Ye Shaoyang's side.
Fang Zhengqing: "…"
These two are joining forces to torment me again? I am really 'fang' (panicked/square) right now!
Yao Mu couldn't help but say, "This is also a classic strategy of Mid-Jungle synergy. The Mid laner cripples the opponent from a super long distance, and the Jungler quickly moves in to harvest the kill. It's just that this time, the Mid laner has become a Marksman, and the Jungler has become a Mage Assassin, but the principle of cooperation is the same. The Sun-Moon duo is still as in sync as ever."
Brother Dong praised, "Shuoyue plays [Abyssal Lord] very well. Just now, he stacked 7 marks in less than 2 seconds, deleted the enemy with a full combo, and then used shadow swaps to escape. The timing of the swaps was precise, perfectly avoiding the tower damage. His mechanical skill isn't any worse than Lie Yang's, is it?"
Yao Mu smiled and said, "After all, they play ranked together every day. Lie Yang uses this hero often. Shuoyue's familiarity with [Abyssal Lord] might be even higher than many Mid laners in the league, right?"
Using a teammate's signature hero with such proficiency, not to mention the seamless coordination—it showed just how synchronized their brainwaves were. Perhaps if Lie Yang controlled [Abyssal Lord] and Shuoyue controlled [Sharpshooter] in that play, they could have achieved the same result.
After getting First Blood, Chi Shu's economy became the highest in the game.
He went to the Small Dragon spawn point with Ye Shaoyang. Qu Jiang and Cheng Xing immediately rushed over as well.
Fang Zhengqing said calmly, "Give up the Small Dragon. Swap lanes after clearing this wave; breakthrough from the Top lane."
Xie Yuan: "Received."
The Marksman he chose this game, [Holy Archer], was a hero that needed time to scale. Since Cheng Xing's [Blood Kin Princess] had an ultimate that provided lifesteal and strong sustain, the Xie Yuan + Li Yunmo duo wouldn't necessarily gain an advantage against Qu Jiang + Cheng Xing in the bottom lane. Once Chi Shu and Ye Shaoyang came bot to gank, if Ye Shaoyang landed just one snipe, Xie Yuan would easily die.
Lane swapping was a very rational decision made by Fang Zhengqing.
After the Small Dragon was taken, Jingzhe's Bot lane duo disappeared. Qu Jiang said in the voice channel, "Bot miss."
Ye Shaoyang deduced that Xie Yuan might have gone to the jungle to soak experience, so he reminded Xiao Xing to be safe. But what he didn't expect was that Xie Yuan and Li Yunmo suddenly appeared in the Top lane, while Jingzhe's Top laner appeared in the Bot lane.
Ye Shaoyang immediately warned, "They swapped lanes. Old Qin, be careful!"
Qin Yizhu was clearing minions at the time. A white bear suddenly descended from the sky, blocking his path. The monster summoned by Fang Zhengqing's [Kraken] opened its bloody maw; the ultimate [Devour] instantly crippled Old Qin, and Xie Yuan, hiding in the grass, finished him off with consecutive basic attacks.
Jingzhe's trio suddenly swapped lanes and regained the match's tempo. Their Jungler, Blade, also followed. The four of them quickly killed the "Vanguard Tyrant," intending to push towers fast to establish an advantage.
Compared to the late-game Baron (Ancient Tyrant), the early-game Vanguard Tyrant didn't impact the game situation as much. Killing it didn't give team members attack or defense buffs; it only changed the minion wave into Vanguard Captains, which pushed towers faster. As long as the minion wave was cleared, the situation could be stabilized.
Ye Shaoyang said, "Focus on clearing minions. Don't team fight yet."
The team members all clicked "Received."
With Old Qin sent back to base, Chi Shu went Top to cover and clear minions. Ye Shaoyang and Cheng Xing cleared the Mid and Bot lane waves respectively. Jingzhe's intent to use the Vanguard Tyrant to push towers was successfully neutralized by Tianhuan.
However, Old Qin definitely couldn't withstand the suppression of Jingzhe's Mid, Marksman, and Support trio alone in the Top lane. Once the Top tower fell and Xie Yuan farmed up, he would be very difficult to deal with in late-game team fights.
Ye Shaoyang thought for a moment and said decisively, "Swap lanes. Let's catch their Marksman."
So, after Old Qin revived, he went directly to the Bot lane, while Tianhuan's Cheng Xing and Qu Jiang quickly headed Top.
