Although there were no local teams remaining in the tournament, the people of T City, R Country, seemed to have felt the allure of esports. The Giant Egg Stadium was still packed to capacity during the elimination stage.
Both teams that had already taken their seats were making final adjustments to their equipment.
This was the first match of the elimination stage, a high-profile battle that drew the attention of the entire world.
The match-up between E Country’s “Mighty Bull” LQ and the newly crowned WPL champions JW was highly anticipated. Everyone was eager to see which team would become the first to leave the stage of the elimination rounds.
The audience in R Country had no burden of choosing sides; they were there to enjoy the esports spectacle that both teams provided.
However, JW had gained a lot of attention in R Country due to their good looks, and their strong performance in the group stage had quickly attracted a substantial number of new fans.
Jiang Min put on his tournament headset, confirmed the connection was working, and then subtly glanced at Yu Hao next to him.
Yu Hao noticed his gaze and commented, “Sugar, you seem a bit off recently.”
“Hmm? Really?” Jiang Min quickly averted his eyes, pretending to check his equipment on the computer screen.
“Is there really nothing going on?” Yu Hao tilted his head, looking at Jiang Min.
“Nothing at all…” Jiang Min said, sounding somewhat guilty.
Before Yu Hao could say more, the referee arrived with a work confirmation sheet for them to sign, interrupting the conversation.
The countdown to the match began.
Unlike the group stage, where commentary was usually done remotely, the elimination stage required commentators to be present on-site.
During the group stage, commentators generally provided remote coverage, coming on-site only when their national teams advanced to the elimination stage. This was to avoid the hassle of traveling to the venue only to find that their team did not perform well, leading to a lack of interest from the national audience.
This had become an established practice in the WOC Professional League.
Although it was R Country’s first time hosting a regional tournament, with the help of league headquarters staff, the organizers had prepared positions for commentators from the major regions.
The Z Country commentary team had arrived the previous day and immediately jumped into their work for the day.
The commentators for this highly anticipated eight-to-four showdown were the WPL’s “Golden Duo” combination: Uncle Yuan, Lack, and Ruby.
The three of them stood behind the commentary desk prepared by the event organizers, speaking to the cameras for WPL viewers, engaging in pre-match discussions and analyses.
“JW had quite good luck in the group stage; their group, Group D, didn’t have any traditional strong teams, so their advancement was relatively smooth,” said Uncle Yuan.
Ruby added, “JW also changed their coach for the global ranking stage, with the new coach being the returning Chaos. Their performance in the group stage has been quite good so far.”
Lack commented, “But the next opponent they face is a tough one. LQ, known as the ‘Mighty Bull’ of E Country, is famous for its aggressive playstyle, which is somewhat similar to JW’s. It will be interesting to see what strategy JW adopts.”
Ruby noticed that the support rate for JW on the R Country online interaction platform was particularly high and remembered the recent buzz JW had created on R Country’s internet.
“However, JW’s popularity in R Country is indeed quite high. I’ve noticed many fans holding JW signs here at the venue,” Ruby said.
“Ah, you’re talking about the male models, right?” Lack added. “Indeed, JW’s looks have definitely earned them recognition.”
The three commentators chatted a bit more, and the match finally began.
“Alright, we’re now seeing the draft screen. It’s JW versus LQ, the first match of the elimination stage at the global ranking tournament in R Country. I’m Lack, and with me are Ruby and Uncle Yuan,” said the commentator.
The commentators shifted into focused analysis mode.
“JW is on the blue side, and LQ is on the red side,” Ruby said. “Both teams have chosen standard bans. JW picked Centaur for their first pick and secured an early game initiator.”
Uncle Yuan added, “LQ’s selection strategy seems to continue their previous approach, picking positions first and leaving the counter picks for their number one player. This is because their number one player, Monster, is an exceptionally notable individual talent.”
Both JW and LQ had selected their five heroes, with no unusual tactics, just heroes commonly seen on the field.
In the elimination stage, all matches except the finals are BO3, making it crucial to win the first game. Both teams were determined to secure the win.
Jiang Min was playing Paladin in this game, while the opponent’s mid-lane hero was also a tanky character.
These two heroes’ characteristics made it hard to achieve solo kills in the mid lane. However, JW’s strategy, focusing on operational play, was to create an advantage through maneuvering.
LQ’s play was indeed very aggressive. Not long into the game, they sent three players to gank the mid lane. Fortunately, Jiang Min reacted quickly, and Yu Hao’s command for support was prompt. Within the first 5 minutes, both teams engaged in a small skirmish in the mid lane.
The final result was JW trading two for three, with Jiang Min left with low health in the mid lane.
In the following time, LQ frequently grouped up to gank the mid lane, clearly targeting Jiang Min.
“It seems LQ has done their homework, knowing that one of JW’s carries, Sugar, often establishes a significant advantage in the mid lane. They are clearly aiming to counter this,” Uncle Yuan said.
