The lineups for the second game were quickly finalized.
In this game, Tianhuan's top laner didn't choose a meat tank but instead picked a warrior side laner, [Kung Fu Master], who had fast wave-clearing speed and strong damage output capability. In the marksman position, since [Wind Elf] and [Sharpshooter] were still banned by the opposing team, Cheng Xing took [Holy Spirit Archer]. This marksman was more late-game oriented and needed farm, but had a very long attack range.
The support chosen was [Seraphim], and the jungler was [Sword Immortal].
Beimu's mid laner was the mage assassin [Illusionist], side laners were [Berserker] and [Painful Twin Blades]—still dual warriors, foregoing a marksman. The jungler was the utility [Swordsman], and the support was [Shield of Light] to tank damage.
Seeing this, Mu Mu analyzed, "Tianhuan's mid and jungle have both switched heroes. [Moonlight Mage] has strong sustained damage capability; his basic attacks can shoot moon blades, causing considerable magic damage, and his ultimate is an area-of-effect moon blade strafe. The jungler [Sword Immortal] can execute three dashes, coming and going freely, making him very agile."
Brother Dong said, "With this lineup from Tianhuan, the mid laner, marksman, top laner, and jungler all have damage output capabilities, making it easier to fight than in the first game. But overall, this lineup is a bit squishy. The support [Seraphim] is a hero with moderate defense, not comparable to a meat tank. When Tianhuan team fights, they might not be able to withstand the opposing team's burst?"
Mu Mu said, "Beimu's lineup, [Shield of Light] is a pure tank, with stronger defense than Tianhuan. The jungler is a control utility who can also build tank items, while the dual side laners and mid laner are responsible for damage output. The mid laner [Illusionist] has strong burst capability and can insta-kill someone with a combo. The threat of the dual side laners to the backline remains huge."
Brother Dong smiled and said, "Beimu's lineup is more comprehensive, but Tianhuan's advantage is their long range! Tianhuan's lineup is a bit like a poke strategy: consume from a distance, cripple the opponent first, and then let the jungler enter to harvest."
Mu Mu agreed, "For team fights, it still depends on whether Beimu can kill Tianhuan's carry quickly enough."
The game started quickly.
In the first game, Chi Shuo and Ye Shaoyang teamed up to invade and snatched 3 buffs at the start. In this game, Beimu was obviously more vigilant, splitting up to defend right at the beginning. In the upper jungle, Zhao Xin'an and Sean guarded the Red Buff together, while three people guarded the Blue Buff in the lower jungle. Chi Shuo dashed over to check, couldn't snatch a buff, and had to go back to clear his own jungle.
Both sides farmed steadily. Ye Shaoyang cleared minions quickly in the mid lane.
Before level 6, [Moonlight Mage]'s damage output was higher than [Illusionist]'s because [Illusionist]'s skills had cooldowns, but [Moonlight Mage] could continuously use basic attacks to clear minions.
Ye Shaoyang cleared the wave a step ahead and helped Chi Shuo take the river crab. The mid-lane river crab was snatched by the two working together, putting Chi Shuo's level higher than the enemy jungler. However, the enemy jungler gave the Blue Buff to Sean, so Sean's level was higher than Ye Shaoyang's, and he would reach level 6 before Ye Shaoyang.
[Illusionist]'s first burst at level 6 was very fierce. Illusion Stun, Illusion Missiles, Illusion Shards—a full combo could solo-kill 80% of squishy mid lane heroes.
Ye Shaoyang kept an eye on Sean's experience bar and level, calculating the experience from every minion wave. When the opponent was at level 5 and a half, he quickly retreated, hiding in the bush on the side of his own jungle to observe movements.
Upgrade light soon flashed on Sean's [Illusionist]. He had wanted to kill Ye Shaoyang but found the opponent had vanished. Guessing Ye Shaoyang was hiding in the bush behind the tower, Sean brought the minion wave over and waited patiently for Ye Shaoyang to show himself.
Ye Shaoyang squatted in the bush, observing carefully. When the minion wave was hit by the defense tower down to a single drop of health, he suddenly stepped forward with a Q skill [Moon Blade Rapid Fire], quickly last-hitting and clearing this wave of minions.
Seeing him reveal himself, Sean decisively used a dash skill to move forward, used W to stun him, and then followed up with a QR combo, intending to insta-kill him.