The Marksman-Support duos faced each other once again.
Audience: "…"
You swap, so I swap too? Tianhuan's response is truly simple and crude.
At the 10-minute mark, Ye Shaoyang quickly flanked from his own jungle to the Top lane. Chi Shu also rushed over. At the same time, Jingzhe's Jungler and Mid laner also headed Top. A 4v4 encounter was about to erupt.
The audience sat up straight nervously, eyes glued to the big screen.
In the Top lane, Jingzhe struck first.
Support Li Yunmo's [White Bear] summoned a bear to sit on an opponent, causing an AoE stun. This sit landed right on Cheng Xing. The Jungler [Sword Immortal] followed up closely, kicking Cheng Xing into the crowd.
Cheng Xing popped Cleanse instantly, then pressed his ultimate, exploding with hand speed to shoot red blood arrows at the enemy.
[Blood Kin Princess]'s ultimate allowed lifesteal. Qu Jiang activated his shield in time. Cheng Xing gritted his teeth, withstanding the enemy's damage while dealing insane output. In the blink of an eye, he crippled the Support [White Bear] and Jungler [Sword Immortal], but he couldn't hold on any longer himself. He was finished off by a tap-shot from Xie Yuan, and Fang Zhengqing followed up with an ultimate to delete the low-health Qu Jiang.
So far, in this team fight, Jingzhe fought a 4v2 and killed 2 Tianhuan members—a huge profit.
However, Jingzhe's fans didn't dare to applaud or celebrate, because the audience with the omniscient view could see that Chi Shu and Ye Shaoyang had arrived at top speed and were hiding in the side brush.
Seeing Jingzhe's four members about to retreat, Chi Shu immediately sent out shadows. [Abyssal Lord], leading 3 shadows, rushed forward quickly. In an instant, he stacked 7 marks on Jingzhe's Jungler!
Once the marks detonated, the already low-health [Sword Immortal] was instantly killed.
After the kill, his ultimate refreshed. Chi Shu continued to send shadows forward to chase—
With a refreshed ultimate, [Abyssal Lord]'s damage output doubled, but his defense was halved. Chi Shu chased and attacked. Xie Yuan kited back while fighting, quickly reducing Chi Shu to critical health.
But at the same time, Jingzhe's three members were also beaten to low health by the damage-boosted Chi Shu.
Ye Shaoyang crouched in the distance, narrowed his eyes, aimed in the reverse direction, and suddenly flick-sniped 180 degrees—
[Tianhuan Lie Yang (Sharpshooter) has killed A Cloud (White Bear)]!
The low-health Chi Shu didn't retreat. Instead, he let his shadows continue chasing Xie Yuan forward.
Abyssal Lord's shadows provided vision for Ye Shaoyang, allowing him to clearly see Xie Yuan's position.
Ye Shaoyang fired a snipe decisively.
——[Tianhuan Lie Yang (Sharpshooter) has killed I Am Very Round (Holy Archer)]!
Fang Zhengqing's Q skill refreshed just in time; a backhand Q took Chi Shu's life. However, before Chi Shu died, he also managed to reveal Fang Zhengqing's position for Ye Shaoyang.
Fang Zhengqing was hiding in the side brush, out of [Sharpshooter]'s attack range.
Ye Shaoyang quickly adjusted his direction. At the moment the skill aimed, he suddenly Flashed and fired—
The [Sharpshooter] on the screen suddenly teleported a distance sideways. Following that, a crisp gunshot rang through the canyon. One shot took away the squishy!
——[Tianhuan Lie Yang (Sharpshooter) has killed I Am Very Square (Kraken)]!
——Triple Kill!
Thunderous applause erupted from the entire audience, and the livestream barrage was filled with "Lie Yang 666".
In this 4v4 Top lane fight, from Jingzhe striking first to kill Tianhuan's Bot duo, to Tianhuan's Mid-Jungle arriving in time for support—Chi Shu crippled the opponents and provided vision for Ye Shaoyang, and Ye Shaoyang killed 3 enemies in a row.
In the end, it was a 3-for-4 trade. Ye Shaoyang successfully secured a Triple Kill!
Chi Shu curled the corners of his mouth. "Beautiful."
Ye Shaoyang glanced at him and smiled. "That wasn't a loss."
In the backstage viewing area, Coach Chen had mixed feelings.
