The crushing victory in the first game sent shockwaves through the entire esports community.
The top five trending topics on Weibo were all related:
#StarSeaMidAphelios#
#StarSea1:0WhiteTiger#
#TheCharmOfGlobalBP#
#StarSeaTacticalReserveUnfathomable#
Posts on major forums were refreshing at an astonishing speed:
"Holy crap, Star Sea's aphelios mid-lane completely stunned White Tiger!"
"So aphelios can be played like this?"
"Now I believe Star Sea really prepared forty heroes!"
"Coach Jin's face turned green, hahahaha!"
However, the real test had just begun.
In the Star Sea Team's lounge, the atmosphere was far from relaxed.
"Don't celebrate too soon," Coach Jin said sternly, looking at the team members. "The White Tiger Team's ability to adapt is world-class; they will definitely respond in the next game."
Forest Wind wiped his sweat and said, "They'll be on the blue side next game, so BP will be much easier."
"What's there to be afraid of?" A Le grinned. "Don't we still have several lineups prepared?"
Su Xiao silently drank water, then suddenly spoke, "They might target the bot lane."
Meanwhile, in the White Tiger Team's lounge, Coach Jin was in a furious rage.
"What are you playing at? You got stunned by a mid-lane aphelios?" Coach Jin slammed the tactics board. "Next game, we're on the blue side, so get your spirits up!"
The mid-laner "Machine" looked up, his eyes cold: "Next game, I'll get it back."
After a short break, both teams' players re-entered the stage.
When the BP interface appeared on the big screen, everyone held their breath.
"Attention!" Commentator raised his voice. "This is the second game of Global BP. The ten heroes used in the previous game will be automatically banned, and neither side can pick them again!"
Sure enough, heroes like ornn, Jarvan IV, and aphelios all turned gray.
The White Tiger Team, on the blue side, immediately picked kaisa first!
"kaisa! White Tiger Team first-picks kaisa!" Yao Yao analyzed. "This is to ensure bot lane strength."
The Star Sea Team didn't hesitate, picking up Rakan and Jayce in return!
"Picking to ban! The Star Sea Team picked Rakan, breaking up the Xayah-Rakan duo!" Commentator praised. "And they picked Jayce top lane, this is for lane dominance!"
The White Tiger Team then picked Lee Sin and Syndra!
"Lee Sin and Syndra! A classic strong mid-jungle combination!" Yao Yao exclaimed. "The White Tiger Team wants to play for early to mid-game tempo!"
The Star Sea Team locked in ezreal in the third slot.
In the second round of BP, both sides specifically banned several key heroes.
Then, the Star Sea Team's fourth pick made the entire audience gasp again—kaisa!
"kaisa?! So ezreal is..." Commentator was stunned. "Mid-lane ezreal?! The Star Sea Team is at it again!"
The entire venue erupted!
The White Tiger Team evidently hadn't anticipated this move, and their last two picks showed clear hesitation. They ultimately picked Renekton and leona.
The Star Sea Team's final pick was nidalee!
Final Lineup:
Blue Side - White Tiger Team: Renekton, Lee Sin, Syndra, Xayah, leona
Red Side - Star Sea Team: Jayce, nidalee, ezreal (Mid), kaisa, Rakan
"Oh my god! The Star Sea Team has once again brought out a dual ADC lineup!" Yao Yao's voice trembled with excitement. "Mid-lane ezreal, bot-lane kaisa, they're going all-in on poke!"
Commentator quickly analyzed: "This lineup relies on nidalee and Jayce to gain an early advantage, then ezreal and kaisa take over the game in the mid-game! But it's very squishy; once they get engaged on, they'll explode!"
In the level one skirmish, the White Tiger Team showed strong aggression. Five players grouped up to invade the Star Sea Team's red side jungle, aiming to target nidalee's jungle clear.
But the Star Sea Team was prepared; Jayce and ezreal ambushed in the river bush, and a combo of abilities instantly crippled Lee Sin!