However, the moment Sean made his move, Ye Shaoyang immediately used Flash!
Their skills were activated almost simultaneously. The result was that although Sean stunned Ye Shaoyang, the QR skills were out of range and couldn't hit him.
Sean decisively Flashed to follow and continued with the subsequent combo.
—[Beimu Sean (Illusionist) killed Tianhuan Lieyang (Moonlight Mage)]!
—[Tianhuan Lieyang (Moonlight Mage) killed Beimu Sean (Illusionist)]!
Two messages popped up one after another.
Since the minion wave was cleared, the defense tower attacked enemies within range. When Ye Shaoyang was clearing minions just now, a few basic attacks hit Sean. Although Sean tower-dived and killed him, he was also killed by the defense tower.
The result was that just as Ye Shaoyang fell in the mid lane, Sean also died.
Mu Mu said excitedly, "This is a kill trade in the mid lane!"
Brother Dong laughed, "Sean attacked Lieyang first and got the First Blood gold reward; but Lieyang intentionally hit him while clearing minions just now, so Sean was killed by the defense tower, and the kill counts towards Lieyang. This trade isn't a loss."
When the opponent tower-dives to kill you, if you only run, eventually not only will the opponent kill you, but you also won't get the kill reward for the opponent. Ye Shaoyang calculated that Sean would definitely kill him this wave, so he cut his losses in time, hit the opponent a few times, and trading kills wasn't a loss.
The support capability of a burst mage assassin like [Illusionist] was far higher than that of [Moonlight Mage]. As long as Sean died, Tianhuan's top and bot lanes could farm peacefully for a while.
There was no need to worry about the top lane. Old Qin's [Kung Fu Master] in this game was relatively agile and had dash skills. Although Xiao Zhao's [Berserker] had high burst, a single combo couldn't insta-kill [Kung Fu Master]. Even if Old Qin couldn't beat him in lane, he wouldn't be solo-killed either. At most, he would play safe, clear minions, farm, and wait for late-game team fights.
In the bot lane, Cheng Xing's [Holy Spirit Archer] had a very long attack range and could clear minion waves while standing under the tower. Zhao Xinping couldn't easily tower-dive to kill the marksman and could only control the river crab, scrounging for gold from the details.
Chi Shuo indeed supported the bot lane at level 6. The three of them joined forces to drive Zhao Xinping back, then immediately started the Small Dragon.
Mu Mu said, "Supporting bot lane first at level 6, driving back the opponent, and taking the opportunity to take the Small Dragon—this seems to be a rhythm Captain Chi prefers? He played like this in the last game too."
Brother Dong said, "In the last game, Xiao Zhao supported very quickly and teamed up with Sean to insta-kill Lieyang. But in this game, Lieyang and Sean just traded kills 1v1 in the mid lane, and both went home. Tianhuan should be able to secure this small dragon steadily. Xiao Zhao is too far away; it's too late for him to come over."
As the commentators expected, Beimu's jungler gave the buffs to teammates at the start and was only level 4 and a half now. Zhao Xinping was beaten to half health by Chi Shuo's long-range teleport combo. In a 3v3 in the lower jungle, Beimu was definitely not a match for the full-health Tianhuan. Zhao Xin'an couldn't make it in time and didn't plan to come over, so they could only give up the Small Dragon.
It was just one Small Dragon; the impact wasn't significant.
But looking at dragon control, Chi Shuo's jungling rhythm was indeed much better than Beimu's jungler. He arrived at the battlefield a step ahead of the opponent every time. Beimu's players and coach were also well aware of this.
Their strength had always been the three lanes, while contesting jungle resources was their weakness. As long as they stabilized the three lanes, pushed towers quickly, and in team fights, Beimu's dual side laners' combat power was off the charts—instantly cutting down the opposing dual carries would make winning easy.
At 10 minutes into the game, the economic gap between the two sides hadn't widened.
Chi Shuo was still the fattest point on the field. He took all the jungle resources, snatched the Small Dragon and the mid lane river crab, farming very well. On Beimu's side, the Zhao siblings' economy was basically even, meaning they collected every single minion and river crab in the top and bottom lanes without missing any.
In the mid lane, Sean's economy was slightly higher than Ye Shaoyang's, mainly because the First Blood reward was a few dozen gold higher.
