Did The Captain Catch Up With The Coach Today [Esports] Chapter 26
byChapter 26
The lineups for the second game were:
Blue Team – PSP: TOP – Tian Dao, MID – Fallen God, BOT – Abyss Gaze, SUP – Undying Hero Soul, JNG – Blade Shadow Dancer
Red Team – FHM: TOP – Phantom Assassin, MID – Witch Nightmare, BOT – Thorn Whip, SUP – Soul Bell, JNG – Moon Shadow Spider
Both top laners had poke-type abilities.
Both mid laners were outright poke-type heroes.
Both bot lane pairs were focused on burst damage, though the form of burst differed: one relied on stacking passive effects to ramp up attack speed for a burst, and the other relied on stacking passive effects to activate their ultimate for a burst. Either way, stacking passives was key.
The three lanes were relatively balanced, making the Jungler the biggest variable in this game.
Blade Shadow Dancer, the current meta pick, had crowd control and displacement. During displacement, they were untargetable, offering excellent ganking and counter-kill potential, and they held their own well in team fights.
Moon Shadow Spider, generally average in strength, lacked crowd control but had a slow. It possessed both displacement and acceleration. While it died instantly upon entering a team fight, its strength lay in fast roaming, quick lane pushing, and rapid tower demolition, making it a god in Solo Queue.
In an early game 1v1, Moon Shadow Spider couldn’t beat Blade Shadow Dancer.
But if a Jungler engages in a 1v1, can they still be called a Jungler? That would be a jungle Solo Queue.
The correct way to play Jungler is to always be ready to pull teammates in for a fight!
“Jin Yao, the enemy might invade our jungle. If they do, I’ll call you!” Wei Xiao hesitated but ultimately chose to start on the top side. PSP’s top and jungle were strong, so targeting them was definitely the right move!
It was like playing Werewolf—you always eliminate the best player first, regardless of their role. Just close your eyes and eliminate them!
Qin Jin Yao replied, “Okay.”
Hearing the confirmation, Wei Xiao relaxed. He placed a ward in the brush behind the small dragon pit, then lured the small dragon to the opposite brush to secretly kill it.
After only a few hits, the enemy Jungler, Blade Shadow Dancer, predictably snuck over.
They actually dared!
“Jin Yao!”
At Wei Xiao’s call, Qin Jin Yao immediately left the top lane and rushed toward the jungle.
Blade Shadow Dancer, realizing their position was exposed, used Flash to escape the jungle and head toward their own side.
They used Flash just like that?
Originally, Wei Xiao only intended to chase them away, but since they had already used Flash, failing to seize this opportunity to kill them would be a disservice to their cowardice!
“Chase, chase, chase! Don’t let them get away!” Wei Xiao commanded, operating Moon Shadow Spider to sprint on its eight legs, relentlessly pursuing. He also called for another person, “Miao Miao, intercept them! Do you have a slow!”
“Yes, yes, yes!” Zhou Miao Miao heard the call and immediately Flashed onto Blade Shadow Dancer’s path, casting “Witch Curse” right in their face!
The purple energy orb accurately struck Blade Shadow Dancer. The energy burst, slowing their movement speed.
“Beautiful!” Wei Xiao seized the chance to rush up and land a “Bite.”
Simultaneously, Qin Jin Yao’s Phantom Assassin arrived, tossing a “Phantom Curse” onto Blade Shadow Dancer, dealing damage and extending the slow.
The three combined their attacks, severely damaging Blade Shadow Dancer’s health bar, and then Wei Xiao delivered the final blow!
[System Notification] Moon Shadow Spider has achieved First Blood!
[System Notification] Enemy Blade Shadow Dancer has been slain!
“Wow! FHM’s top and mid lane support was so timely!” Commentator Yue Xia couldn’t help but exclaim. “The moment they got vision of Blade Shadow Dancer, they immediately provided support for their Jungler without hesitation, especially the mid laner! That slow was absolutely crucial!”
“Indeed, they risked losing minions and gold to provide extremely timely support, collectively taking down PSP’s Jungler. You could say their teamwork is flawless!” Ri Xi said. “PSP’s Jungler probably intended to sneak into FHM’s jungle alone to solo kill Moon Shadow Spider. Even if their vision was exposed, they could have escaped by learning their displacement skill first, but they didn’t expect FHM’s support to be so fast!”
“Fortunately, the match has just begun, so PSP still has a chance…”
No sooner had Yue Xia finished speaking than a string of system notifications appeared.
[System Notification] Moon Shadow Spider, Double Kill!
[System Notification] Enemy Fallen God has been slain!
[System Notification] Moon Shadow Spider, Triple Kill!
[System Notification] Enemy Tian Dao has been slain!
Here’s what happened: After Zhou Miao Miao used Flash to intercept Blade Shadow Dancer, PSP’s mid laner developed a killing intent toward him, chasing him far away from the defense tower.
Just as the mid laner arrived, they saw their Jungler being killed by the trio.
