The following afternoon, the S10 World Invitational Solo Tournament's "8-into-4" quarterfinals officially kicked off at the Seoul esports arena. Among the players who reached the Top 8, there were 3 Assassins, 3 Fighters, and 2 Mid-Laners.
By a twist of fate in the brackets, the two Mid-Laners happened to crash into each other.
Mitchell, representing the North American region, debuted in S8 and won the "Best Rookie" award that year. Now in S10, he was a seasoned veteran with three seasons of experience, and his performance in this season's regular games had been remarkable.
His opponent, TH-Sunshine, was known as a "Mid-Lane Great Demon King" by fans in the Chinese region, but audiences elsewhere knew very little about him, viewing him simply as a newcomer from China.
As a world-class Mid-Laner, Mitchell's fame far eclipsed Ye Shaoyang's. Most viewers believed Mitchell would easily handle a rookie. On the pre-match betting platform, a staggering 70% supported Mitchell to win, while only 30% backed Lieyang.
Ye Shaoyang was indifferent to the external noise. He focused solely on preparation. Chi Shuo had also spent time editing Mitchell's past match footage, analyzing his playstyle with Ye Shaoyang to find the perfect counter-strategies.
At 3:00 PM, the Chinese delegation entered the arena. A reporter conducted a brief interview with Ye Shaoyang: "Yang-yang, facing Mitchell in a Mid-Lane civil war today, are you confident you can win? The fans back home are very concerned about your state."
Ye Shaoyang smiled and waved at the camera. "Thank you, everyone, for the concern. I've faced Mitchell before in training matches. I'm not nervous today; I'll just do my best to play well."
The reporter encouraged him: "Good luck!"
Ye Shaoyang gave a "fighting" gesture to the camera and walked into the preparation room with Chi Shuo.
In the adjacent prep room, Mitchell was rubbing his palms together while messaging his coach: "I'm taking [Abyssal Lord] against Lieyang today. Not only can he play it, but I can too! Last time he solo-killed me with it in training; this time, I'm taking that kill back!"
The coach reminded him: "Don't get too excited. Don't let it get to your head. Stay calm."
Mitchell's style was hot-blooded and aggressive, making him prone to impulsive plays. Although he had matured significantly this season, the coach still worried that personal feelings might lead him to throw the match.
Mitchell replied: "Don't worry, I won't lose my head today. I will definitely stay calm."
The match was about to begin. Ye Shaoyang and Mitchell stepped onto the grand stage to bow to the audience. Their eyes met, and Ye Shaoyang even offered Mitchell a friendly smile, saying, "Good luck."
Mitchell: "…?"
What does he mean 'Good luck'? Is this psychological warfare?
The two entered their respective soundproof booths. In the center of the massive stage, only the two of them sat under the dazzling spotlights. Ye Shaoyang looked composed, quickly debugging his equipment.
The official Korean commentators introduced the players: "Mitchell, someone everyone is very familiar with, the star mid-laner from North America's FNO! A world-class talent! And TH-Sunshine, a rookie from China's Tianhuan, participating in his first world tournament!"
"We see that 70% of people on the betting platform support Mitchell! The odds for Sunshine's winning coins have reached triple!"
Yao Mu and Brother Dong were broadcasting to the Chinese audience from the commentary booth. Hearing this, Brother Dong said with mixed emotions, "Since the Korean audience doesn't know Lieyang, only 30% guessed he'd win. However, support rates don't equal win rates. Mitchell has experience and popularity, but I think Lieyang has a real shot in this mid-lane duel."
Yao Mu agreed: "Yes, Lieyang is the last remaining seed for the Chinese region in this World Invitational. I hope he can go further and break into the Top 4!"
The fans at home were anxious. The Chinese region's results had been poor lately, with no trophies in S9. In S10, they didn't even send a Duo pair, leaving only Ye Shaoyang in the Solo category. Almost all hopes and pressures were resting on his shoulders.
An average rookie might be paralyzed by nerves, but the camera showed Lieyang looking calm with a light smile, which allowed fans to breathe a slight sigh of relief. Still, they couldn't fully relax until the match ended. After all, his opponent was Mitchell.
In Korea, Park Won-seok was hailed as the world's best Mid-Laner, but in terms of global popularity over the last two years, Mitchell was arguably the top Mid-Lane star, even more famous than Zhou Jiawen on the international server.
Game 1 started.
In a Mid-Lane civil war, the draft strategy differs from other classes. You don't worry about assassins or fighters stealing your picks, but since both are Mid-Laners, securing meta heroes requires fast hands.
