Tianhuan's victory in the first game not only made the opponents in the backstage viewing area see them in a new light but also greatly boosted the team members' confidence. Especially Old Qin—managing to burst down the enemy mid laner in two consecutive team fights finally allowed him to hold his head high.
An excellent top laner should be able to attack when advancing and defend when retreating.
When the team needed him as a bodyguard, he could use tank heroes to withstand damage on the front line and protect his teammates. When the team needed him to deal damage, he could also draw the sharpest blade to tear through the enemy's defense line swiftly.
As the "orphan of the top lane," Old Qin, who was constantly overlooked, proved that his effect when playing a warrior side lane was quite good. This was also the result of him practicing repeatedly with Ye Shaoyang and Chi Shuo.
After a short break, the second game began quickly.
Team Yueying frantically banned top laners, directly banning [Vampire Duke] and [Blade Will], two common backline-cutting warriors, clearly targeting the top lane.
Xu Zhuo chose the top laner [Berserker], known for extremely strong burst damage, fearing no one in a 1v1 while in a berserk state.
Tianhuan immediately followed up by picking [Twin Blades of Pain]. This was also a warrior hero, wielding dual blades. The mechanics were quite complex: the dual blades could be thrown out and would fly back, dealing two instances of damage to enemies in their path. If the second instance hit, it was a guaranteed critical strike, so hand speed had to be fast.
The commentators were somewhat surprised: "Old Qin's hero pool seems to have widened? In previous matches, he either picked [Man of Steel], [Holy Paladin], or [Black Dragon Knight]—all big meat shields. Today he picked warrior top laners for two consecutive games?"
"After all, he's a veteran player who's been playing for three years. It's impossible for him to only know a few tank heroes. He definitely sacrificed some of his own style out of consideration for the team before, right?"
"That makes sense. A top laner who can't play warrior heroes isn't a qualified top laner. Tianhuan currently has a 3-win streak. No matter how they play, they are guaranteed a spot in the Winner's Bracket, so Old Qin can let loose a little and pick some heroes to show off his mechanics."
In the bot lane, Cheng Xing also picked a marksman he didn't usually use, [Sharpshooter]. This hero required aiming and sniping. If the snipes missed, there was almost zero damage output in team fights, but if they hit, especially with late-game equipment, a single shot could easily cripple an enemy.
Yueying's marksman pick was [Machine Gun Hunter], who was strong at pushing towers early game.
After both sides finished picking heroes for the second game, the audience realized that Tianhuan's strategy was very similar to the first game: Top and Bot lanes withstanding pressure, a utility Mid laner, a farming Jungler, with damage points being Top, Jungle, and Marksman, while Ye Shaoyang focused on control.
Seeing this lineup, Xu Zhuo immediately warned, "Don't fall for their trap again. This game we won't target Top and Bot; we go straight for the Jungle."
In the first game, Yueying was misled by Tianhuan's so-called "weaknesses" in the top and bot lanes, thinking that quickly killing the top laner or marksman to break through those lanes would make winning easy. However, after ganking three times consecutively without a single kill—always letting the opponent escape with a sliver of health—they instead gave Chi Shuo ample time to farm.
This game, Xu Zhuo wouldn't fall for it again.
Going straight for your jungle, making sure you, Chi Shuo, can't farm up!
Yueying played very aggressively from the start, grouping up to invade the jungle.
Tianhuan reacted quickly. Ye Shaoyang and Qin Yizhu swiftly coordinated defense. Both sides engaged in a 3v3 tug-of-war near the Blue Buff for quite a while. Eventually, Chi Shuo seized the opportunity and used Smite to secure the Blue.
Yueying didn't steal the Blue, but their bot lane marksman and support invaded the Red Buff together. Stealing the Red Buff was also a huge gain.
"Yueying has a clear strategy this game: focus on the jungle. Three people top, two people bot invading simultaneously. Tianhuan defended the top side, but the Red Buff in the bottom side was stolen. That hurts a bit!"
"Fortunately, no one died. Letting the opponent start with 3 buffs is acceptable."
