Chapter 44: Fetim? (Seeking Recommendations)

  The next day at 3 pm, Teng Xiang Game's TJA live broadcast platform, the platform's main commentator WaWa appeared on time with two other commentators in the live broadcast screen.

  "Passion never stops, the showdown never ends. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to watch the second Demacia Cup match, I'm WaWa!" The slightly chubby WaWa sat upright on the commentary stage, facing the live camera with a calm demeanor, clearly already accustomed to being in the spotlight.

  "I am Xiaomi." The big-breasted female anchor in a white short skirt sitting on the right side of the doll followed the rhythm.

  The host TT on the left who speaks more elegantly also didn't want to fall behind: "I am TT."

  "Alright, today we're bringing you a match between LCD and Snake, with a BO3 format. Whichever team wins two games first will be able to eliminate their opponent and advance to the top 16 of this Demacia Cup!" The host, WaWa, initiated the conversation as the main controller on the commentary stage. "As for these two teams, I'm not sure how well you both know them? Of course, LCD is a given, being a team from our LPL league, and I believe everyone still remembers their bold and aggressive performance in the spring season. But do you guys have any knowledge about Snake?"

  TT nodded: "As far as I know, this Snake team was a dark horse that suddenly rose to fame in the recent TJA Grand Prix, defeating all 27 participating teams when no one expected them to, and won the championship. They successfully entered LSPL and are a very promising team!"

  "That's right, but do you know how LCD team got into LSPL back then?" WaWa said with a mysterious tone.

  "Is it also through the TJA Grand Prix?" Xiaomi finally found an opportunity to interject, her voice was so shrill that it made people's hair stand on end.

  The doll glanced at her, and her gaze swept over the towering twin peaks of at least 36D without leaving any marks: "Yes, many players may not know that LCD is actually the overall champion of the 2013 TJA Grand Prix Winter Season. It can be said that this Snake team is actually last year's LCD!"

  "Wow, isn't it a showdown between the new and old champions today?" Xiaomi puffed out his chest, looking extremely excited.

  "Yes, let's wait and see whether the veteran LCD is more powerful or the newcomer Snake team is fearless! The doll swallowed her saliva and finally moved her gaze away from the plump meatballs, saying: "Okay, the BAN selection has begun. We can see that the Snake team is on the blue side, while LCD is on the purple side. Let's take a look at the BAN selection of both teams!"

  "Snkae's first BAN went to LeBlanc, they seem to ban this hero in every match, which has a lot to do with the style of their mid laner, after all, not good at assassin-type heroes!"

  "Yes, and the first ban for LCD went directly to Sylas. Speaking of which, since Starry was developed by Korean teams as a mid laner, at this stage he is indeed an unbanable hero. This hero is really disgusting in team fights!"

  "What's next? Snake directly banned Thor's Hammer, everyone has seen Pinyin's Thor's Hammer, ordinary teams really don't dare to give it to him!"

  "That's right, but LCD didn't back down either. They also banned Kassadin, although he had been weakened in this version, once he gets going, he's still very difficult to deal with!"

  "Next we'll see if both sides will BAN the new hero, Brohn. By the way, this hero is really overpowered in the game!"

  "Huh? But Snake's third ban was actually Morgana, and they banned two supports?"

  "It seems that they still have a lot of respect for Hana's personal abilities, being able to get two BAN spots with just one support is truly surprising!"

  "It's true, and LCD's last BAN was indeed Bloom, but the six BAN slots were surprisingly given to three support heroes!"

  "It's not surprising, after all, LCD is a later choice. They are very clear that if they don't ban Bloom, the other side will definitely grab it. Bloom is really too terrifying in this version. I'm afraid everyone wants to see this new hero arena and has to wait until the next version. It's said that the latest version on the North American side has already been cut!"

  "Right, next let's look at the draft picks from both sides. Snake directly picked up the bomber with their first pick, which was within our expectations!"

  "Yes, Bomb Man has been on fire since the spring season and has reached the point where he is a must-pick, even though his passive and E skills were recently nerfed to deal less damage to minions. His ability to hold towers in the late game is just too strong, and he's often the first pick in LPL matches!"

  "That's right, what lineup will LCD come up with to deal with Bomberman? Their first and second picks were Obama and Nami, this bottom lane combination. In the case of three banned support heroes, taking the bottom lane combination first is completely no problem!"

  "Right, but Snake's side also came prepared. Their second and third picks took a blind guy and a female tank, very smart pick!"

  "Yes, in this version, the mantis's Q skill and ultimate have been weakened, so the blind man has returned to his position as the king of the wild, and can indeed be robbed!"

  "Alright, let's take a look at LCD's three and four picks. They got a Spider + Dragon Girl top lane combo, in the case that Scorpion is banned and Blind Monk is stolen, Spider is indeed the best choice!"

  "It's not necessarily the case, the reworked Lion Dog in this version is also very strong in the wild, especially with some enhancements in the new version. As long as your hand speed is fast enough, you can throw out a set of skills in mid-air, and if you know how to play, it's simply too powerful!"