In the first round, Mitchell instantly locked [Abyssal Lord], clearly confident in his mastery of the hero. Ye Shaoyang thought for a moment and selected [Earth Mage].
Yao Mu analyzed: "Yang-yang picking [Earth Mage] against [Abyssal Lord] suggests he wants to use rocks and walls for zone control, restricting the movement of the opponent's shadows. Theoretically, shadows cannot jump over walls, so it's a viable counter."
Brother Dong added: "But [Earth Mage] is very squishy. If [Abyssal Lord] Flashes over the rock obstacles to one-shot him, he might not survive. A control mage vs. a mage-assassin duel requires incredible attention to detail!"
The match began. Both were steady in the early game, farming minions. Mitchell wasn't as aggressive as usual, only sending out one shadow to clear waves.
The climax came when both hit Level 6. Mitchell unhesitatingly summoned three shadows to burst Ye Shaoyang down, but Ye Shaoyang was prepared. His hand speed exploded as he placed three consecutive Rock Walls.
The audience watched as three walls of stone rose instantly, perfectly cutting off the retreat and movement paths of Mitchell's shadows. The shadow mark stacks were interrupted at 5.
Mitchell's burst left Ye Shaoyang at 30% HP, but he didn't die. Mitchell raised an eyebrow and recalled his shadows to wait for cooldowns. Ye Shaoyang decisively pressed the Recall button to heal.
Yao Mu shouted: "Yang-yang played that so calmly! He calculated the shadow's displacement distance and used the walls to break the combo! Without 7 stacks, the Abyssal Lord doesn't have enough burst to one-shot a mage."
The Korean commentators sighed: "A pity, he was just two marks short, blocked by the stone walls. Lieyang is playing very cautiously, but Mitchell still has Flash. If he Flashes over the walls next time, Lieyang might not be able to defend."
A moment later, Ye Shaoyang returned to the lane. As the levels rose, Mitchell waited for the minion wave to die and for vision to fade, then suddenly hid in the side bush. When the next wave arrived, Mitchell Flashed forward with three pre-summoned shadows.
The world-class mechanics were truly precise. In just one second, his shadows applied 6 marks to Ye Shaoyang. If he landed the W-R combo, Ye Shaoyang was dead!
But at that exact millisecond, Ye Shaoyang placed three walls. The audience saw that his three walls formed a perfect equilateral triangle, trapping the [Abyssal Lord]'s shadows and true body inside.
Mitchell triggered the W-R combo.
Ye Shaoyang also triggered his combo—
The black abyssal marks detonated, and Ye Shaoyang was instantly killed! However, though his body fell, a massive amount of boulders rained from the sky. The "Meteor Shower" of stones smashed down, not only destroying the shadows but also instantly killing the [Abyssal Lord]!
—Mitchell (Abyssal Lord) has killed TH-Sunshine (Earth Mage)!
—TH-Sunshine (Earth Mage) has killed Mitchell (Abyssal Lord)!
A life-for-life trade happened within 2 seconds. The speed was so terrifying that the audience stood stunned. The replay showed the terrifying mechanical limit of both players.
Yao Mu analyzed: "Yang-yang must have guessed Mitchell was ambushing nearby. He prepared to counter-attack!"
Brother Dong praised: "Yang-yang's attention to detail is superb. [Earth Mage] is a terrain-control hero, and early game damage is usually lackluster. However, [Abyssal Lord] has a passive where after killing someone, his skills refresh but his defense drops by half. That's when the ultimate can one-shot him."
Yao Mu said excitedly: "Exactly! [Earth Mage]'s ultimate requires a 1-second cast time. When Mitchell went in for the kill, Yang-yang started casting. The moment Mitchell killed him, the ultimate finished casting! Even though [Earth Mage] died, the falling stones crushed the weakened [Abyssal Lord]!"
"What was more ingenious," Brother Dong added, "was that triangle wall. Mitchell couldn't even swap positions to escape. This was a 'Lure the Tiger into the Pit' strategy—trading a life for a life!"
For Ye Shaoyang, a 1:1 trade against a snowballing mage-assassin was a win. By dragging it to the late game, he could find better opportunities. This was a strategy he and Chi Shuo had verified repeatedly the night before.
The match continued with Mitchell unable to play too aggressively without his Flash. Ye Shaoyang took the opportunity to pressure the lane and push the tower. Whenever Mitchell sent out a shadow to clear minions, Ye Shaoyang would block it with a wall and kill the shadow with a Q-W combo.
