Did The Captain Catch Up With The Coach Today [Esports] Chapter 32
byChapter 32
After taking the Dragon, the five FHM players, despite being low on health, grouped up and pushed mid, managing to reach the enemy base before all EN members respawned.
Four out of the five players had lifesteal, so although their health bars were nearly empty when they started the push, they were all full by the time they reached the base.
The respawned EN players didn’t even have time to adjust their gear, scrambling to clear minions and defend the turret, only to be tower-dived by FHM and forced back to the fountain.
In the final moments of the match, FHM’s brutal offense left the commentators breathless.
“Wei Xiao is tower-diving! Phantom Assassin uses a combo to instantly kill Fierce Wolf! FHM dives as a whole, Bamboo Forest Swordsman uses his ultimate to join the fight, oh my god! The Marksman uses his ultimate too! EN’s MID and Marksman are dead, the Support is trying to escape, wait, how did she die? Oh, it was Curse Blade Scissor’s ultimate! Bone Queen couldn’t escape back to the fountain either! EN is wiped out! Wow, that was brutal! FHM is too aggressive!” Ri Xi exclaimed excitedly.
Meanwhile, Yue Xia could barely manage to shout: “It’s over! It’s definitely over! They won!”
It wasn’t until FHM truly wiped out EN and destroyed their base that Yue Xia realized she was a commentator and not a spectator, hastily adding some details: “Phantom Assassin flashed to dodge turret damage, that’s a great detail! In the end, it was Thorn Whip tanking the turret, FHM’s Marksman took all the damage!”
Ri Xi: “Congratulations to FHM for taking the first point! 21 minutes, that was fast!”
Yue Xia: “Yes! It was practically a complete stomp! FHM successfully invaded the jungle at the start, severely hurting the economy of the EN Jungler. It feels like EN was completely unprepared for the jungle invasion. Were they underestimating their opponent?”
What Yue Xia really wanted to say was that EN had completely failed to perform at the level expected of a professional team in this match.
Although the success rate of jungle invasions is not high in the league, and even when successful, it usually only causes a psychological blow to the opponent and doesn’t decisively affect the match outcome, shouldn’t preparing for a jungle invasion be the most basic requirement for a professional team, especially a jungle-centric team?
Furthermore, after the mid turret was pushed, EN’s MID and Jungler seemed to have broken up, insisting on splitting into two lanes, which made Yue Xia uncomfortable, giving her a “I could do that too” feeling.
She was afraid of being criticized for saying the wrong thing, so she kept these thoughts to herself.
The audience, however, had no such reservations.
What is EN even playing? I’m stuffed.
They served a table full of national cuisine here.
Their mentality must have collapsed. EN’s new Jungler still lacks match experience.
He’s been playing for a whole season, how is he still new? Just plain bad!
Does only EN’s MID have damage? Everyone else seems to be slacking off.
It was fortunate that players couldn’t check their phones during the match, otherwise Yi Jia Jun might have been so angry he would follow the internet cable to find that excellent netizen and beat them up.
MID wasn’t slacking off? He was the most annoying one! If he had just listened to the command, they wouldn’t have played like this!
Taking off his headphones, the first thing Yi Jia Jun said to the coach was: “I’m not being the shot caller anymore! Let whoever wants to do it!”
On the FHM side, Wei Xiao took off his headphones and asked Wen Shi Yu with a triumphant smile: “Any instructions, Coach?”
Wen Shi Yu tossed him the water bottle he had brought for Wei Xiao and replied calmly: “Didn’t you tell me to relax and watch you guys play? With that much confidence, why would you need instructions?”
“Ah, well.” Wei Xiao caught the water bottle steadily. Since he couldn’t gauge what Wen Shi Yu was thinking when he said that, he didn’t dare to reply directly, instead cautiously saying, “That was just me hyping myself up before the match… Hey, since it’s a match, if you have any instructions, please instruct us?”
Wen Shi Yu saw him smiling so smugly and expected him to keep showing off, so he was a little surprised and amused when Wei Xiao wilted after just a casual tease.
