The host of the tournament walked up on stage. He looked out at the stands. At the more comfortable, more luxurious section on the field below the stage and at the simpler seats up in the actual stands. He smiled and brought a microphone to his lips. He then started talking, his voice booming from the speakers installed all throughout the venue. “Ladies and gentlemen! Boys and girls! League fans from all ages and genders! We’ve gathered here today for the second day of the first round of the Winter Collegiate Cup! The two teams here behind me have fought for months to secure this spot! They’re excited to play! We’re excited to watch them! So let’s give them a warm welcome! Team Shanghai! Wooo! And Guangzhou Institute of Technology! Woooo!”

The crowd welcomed the two teams and spurred them on to play their best through a cacophony of cheers and clapping! They then all focused their attention on the large LCD screen. It showed Team Shanghai on the left side as the Blue team, and Guangzhou Tech on the right as the Red team.The crowd welcomed the two teams and spurred them on to play their best through a cacophony of cheers and clapping! They then all focused their attention on the large LCD screen. It showed Team Shanghai on the left side as the Blue team, and Guangzhou Tech on the right as the Red team. The first bans were coming through. Team Shanghai chose to take Irelia out and Guangzhou Tech replied by banning LeBlanc. And their second ban took out Fizz.

Lin Feng sat inside the soundproof booth, looking at the League client on his monitor. “Huh!” Lin Feng remarked. He scratched the back of his head and added, “Are they focusing me?”

Zeng Rui glanced at Lin Feng and said over the team’s voice chat. “Then they wasted those two bans.” He turned back to look at his monitor and chuckled. If they knew they’re playing Maple, they wouldn’t waste these bans on Midlaners. Maple was known for his endless champion pool! You can’t ban him out. He’s Maple! Fucking Maple! The thundering dumbass-- He shook his head and glanced at Lin Feng again. He scrunched his nose. There’s that look again. He almost looks happy! His favourite Champions are out but he’s just getting more and more fired up. I guess that’s good for us.

The ban phase concluded and the pick phase began. Team Shanghai got the first choice since they were the Blue team. They picked Lee Sin for An Xin. Guangzhou Tech got the next two picks. They chose Jungle Rengar and Top Gragas. It was Team Shanghai’s turn again. They selected their Toplaner and ad-carry, respectively Jarvan IV and Lucian. Then Guangzhou Tech locked in their next two Champions. Caitlyn for the ad-carry and Twisted Fate for the Midlaner.

Lin Feng rubbed his chin and grinned. He pointed at his screen and said over the team’s voice chat, “TF? That’s so funny! He couldn’t have picked a worse Champion!”

“What Champion are you playing?” Tang Bingyao asked, tilting her head.

Lin Feng clenched his fist and pumped it up into the air. He replied, “Annie!”

Zeng Rui nodded and chimed in, “Since our goal is to win on skill, Annie is a good choice. Like we talked about last night.” He then hovered his mouse over Thresh. I’ll pick Thresh. He goes on Annie. He gets fed. He carries the game. And I’ll support him. I’ll help him do that. He glanced over the rim of his monitor at the crowd in the Tianhe Stadium. People can watch this game all they want. All they’ll learn is that the thundering dumbass is a better Midlaner. We won’t reveal any tactics!

✹

《Welcome to Summoner’s Rift!》

The 10 Champions spawned on the Rift. They bought their starting items and ran down the lanes to their respective outer towers. Then they waited. It would take until the second minute before the first minion wave arrived. Those minions spawned from the Blue and the Red nexus and marched down the lanes, fearless.

When the first minion wave arrived in the mid lane, Lin Feng had his Annie tag along with them. She hopped to the middle of and conjured a spark. It blew to life into a small flame that flew at a minion and burned them. She then waited half a second, just long enough for Twisted Fate to arrive in the lane, before casting Disintegrate! Another spark ignited in her hands. But this time, she grew the flame before hurling it at Twisted Fate! The ball of fire slammed into him and dealt magic damage!

Annie had the superior range compared to Twisted Fate. Lin Feng abused this perfectly. He focused on last-hitting minions with his auto attacks, and every time Disintegrate came off cooldown, he hurled a ball of fire at Twisted Fate! All the while, Twisted Fate tried to get in last hits without getting constantly harassed. But he couldn’t do both. Lin Feng didn’t let him. His health dropped lower and lower, until it dropped below half. He was forced to back away a bit and give up on some last hits.

An Xin had started in the bottom side Jungle. At 2:40 minutes into the game, her Lee Sin slew the Red Brambleback and claimed its Red Buff. This buff bolstered her damage and added a slow effect to her auto attacks. Junglers usually would go to the top side Jungle and kill the Blue Sentinel next. But An Xin headed straight for the mid lane. She arrived in the river brush right below the lane a couple of seconds later and looked at the lane--

“One second!” Lin Feng exclaimed over the team’s voice chat. “I’ll set you up!”