"Beautiful! The Star Sea Team's counter-gank was successful!" Commentator shouted.
At three minutes, Lüeyǐng's nidalee came to the top lane. Jayce's precise empowered shock blast hit Renekton, followed by nidalee's long-range spear, instantly crippling Renekton!
"First Blood!"
"First Blood! Top lane opened up!"
However, at the same time, a fight broke out in the bot lane. leona flashed and engaged on kaisa, with Xayah following up with damage. Although Rakan timely knocked up Xayah, kaisa was still traded.
"1 for 1, both sides can accept that!"
At six minutes, a fierce 1v1 battle erupted in the mid lane. ezreal's precise Mystic Shots continuously poked Syndra. The moment Syndra tried to flash Ultimate Ability, ezreal Arcane Shifted away, then countered with a full combo to secure the solo kill!
"Solo kill! Star Track's solo kill!" Yao Yao shrieked. "Mid-lane ezreal solo-killed Syndra!"
The Chinese audience erupted!
But the White Tiger Team quickly retaliated. Lee Sin came to the bot lane, ward-hopped and Insec-kicked kaisa back, killing her again.
"Both sides are trading blows!" Commentator exclaimed. "This is what a clash between top-tier teams looks like!"
At twelve minutes, a Dragon teamfight broke out. Jayce's side-flanked shot crippled three enemies, and nidalee transformed to enter and clean up. But the White Tiger Team's leona initiated a perfect engage, CCing three enemies, while Xayah dealt massive damage from the backline.
"The teamfight is chaotic! Both sides are showing off their mechanics!"
Ultimately, this teamfight ended in a 3 for 3 trade, with neither side gaining an advantage.
The rest of the game completely transformed into a feast of mechanics.
Jayce's precise cannon fire, nidalee's elusive spears, ezreal's agile dashes, kaisa's ultimate engages, Rakan's perfect initiations... and the White Tiger Team was equally strong, with Lee Sin's Dragon's Rage, Syndra's Scatter the Weak, Xayah's Bladecaller, leona's Solar Flare... every teamfight was thrilling, every play breathtaking.
"Is this what a world-class showdown looks like?" Li Rui watched from his computer at home, his palms sweating. "Too strong, both sides are too strong!"
At twenty-five minutes, both sides engaged in the final battle at the Baron pit.
Jayce's shot crippled the backline, nidalee's spear hit Xayah, ezreal Arcane Shifted in for damage, kaisa Killer Instinct flew to the backline... but in the chaos, the White Tiger Team's Lee Sin landed a Dragon's Rage, kicking three enemies away, and Syndra's Unleashed Power instantly melted nidalee!
"The teamfight is going to explode!" Commentator exclaimed.
Just at this critical moment, Rakan activated Grand Entrance, flashing in to charm three enemies! kaisa, at critical health, completed the cleanup!
"Triple Kill!"
"kaisa triple kill! They're aced!"
When the "ACE" sound effect echoed through the arena, the entire audience stood up!
"They won! The Star Sea Team won!" Commentator shouted hoarsely. "In this god-tier clash, the Star Sea Team had the last laugh!"
"2:0! The Star Sea Team has reached match point!" Yao Yao was so excited that tears welled up in her eyes. "They used two completely different lineups to consecutively defeat the powerful White Tiger Team!"
At the player booths, the Star Sea Team members hugged each other tightly. Winning two consecutive games with unexpected lineups boosted their confidence immensely.
On the White Tiger Team's side, the atmosphere had dropped to freezing point. Coach Jin's face was ashen as he quickly walked onto the stage.
(Star Sea Team's newly used heroes: Jayce, nidalee, ezreal, kaisa, Rakan)
(White Tiger Team's newly used heroes: Renekton, Lee Sin, Syndra, Xayah, leona)
Backstage, Qin Feng looked at the match data, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
This was the esports he wanted to see.
However, he knew that the toughest battles were yet to come.
The White Tiger Team, pushed to the brink, would undoubtedly bring out their last trump cards.
The next game would be the true battle of life and death!