Mitchell felt suffocated. He realized choosing [Abyssal Lord] against Lieyang was asking for trouble. Ye Shaoyang understood this hero too well—he timed the shadow's movement and cooldowns perfectly. Using a "clunky" [Earth Mage], he completely shut down the shadow's mobility.
Game 1 ended with Mitchell falling in front of his own crystal.
Game 2 was much faster. Mitchell chose [Shadow Warlock] while Ye Shaoyang took [Illusionist]. Both were burst-heavy mage-assassins. The game became a duel of "who kills who first." They traded kills until the score was 2:2. In the final decisive moment, Mitchell used a pre-cast Purge and Stealth to bypass Ye Shaoyang's control, securing the third kill.
The score was tied 1:1.
Game 3 was the decider. The fans were on edge. Mitchell brought out his signature hero, the one that made him famous: [Solar Mage], a tanky, high-damage bruiser-mage.
Ye Shaoyang hesitated for a moment and then picked an unexpected hero—[Lord of the Forest].
This was the first time the domestic audience saw him play this hero. Yao Mu was stunned: "[Lord of the Forest]? This is a very niche summoner-mage. Unlike the Cobra King who summons pets, the Forest Lord summons vines to control the field. The vines can bind opponents and deal damage. It's incredibly difficult to play because you have to control the path and direction of multiple vines with your mouse simultaneously. If you aren't careful, you end up tangling your own vines into a mess."
The match began. Mitchell played very aggressively. [Solar Mage] is a melee mage with high defense; his basic attacks deal magic damage, allowing him to clear waves quickly.
[Lord of the Forest] needs vines to clear waves, making his rhythm slower. Mitchell hit Level 6 first and immediately burst down Ye Shaoyang to take First Blood.
However, Ye Shaoyang didn't panic. He returned to the lane and didn't miss a single minion. Once he hit Level 6, the "Bound Play" began.
Two dark green vines flew out like sentient snakes, instantly binding the [Solar Mage]! The other two vines swept through the minion wave, clearing it instantly.
Because Mitchell was bound, he couldn't move. To escape, he had to attack the vines themselves to deplete their HP. By the time he broke free, his own defense tower had killed the minions, meaning he got zero gold for that wave.
"Mitchell missed two minions?" Brother Dong noted.
Yao Mu realized the plan: "Yang-yang timed the minion HP perfectly. He used the vines just to interfere with Mitchell's farming. He wanted the tower to 'eat' the gold."
This happened wave after wave. Mitchell was losing Siege Minions—the ones worth the most gold. While Mitchell was struggling to finish his core items, Ye Shaoyang had already built defensive items (1500 HP and 300 Magic Defense).
Now, the Solar Mage couldn't one-shot him anymore.
As the game reached 13 minutes, Ye Shaoyang shifted his build to Magic Crit. He suddenly released four vines from the North, South, East, and West directions.
—Thorn Strangle!
The four vines tightened, applying a "Bleed" effect. Because the vines inherited Ye Shaoyang's high HP from his defensive items, they were incredibly tanky. Mitchell could only watch in horror as his health drained while he was wrapped like a mummy.
Mitchell: "..."
Is this what it feels like to be strangled to death by a plant?
The domestic chat exploded:
[Hahaha poor Mitchell!]
[Lieyang is showing you what 'Binding Play' really looks like.]
[Stuck in a vine until you bleed out… Mitchell must be dying with his eyes open!]
In the final push, Ye Shaoyang Flashed forward, summoned his vines, and tied Mitchell into a literal "Zongzi" (rice dumpling). With 5 stacks of Bleed, the Solar Mage collapsed.
—TH-Sunshine (Lord of the Forest) has killed Mitchell (Solar Mage)!
—VICTORY!
Ye Shaoyang stood up from his seat with a smile. The domestic fans cheered wildly.
Chairman Qiu stood up in the back, clapping excitedly: "Fantastic! Lieyang has made it to the Top 4!"
Yao Mu announced: "Congratulations to Lieyang for winning 2:1 against Mitchell! To the North American and Korean audiences, this is a massive upset. A 'nameless' rookie from China has defeated Mitchell to enter the semifinals!"
Brother Dong added: "A Mid-Laner reaching the Top 4 in the Solo Tournament… this is already one of the best results in our history!"
Ye Shaoyang knew he had technically "completed his mission," and few would scold him even if he lost the next round. But for him, that wasn't enough. No one remembers the Top 4; people only remember the Champion.
He hadn't come all this way just to go home without a trophy.