Cheng Xing and Old Qin were still suppressed, but fortunately, neither died, nor did they miss minion waves. Although they couldn't snatch the river crab experience, they didn't fall behind much, which was within an acceptable range.
In the mid lane, Ye Shaoyang cleared minions faster than Sean. After clearing, he circled through his own jungle to help Chi Shuo invade. Old Qin also came to support. The three grouped up to harass the opposing Red Buff, and Beimu's three members immediately defended.
In a 3v3 in the jungle, Ye Shaoyang hid at an ultra-long distance and strafed with his ultimate, quickly whittling the opposing three down to low health; Sean flanked and insta-killed Lieyang with a burst combo, but Chi Shuo immediately dashed over and insta-killed Sean.
Mu Mu said excitedly, "Both mid laners traded kills again!"
"The two mid laners are playing this game very fiercely?"
"The top laner is also fierce! Xiao Zhao directly activated his berserk ultimate and killed Old Qin. Of course, Old Qin dealt all his damage before dying, leaving Xiao Zhao with only a sliver of health… Captain Chi collected another head!"
"[Sword Immortal] is a mechanically difficult jungler. You need to pre-stack dashes. The dash skill is only valid for 5 seconds, easily going on cooldown and breaking the combo. With 3 dashes, he can chase or flee, very agile."
"Captain Chi has brought out [Sword Immortal] in previous matches too, and his record is quite good. In this exchange, he seized the entry timing accurately, first insta-killing Sean, then Xiao Zhao, and casually using Smite to snatch the Red Buff. A 2-for-2 trade in the jungle plus stealing a buff and getting a double kill—massive profit!"
"Beimu's jungler wanted to chase him, but couldn't catch up at all. Tianhuan's mid-jungle synergy in 3v3 skirmishes is actually quite strong. Lieyang used snake-like positioning to block the jungle entrance just now, strafing the three opponents to low health, making it very comfortable for Captain Chi to harvest."
In this exchange, on the surface, Sean insta-killed Ye Shaoyang, Zhao Xin'an insta-killed Old Qin, and Chi Shuo consecutively killed the low-health Sean and Xiao Zhao. Both sides lost 2 people, seeming like a draw.
However, Tianhuan's kills were concentrated on Chi Shuo, and Chi Shuo got a double kill!
Chi Shuo already had a high economy, and this double kill sent him taking off directly.
Zhao Xinping frowned immediately. "We can't let Chi Shuo continue farming. Group up mid and force a push to interrupt their rhythm of harassing the jungle!"
Chi Shuo's jungling rhythm was indeed strong; the title of world-class jungler wasn't for nothing. In this game for Beimu, the jungle fell into passivity from the start, suffering repeated invasions by Chi Shuo, and the Small Dragon was also totally controlled by Chi Shuo. If they let him continue snowballing the economy, Chi Shuo would become a Boss difficult to deal with in the late game.
Beimu was strong in the three lanes and 5v5 team fights. They must use their own advantages to break Tianhuan's rhythm.
And the best way to interrupt the opponent's jungle invasion was to group up and force a push!
Beimu's 5 members quickly gathered in the mid lane. You wouldn't just give up the mid tower, right?
[Moonlight Mage]'s moon blades fired in a straight line, dealing magic damage only upon impact. As long as Beimu's support [Shield of Light] stood in the front line and raised his light shield to block the moon blades, Moonlight Mage wouldn't even be able to clear minions, let alone kill people.
So, if Beimu grouped to push the mid lane, it was very likely they could take down the mid tower in one wave.
Tianhuan must send people to defend!
Ye Shaoyang pinged a mark in the mid lane, and Chi Shuo immediately commanded, "Defend mid."
Old Qin, Qu Jiang, and Cheng Xing rushed over quickly.
Both sides gathered in the mid lane. This was the first 5v5 team fight after the stalemate until now. The outcome of this team fight could very well influence the final result. Both sides were cautious. Before the team fight started, Cheng Xing didn't dare expose his position, hiding far away in the grass. The opposing Zhao Xinping and Sean also didn't show their faces, hidden from vision.
Until the mid lane minion waves met in the middle of the map, icons crowded the minimap, and the front lines of both sides appeared to clear minions, the situation became increasingly tense—
Zhao Xin'an said decisively, "Force engage!"