“No instructions. Very handsome,” Wen Shi Yu said, dropping the aloof act and giving a sincere compliment.
Wei Xiao confirmed that he truly had no instructions, then reverted to his usual playful demeanor: “You can also tell us if you enjoyed the stomp. Do you want us to focus on killing someone specific or spread the love? Last game we focused on bullying the Jungler, should we bully the MID next game?”
“Bullying the MID sounds good,” Wen Shi Yu replied softly.
He only gave that one response and said nothing else.
Wei Xiao understood and looked at his teammates: “You know who to bully next game, right?”
Everyone else understood too.
Zhou Miao Miao: “You should have said so earlier! I’ve been annoyed by EN’s MID for a while. His hair is styled just like that singer who wails and disturbs the peace under my building every day!”
Qin Jin Yao: “He’s so short, how else is he going to be seen if he doesn’t style his hair high?”
Lu Qing Yang: “Hahahaha, Yao Ge, I didn’t expect you to have such potential for trash talk!”
Tang Li: “It’s definitely a good strategy to target the MID against EN. EN’s MID is more troublesome than their Marksman. By the way, Miao Miao, you can tolerate someone singing under your building without reporting them? I would report them immediately!”
“I have social anxiety!” Zhou Miao Miao wailed.
“Good heavens, I didn’t see that coming!” Wei Xiao felt that his teammates all seemed to enjoy a bit of excitement. Only Wen Shi Yu gave him the feeling of urgently wanting to distance himself from the crowd, which is why he was always a bit more cautious when speaking to Wen Shi Yu than when speaking to others.
However, this didn’t mean he thought Wen Shi Yu’s way was bad.
Brother Wen should be someone who is above the mundane… Okay, seriously—Brother Wen just needs to stay in an environment where he feels comfortable.
If Brother Wen likes quiet, then Wei Xiao can be quiet too.
He took a sip of water, then handed the bottle back to Wen Shi Yu.
Wen Shi Yu raised an eyebrow and didn’t take it: “What are you doing? It’s for you, you don’t need to return it.”
“I know, but I still have a match to play, so I’ll leave it with you. Can you hold it for me?” Wei Xiao used Skill One—Smile!
—Curving the lips towards the target, revealing a harmless smile to make the target drop their guard, and having a certain probability of agreeing to the condition proposed.
Wen Shi Yu: “…”
“It’s not heavy. If you think it’s heavy, I can drink a little more?” Wei Xiao used Skill Two—Head Tilt Kill!
—Tilting the head to one side to increase the sense of innocence, making it easier for the target to soften their heart and agree to the condition proposed.
Wen Shi Yu: “…”
“Please?” Wei Xiao used Skill Three—Wink!
—Keeping one eye open while quickly and casually blinking the other eye at the target, releasing an invisible flirtatious glance. Upon hitting the target, there is a certain probability of making the target’s heart flutter and agreeing to any condition proposed in a daze!
Wen Shi Yu resisted the urge to roll his eyes, raising a hand to cover his face.
What was going on with him being flirted with by the player he signed to the team again?
This guy really didn’t care about the setting when he flirted, and he seemed completely unaware that he was flirting?
Indeed, Wei Xiao just wanted Wen Shi Yu to hold his water because he didn’t like having things near him when he played.
He used three skills, and they seemed ineffective?
Wei Xiao chose to use his Ultimate—Confession!
He held the water bottle in one hand, the bottom facing Wen Shi Yu, and brought the other hand up, touching his index finger and thumb to the index finger and thumb of the first hand, forming a heart shape: “Love you.”
Wen Shi Yu: “…”
Ah, ah, ah, he couldn’t handle it!
Wen Shi Yu snatched the water bottle from Wei Xiao’s hand: “Get lost, get lost.”
If that scene had been captured by the camera, who knows what kind of reaction it would have caused.
FHM’s teammates were amused by the interaction between the two.