Losing a buff at the start was normal. Chi Shuo stabilized his rhythm, quickly farmed, and contested the river crab.
This game, he still didn't proactively drive the rhythm, leaving the top and bot lanes to withstand pressure. The result was constant small skirmishes in the jungle. Every time Xu Zhuo cleared a wave, he came to the jungle to harass Chi Shuo. He pretended to recall but actually camped in a bush for ages. The moment Chi Shuo passed by, the [Berserker] activated his frenzy skill and instantly deleted Chi Shuo.
Chi Shuo: "…"
Is it necessary to be this fierce?
The commentator joked, "Captain Xu seems to have a big grudge against this old friend!"
"Yueying's strategy this game is correct. Top and Bot already have lane advantage, so there's no need to keep ganking them. Sticking to the jungler like glue makes team fights much easier."
In the bot lane, Cheng Xing hid far away, secretly aiming and sniping minion waves. However, Yueying's support brought [Interference]. Xie Weiyu's [Machine Gun Hunter] brute-forced the tower without minions, taking down the bot tower in two waves.
Following that, the two of them grouped up to invade the jungle, stealing the Red Buff and rapidly snowballing their economy.
This game dragged on to 20 minutes. During a team fight, Xie Weiyu flashed to dodge Ye Shaoyang's control, escaping with a sliver of health, then turned around to deal damage with lifesteal equipment active.
Although Old Qin cut down the opposing mid laner and Chi Shuo killed the enemy jungler, Cheng Xing's crucial snipe was dodged by Xie Weiyu's positioning. Xie Weiyu survived until the end, coordinating with Xu Zhuo to quickly kill Tianhuan's front line, turning the tide of battle.
The two sides were tied 1:1 again.
"Remember back in Group A, Tianhuan and Yueying also tied 1:1, and Tianhuan won the deciding game. The same score has appeared again. I wonder if the result of the deciding game will be the same as in Group A?"
"If Yueying wins 2:1 against Tianhuan, based on current rankings, Yueying should make the Winner's Bracket. If they lose 1:2, then whether they make the Winner's Bracket depends on the results of teams like Binghun and Huowen."
"Yes. Captain Chi and Captain Xu are friends of many years, and Lieyang and Xiao Yu are also good friends. But personal relationships are personal; competition is competition. If Tianhuan deliberately went easy on Yueying, once the League Disciplinary Committee ruled it as passive play, Tianhuan would face suspension penalties. No one can afford such a result!"
"I believe the players know what they're doing; they won't go easy on the opponent. Even if Tianhuan is guaranteed a spot in the Winner's Bracket, they must play this match against Yueying properly."
Going easy during a match was equivalent to match-fixing.
The League Disciplinary Committee wasn't to be trifled with. No matter how bold Tianhuan was, they wouldn't dare to lose on purpose.
Fans speculated whether Tianhuan would bring out their Mid-Jungle synergy system for the third game. Surely Lieyang wouldn't continue playing a utility mid laner, right? Still relying on Old Qin for damage?
Facts proved…
Tianhuan was going to be hard-headed to the very end!
In the second game, Old Qin lost with [Twin Blades of Pain]. In the third game, he stubbornly picked [Twin Blades of Pain] again.
In the second game, Cheng Xing missed his key snipe with [Sharpshooter]. In the third game, he picked it again.
The fans were speechless.
[Can Tianhuan not be so arrogant? Daring to pick it again after losing?]
[Old Qin's Twin Blades of Pain is pretty trash. The thrown blades miss when flying back, the second-stage crit doesn't trigger, useless as a fart.]
[Xiao Xing's Sharpshooter accuracy isn't high either!]
[So they really are throwing? If they dare to maliciously throw, I'm turning from fan to anti!]
Tianhuan's hero selection in the third game indeed puzzled the fans. Some even questioned if Tianhuan wanted to lose on purpose. They just lost with this lineup; how did they dare to pick it again?