The support [Shield of Light] jumped over with his shield raised. The giant shield descended from the sky, directly stunning Old Qin, who was clearing minions. Naturally, their target wasn't to kill Old Qin, but to find the marksman and mage.
But the two squishies, Ye Shaoyang and Cheng Xing, stood too far away. Cheng Xing was in the grass, using his Q skill's enhanced basic attacks to rapid-fire, quickly chipping cracks into the opposing support's shield.
Zhao Xinping narrowed her eyes. After spotting Cheng Xing's position, she quickly flanked, wanting to forcefully kill Cheng Xing.
Cheng Xing seemed to smell a hint of danger and Flashed over the wall to escape!
But as a squishy, he couldn't outrun a warrior with dashes.
Zhao Xinping activated her dash for rapid pursuit, twin blades flying continuously from her hands. Cheng Xing fought while running, running all the way near the Red Buff, but ultimately fell helplessly under Sister Xinping's sharp blades.
Ye Shaoyang popped up in the mid lane and activated his ultimate. Countless crescent-shaped blades shot out like a storm. Zhao Xin'an and Sean wanted to team up to insta-kill Ye Shaoyang. Just then, Qu Jiang's [Seraphim] suddenly took flight—
The [Seraphim] with golden wings flew over instantly, picked up [Moonlight Mage], and flew together into the side bush.
[Moonlight Mage]'s ultimate was originally shooting straight towards the mid lane. As a result of being repositioned by his teammate, the storm-like blades strafed frantically from the side, catching Beimu off guard—
What is snake-like positioning?
Ye Shaoyang gave the audience a personal demonstration.
[Moonlight Mage] moved quickly in an S-shape, moon blades shooting from his hands. Zhao Xin'an and Sean wanted to kill him, but just as they rushed over, Ye Shaoyang was carried away by Qu Jiang.
The two pounced on empty air and were also strafed by a wave of Ye Shaoyang's ultimate from the side.
The dense moon blades were like bullets from a machine gun. One wave of strafing directly whittled all 4 Beimu members to low health!
Zhao Xin'an hurriedly activated his dash to escape. Just as he retreated out of the moon blades' strafing range, a snow-white afterimage suddenly darted out from the distance like lightning, taking his head with an ultimate.
—[Tianhuan Shuoyue (Sword Immortal) killed Beimu Reporter Zhao (Berserker)]
Zhao Xin'an wanted to vomit blood and hurriedly shouted, "Retreat, retreat, retreat!"
Teammates retreated quickly.
In the mid lane team fight, a 1-for-1 trade. Beimu gained no advantage and was collectively whittled to low health, forced to go home. Zhao Xinping looked at the economy of Chi Shuo and Ye Shaoyang on the match panel, a very bad premonition rising in her heart.
Tianhuan's lineup this game had too long a reach.
The biggest advantage of Beimu's dual side lane warriors was high burst, able to insta-kill the backline.
But the biggest disadvantage was: short legs, very close damage range.
A short-legged lineup feared a long-reach lineup. Once you couldn't catch the opponent, you would be kited.
Ye Shaoyang and Cheng Xing, the two damage points, both had very long attack ranges and positioned themselves particularly far back during team fights. To cut them down, Beimu's dual sides had to use Flash + dash to reach them.
However, Tianhuan also had a support who could carry teammates away.
Once Beimu's dual sides used Flash and dashes but still couldn't kill the opponent, and the opponent was carried away by support to kite from a distance, Beimu would fall into complete passivity.
It had to be said, Tianhuan chose their lineup really well this game.
Just now, when she went to cut Cheng Xing, Xiao Xing deliberately ran towards the Red Buff to lure her away. Although she eventually killed Xiao Xing, she couldn't help in the team fight over here.
Zhao Xin'an and Sean went to cut Ye Shaoyang, used a bunch of skills, and Qu Jiang carried Ye Shaoyang away! This felt as uncomfortable as a cooked duck flying away.
The support [Seraphim] could carry opponents to kill them or carry teammates away. Tianhuan choosing [Moonlight Mage] mid paired with [Seraphim] support this game was a popular tactic in the European region called "Repositioning Strafe."
If the mid laner used his ultimate to attack from the front, it was like setting up a machine gun to strafe the opponent head-on. As long as the opponent wasn't blind, they would definitely send a meat tank to block damage in front or move to dodge.
However, the support holding the mid laner to adjust position and suddenly strafing you from an unexpected, tricky angle.