Realizing the danger, they Flashed back, only to be pursued by the bloodthirsty Qin Jin Yao, who also Flashed.
Seeing Qin Jin Yao use Flash, Wei Xiao didn’t want it to be wasted, so he followed suit. The two chased the enemy, relentlessly auto-attacking the squishy mage until they died on the way back to the tower.
Wei Xiao secured the kill, while Qin Jin Yao and Zhou Miao Miao got assists. The three cleared a wave of mid-lane minions, all leveling up. Then, taking advantage of the enemy Jungler having just resurrected and being unable to rush over, they headed to the top lane together.
PSP’s top laner saw them coming and immediately retreated under the tower in fear.
However, the ferocious trio directly dove the tower and killed him beneath it!
Wei Xiao tanked one tower shot, bit the enemy, and then exited the tower, leaving the rest to his teammates.
He intentionally tried to give the kill away, but unexpectedly, after Qin Jin Yao and Zhou Miao Miao attacked, the kill was still attributed to him due to the continuous damage from Moon Shadow Spider’s poison, granting him a Triple Kill!
Diving a tower to gank less than five minutes into the game! The commentators and audience were stunned!
Commentator Ri Xi nearly blurted out “Holy crap” but managed to restrain himself with professional composure: “Too brutal! FHM played conservatively in the last game! Starting this game so aggressively, how will they play next?”
“They are truly too brutal!” Yue Xia echoed. “Wei Wan’s style has always been this aggressive, but I didn’t expect his teammates to be just as brutal! The timing of that tower dive was perfect! The Jungler and Mid laner took turns tanking the tower—impeccable teamwork!”
Forget the commentators, Wei Xiao himself couldn’t help but exclaim, “Holy cow, this is awesome! Did you guys do a lot of tower diving in practice?”
“Of course!” Qin Jin Yao boasted. “Why else would I play an Assassin Top laner?”
“Of course!” Zhou Miao Miao mimicked his tone. “Why else would I play a Mage Assassin?”
Wei Xiao couldn’t help but laugh: “Hahaha, that’s great. This way, when I gank top or mid, I don’t need to worry too much about the enemy’s position, only their health and the enemy Jungler’s location.”
“Exactly,” Qin Jin Yao said. “You just come up. As long as someone helps me tank the tower, I can get the kill.”
“Uh… but you’re the top laner?”
Shouldn’t the top laner be the one taking the damage!
Before Qin Jin Yao could respond, Zhou Miao Miao interjected, “Actually, I only need the Jungler to help me defend mid. I’m better at ganking bot than laning, so I can help the bot lane gain an advantage faster.”
“But you’re the mid laner, hey! Focus on laning, don’t steal my job, hey!”
Wei Xiao sighed helplessly.
His teammates were incredibly useful, responding instantly without hesitation. If he asked for a tower dive, they dove. But their style was truly… well, awesome!
As expected of Wen Shi Yu, where did he find such a group of people?
Wen Shi Yu, who was watching the game, couldn’t help but smile when he saw the Triple Kill.
They learn fast. The carry should act like a carry. When it’s time to call for help, call for help. Don’t worry about teammates losing minions or gold, because the game is about results, and efficiency is judged globally. As long as the carry’s economy rises, teammates must be willing to take a loss when necessary. As for when to take a loss and when not to, that’s what the carry needs to control.
Whether it’s being unable to rally teammates like EN, or rallying them haphazardly like KPI, they deserve to lose the championship.
Wen Shi Yu continued watching the game, opening his water bottle and taking a sip. After drinking, the image of Wei Xiao tilting his head back to drink water suddenly flashed in his mind, causing him to “Tsk.”
He doesn’t even know how to drink water… He only forbade Wei Xiao from touching the mouthpiece, not from using his hand. Couldn’t he cup his hand to control the flow?
He insisted on exposing his Adam’s apple to him, and he even spilled water on his shirt…
Wen Shi Yu forced himself to focus back on the screen to drive away the images in his head.
But Wei Xiao’s hands are really beautiful. Why hadn’t he noticed before?
…Stop thinking about him!
PSP’s Jungler immediately rushed toward the top lane after resurrecting, hoping to at least secure the kill on the Jungler or Mid laner.
Tanking the tower early game is very damaging. After Wei Xiao and Zhou Miao Miao each took a hit, they were both left with a sliver of health. After securing the kill and assist, they both walked back along the top lane to recall.
PSP’s Jungler circled through the jungle, passing between FHM’s Tier 1 and Tier 2 towers. Seeing no one, they tried to steal jungle camps, but Qin Jin Yao discovered them and aggressively chased them away, leaving the Jungler furious.
“Should we swap lanes?” the ADC asked.
“Swap!” the Jungler said anxiously. “We can’t play otherwise!”
Their bot lane had no advantage against FHM’s bot lane. FHM’s Support was too aggressive, playing the Mage Support like a pure Mage, constantly wearing them down. Rather than having all three lanes stalled, it was better to swap top and bottom to find a breakthrough.
After swapping, if they could use their attack range advantage to push down the top Tier 1 tower, the top laner would be free to roam and support mid or bot as needed.
