174: Chapter 174 We'll take down the level two!

"They actually banned three bot lane champions in a row. This time, A-Shui Team's tactical choice is very clear: they're going to attack the bot lane."

As the pick and ban phase for the third game began.

This time, A-Shui Team finally regained their composure and continued to make reasonable use of every second.

And right from the start.

They directly banned three of the opponent's bot lane champions.

Plus, Uzi Team also banned two bot lane champions, meaning a total of five bot lane champions were banned in this game.

Even the commentary voice of Colonel Guan couldn't help but exclaim a couple of times.

Wang Duo, on the side, did not agree with A-Shui Team's tactical choice.

"It is indeed an open strategy to attack the bot lane, but in the previous two games, Uzi Team's bot lane had the biggest advantage. Player Uzi's skill is also the strongest on their team, so playing like this carries a high risk."

"But since A-Shui Team made these choices, perhaps there is some specific tactical design behind it."

Amidst the barrage of comments telling them to hurry up and not waste time.

Finally.

The pick and ban phase ended.

Liu Yang took off his headset, preparing to return to the lounge alone.

Originally.

Riot Games staff had told him that if both sides had coaches, they would need to shake hands and nod to each other before leaving the stage. But since he was the only coach present, these steps were skipped.

Just as he was preparing to leave the stage.

Liu Yang glanced in the direction of Uzi Team.

Over there, Uzi happened to cast a glance as well, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly as he moved his lips at Liu Yang a few times.

Although he couldn't hear what the other person was saying, Liu Yang could make out a few words from the lip movements.

"Heh, Coach..."

...

"Both sides are still in normal positions and starting the game; there are no thoughts of invading."

"In these first three games, the start of each one has been very conventional. Both sides seem unwilling to make any tempo adjustments. However, on A-Shui Team's side, the Jungler's path seems a bit strange. Why is he pulling the Blue Buff downwards?"

On the game screen.

Changzhang's Jarvan IV was not pulling the monster towards the Gromp while fighting the Blue Buff, which would have been the fastest way to jungle.

Instead, he pulled the Blue Buff towards the lower river.

Seeing this scene.

Even the commentators were a bit confused.

Colonel Guan could only speculate a little.

"Is Jarvan IV preparing to invade directly after taking the Blue Buff? But the opponent has the Red Buff; invading the jungle might be difficult."

"That's right, and Uzi's Tristana leveled E at level 1, allowing for quick wave clear and rotation. Jarvan IV won't have an easy time invading here."

Amidst the commentary.

Jarvan IV finally finished the first jungle monster, leveled up to level 2, and entered the river.

But strangely.

He didn't directly invade the opponent's jungle; instead, he lingered in the brush of the lower river.

Seeing this scene.

The commentator paused, then instantly understood Jarvan IV's intention.

"He wants to gank bot at level 2!"

"Can he pull it off?"

"Jarvan IV perfectly bypassed the vision, A-Shui's baiting is also on point, and Uzi is positioned too far forward!"

"However, Uzi still has Flash. If Jarvan IV can't land the first CC, and Rakan can't follow up with control, it might be hard to get the kill, especially since the red side starting on Blue doesn't have the Red Buff for slows."

At this moment.

Although many viewers had lost interest in esports after the first two games and were only watching because of the rewards, at this moment, they turned their attention back to the game amidst the commentary.

They also wanted to see.

Whether this A-Shui Team, which had been crushed for two games, could really gain an advantage in the early game.

If a level 2 bot lane gank fails, the impact on the Jungler and the tempo is immense.

Finally.

Uzi's Tristana positioned himself forward into range for Jarvan IV's EQ combo, but Uzi was completely unaware of Jarvan IV's presence, continuing to poke A-Shui's Xayah.

In the next second.

As Uzi's Tristana auto-attacked the cannon minion, Jarvan IV finally went in.

The flag landed at Tristana's feet, and the Q ability, Dragon Strike, was released simultaneously.

You have to understand.

Just now, Uzi was completely unaware of Jarvan IV's presence, his attention entirely on the opposing A-Shui and the cannon minion. Almost the moment the flag dropped, Jarvan IV's figure had already charged over.

Being controlled was almost a certainty.

But for just a split second.

At the same time Jarvan IV's figure appeared on screen, Uzi pressed Flash. His 18-year-old reflexes were terrifying, even though he had been completely unaware of Jarvan IV's existence moments before.