You wouldn't have time to dodge!
The team fight just now was like this. Beimu was charging forward, but the storm-like moon blades suddenly swept from the side. Caught off guard, the group was collectively strafed to low health. The jungler Chi Shuo, lying in ambush ahead of time, then seized the opportunity to enter, easily harvesting the low-health heads and repelling the opponent's offensive.
Sean also discovered this and said, "The key to their lineup is Moonlight Mage. Must insta-kill him."
Zhao Xinping said calmly, "He's hiding too far; we can't catch him. Support build speed items, jungler build tank items to block his moon blades, ambush and kill the mid laner."
Teammates immediately said, "Understood."
Beimu's first wave of offense was repelled.
Chi Shuo said, "Xiao Xing take the lower jungle resources after respawning, Shaoyang take the upper jungle."
Currently, Chi Shuo's economy was sufficient to complete his core items. He looked at the match panel and found that Ye Shaoyang and Cheng Xing were still short some money for key equipment, so he gave up all jungle resources.
Both said in unison, "Received."
Ye Shaoyang went to the jungle. Chi Shuo beat the Blue Buff to a sliver of health and let him take it.
In the bot lane, Qu Jiang protected Cheng Xing to farm the jungle quickly.
After resources in both jungle areas were cleared, Ye Shaoyang completed a key item, and Cheng Xing also completed [Holy Spirit Archer]'s core crit item. Damage output increased significantly; they could join team fights.
The match reached 15 minutes. Beimu ambushed in the mid lane.
Ye Shaoyang noticed the opposing mid laner was absent and didn't dare leave the tower to clear minions, but the opposing jungler charged directly under the tower. Sean and Xiao Zhao followed closely with dashes, insta-killing Ye Shaoyang with a combo.
Ye Shaoyang: "…"
3 people squatting him here, truly VIP treatment!
Chi Shuo frowned, "They've started targeting mid lane."
Ye Shaoyang said, "3 people squatting me, isn't the aggro a bit too much?"
Qu Jiang joked, "Team fights can be lost, Lieyang must die—haven't you heard this rumor?"
Ye Shaoyang looked innocent. "There's such a rumor?"
Chi Shuo said calmly, "Cheng Xing come cover this wave in mid, I'll cover bot."
Cheng Xing and Qu Jiang, who were farming, circled from their own jungle to cover the mid lane minion wave. Chi Shuo went to bot lane to clear minions. However, Sean and Zhao Xin'an roamed to the top lane with their jungler. Old Qin was last-hitting under the tower, and Beimu's three members actually tower-dived to kill him.
Support tanked the tower, Sean landed a control, and Zhao Xin'an activated berserk to insta-kill Old Qin with a combo.
"Beimu's combined roam of top, mid, and jungle this wave snatched back the rhythm. Killing two people in a row and pushing down the top tower!"
"Fortunately, Tianhuan's rotation speed for defense was fast; mid and bot lanes held."
"However, once the top tower falls, Old Qin will be pinned by the top lane minion wave; and after Xiao Zhao is liberated, he can join team fights at maximum speed. It depends on whether Beimu can catch an opportunity in the next wave."
The two commentators stared unblinkingly at the screen.
At 18 minutes into the match, Tianhuan had only lost one top tower. This game was obviously going to be a late-game again. The two teams were evenly matched. Beimu's first offense was repelled by Tianhuan, but Beimu quickly found their rhythm and fought back.
After Ye Shaoyang respawned, what would be the next strategy for both sides?
Invade the jungle? Take the dragon? Or group push mid?
At this point in time, everyone's key items were completed.
The economic gap hadn't widened in this game. Both sides were matched in strength. Team fights depended entirely on the players' performance. Often, a single positioning error by one person could lead to a team wipe.
Inside the soundproof booth, all players looked solemn. The atmosphere in the arena became noticeably tense.
Beimu chose to start the dragon, seizing the initiative.
The Baron had respawned and been left untouched by both sides until now. Beimu suddenly starting the dragon at this time was actually forcing a fight. Chi Shuo knew this very well, but he couldn't just give it to the opponent.
Tianhuan had lost one tower. Once the opponent got the Baron, Tianhuan would fall into a disadvantage. Chi Shuo glanced at the minimap and decisively pinged near the dragon pit: "Gather."
