Play it Safe

After a brief break, the host announced the start of the second game of the semifinals between the Changcheng Battle Team and the Fudan Battle Team.

In this game, the sides were swapped, and it was Fudan Battle Team's turn on the Blue side to ban and pick first.

Fudan Battle Team's first ban was Lux, which Lin Xiao had used in the previous game.

A wave of discussion naturally broke out in the stands, mixed with some sighs of regret and stifled laughter.

The spectators regretted that they wouldn't get to see the Changcheng Battle Team's support, "Hui Qi Tai Dao," use Lux to carry the entire game again—the first match really hadn't satisfied their craving.

As for the laughter, it was because some spectators found this ban choice quite hilarious:

Damn, support Lux, an incredibly off-meta pick in competitive play, was actually placed at the top of the ban list?

That was truly comical!

"Tsk tsk, looks like Fudan Battle Team was really scared by Changcheng's support Lux in the first game—"

Dian Dong Zi Li Bang commented from the caster desk.

Lian Jiang sat beside him expressionless, keeping his mouth shut.

The outcome of the first game had been a direct slap to his face. At this moment, he was indeed quite embarrassed, fearing that if he said one more word, he would immediately be mocked by Dian Dong Zi Li Bang beside him.

However, looking at the situation, Dian Dong Zi Li Bang's guess was likely correct.

Whichever champion gave you a hard time in the previous game gets banned in the next. This situation wasn't uncommon even in top-tier professional tournaments.

So Fudan's choice was actually completely understandable.

Of course, objectively speaking, spending a ban on a champion like Lux did feel like a bit of a waste...

"It's fine, think of it as spending a ban to buy peace of mind~"

Dian Dong Zi Li Bang laughed, drawing a conclusion for the Fudan Battle Team.

Right after, the Purple team, Changcheng Battle Team, banned Alistar. This champion's dominance in the previous patch was infuriating, so banning him was completely unquestionable.

The ban turn went back to Fudan. The second champion banned by captain Yang Fan was still one that had appeared in the previous game.

The Nine-Tailed Fox, Ahri.

In the first game, the mid-lane Ahri played by Jiang Ran had performed brilliantly, second only to Lin Xiao's support Lux.

Especially the coordination with Lin Xiao's Lux to kill the enemy jungle Fiddlesticks, which could only be described as "lightning-fast."

"Sigh, Coach Lian Jiang, what do you think of Changcheng's mid laner's skill level?"

Dian Dong Zi Li Bang casually asked Lian Jiang.

Lian Jiang paused for a moment before reluctantly saying: "He indeed played very well. This player with the ID 'Giang Luu' has outstanding mechanics and reaction speed. I really didn't expect that there would be such a hidden grassroots expert in this Scorpio Cup."

Dian Dong Zi Li Bang laughed: "Exactly. It's rare for Coach Lian Jiang and me to agree on something. This Scorpio Cup is truly a gathering of hidden dragons and crouching tigers—"

Lian Jiang didn't catch the double meaning in Dian Dong Zi Li Bang's words.

When speaking of hidden dragons and crouching tigers, it didn't just refer to Jiang Ran, the Changcheng mid laner.

It pointed even more to Lin Xiao, whose true identity was enough to shake the entire domestic esports scene—the one whose original ID was "no. 1."

...

Shortly after, both sides finished the ban phase.

When it came to the pick phase, the spectators below began to look forward with curiosity.

In the previous game, this Changcheng support had unexpectedly picked Lux and actually carried the entire match. Would "Hui Qi Tai Dao" bring them another surprise in this game?

AP Support... Maybe Ziggs support?

Or Xerath support?

Well, they were both champions with strong laning poke, which sounded quite viable for a support role!

But unfortunately, Lin Xiao's choice disappointed them.

On the draft screen, the fourth pick slot of the Purple team lit up, displaying the icon of Janna, the Storm's Fury.

Janna Support.

The audience below sighed in disappointment, and at the caster desk, Dian Dong Zi Li Bang also frowned in surprise:

"Oh, Janna support—"

Then he commented:

"This is a pretty standard support pick."

Honestly, knowing that guy's personality, he had really thought he would pick another off-meta support to show off and carry the game.

This Janna support... paired with the Caitlyn they picked in the first rotation, was indeed strong, but it lacked a bit of novelty.

"Doesn't make much sense..."

Dian Dong Zi Li Bang pushed up his glasses and muttered to himself.

...

Meanwhile, inside the Changcheng Battle Team's booth on the stage.

"Xiao Zi, are you really not planning to carry this game?"

Brother Liu looked at Lin Xiao locking in Janna support in the fourth slot and couldn't help but ask.

If other spectators or the Fudan players heard this, they would definitely think Brother Liu was being incredibly arrogant:

What do you mean?

You can win easily just by trying?

Are you looking down on us!?

But to the Changcheng members, Brother Liu's words perfectly aligned with their thoughts:

Indeed, as long as Xiao Zi seriously tried, even from the support position, they would still easily crush Fudan in the second game!

Lin Xiao also nodded calmly, admitting:

"Yeah, this game is on you guys."

No boasting, but honestly, Lin Xiao's decision in the first game had been a bit off.

By picking support, he had originally wanted to minimize his impact on the team, using the match to test how well his teammates could perform against Fudan. He was supposed to be just a safety net.

But when he played support Lux, his hands got itchy, and he couldn't stop himself.

Well, "couldn't stop himself" meant he accidentally bought a Mejai's Soulstealer, then inadvertently picked up a few double kills, stacked the Soulstealer, and ended up hard-carrying the game on support Lux.

The win was indeed smooth and satisfying, and the gameplay was easy and comfortable.

But that wasn't what Lin Xiao had intended from the start.

He had just snapped out of it, remembering that his task today was merely to escort the team. Playing too brilliantly was a bit like stealing the spotlight, which went against his original intention.

So—

"This game, I'll play steady and just protect Brother Liu's Caitlyn."

Lin Xiao happily added while eating chocolate:

"Anyway, in the bot lane matchup, I'm only responsible for warding and giving you shields. I won't take responsibility for anything else."

He paused, as if remembering something, and said with regret:

"Ah right, speaking of which, I actually could have picked Nunu support..."

Nunu Support.

A Nunu and Caitlyn duo?

Brother Liu couldn't help but look dejected: That was indeed a classic, old-school bot lane duo, but... support Nunu required absolutely zero skill, just brainlessly buffing the ADC with W, right?

Even if you wanted to minimize your presence, you didn't have to go that far, did you!?