Coach Lin's intention, however, was very clear: "Where you fall, you get back up! There is no problem with the lineup, and no problem with the heroes. In the second game, you let the opponent dictate the tempo and played too passively. Correct it quickly in the third game."
Ye Shaoyang said, "Captain Chi, you command the deciding game? My commanding had some errors just now."
Chi Shuo whispered, "It's okay, I believe you can adjust."
Ye Shaoyang smiled. "Alright then. They invaded our jungle frantically; this game, we hit back."
In the second game, Tianhuan's jungle was frantically invaded by the opponent. Chi Shuo was ambushed by Xu Zhuo, his rhythm broken, and failed to farm well. This was key to Tianhuan losing the late-game team fight. So, for the deciding game, Ye Shaoyang adopted the "offense is the best defense" strategy, proactively invading the opponent's jungle.
Ye Shaoyang and Qin Yizhu, two bodyguards, escorted Chi Shuo to steal the enemy buff. In the bot lane, Qu Jiang escorted Cheng Xing to harass the enemy jungle. The smell of gunpowder was intense as soon as both sides met.
—First blood!
First blood was actually taken by Old Qin!
Who said Qin Yizhu's [Twin Blades of Pain] couldn't trigger the second-stage crit?
His thrown blades scraped the opposing jungler perfectly on the return trip, triggering a critical hit. The enemy jungler, crippled by the combined efforts of Ye Shaoyang and Chi Shuo, was finished off by Old Qin's blades.
Qin Yizhu said excitedly, "I haven't gotten first blood in years."
Ye Shaoyang praised, "Nice!"
In the bot lane, Cheng Xing landed a long-range snipe accurately on Xie Weiyu, crippling him and forcing Xie Weiyu to recall and heal.
The commentator said, "Tianhuan's opening invasion was played well. Yueying's jungler was killed and won't be able to gank for the next few minutes. Fortunately, Yueying has a utility jungler, so falling behind in equipment won't have a huge impact."
Xu Zhuo quickly adjusted his strategy. "Lane swap."
Yueying swapped lanes again.
Back in Group A, their sudden lane swap had caught Tianhuan off guard.
But this time, Tianhuan had experience. In the top lane, Qin Yizhu faced the combined double team of marksman + support. Withstanding the pressure, he recalled with critical health. Mid laner Ye Shaoyang quickly rotated to defend, clearing the minion wave and preventing the opponent from taking the tower.
Xu Zhuo's original goal with the lane swap was to break through the top lane ASAP, because in the bot lane, a single snipe from [Sharpshooter] could cripple Xie Weiyu, making the bot tower hard to push.
Swapping to top lane meant a 2v1 to quickly take the top tower and tear open Tianhuan's defense line.
Unexpectedly, Tianhuan's mid laner rotated to support so fast that Xie Weiyu and the support couldn't quickly take the top tower. In the bot lane, Xu Zhuo was sniped twice from a distance by Cheng Xing, dropping to about half health.
Just as he was about to recall, a figure popped out of the grass. Chi Shuo jumped on him unceremoniously, stunning him and unleashing a burst combo!
Chi Shuo's early game equipment wasn't good enough to one-shot a warrior. Seeing Xu Zhuo running away with a sliver of health, Cheng Xing crouched down in the distance—opened scope, aimed, and a bullet shot out instantly!
With a bang, the low-health warrior instantly fell to the ground.
—[Tianhuan Starlight (Sharpshooter) has slain YY Old Xu (Berserker)!]
Cheng Xing shouted excitedly, "Hit him, hit him!"
The marksman [Sharpshooter] needed teammates to provide vision so he could aim at enemies from a long distance. Just now, Chi Shuo went in with a burst combo to cripple Xu Zhuo, simultaneously helping Cheng Xing see Xu Zhuo's position clearly.
Cheng Xing landed a 180-degree flick snipe from long range, accurately hitting the low-health Xu Zhuo.
The coordination between master and apprentice was incredibly seamless.
Chi Shuo rarely praised his apprentice, but said, "Not bad."
Ye Shaoyang followed up with praise, "Good job Xiao Xing, push the tower fast!"