Jingzhe played that engagement flawlessly. Fang Zhengqing supported Top quickly, killed the enemy Bot duo, didn't get greedy, and retreated immediately. But who could have imagined that Chi Shu would chase forward recklessly with his shadows? And Ye Shaoyang's [Sharpshooter] was simply ridiculous—100% accuracy, one shot for every low-health enemy?!
Three consecutive bullets, one life per shot.
Even the mechanics of the league's top marksmen were probably just at this level, right?
Isn't he a Mid laner? Playing Marksman this well—is that reasonable?!
In Tianhuan's backstage prep room, Xie Xiaotian jumped up in excitement. "My Brother Yang is awesome! Three shots, three heads. This is damn well unknown times better than that idiot marksman from Yaoguang who threw games to get a Penta Kill!"
The 2nd team captain, Yan Bin, coughed lightly. "Calm down, calm down. Praising Brother Yang is fine, but don't swear."
Xie Xiaotian scratched his head and sat down. "Hehe, got too excited."
Coach Lin raised the corners of his mouth in gratification, his tone full of pride. "At any time, we never need to question the coordination between Shuoyue and Lie Yang. After all, they are two world champions."
The team members: "…"
Coach, isn't that sentence a bit too 'Versailles' (humblebragging)?
The key to Ye Shaoyang's Triple Kill was Chi Shu chasing forward desperately, using his shadows to reveal all the opponents' positions so Ye Shaoyang could snipe from a distance.
A sniper's accuracy actually had a lot to do with vision.
If you couldn't see where the opponent was, a blind snipe would only hit air. Even when visible, it was possible to miss; after all, opponents weren't wooden stakes—they moved and dodged bullets.
Ye Shaoyang used a flick-snipe method. He would channel in the opposite direction first, predict the opponent's movement, and then instantly snap the gun around to fire. The speed was too fast for the opponent to dodge!
Chi Shu was capable of "Absolute Trust" in Ye Shaoyang.
He believed that as long as he revealed the opponents' positions, Yangyang would definitely be able to kill those three low-health enemies.
He had always believed in Ye Shaoyang's strength, just as Ye Shaoyang believed in him.
They were each other's strongest support.
They could also sacrifice themselves without hesitation to be the other's eyes.
Seeing this, Yao Mu couldn't help but sigh with emotion. "Usually in ranked games, when you try your hardest to beat the enemy down to a sliver of health, but your teammates fail to follow up with damage and let several low-health enemies escape—isn't it infuriating? I think many people have experienced this situation."
Brother Dong agreed. "Yes, letting low-health enemies escape is indeed regrettable. However, Tianhuan's Shuoyue and Lie Yang have never dropped the ball. If Shuoyue cripples an opponent, Lie Yang will definitely complete the harvest; if Lie Yang snipes an opponent to low health, Shuoyue will also follow up immediately to claim the head!"
The two looked at each other and summarized, "This is the trust and tacit understanding of top-tier partners!"
Yao Mu said, "They always believe in each other. Therefore, in every Mid-Jungle synergy play, they don't hesitate to pay the price of their lives to trade for opportunities for their teammate!"
With Abyssal Lord's defense halved after the ultimate refresh, Chi Shu chased forward without hesitation. He knew he would definitely die, but he still dared to make the play—wasn't it because he believed Ye Shaoyang could finish off the three low-health enemies?
If it were many other junglers, they might have retreated after getting one or two kills to cut their losses.
Brother Dong took a deep breath and lamented, "Jingzhe actually played that team fight very well without any mistakes. However, Tianhuan's Mid-Jungle was even fiercer; they simply defied logic! Shuoyue's suicidal pursuit and Lie Yang's precise three shots—a 3-for-4 trade, gaining the advantage!"
Yao Mu added, "Moreover, Lie Yang was still at full health after the fight. He can take the opportunity to chip away at the tower's health."
Hiding in the distance and firing cold shots, Ye Shaoyang was indeed at full health after the fight.
Because the team fight happened too suddenly, neither side had finished clearing the minions; there were 2 minions left for each. After killing the opposing 2 minions, he took his own minions to push the tower.
[Sharpshooter]'s attack speed was very slow, but the bullets dealt high damage to towers. In the blink of an eye, he chipped away half the tower's health, then moved to the Mid lane to continue clearing and pushing.
Ye Shaoyang's grasp of the game's tempo was extremely detailed; not a single second was wasted.