Tianhuan's 5 members gathered quickly.
Chi Shuo: "Old Qin go check vision."
Old Qin checked vision and found only Zhao Xin'an and the jungler killing the dragon in the pit; the others weren't there. Old Qin immediately said, "They are ambushing nearby, be careful!"
Chi Shuo had anticipated this and immediately said, "Retreat towards Blue Buff."
Everyone retreated quickly, but Beimu's support had built speed items. With speed boost activated, 5 people rushed over like the wind. The Zhao siblings flanked from behind, charging straight for the key carry Ye Shaoyang!
Ye Shaoyang was tough, casting a Q skill directly on the spot.
Moon blades fell from the sky like raindrops. You two want to cut me? You'll have to shed a layer of skin yourselves.
Cheng Xing and Ye Shaoyang positioned themselves very far apart. The dual carries absolutely could not stand together; otherwise, the opponent could cut down two at once. Therefore, Cheng Xing and Ye Shaoyang maintained a certain distance, one standing on the left, one on the right.
[Holy Spirit Archer] had a long attack range. When Zhao Xin'an came to cut Ye Shaoyang, Cheng Xing could also rapid-fire frantically from the side! The result was that before Zhao Xin'an killed Ye Shaoyang, he himself was beaten to half health by the mage's moon blades and the marksman's enhanced basic attacks. Zhao Xinping's twin blades flew out quickly, turning Ye Shaoyang into a sliver of health in the blink of an eye.
Ye Shaoyang decisively Flashed over the wall!
Qu Jiang was protecting on the flank. Seeing this, he immediately flew over and carried Ye Shaoyang away.
At this moment, Ye Shaoyang's health bar was flashing red, with only one drop of health left.
Qu Jiang's rescue was extremely timely!
Flash plus the support carrying him, Ye Shaoyang suddenly ran from near the Blue Buff to near the mid tower. He ran too far; the short-legged warriors couldn't reach him at all.
Ye Shaoyang, carried to near the mid tower, backhanded an ultimate—
Dense moon blades shot towards the jungle from an ultra-long distance, directly sealing off the movement of Beimu's two warriors!
Zhao Xin'an and Zhao Xinping: "…"
Affected by the "slow" effect, the two couldn't move in the jungle.
Mu Mu said excitedly, "Lieyang's fourth item is [Extreme Cold Ice Staff]. When skills hit opponents, it triggers a small area slow effect! His ultimate 'Moon Blade Strafe' has a wide area. After being carried away by support, strafing the jungle from near the mid tower—due to the narrow jungle terrain, this skill is very hard to dodge!"
Brother Dong said, "Xiao Xing is positioned very far away. After Beimu's dual sides are slowed, they can't catch up to him."
Mu Mu said, "That's right. Tianhuan's mid-support coordination this wave was brilliant! Lieyang was saved by support at low health, backhanded an ultimate—not only dealing full damage but also slowing everyone from Beimu who rushed into the jungle! Long reach vs. short reach, with the short reach side slowed—no matter how powerful Beimu's dual sides are, they can't chase and harvest!"
Brother Dong said, "But Tianhuan's jungler can harvest."
Chi Shuo hid on the side, activated his ultimate and charged directly into the jungle, instantly cutting down Zhao Xin'an.
Cheng Xing fought while running, arrow by arrow crippling Zhao Xinping who was chasing him, who was then harvested by Chi Shuo dashing over.
Beimu's 5 members sped into the jungle wanting to forcefully kill Ye Shaoyang. As a result, Old Qin blocked Sean. Sean could only kill Old Qin blocking in front. Ye Shaoyang escaped with a sliver of health, backhanded an ultimate, and assisted Chi Shuo in counter-killing the Zhao siblings!
"This wave was a 1-for-2 trade; Tianhuan profited massively!"
"Originally, Beimu ambushed Tianhuan, wanting to speed-rush a wave and catch Tianhuan off guard. But now it seems Tianhuan anticipated their ambush and was prepared to counterattack."
"Should the MVP of this team fight go to Qu Jiang? He saved his own mid laner at the most critical moment and found an excellent output position for his teammate! Lieyang was taken under the tower and strafed the jungle frantically. The opposing warriors couldn't reach him at all; it was so comfortable, sweeping a full ultimate directly."