An Xin replied, “Okay.” She then watched Lin Feng’s Annie walk toward the top side of the lane. Guangzhou Tech’s Twisted Fate responded by moving down to the bottom side of the lane, keeping distance from Annie. Lin Feng then last hit a minion. Annie reached Level 2 and learned Molten Shield! A shield of fire appeared around her, as did a swirling vortex. Annie’s passive skill was activated. Her next skill would also stun!

“Now!” Lin Feng shouted. He then slammed down on his keyboard. A veil of light fell over Annie. She traveled a short distance and appeared right in front of Twisted Fate, her hands already moving to conjure a ball of fire. Disintegrate! The spell slammed into Twisted Fate and stunned him!

A discordant wave of sound flew into the lane from the river brush! This was Lee Sin’s Sonic Wave! It struck Twisted Fate, unlocking the second part of this skill, Resonating Strike! Lee Sin dashed at Twisted Fate and then slammed down his fist on the ground with Tempest! A shockwave erupted outwards, a foreign energy entering Twisted Fate’s body. Lee Sin then clenched his fist to trigger Cripple! The foreign energy exploded and slowed Twisted Fate!

Guangzhou Tech’s Midlaner grimaced and cursed, “FuckFuckFUCK!” He slammed down on his keyboard, hitting every key that had a skill connected to it. Just the feeling of his fingers touching the keys made him feel like the stun would break faster. It, of course, didn’t. His Twisted Fate hemorrhaged health. The unquenchable flames from Ignite were now also burning on his body. “FuckFuckFUCK!” The stun finally broke. He flashed away. Lee Sin flashed after him and hit him with an auto attack. Another tick from Ignite. “FUCK!”

《First Blood!》

“OH MY GOOOOOOD! WOOOOOOO!”

“WIN FENG! WIN FENG! WIN FENG!”

“He made that look so easy!”

“That gank was just perfect!”

“WOOOOOOO!”

Guangzhou Tech’s Midlaner slumped back in his gaming chair, staring at the dull grey monitor in front of him. What the fuck is this? How…? He shook his head and took a deep breath. This isn’t right. It’s all wrong! How did he… FUCK! We should’ve paid more attention! We should’ve realised when he beat AyDeeCee… FuckFuckFUCK! He gritted his teeth. This is going to be impossible. This matchup was already stacked against Twisted Fate. But now... now I can’t even farm! I’m falling behind at Level 1! Something needs to change… He took another deep breath and then said over the team’s voice chat, “I need help.”

✹

At 4 minutes, Guangzhou Tech’s Rengar finished with his starting Jungle path. He arrived at the top lane, where Zhang Hao’s Jarvan IV was pushing back Guangzhou Tech’s Gragas. Rengar didn’t have a lot of ganking potential before Level 6, but he still ran into the lane through the river and charged at Zhang Hao’s Jarvan IV. It was a 2 versus 1. Everything about it was in Guangzhou Tech’s favour. And Zhang Hao realised this. He didn’t stick around to fight. He flashed away, making it impossible for the two from Guangzhou Tech to catch up to him, and waited underneath his outer tower for Rengar to go away.

Meanwhile in the bot lane. An Xin and Zeng Rui were finding each other perfectly. They moved like one, switching between securing last hits and getting in some poke damage. This led to the Botlaners from Guangzhou Tech hiding underneath their outer tower. And still Tang Bingyao and Zeng Rui were pushing.

An Xin spotted this and made her way down to the bot lane. She ran into the river and then ventured inside Guangzhou Tech’s bottom side Jungle. She said over the team’s voice chat, “Get ready. When I’m in the tri brush behind their outer tower, we’re going in.”

“I’ll go in,” Zeng Rui replied. He looked at his minimap, double checking that Guangzhou Tech’s Rengar wasn’t anywhere near. Still hovering in the top lane. Good. He then looked at the Red minions. A new wave had arrived a couple seconds earlier and Tang Bingyao was killing it quickly. There were only two caster minions left alive. When those two die… He waited for Tang Bingyao to land the last two auto attacks, glanced at his minimap to confirm An Xin was in position, and then he flashed.

A mottled flash of light wrapped around Zeng Rui’s Thresh and carried him to right underneath Red team’s outer tower. Guangzhou Tech’s Janna and Caitlyn stood too closely together. Flay! Zeng Rui’s Thresh whipped his chain and sickle backwards, lifting Janna and Caitlyn off the ground and knocking them back! Caitlyn was right on top of him. He aimed at her and threw the point blank range Death Sentence. The chains wrapped around her.