  "Taobao Fist shouldn't be very good at playing, right? If I remember correctly, he seems to have never used the Lion Dog hero in a match!"

  "That's true, Lion Dog is a hero that requires very high operation skills from the player, it's more suitable for players like Changlong and Insa who are CARRY-type junglers!"

  "Oh? So you're saying that Taobao's boxing is no match for the factory director and Insico?" The doll added insult to injury.

  "I didn't say that..."

  "I also don't..."

  “…………”

  "Just kidding, actually Taobao Fist this player is quite good except for being hot-headed, at least he fits well with the style of LCD team, don't care about anything just do it." Doll quickly stopped talking, after all they were live streaming, even if they wanted to mock a certain player, they didn't dare to be too obvious, because that might cause dissatisfaction among players and audience.

  "Yes, let's take a look at Snake War Team's last two picks. No way, Yasuo + Draven?" TT's face was full of surprise.

  Wa doll exclaimed: "Wow, are they going to let Yasuo go top?"

  "They must have put up a fight to take it out, if I had to say, they probably didn't want to give Aatrox to the other side. Now that LCD's four positions are already set, only the mid lane hasn't been chosen yet, looks like they don't want to let LCD's mid laner get Aatrox!" Xiaomi chimed in. "I heard LCD's mid laner has changed, is this new mid laner's Aatrox strong?"

  Doll shook her head: "I don't know, he should just be a newcomer, look at his game ID, Fetim? Has anyone seen this ID in the competition before?"

  "We've never seen this before!" Xiao Mi and TT exclaimed in unison.

  "Alright, anyway, let's see what hero they'll pick for their last choice. Kontrol's bomber man is a good one! Personally, I think Clockwork might be a decent choice!" WaWa suggested with rich experience, as a top-notch domestic commentator, even though this guy's skills aren't that great, and has even been given the nickname "LaoBiWa" by many players, but after commentating on over a thousand matches, he must have learned something.

  There's a saying that goes like this: Bronze technology, king's mouth, mainly referring to these commentators who make a living by talking!

  "Yes, LCD chose a good Dragon Girl, and the combination with Fatt is indeed a great system!" TT echoed. "Moreover, Fatt's clear soldier and late-game teamfighting ability are not necessarily worse than Bomb Man, choosing Fatt to advance and defend is the best choice for LCD!"

  "But you guys were all slapped in the face, and Cinderella was directly selected!" Xiaomi laughed with a blooming smile, her two big white rabbits on her chest undulating like waves, making people's eyes unable to keep up.

  “…………”

  Although the doll was slapped in the face, she still didn't blush or skip a beat, and seriously explained: "In that case, this side's LCD is basically just an early lineup. The top laner is Road Dragon Girl, the mid laner is Cinderella, the jungler is Spider, and the bottom lane is Obama + Nami. This lineup should be very fierce in small-scale team battles in the early game!"

  Analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of both sides' lineups is a must-do task for commentators after the two teams have finalized their selections.

  "Yes, looking at Snake's side, whether it's Yasuo or the rarely seen Draven in matches, they are all heroes with explosive damage in the late game. The two teams have presented a stark contrast in their lineups! As the number one player on the Chinese server, TT still has some skills. "I think the biggest highlight of this match is who can gain an advantage in the mid lane and control the rhythm, Blind Monk + Bomberman vs Spider + Syndra, it's really hard to say which combination is stronger!"

  However, looking at the lineup of both sides, Snake's lineup is clearly stronger, especially in the late team fights. This lineup has almost all the advantages of a team battle, with output, control, and front row. The doll was previously slapped by Cinderella, but now she finally found an opportunity to retaliate. Moreover, LCD's mid laner and AD are both newcomers, and their strength is unknown to everyone. But Snake's mid laner Copy is a player with extremely strong personal ability. As far as I know, this player briefly reached the number one spot on the national server after the S4 version update, and is a typical CARYY-type mid laner.

  "Doll's mouth was full of praise: 'This time, Snake team was able to make a comeback in the TJA Grand Prix, their mid laner is absolutely indispensable, especially with this Copy who picked up his signature hero, Bomberman. Although LCD, as the top team in LPL, may have stronger strength and foundation than Snake, I feel that they still have a bit of an edge!'"

  "Yes, but the most important thing is to see how both players perform. The match screen has already entered the buffering interface. Let's take a short break for an ad. Don't go away, the match will be back soon!"

  “…………”

  PS: Alright, I've written a whole chapter on BAN picks, and I'm sure some of you will say that I'm flooding again. But honestly, I think BAN picks can't be ignored in formal matches - many times the lineup can decide 80% of the outcome of a match. And the reason I wrote this so detailed is mainly to introduce the changes in this version, as a prelude to the upcoming summer season. I've seen many LOL players who never write about version changes, and never explain which heroes are strengthened or weakened - personally, I think this is very irresponsible, because LOL is inherently a game where each version has its own gods, and there's no hero or system that's forever strong or weak, and no one is forever benched. What do you guys think?