"The support's rescue was critical. If Lieyang had died, Tianhuan definitely would have lost this wave. But the support saved him very timely, and the position he was put in was also found very cleverly. Don't forget, Qu Jiang used to be a mid laner too. He knows where the best position for a mid laner to output damage is!"
Long before playing against Team Yueying, Ye Shaoyang had said that Qu Jiang, as once the most stable mid laner, didn't necessarily have to choose meat shields to tank damage and protect Xiao Xing. Perhaps, he could achieve more.
In this game, Tianhuan's true strategy wasn't actually mid-jungle synergy, but mid-support synergy.
Qu Jiang didn't protect Cheng Xing, letting Xiao Xing fend for himself; he only protected the main carry mid laner.
As a former mid laner, Qu Jiang knew when [Moonlight Mage] should use skills and where the best position to use skills was. Precisely because he knew mid lane heroes incomparably well, he could think what Ye Shaoyang thought and predict Ye Shaoyang's next move.
Tianhuan in this game didn't just have one mid lane carry.
But two mid laners fighting together!
Qu Jiang was Ye Shaoyang's right-hand man, Ye Shaoyang's eyes, Ye Shaoyang's protective umbrella, and another dash skill. When Ye Shaoyang was in low health, Qu Jiang could take him away from the battlefield immediately; when Ye Shaoyang wanted to output damage, Qu Jiang could take him to the safest output position in time.
Who said Tianhuan only had mid-jungle synergy and other positions were weaklings?
Had the opponents forgotten that Qu Jiang was once the mid laner with the lowest error rate in the entire league?
This team fight repelled Beimu's speed-rush offensive. Chi Shuo immediately followed up and took the Baron with Cheng Xing.
Tianhuan instantly snatched back the rhythm, pushing down three opposing defense towers in a row.
In the subsequent game, although Beimu kept trying to find opportunities to insta-kill Ye Shaoyang, Ye Shaoyang, protected by Qu Jiang, was equivalent to having two dashes. Coupled with snake-like positioning and ultra-long-range moon blade strafing, Beimu had a massive headache.
Ultimately, Tianhuan pushed the high ground directly with the Baron buff. Ye Shaoyang strafing from afar, Cheng Xing sniping from afar, forcibly forcing the opponent back.
Once the high ground tower fell, the crystal couldn't be defended either.
Mu Mu's voice was excited: "Congratulations to Tianhuan for taking the second game!"
"The MVP of this game… indeed goes to the support, the support with 0 kills, 0 deaths, and 7 assists. Although the mid laner had high damage output and the jungler collected many heads this game, in several team fights, the support's rescue and positional adjustments allowed the mid laner to deal full damage. It can be said he saved teammates from fire and water, the key to assisting teammates in counter-killing!"
"A player who switched from mid to support, coordinating with a mid laner—the tacit understanding is indeed there."
Inside the soundproof booth, Ye Shaoyang took off his headphones and ran over to hug Qu Jiang tightly: "Good job!"
Qu Jiang hugged him back, his eyes suddenly stinging.
Actually, when Shaoyang first came to Tianhuan and the coach asked Qu Jiang to give up the mid lane position, he was polite on the surface, didn't want to trouble his teammates, and accepted the position switch calmly. But he also had doubts in his heart—Is my mid lane really that bad? So I have to give it to a rookie?
Later, after spending time with Ye Shaoyang, he found that Shaoyang was indeed better than him. His hero pool was more comprehensive, his playstyle more fierce, and his coordination with Chi Shuo more tacit.
So he willingly became a support, protecting Xiao Xing conscientiously.
As long as they could win, he would do anything.
Ye Shaoyang proposed the mid-support synergy for this game. He still remembered Ye Shaoyang smiling and telling him, "Because our Tianhuan has two mid laners. We can do things that only two mid laners can do."
—Yes, Tianhuan not only had mid-jungle synergy but also dual-mid-laner synergy.
Qu Jiang's stable psychological quality and excellent overall view shouldn't be buried. He wasn't just Cheng Xing's bodyguard; he could also seize opportunities, find output points, and tear open the opponent's defense line!
If Ye Shaoyang was that sharp machine gun, Qu Jiang in this game was the gunner adjusting the machine gun's direction. Their coordinated strafing, long reach vs. short reach, made Beimu's warriors feel like their feet were stuck in a quagmire.
The MVP of this game, Qu Jiang, deserved it.