Ruby added, “But JW’s defense is also quite good. Economically, they aren’t falling too far behind, and Sugar’s Paladin has only died once, with the economic gap in the mid lane not being too large.”
Lack remarked, “But this puts all the pressure on JW’s number one player, Cypress. With Paladin focused on fighting early on, if the equipment doesn’t catch up, the main damage output will rely heavily on Cypress later on.”
The commentators were concerned that if JW’s mid-lane was continually pressured, it would disrupt their usual playstyle and force them into LQ’s rhythm.
JW had clearly centered their strategy around the mid-lane in domestic matches.
But that was the old JW. The new JW, with the addition of a new coach, had changed.
Yan Junying had noticed early on that JW favored a mid-lane focused strategy. While Jiang Min was indeed strong in the mid-lane, it couldn’t be guaranteed that he would always establish an advantage in every match.
If Jiang Min was neutralized, JW could easily fall into a passive state.
So, Yan Junying’s first reform as the coach was to change the existing playstyle.
It wasn’t about stopping them from focusing on the mid-lane; Jiang Min had undeniable carry potential.
Rather, JW needed a more diversified strategy. Otherwise, while it might work well domestically, if opponents from abroad figured out and exploited their mid-lane focus, JW would be in trouble.
The number one player, Wei Yabo, was actually quite strong, but the brilliance of the mid-lane often overshadowed him.
During the preparation phase, Yan Junying gave everyone special training, particularly focusing on Wei Yabo.
The goal was to make him realize his own abilities and learn to make an impact on the field.
Otherwise, JW would remain a single-core team centered around their number two player.
A dual-core setup with both the number one and number two players would be safer.
The strategy to suppress the mid-lane was confirmed in this elimination match.
As an opponent in the elimination stage, LQ couldn’t have failed to research JW’s matches in the WPL region, and it was easy to conclude that JW played around their number two player.
Therefore, they devised various strategies to counter the number two player.
However, Jiang Min was well-prepared for being heavily targeted.
Yan Junying had long said, “As an excellent mid-laner like you, you must first carry, and you must remember, renowned mid-laners are meant to attract fire and take pressure.”
Jiang Min was ready to be targeted heavily.
Fortunately, with teammates around, it wasn’t too disastrous, though it was a bit frustrating.
Luckily, while LQ was trying to suppress him, they left ample space for Wei Yabo to farm.
Hao Qianyi also toned down his usual aggressive style and began split-pushing to create pressure.
The support players, number four and five, roamed the lanes and jungle, helping their teammates gradually establish an advantage.
By the time E Country’s bulls reacted, JW had built significant advantages across all lanes.
Despite the lack of kills, why did the economy suddenly widen?
The bulls pressed on, deciding to group up and push mid.
JW’s other players quickly teleported in and engaged in a 5v5 team fight in the mid-lane.
Hao Qianyi made an excellent initiation, with Paladin’s stun and hammer coming down, Wei Yafeng dodged several abilities, and Wei Yabo provided critical damage output, while Yu Hao followed up with crowd control.
JW executed a perfect team fight in the mid-lane.
Only Wei Yafeng gave up a kill.
But support players are meant to absorb damage for their carry.
With one death avoided, Wei Yabo continued to farm uncontested, growing significantly.
LQ couldn’t suppress JW’s number one player, and JW managed to secure the win in this match.
After this game, the WPL commentators were a bit stunned.
Uncle Yuan: “…Did I see that correctly? JW, who used to just go straight for fights, actually started playing a more strategic game?”
Lack: “And it seems JW isn’t focusing on the mid-lane anymore. They gave a lot of resources to the number one player, which created an unmanageable number one player, Maple, for the opponent.”
Ruby: “It looks like Chaos’s appointment as head coach has significantly changed JW’s playstyle.”
The commentators were bewildered, and WPL’s netizens were equally confused.
[JW playing strategically? No way! My youth is over!]
[Chaos used to be known for his aggressive style. How did he make JW play strategically?]
[Strategic play is boring. Fighting is more exciting! Fighting is our region’s style!]
[In this match, Sugar was suppressed so badly. I wanted to see Sugar God show off!]
[Don’t expect too much. It’s already good if Sugar God can die fewer times. I guess international teams have studied JW and will target him.]
In the second game, JW also won decisively.
It seemed LQ was caught off guard by JW’s strategic play and appeared somewhat disoriented.
No team can maintain peak performance continuously, and LQ’s recent performance had also been somewhat lackluster, which could be why they lost 2:0 to JW.
Regardless, JW eliminated E Country’s bulls, LQ, and successfully advanced to the semifinals.
Author’s note: I just realized today, after not writing for a long time (sorry), that I mixed up the positions of the twins. Yabo, Cypress, is the number one player, and Yafeng, Maple, is the number five player. Apologies for the mistake.
1TL: YSIAD “You can support me if you like my translations by leaving a comment below, or by sending me a Ko-fi. Thank you and Enjoy reading! ❤️”
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