Guangzhou Tech’s ad-carry gritted his teeth. He moved his mouse, clicking frantically, and pressed down on the D key repeatedly. Flash already! The crowd control from Thresh kept him locked down for a brief moment. It allowed the Lucian the time to dash forward and fire a double shot, then following up with a Piercing Light and another double shot! And it allowed the Lee Sin to dash at him with Sonic Wave into Resonating Strike.

The crowd control from Zeng Rui’s Thresh wore off from Guangzhou Tech’s Caitlyn. She still had a bit of health remaining. Enough to try and escape. She flashed away and ran towards her inner tower! But Tang Bingyao’s Lucian flashed after her. Light bullets flew through the air and pierced her. They drained her health. And she finally collapsed to the ground.

《You have been slain!》

The three Champions from Team Shanghai were between the outer and inner tower. Blue minions were attacking the Red outer tower, underneath which Janna was floating around. Zeng Rui made the call to go in. Thresh, Lee Sin and Lucian dove the tower for a second time to kill Janna. Energy shots fired from the tower. At these early levels, the damage was high. Janna protected herself with a shield. She tried to drag it out, to get a kill back. But Zeng Rui and An Xin juggled tower aggro and Tang Bingyao’s Lucian claimed the killing blow.

《Double kill!》

“Oh shit! Again!?”

“WOOOOOOOO!”

“Haha! This is nuts! Guangzhou Tech lost mid and bot within 5 minutes!”

“Oh boy, time to surrender!”

“DON’T GIVE UP! KEEP PLAYING!”

✹

Lin Feng grinned at his monitor and mumbled, “Walkin’ right into it, walkin’ right into it!” He clicked on his mouse and lightly tapped the keys on his keyboard. “Just one more and you’re walkin’ right into it!”

At 6:30 minutes, Lin Feng’s Annie hit Level 6. And she stood right in front of Guangzhou Tech’s Twisted Fate. And a hazy vortex swirled around her. Annie threw her teddy bear up into the air and yelled, “TIBBERS!”

Fire ignited within the teddy bear! It pumped through its plush veins and burned in its eyes! The small teddy bear grew into a massive monster in midair! Then gravity started doing its work. Tibbers slammed into the ground, right on top of Twisted Fate, and stunned him! He followed up by swiping at Twisted Fate with its massive claws! All the while, Annie cycled through her skills. Sparks of fire from her auto attacks hit Twisted Fate! Fireballs from Incinerate slammed into him! The unquenchable flames from Ignite burned away at his health bar!

Guangzhou Tech’s Midlaner panic-flashed. A veil of light carried his Twisted Fate back towards his outer tower. But he failed to see that Lin Feng’s Annie was already halfway there, or that the burn damage from Ignite would kill him, or that Tibbers had higher movement speed and could both tank the tower and catch back up to him. It was a wasted Flash. Annie was the first to catch up. Disintegrate was back off cooldown. She conjured the ball of fire and flung it at Twisted Fate.

《You have slain an enemy!》

Guangzhou Tech’s Rengar ran into the mid lane from the topside river. He hurled a Bola at Annie to root her, but Lin Feng saw it coming thanks to the ward that revealed Rengar’s gank early. He stepped to the side and then clicked on the lantern that Zeng Rui, who’d just arrived himself, threw at him. He then said over the team’s voice chat, “Let’s take the Dragon!”

“One step ahead of you,” An Xin replied, giggling. Her Lee Sin was already in the Dragon pit and engaged the Dragon while Lin Feng and Zeng Rui moved down the river to join her. Down in the bot lane, Tang Bingyao killed the last minion of the wave before also joining them.

There wasn’t anything Guangzhou Tech could do to stop Team Shanghai. Twisted Fate was dead, so he couldn’t give vision on the Dragon pit with his ultimate. More importantly, the Botlaners and Rengar were split up. It was very easy for Team Shanghai to jump on Rengar and nuke him before turning around to kill the Botlaners if Guangzhou Tech tried to engage. So they had to give up on the Dragon. They had to stay in their lanes, farm minions, and grit their teeth when the game announcer’s voice rang across the Rift.

《The Blue team has slain the dragon!》

Stunned gasps sounded throughout the stands, followed by a low murmur. Most people had seen highlights from Team Shanghai. But watching a couple of highlights wasn’t the same as seeing a team actually play. Most people in the audience whispered about how they were expecting an even game, how they wanted to see a good fight. But they all agreed this wasn’t a good fight. This was a stomp by Team Shanghai.

From the first minute of the game, Team Shanghai took the lead. They got the almost solo kill early on in the mid lane, something that simply shouldn’t happen at this level of play. It went from bad to worse for Guangzhou Tech when their gank in the top lane failed, only for Team Shanghai’s gank in the bot lane to succeed. They’d fallen far behind within five minutes. And now, only 7 minutes into the game, their Midlaner gave away a real solo kill. On the back of it, Team Shanghai secured the Dragon, its buff only further widening the gap.