After the players revived, Fang Zhengqing led his team to force a push down the Mid lane. Their Support and Top laner flashed to engage, joining forces to dive and kill Ye Shaoyang, who was hiding in the distance.
However, Tianhuan had a Double Marksman lineup this game.
Lie Yang died, but there was still Fan Xing.
With the opponent's crowd control skills used on Ye Shaoyang, Cheng Xing's output environment was very safe. With Qu Jiang's shield, he flanked and activated his ultimate to lifesteal like crazy. Red blood arrows shot out like a rainstorm, crippling Jingzhe's frontline. Old Qin and Chi Shu joined hands to cut the backline, decisively repelling Jingzhe's attack.
The game dragged on to 20 minutes. Ye Shaoyang actively commanded to start the Dragon.
At the Baron fight, both sides engaged in a tug-of-war.
Jingzhe's Support engaged beautifully. Flash plus Ultimate, summoning the Big Bear to sit on the backline. Coupled with Fang Zhengqing's Kraken Devour, they instantly deleted Cheng Xing.
Tianhuan fought a 4v5, retreating while fighting. Ye Shaoyang hid near his own Blue Buff, aimed secretly, and fired a bullet from super long range—he actually stole the low-health Baron!
[Tianhuan Lie Yang (Sharpshooter) has killed Ancient Tyrant]
Yao Mu's voice trembled with excitement. "He got it! He actually stole it?"
Brother Dong said, "Truly incredible! His bullet passed through the gap between two Jingzhe players and stole the Baron! Tianhuan is going to counterattack!"
The late-game Baron gave the killing team attack and defense buffs, so they weren't afraid of a 4v5.
Seeing this, Qu Jiang decisively stepped up to tank damage. Old Qin flashed to cut the backline. Chi Shu, with 3 shadows, dove into the crowd to stack marks frantically. Ye Shaoyang aimed quickly from a distance to cripple enemies.
All of Jingzhe was forced to retreat, and Tianhuan pursued the victory, destroying an inhibitor.
After Cheng Xing revived, the five members of Tianhuan managed the minion waves and pushed all three lanes simultaneously.
In the high ground team fight, Ye Shaoyang hid in a super far position and fired consecutive cold shots. One shot crippled one person. Jingzhe's frontline couldn't withstand his sniping at all and had to go back to heal.
The Support and Top laner were sniped back to base by Ye Shaoyang.
Chi Shu used his shadows to force back Jingzhe's dual carries, while Cheng Xing rapidly attacked the tower nearby.
As the minions entered the crystal nexus, Cheng Xing shouted while frantically hitting the nexus, "We won, we won! Family, we won!"
The crystal shattered with a bang before their eyes.
The golden word "VICTORY" finally popped up!
Ye Shaoyang took off his headphones and looked back at Chi Shu, who also happened to take off his headphones and look at him.
Chi Shu actively extended his arms. Ye Shaoyang also extended his arms, and the two hugged each other tightly.
The MVP of this game was undoubtedly Tianhuan Lie Yang.
From start to finish, he barely missed a shot. Every bullet hit a key enemy hero. Whether it was the Triple Kill in the Top lane fight, stealing the Baron in the jungle, or sniping the enemy frontline back to base in the final high ground siege…
Ye Shaoyang's performance was worthy of the name "Sharpshooter."
But Ye Shaoyang knew very well in his heart that Chi Shu's play on [Abyssal Lord] this game was also flawless. Ye Shaoyang even felt like he was seeing another version of himself on the field.
Chi Shu's judgment of the situation and his mechanics in every team fight were exactly the same as what he would have thought.
If it were him, in that Top lane fight, he would also be willing to risk his life to create an opportunity for Chi Shu—because he believed Chi Shu wouldn't waste the opportunity he created, just as Chi Shu believed in him.
With a boyfriend like this, what was there to be afraid of?
Thinking of this, a sweet warmth surged from the bottom of Ye Shaoyang's heart. Winning every game with his boyfriend, step by step, walking hand in hand towards the peak of the world.
This was their shared wish.
No matter what hero they swapped to, they always trusted each other.
World-class Mid-Jungle synergy required not only the individual mechanical skills of two players but also the absolute trust of "I will risk death to create an opportunity for you; please rest assured and leave your back to me."
Ye Shaoyang believed that the Korean duo might not necessarily be able to reach this level.
But he and Chi Shu could.
After all, besides being teammates, they were also a couple with 100% compatibility ^_^.