The plan was beautiful, but it was predicted early.
“They should be swapping top and bottom soon,” Wei Xiao said. Just as he spoke, the opposing solo laner and duo lane retreated into the fog, disappearing from sight.
“Good opportunity, Jin Yao, come gank mid!” Wei Xiao said, operating his eight-legged spider to run toward the mid lane.
Qin Jin Yao heard the call and, without a second thought, abandoned the half-cleared minion wave and used a displacement skill to rush toward mid.
Who said the top laner must wait until the Tier 1 tower is pushed before supporting mid?
If there’s an opportunity, you can roam!
For example, now was a perfect opportunity!
And so, during the time PSP was swapping their top and bottom lanes, the scene of the ferocious trio diving the tower was re-enacted in the mid lane!
Wei Xiao circled behind the tower and gave the command. Qin Jin Yao used a displacement skill to jump onto the enemy mid laner’s face and immediately activated his ultimate! Zhou Miao Miao also used Flash without hesitation, spamming a series of skills.
The poor, squishy mage had very little health and fell under the tower without even time to react.
Self-rescue? Non-existent.
Counter-kill? Even more non-existent.
Qin Jin Yao secured this kill. Wei Xiao didn’t mind. He exited the tower and re-entered, letting the minions tank the tower damage, and together with his teammates, they pushed down PSP’s mid Tier 1 tower.
Moon Shadow Spider had high damage and high attack speed, and its first skill also dealt damage to towers, making tower demolition incredibly fast.
Soon, a system notification appeared on the screen.
[System Notification] Our Moon Shadow Spider has destroyed an enemy defense tower!
The entire PSP team fell silent.
The duo lane, who were already walking along the top lane, felt their steps falter when they saw this notification.
They swapped lanes to push the top tower and free up the top laner, allowing them to create a 2v1 in mid or a 3v2 in bot to increase team fight win rates.
But with the mid tower gone, the opposing mid laner was freed up first. It was hard to say whether the top lane would be a 2v1 or a 2v3 when they arrived.
That was strange. They clearly banned the Jungler that counters them and the tricky Mage Assassin. Why did the game turn out like this? Where did they go wrong?
Getting a Triple Kill during the initial jungle invade was a loss, but it was so early that the gold difference shouldn’t be huge.
The lane swap was a necessary tactic. Otherwise, with all three lanes stalled, the longer the game dragged on, the more disadvantageous it would be for them, as they couldn’t deal with Thorn Whip when she had her ultimate, meaning they couldn’t let FHM’s ADC scale.
If the lineup wasn’t the problem, and the strategy wasn’t the problem, then the problem must be… skill?
During a match, the biggest taboo is doubting one’s own ability.
If the strategy is flawed, adjustments can lead to a comeback. But if players start doubting their skill, they develop the illusion that no matter how hard they struggle, they can’t win. This delivers a devastating blow to their mentality, which in turn affects their execution. Consequently, games that could have been won become unwinnable.
In fact, at this point in the match, the economic gap between the two sides wasn’t huge, but FHM, leading by 1 point, also led by 4 kills and one tower, putting immense pressure on PSP.
After PSP’s duo lane arrived in the top lane, they ventured a short distance from the defense tower only to be taken down in a Double Kill by Wei Xiao, Qin Jin Yao, and Zhou Miao Miao working together.
Losing these two kills was unnecessary. Even the commentator let out an “Aiya,” questioning, “The mid tower is gone. How dare they leave the tower?”
After Ri Xi questioned them, Yue Xia sighed, “Alas, their timing for this lane swap was terrible. Anyone in the top lane right now is dead.”
Ri Xi: “FHM’s reaction is so fast. They seemed to know PSP was planning to swap, so they seized that window to gank mid. I wonder if this was an immediate reaction on the battlefield or if they were warned by the coach before the game.”
Yue Xia: “You can tell it was definitely anticipated. This mid gank caught them completely off guard. It feels like PSP’s mentality has been affected. Hang in there, PSP!”
As commentators, they had to remain impartial. So, even though Yue Xia hoped FHM, with its unique style, would go as far as possible, she still cheered for PSP.
But FHM was just starting to exert pressure.
“I’ve bought my Bloodthirster,” Wei Xiao said. “You know what that means, right?”
“It means someone is about to start showing off,” Tang Li said.
“It means we can lie down and relax?” Zhou Miao Miao said excitedly.
“Show off, hurry up and show off!” Qin Jin Yao couldn’t wait to see Wei Xiao start his rampage. Wei Xiao played Moon Shadow Spider even more aggressively than he did, and he wanted to take this opportunity to observe and learn.
“Go, Moon Shadow Spider, I choose you!” Lu Qing Yang got excited and flashed a “We won!” emote, making the opposing top laner think he was mocking him.
“Alright, let’s start with the Jungler then!” Wei Xiao said, operating his Moon Shadow Spider to dive headfirst into the enemy jungle.
He was going to show the opponent what a real jungle invade looked like!