They had never seen such a flirtatious Captain Wei, nor such an agitated Brother Wen.
And were Brother Wen’s ears red?
Zhou Miao Miao joined in the fun, offering his water cup to Wen Shi Yu: “Brother Wen, hold this for me too! Love you!”
Wen Shi Yu shot him a dagger-like look.
“My mistake, my mistake!” Zhou Miao Miao turned and ran.
Sure enough, you needed Wei Xiao’s level of skill to “tease” Brother Wen, otherwise, just meeting Brother Wen’s gaze was enough to make him feel guilty.
…
After the 10-minute break, the second match between FHM and EN began.
FHM still chose to invade the jungle at the start. EN’s Jungler chose to avoid the confrontation, giving up the top jungle and only farming the bottom jungle.
The commentators were puzzled.
Yue Xia: “They just gave it up?”
Ri Xi: “They knew they might be invaded, so why didn’t they bring the Top Laner and MID to drive them away? As long as they can drive them off, it’s not a loss.”
Yue Xia: “Exactly, why did they just concede it? They already lost 1-2 to KCD. If they can’t beat FHM 2-1, they will have to prematurely bid farewell to the league!”
Yes, before facing FHM, EN had already played against KCD, who was also in Group C, and only won the first game.
In the group stage, four teams in each group play against each other, and only two teams can advance, meaning they can only afford to lose to one team to qualify.
FHM won against PSP, so even if they lost this match, they still had a chance.
But EN had already lost to KCD. If they lost to FHM again, they would stop at the top sixteen.
EN had never dropped out of the top eight since the team was founded. If they stopped here, it would be making history.
Logically, EN should be fighting with all their might against FHM.
The reality, however, was—
When Wei Xiao and Zhou Miao Miao ganked mid, EN’s Jungler didn’t even come to help, not even looking over until his teammate was dead.
Zhou Miao Miao was worried about being killed while low on health, but after running all the way back to the fountain, he saw EN’s Jungler farming in the EN jungle, completely unconcerned, through Wei Xiao’s vision. He was stunned!
“What the heck is this Jungler? If I knew he was this bad, I would have played more aggressively last game!” Zhou Miao Miao said.
Wei Xiao keenly sensed something was wrong: “Is there something going on with their MID and Jungler? What’s up with this MID? Even EN’s Jungler, who is so bad, doesn’t like him?”
“Huh? Did their MID and Jungler break up?” Zhou Miao Miao eagerly picked up the gossip. “Do their own teammates hate this MID’s hairstyle?”
“Hmm… I don’t think it’s a hairstyle issue,” Tang Li added a very cautious “I think.”
“Never mind, just kill them,” Wei Xiao said. “Who cares if they broke up or not, kill both of them!”
In this game, EN chose the blue side and snatched Phantom Assassin, so Wei Xiao picked Time Tracker.
Yes, the Assassin Jungler most suitable for targeting, whoever he focused on would die.
As long as he marked the target, no matter where the target was, Time Tracker’s ultimate would instantly bring him to the target’s side to harvest their life.
Throughout the match, Wei Xiao ensured his mark was on EN’s MID, solo ganking and camping mid, and focusing on killing the MID first in team fights.
By the 10-minute mark, EN’s MID’s score was already 0-5-0.
The EN Jungler, whom he had complained about being 0-3 last game, didn’t bother to complain back, focusing on farming, ganking top, and ganking bottom.
During the review session, he said he didn’t want to be the shot caller, and the coach scolded him, asking who would do it if he didn’t, and threatening him with breach of contract fees.
But when he asked the MID to follow his command, the coach said, “The MID’s strategy is pretty good, if he wants to play like that, just go with it. It won’t hurt to listen. Didn’t Wen Shi Yu play like that when he was active?”
Wow, how dare he mention Wen Shi Yu?
When Wen Shi Yu retired, this coach was the one who criticized him the most harshly.
EN’s Jungler always thought Wen Shi Yu’s criticisms were spot on, but he pretended to support the coach because he wanted Wen Shi Yu’s Starter position. He didn’t expect to suffer a backlash.