Team Beijing watched the game from the player seating area at the front of the venue. Zhang Hongyi who was the team’s Support looked through the glass panels of the soundproof booth at Zeng Rui and snarled. This Janna is useless! Guangzhou Tech is shit! How can they give everything away so easily? This is ridiculous! He shook his head and mumbled, “This is a shit game. Guangzhou Tech doesn’t belong at the Winter Collegiate Cup.”

Yu Ping, Midlaner for Team Beijing, glanced at Zhang Hongyi and then back at the large LCD screen. He narrowed his eyes. Zhang Hongyi is right. This isn’t even a game. Annie got so far ahead early on that it’d take skill to lose! There’s nothing I’m going to learn from this game! That Midlaner won’t be pushed to try. Shit, this is annoying. Just show me if you’re going to be good or not! I hope their next round opponents are better.

✹

At 9 minutes, Lin Feng’s Annie pushed the minion wave into Red team’s outer tower. He then retreated and walked down through his Jungle to the bot lane. He announced his arrival over the team’s voice chat. “Get ready, I’m almost there!” He briefly paused before adding, “Right! I nearly forgot! TF is coming too I think! But don’t worry, we’ve got this! Just back off-- OhOhOh! Wait! Not like that! ZengZeng! You have to be ready to throw me a lantern!”

Zeng Rui’s eyelids twitched and gritted his teeth. Shit! I’m not stupid! He shouted, “Shut up! I know! Seriously, who shot calls like that!?” He shook his head when he suddenly noticed a red light descend from the sky. It slammed down onto the ground and whirled in a circle. Teleport! Teleport! He ordered, “Zhang Hao, you also come! The Gragas is Teleporting in!”

Zhang Hao nodded and replied over the team’s voice chat, “Got it--”

“Tang Tang, you back!” Zeng Rui continued. He then narrowed his eyes. The all-seeing eye from Twisted Fate was already hanging in the air. He could teleport down to the bot lane any second. The cards spread on the ground. A gate opened. Zeng Rui activated Death Sentence! His Thresh wound up his sickle and chain before throwing them! They sliced through the air and struck Twisted Fate right as he stepped through the gate!

“Holy hot damn! What a hook! That was amazing!”

“Shit shit! Look! Twisted Fate had a gold card! Thresh stopped him from using the gold card on Lucian!”

“Wow! How did he do that! He reacted so quickly!”

“Damn impressive! That’s some high level skill right there!”

“This is gonna be a full on team fight! GO GUANGZHOU TECH! YOU’VE GOT THIS!”

“GO GO GUANGZHOU TECH! TURN THIS BACK AROUND!”

Tang Bingyao pressed down on the D button to activate Flash. A mottled flash of light wrapped Lucian up and carried him towards her outer tower. She then flicked her mouse around and held it over Twisted Fate before activating Lucian’s ultimate--The Culling! Lucian raised both his guns and started squeezing the trigger. Again. And again. And again. Light bullets spew out from the guns and pierced Twisted Fate, draining his health bar!

The two Toplaners arrived in the bot lane. Guangzhou Tech’s Gragas Body Slammed into Zeng Rui’s Thresh and knocked him up! And Zhang Hao dashed at Twisted Fate with his flag-toss combo! Which missed. The root from Death Sentence wore off just in time for Guangzhou Tech’s Twisted Fate to Flash away from the flag-toss combo! The gold card still hovered above his head. He took it from the air and threw it at Jarvan IV, and stunned him!

Guangzhou Tech’s Janna cast Eye of the Storm on Caitlyn, granting her a shield and bonus attack damage. She then called forth a Howling Gale and sent it flying towards Jarvan IV! Before the stun from Twisted Fate’s Gold Card wore off, Jarvan IV was knocked in the air. All the while, Caitlyn used her long range to fire auto attacks at Jarvan IV!

Zeng Rui’s Thresh was below half health and Zhang Hao’s Jarvan IV was as well. Four players from Guangzhou Tech were attacking them, while Tang Bingyao had to cancel her ultimate and wasn’t doing any damage. It was very hard to reposition with The Culling, making it useless after Twisted Fate flashed away. It looked like Team Shanghai was going to lose the fight and Zeng Rui started to analyse potential ways to escape, when Lin Feng’s voice sounded in his ears. “Lantern! Lantern! Lantern me in!”

It was the voice of the thundering dumbass. The voice that had brought Zeng Rui so many headaches, so many sleepless nights. But right now it sounded like salvation. A smile appeared on his face. He threw the lantern behind him with Dark Passage, waited briefly for Lin Feng to click on it and dash to his side, and then flashed forward. He arrived right between Twisted Fate and Caitlyn, and he carried Lin Feng’s Annie there with him.