Chapter 18: The Playoffs! Let the Battle Begin! (1/5)

Chapter 18: Playoffs! The Battle Begins! (15)

[The previous chapter has been revised, temporarily skipping the early daily routines to focus on the matches first. The rest will be addressed later.]

Time flies swiftly.

After a week of intense training, Cheng Xuan woke up every morning at eight to boot up and enter training mode, practicing last-hitting minions, mastering combos, skills, attack ranges, and release timings for nearly all heroes.

After morning scrims with his teammates, instead of resting in the afternoon, he remained at the training room desk, reviewing every past S-series match video he could find.

He watched repeatedly, took meticulous notes, and studied the nuances of each lane and player.

He analyzed what he believed were the strengths and weaknesses, the pros and cons, of each competitor.

This dedication earned him unending praise from both his teammates and coach Nofe.

A player who shines momentarily can win the crowd’s favor, but one who perseveres through relentless training earns genuine respect.

“Especially in the summer season’s final matches, IG’s substitute support Shaqima impressed me with his steady, outstanding performance. I hope he maintains that consistency today,” Tong Xi added.

But the system wasn't infallible; what if one day it assigned him a less powerful talent by chance?

“After nearly three months of fierce battles, I believe the audience and I alike have enjoyed every moment. Every team has pulled out all the stops to secure a spot in S11,” Guan Zeyuan chuckled.

The last two picks locked in made Guan Zeyuan’s eyes widen involuntarily at the commentary desk.

A heavily armored brute wielded a bloodstained great axe, his features fierce and intimidating.

Because everyone knew—you gave it your all.

An all-AOE bomb hero, paired with one of the fastest wave-clear soft supports, Karma.

The playoffs opener was set between the two lowest-ranked teams, IG and TES.

“As expected, just as I predicted, IG still wants to run a support-core strategy this game. Do they really think we’re weak? Planning to win it all with just one trick? … We’ll use the strategy I mentioned earlier: restrict the roaming support!” Guan Zeyuan exclaimed.

“IG has banned LeBlanc and Renekton. Since patch 11.5, LeBlanc has been a must-ban or must-pick in nearly every game, while Renekton, buffed after his sustain improvements, has become the top laner’s king. Banning these two makes perfect sense,” Tong Xi analyzed professionally.

In matches, if the ADC and support group up around the ten-minute mark, it's a terrifying prospect.

Karma’s group speed boost and large shield allow for aggressive or defensive plays.

Her advantage lies in range; even if the bottom lane is at a disadvantage, she can still safely last-hit from afar with her skillshot.

As she finished speaking, TES’s final two picks locked in were Ziggs, the bomb hero, and Karma, the fan-wielding support.

“TES clearly doesn’t want to give IG any breathing room—coming out swinging in the first game. I heard your IG bottom lane is fierce, so I’m targeting them! This opening match is already so intense; this is going to be interesting,” Guan Zeyuan got excited.

With his mere Black Iron rank, facing the weakest pro players on paper, he’d likely get crushed.

…

On the other side, IG’s top laner chose Kennen, jungle Nightmare, mid lane Syndra, forcing their bottom lane player Wink to reluctantly pick Lucian to contest lane priority.

Holding the pick-ban booklet as he moved among teammates, his joy was barely contained.

“From Shaqima’s performance in the previous two games, he’s fully capable of handling a support-core role. Since he’s only played two games, his hero pool is limited. Now, figuring out how to break IG’s system is TES’s biggest headache,” Guan Zeyuan said slowly, eyes scanning the pick-ban sheet.

All teams and players were fully focused.

“From the pick-ban perspective, TES has clearly outplayed IG,” Tong Xi’s long lashes fluttered as she softly added, “Now it depends on IG’s last support pick. If the bottom lane wants to contest lane priority, I think either Alistar or Nautilus, strong engage supports, would be good choices. Otherwise, they definitely won’t be able to outlast the bomb hero and Karma combo.”

With Camille and Akali to dive the backline, plus Ziggs’s teamfight AOE damage, TES packed no shortage of firepower.

After a week of hard training, Cheng Xuan happily discovered his skill had risen from mere low-tier Black Iron to about Gold level.

Truly impeccable.

“Only I can lead us to victory!”

“Due to the tournament format, TES, having secured the first playoff spot, had priority in side selection. They chose blue side, leaving IG with red.”

But no matter—Rome wasn’t built in a day.

By now, except for Shaqima’s counter pick, all other positions were locked in.

Ziggs as the AD carry bottom lane was a strategy unearthed as early as Season 10.

TES’s blue side comprised Camille top, Viego jungle, Akali mid, Ziggs and Karma bottom.

Both last-hitting and game sense had improved markedly, though among pro players, his rank was still the lowest.

Once gaining the advantage, Ziggs’s unique skill that targets and demolishes towers from a distance meant the bottom lane phase could end very early.

Apart from EDG, who’d already secured their spot in S11, the remaining three tickets had to be earned through the playoffs qualifications.

They could simply recruit a low-rank random player for training—3000 yuan a month with food and lodging included—many dreamers eager for esports would line up to sign up.

If dissatisfied, a 50-yuan travel subsidy was enough to send someone packing.

“Alright, dear viewers, welcome to the S11 Summer Playoffs. I’m your commentator, Guan Zeyuan.”

It seemed confirmed that IG would run a support-core strategy.

The pick-ban proceeded smoothly, with IG reserving the final counter pick for Cheng Xuan.

“I’m Tong Xi,” the female commentator introduced herself.

“The first two bans… oh? They’ve shown Shaqima great respect by banning Lux and Thresh outright, clearly not allowing him to perform with those heroes.”

The playoff horn finally sounded.

Head coach White Crescent showed no sign of difficulty; instead, he smiled brightly.

As the LPL’s most insightful female commentator without peer, Tong Xi’s sweet voice and unique game understanding were beloved by many players.

“TES must have done their homework! They locked in the strong top, mid, and jungle picks early. I thought they’d let bottom lane go wild and focus on early fights in the upper jungle, but instead, they surprised us with Ziggs and Karma bottom, accelerating the early pace rapidly!”

As she spoke, chat was flooded with hearts and messages calling her “cute.”

Thankfully, hard work pays off.

After a year of effort, the path to the world’s biggest stage rested on this battle.

From the lineup, the damage distribution of two AD carries and three APs was quite balanced and aggressive.

If professional training made it easy to match pro players’ skill, teams wouldn’t need to expend so much effort recruiting talent.

Even if mistakes happened in a match, players wouldn’t become targets of widespread blame.

“Alright, we can see the match has begun. Both teams are ready, and the pick-ban phase is underway.”

However, what commentators considered a headache for TES wasn’t apparent from the broadcasted view.

And for Cheng Xuan, though he now held the system in hand...

On the big screen behind the players at the arena...

As everyone focused on IG’s final pick...

As the hero selection was confirmed...

The chat fell silent; the commentary desk went completely quiet.

Even within TES’s heated in-team discussion, silence fell instantly.

“Darius support???” After a long pause, Guan Zeyuan shouted in disbelief.

(End of chapter)