Chapter 7 - Tactics

“The draw for the winter season games is out. Our opponent in the first game is SG.”

With a soft leather notebook in one hand, Coach Gou Yao stood in front of the projection screen, showing the basic information and insights on all members of team SG. It included their personal preferences, and some small paragraphs even mentioned their work and rest times. It made people wonder if VW hired a private investigator to obtain this information.

SG was one of the top five domestic teams, but their draw luck was terrible. In the semi-finals of the second season, they played five full rounds against VW only to lose with regret. In the third season’s first semi-final, they missed entering the finals after they were sniped by QP, returning home in defeat.

But SG’s strength laid there. During the regular season, they met VW and won occasionally. Therefore, in the first game against SG, they could not be careless. If they lost at the doorstep, not only would it wear down morale, but VW’s new lineup would also be questioned. Among them, the new jungler, Yin Yu, would bear the brunt of public opinion.

“SG has a very typical system with their shooters as the core. The team plays the early game conservatively. The golds and kills are given to the team’s shooter, Cole, and the jungler provides support to the shooter like a dog.”

“In many classic SG games, they play against all odds in the beginning and make a comeback in the late game. Of course, this strategy has its advantages, but its flaws are also very fatal. So, if the shooter is not defeated in the early game, the shooter in the late stage will be able to use Six God’s equipment. By then, It will be very difficult to break up this established system.”

Cole was recognized as the number one ADC in the national server, which allowed SG to come up with its “four defense and one offense” tactic. This was enough to show his strength. “So, when lane-pushing in the early game, you must not be overpowered.”

Hearing this, Xiao Di nodded solemnly.

Younger brother (Xiao Di) was no less talented than Cole, but he was too young and had not yet reached the peak APM (actions per minute) of his career. His experience was also far from the veteran Cole, who had played many MOBA games. Given time, it was not certain who would be the number one ADC on the national server.

In the previous regular season, Cole managed to overwhelm Xiao Di in the bottom lane, as if he were rearing a pig. In mid-season, he stepped on the head of the assassin, who was out of skills, and made a comeback. This matter had been a thorn in Xiao Di’s heart. Since the finals, he has been training hard to get rid of the shame and prove his bottom lane ability to everyone in this spring season.

“In the early game, assassins focus more on the bottom lane. Their mid-laner and top-laner abilities are not outstanding, so we have the advantage.”

The heating in the conference room was too high, and Gou Yao’s voice was quite hypnotic. It perfectly matched up with his high school physics teacher and created a drowsy atmosphere, making Yin Yu incredibly sleepy. He propped his head up with his fingers, and while twirling a pen in his hand, he answered casually.

“I won’t say much about Chu Ke, follow the assassin and support the bottom lane more. As for the top laner—”

“SG’s top laner is not a simple character, don’t get eaten when pushing lane, and be careful not to be carried away by the tempo of their top laner when starting a team fight.”

Gou Yao’s chubby face was serious. He set his eyes on Ah Pi, who was sitting in the corner, warningly.

The drowsy Yin Yu took advantage of his long bangs as cover and took the whole scene in.

VW’s top-laner, Ah Pi.

Yin Yu closed his eyes when he thought of the rumors that had been raging inside and outside the esports circle a few months ago.

In last season’s autumn game, VW played an extremely difficult last match. At the most critical point of the game, the top-laner Ah Pi made a mistake when starting a team fight, which caused almost the whole of VW to be wiped out. Only the jungler who was at the edge of the circle managed to escape. Hanging by a thread, just when everyone thought that it was hopeless and even the commentator expressed regret, the jungler Ye Lun broke out with his extreme APM, perfectly dodging the opponent’s binding skills. With the help of the resurrection armor, he completed the feat of defending the inhibitor all by himself.

This battle was very famous. Almost immediately after it was fought, it became a hot topic on major platforms like Weibo. While netizens shouted 666 one after another, many rumors were also involved. For example, VW’s top-laner Ah Pi and jungler Lun had a bad relationship, and they bribed a certain player from YOI to specifically target VW’s jungler, deliberately making his old injury relapse, among other speculations. When Ah Pi joined the VW team, he caused a lot of controversy. Now, doubts about his strength were getting more and more serious, with many players cursing on Weibo.

After the finals, Brother Lun announced that his old injury had relapsed, so he could only retire with regret. This explosive news seemed to confirm everyone’s second guess even more.

Yin Yu did not know whether Ah Pi was deliberately targeting Brother Lun, but what Yin Yu knew was that he once heard a conversation in the stairwell of team QP.

“…I have considered what you said last time.”

Chen Han? What are you doing in such a remote place, instead of training at this time of the day?

“Brother Pi, the price you offered is too low. After all, it’s… the finals!!”

Coincidentally, Yin Yu went back to the dormitory to pick up some things. Wearing slippers and holding a glass of water, he had no intention of prying into other people’s privacy. He frowned, opened the door, and left. The last few words traveled through the air indistinctly, and they were not very clear. At that time, he did not think too much about it.

Later, after the finals, he combined Chen Han’s poor performance in the match with his evasive eyes before the game. As he watched the replay video on the way back to the base and then thought of the conversation that he overheard. He made a bold guess, the conversation in the conference room after the game confirmed the fact of Chen Han playing a dishonest match.

After the final, Ah Pi attracted many fans because of his outstanding performance in the last championship match. According to Yin Yu’s quiet investigation recently, this person was a gambler. He had bet ten million on VW in the final and made a lot of money after the match. The little money used to bribe Chen Han was probably not worth a fraction of what he won.

He would eventually be apprehended by the tail and taken to court. It was 2032, and the punishment for esports match-fixing had already been written into the constitution. He did not expect that there were still people who dared to commit such crimes. Once this was discovered, the revocation of medals and trophies would be considered a light punishment. If severe, it could be a complete loss of one’s reputation.

Yin Yu was a person who held grudges very well. His championship trophy got stolen, this was something he could not let go of. Watching the coach’s behavior, Ah Pi’s bribing of Chen Han should have nothing to do with VW’s executives.

“Basically, the main point of tomorrow’s strategy is to be swift and precise. Explosive. Play the early game well for the snowball effect.”

Having said so much, Gou Yao was thirsty as well. He summed up tomorrow’s tactical analysis and finally asked routinely, “Anyone who has other suggestions on strategies, you can raise them.”

“I have.”

The black-haired boy smiled slightly. As he flicked his slender fingers, the pen danced lightly on his joints. As soon as the hand supporting his head was put down, the long black hair slipped down. He raised his chin slightly as if there were stars flashing proudly in his eyes.

“I do have an idea that will work well against SG.”