Tsk, stupid coach and stupid MID! I’m transferring after this season!
Thinking this, EN’s Jungler completely ignored his teammates and focused only on showing off his own skills.
When ganking top, if he could gank, he would. If not, he would directly sell his teammate and run, giving the entire match a beautiful sense of “I don’t care about my teammates’ lives.”
Qin Jin Yao was disgusted by him: “Although getting the kills is satisfying, I really… I can tolerate a bad Jungler, but I can’t tolerate being sold out by a Jungler. I feel disgusted for the enemy Top Laner.”
“Alas, that Top Laner is also very skilled at selling out the Jungler. Don’t feel sorry for anyone on EN, or you’ll become unhappy,” Wei Xiao replied.
Since he was focused this game, his priority was definitely to free up the mid lane.
However, before pushing the mid tier one turret, Zhou Miao Miao linked up with him for a gank bottom, helping him secure two kills.
After pushing the mid tier one turret, Zhou Miao Miao completely became his shadow, following him wherever he went, a stark contrast to EN’s MID and Jungler.
The two coordinated with Qin Jin Yao to tower-dive and kill EN’s Top Laner, pushing the top tier one turret, and then proceeded to invade the jungle and gank bottom.
The entire rhythm of the game was under Wei Xiao’s control. EN played extremely passively. EN’s heroes even appeared to be running around in circles like headless flies. They weren’t looking for breakthroughs; they didn’t even know what to do next.
Ultimately, FHM pushed EN flat without even taking the Dragon in the second game. The entire match lasted 18 minutes!
Ri Xi: “Congratulations to FHM!”
Yue Xia: “Congratulations to FHM for advancing to the top eight!”
Both commentators offered their congratulations.
Even though FHM still had one match to play two days later, it didn’t affect their qualification for the top eight, because after defeating two teams, their worst possible ranking was second place.
The live stream was flooded with “Congratulations.”
The two group stage matches earned FHM many fans. Although the total number of fans wouldn’t surpass last year’s top eight teams in the short term, FHM was definitely one of the most watched teams in the new season.
Wei Xiao was awarded the MVP for both matches today. Even though the rest of FHM played remarkably well, the audience couldn’t ignore Wei Xiao’s brilliance.
Since God Yu retired, I haven’t seen a Jungler with such strong control.
This is what a true jungle core looks like!
FHM has a bright future!
After the match against EN ended, there was a post-match interview.
Wei Xiao thought he had already been interviewed after the previous match, so he wanted to give this opportunity to his teammates: “Who’s going this time? Miao Miao, you go!”
“No, no, no, no, no!” Zhou Miao Miao shook his head like a rattle drum. “I have social anxiety!”
“What social anxiety! Just answer whatever the host asks,” Wei Xiao complained, but didn’t insist, looking at Qin Jin Yao, who shouldn’t have social anxiety: “Jin Yao?”
“I have social anxiety too!” Qin Jin Yao stood up his team uniform collar to cover his face.
“You have social anxiety?” Wei Xiao didn’t believe it, but he could tell Qin Jin Yao didn’t want to be interviewed, so he turned his attention to the bottom lane duo: “Brother Tang, Qing Yang, go together!”
“No, no, I don’t have my ultimate, I can’t initiate a team fight!” Lu Qing Yang turned and ran.
Tang Li quickly grabbed the back of his collar and pulled him back, but also subtly expressed his refusal: “The audience definitely wants to see you more than us. We want to be a team that spoils its fans, so to avoid disappointing the audience, you should go.”
Wei Xiao looked at Wen Shi Yu.
Wen Shi Yu gave him a questioning look—You don’t actually want me to go, do you?
Not exactly. Wei Xiao was actually hesitating whether to let Wen Shi Yu decide who should go.
But in the end, he didn’t make things difficult for Wen Shi Yu and took on his teammates’ expectations: “Fine, I’ll go then! Who told me I’m the Captain!”