However.

The moment Uzi saw Jarvan IV appear, he had already reacted and pressed Flash.

But at that exact same moment.

As another sound effect representing Flash appeared on the game screen.

Jarvan IV, who was about to finish his dash, pressed Flash simultaneously, directly predicting Tristana's Flash position and following to knock her airborne!

Pangzi's Rakan also flashed with W to knock up Tristana, applying crowd control. A-Shui started dealing damage, and seeing the situation, Uzi's Support knew it was over and had to run.

The next second.

First Blood!

First Blood!

With A-Shui Team's level 2 bot lane gank design, they successfully killed Tristana, and for the first time in these three games, they secured First Blood and gained an early advantage.

The commentators' voices grew even louder.

"Jarvan IV EQ-ed in, Tristana flashed out."

"Jarvan IV also followed with Flash to land the CC, EQ-Flash, knocked up! This Flash was actually able to predict the position, that's too exaggerated!"

"Rakan and Xayah followed up with damage, First Blood, success! Level 2 gank bot, Jarvan IV ganked and killed Tristana, the kill was taken by Xayah!"

"The game has just started, and A-Shui Team has already secured an advantage!"

"Even though Tristana had invincible reaction speed, flashing the moment Jarvan IV appeared, Jarvan IV was able to Flash in an even shorter reaction time. This play is too exaggerated; both Jarvan IV and Tristana were in peak form!"

Amidst the passionate commentary.

Tens of millions of viewers across various streaming channels witnessed the entire sequence from start to finish!

For a moment.

The screen was filled with question marks and "Holy crap."

You have to know.

league of legends had only been officially open for public testing for a little over half a year; it hadn't been long, and the intricate mechanics of many champions were still being gradually developed by high-level players.

Therefore.

99% of league of legends players watching the match didn't know that Jarvan IV could even EQ-Flash, let alone land a knock-up without dealing damage, before seeing this live play!

You have to know.

When Tristana flashed out, many viewers were still marveling at Uzi's reaction speed, but the next second, Jarvan IV followed with a Flash knock-up, leaving many viewers' brains struggling to process it.

You could actually play like that!

A-Shui Team had been crushed in the first two games, so pulling off such a brilliant play right at the start of this game certainly surprised many players.

Although the previous sequence wasn't long, the outplay was spectacular, and it was the most passionate the commentators had been since the Opening Match.

Combined.

It did indeed make many viewers' heart rates quicken, as if they had found a hint of enjoyment in watching league of legends matches, and they decided to settle down and see if A-Shui Team could really turn this game around.

"That's too exaggerated, right? Jarvan IV can actually EQ-Flash!"

"This play is worthy of a Challenger player, but Uzi's reaction was also fast to be able to Flash out, and the fact that Jarvan IV could follow up with Flash is just too exaggerated."

"This seems a bit interesting. Will A-Shui Team actually win this game?"

"I feel like it's still a bit difficult, it's just First Blood. Let's wait and see. If they can play the full series and let us get an extra treasure chest, that would naturally be best."

Countless comments scrolled by, and it was clear that compared to the screen full of "boring" and "not interesting" at the beginning, the comments were now much more normal.

Whether it was wanting to get an extra treasure chest or wanting to see if esports really had potential, at this moment, the majority of the audience was indeed standing on A-Shui Team's side.

In the following few minutes.

A-Shui Team continued to target the bot lane, successfully killing Uzi Team's bot lane duo again with a four-man dive, with the kill once again taken by A-Shui.

Back in the laning phase, Zz1tai and Huzi-ge were not at as much of a disadvantage as in the first two games; the top lane even almost got a solo kill, and the situation seemed to be tipping completely in A-Shui's favor.

When the time reached ten minutes.

There was already a significant gold gap between the bot lanes of both sides.

If it were the first two games, Uzi Team would have already used this gold gap to expand their advantage, but it had to be said that Uzi Team had great resilience.

But after they realized the bot lane couldn't stay in lane, they started having Uzi swap lanes.

And.

In order to give Uzi enough farm.

The gold from the top, mid, and jungle was actually all given to Uzi!

Uzi Team put all their chips on Uzi, once again employing their most familiar "protect the ADC" strategy, and even helped Uzi secure several kills.

The situation in this game is still hard to call.

Both sides have a chance to take this point!