Cheng Xing: "Received!"
Cheng Xing rushed forward to hit the tower, grinding the enemy bot tower down to half health.
After Qin Yizhu respawned at base, he didn't go top but instead snuck to the mid lane.
Ye Shaoyang pressed "Initiate Attack" and used a control skill to seal the enemy mid laner. Old Qin immediately Flashed in, his dual blades thrown and retracted rapidly, dealing 4 consecutive crits and instantly deleting the enemy mid laner!
The sudden joint attack by Tianhuan's Qin and Ye caught Yueying's mid laner completely off guard.
Although Yueying's lane swap eventually took down the top tower, their own mid laner and top laner were killed, resulting in a net loss. Tianhuan simply used mid lane as a breakthrough point. Top and Marksman both went to help mid, taking down the mid tower at maximum speed.
The third game dragged on to the ultra-late game at 25 minutes.
Team Yueying retreated to defend the high ground, defending tenaciously and repelling three consecutive waves of Tianhuan's attacks.
After Tianhuan killed the Big Dragon (Baron), they forced their way onto the high ground with the Dragon buff. Qin Yizhu decisively Flashed in, swinging his dual blades to cut the enemy backline. Chi Shuo followed up closely with damage, forcing the enemy mid and marksman to retreat.
Cheng Xing stood at a super long range, aiming and sniping, killing a low-health enemy with one shot.
In the blink of an eye, two of Yueying's front-liners were killed, and the high ground tower was brute-forced down. The remaining three quickly returned to base to heal to full. They wanted to come out and defend the nexus, but they couldn't hold it anymore.
Old Qin and Chi Shuo protected the minion wave at the front, while Cheng Xing fired frantically at the tower from a distance until the crystal shattered with a boom.
—Victory!
The golden word for victory popped up.
Netizens who were scolding Tianhuan for being stubborn in the livestream chat changed their attitudes one after another.
[Tianhuan 666]
[Old Qin plays warrior side pretty well?]
[In the last team fight, Xiao Xing's Sharpshooter fired 5 shots and hit 4, directly forcing the opponents back.]
The two commentators said excitedly, "So, it wasn't a problem with the heroes at all! Tianhuan's lineup is actually quite good. Losing the second game but adjusting immediately in the third shows that the players have very strong psychological resilience."
"Exactly. Getting up from where you fell—this kind of adjustment ability is something only a top-tier strong team possesses!"
"Congratulations to Tianhuan for winning this match 2:1!"
Inside the soundproof booth, Cheng Xing said excitedly, "Everyone is awesome!"
In the past, every time they won a match, he would say Master is awesome, Brother Yang is awesome. Because most of the time, it was the Mid-Jungle synergy carrying everyone else to victory.
But today, Cheng Xing just wanted to say: Everyone was amazing.
Tianhuan's Top and Bot lanes could also stand up and play their part.
Although Tianhuan's support died the most times, Qu Jiang protected Cheng Xing at critical moments every time today, proving to be the team's most reliable bodyguard.
Their Tianhuan, a team that started relying solely on Mid-Jungle, had progressed gradually from Group B to Group A, then to Group S. Now, they had finally become a more comprehensive and well-rounded team.
These days, the pressure training of day and night disadvantaged games had pushed the players to their limits.
Cheng Xing and Old Qin were flashing to escape even in their dreams.
They just… didn't want to be a burden to Chi Shuo and Ye Shaoyang.
The final result delighted everyone. Playing against Team Yueying, who had strong top and marksman lanes, they abandoned the Mid-Jungle synergy and relied on Top and Bot withstanding pressure to drag it to late-game team fights—and they actually won!
Cheng Xing jumped up and hugged Qu Jiang and Qin Yizhu excitedly.
Ye Shaoyang walked over smiling to hug them, while Chi Shuo opened his arms and gently embraced all his teammates.
—These were his best teammates.
Season 10's Tianhuan was also the Tianhuan with the warmest atmosphere, the most united players, and the strongest capability in history.
The future of Team Tianhuan was promising.