In a room of ten people, nine were online, yet no one spoke.
After waiting for about two minutes, Yang Sinian still hadn't joined, and Chen Jing couldn't stand it.
yLs·scene: Not ready yet?
gdt·momo: Almost, almost.
Xiao Mo had joined GDT during the peak of Sheng Kuang, Chen Jing, and Lan Bowen's careers. He started in the second team and often hung around their first team when he had free time. He had a good temper and was sweet-mouthed, so the first team members all liked him, especially Lan Bowen, who also played mid-lane. Lan Bowen had privately given him many lessons back then.
Although Sheng Kuang and the others had a very unpleasant falling out with GDT, they maintained good private relationships with Xiao Mo.
It was evident that Xiao Mo didn't want the atmosphere to be awkward and frequently sent messages.
gdt·momo: Brother Nian is logging in now.
gdt·momo: Brother Kuang, Brother Jing, I'm truly sorry.
Yang Sinian joined, and the other nine were ready, but he was the only one dawdling and not preparing.
gdt·momo: Brother Nian is sorting out his headset.
gdt·momo: Sorry, everyone, please wait a moment longer.
Xiao Mo kept apologizing, and Chen Jing felt too embarrassed to vent in the chat, so he cursed privately, "That bastard Yang Sinian, is he deliberately trying to annoy us?"
gdt·momo: We're ready on our side. Are you guys ready on your end?
yLs·scene: We were ready long ago.
Xiao Mo, as the host, saw Chen Jing say that and directly clicked start.
The training match was best of three, and the first game officially began.
Lin Jing, to avoid disturbing everyone, sat far away with Li Xiaozhou, watching the projection on the wall.
Just like in formal matches, they had to ban and pick heroes first. Both sides were very targeted, but GDT was straightforward. All four of their positions were aimed squarely at Sheng Kuang, banning almost all of the heroes he played exceptionally well.
However, for Sheng Kuang, it wasn't a big problem. The heroes he played best had already been banned by many teams with targeted bans two years ago during matches.
Back when Sheng Kuang was at his strongest with GDT, an unwritten rule had already emerged in the league.
If his overpowered heroes were banned, they could still fight GDT. If not, and he managed to get one, they could practically surrender at six minutes.
Two years later, although Sheng Kuang hadn't been on the competitive stage, teams that came to arrange training matches with yLs still habitually banned Sheng Kuang's overpowered heroes in the first game.
In the first game, the lineups chosen by both sides were evenly matched in terms of hero counterplay.
For the first four minutes of the game, both sides played cautiously, with no significant economic differences.
However, from the fifth minute onwards, it was clear that yLs's ADC, Qin Yu, was weaker in lane than GDT's ADC.
GDT's five players, having just won the World Championship, were all strong. Once they identified a weakness, they would relentlessly exploit it.
At five minutes and forty-seven seconds, Qin Yu died, killed by Yang Sinian and the opposing ADC under the tower.
The moment Yang Sinian secured the kill, he typed "Sorry" at Qin Yu's corpse.
Perhaps provoked by Yang Sinian's taunt, Qin Yu, after respawning, saw Yang Sinian at low health. While Chen Jing was returning to base to heal, Qin Yu alone chased Yang Sinian and was killed by the opposing mid-laner ambushing in the bushes. Yang Sinian, who escaped at low health, returned to Qin Yu's corpse after farming to refill his health and typed "Sorry" again.
Qin Yu died twice in a row, falling far behind in economy. Even with Chen Jing protecting him the entire time, he couldn't withstand the opposing ADC and support.
In a game like this, if one player falls behind, it can drag the entire team down. Less than ten minutes into the game, yLs was pushed back to their high ground by GDT.
Their jungle was completely lost, and their dragons and barons were all taken. In such a situation, the economic gap widened, and just past the thirteen-minute mark, yLs was unable to turn the tide, watching helplessly as their crystal was destroyed by GDT.
Returning to the room where the ten players were, Yang Sinian, who had taken nearly ten minutes to join before the training match, spoke.
gdt·sinian: Huh? It's only half-past three.
Yang Sinian's remark was clearly mocking yLs for being unable to withstand them.
Lin Jing glared angrily at Yang Sinian's avatar on the projection screen and instinctively looked at Sheng Kuang. Sheng Kuang, however, remained calm, as if nothing had happened, and clicked ready.
Chen Jing, usually the most vocal, remained silent this time, despite being unhappy about losing a game and facing Yang Sinian's mockery.
The players on both sides clicked ready one after another. Xiao Mo clicked start, and they proceeded to the hero ban and pick page for the second game.
This time, yLs banned heroes first. Lan Bowen targeted Yang Sinian and banned a jungler.
It was GDT's turn to ban heroes. As time ticked away, GDT still hadn't banned any heroes.
It was yLs's turn again, and Chen Jing, looking at the empty ban slots for GDT, muttered, "What's going on? Did GDT forget to ban heroes?"
Lan Bowen, taking notes as he analyzed, said, "Probably. Ban Lan."
Banning four heroes each, for a total of eight bans, by the time both sides finished their bans, GDT still hadn't banned a single hero.
Chen Jing became even more confused, "What does GDT mean? A new strategy? They didn't ban any of Kuang Zai's strong heroes; are they crazy?"
Not just Chen Jing, but the other members of yLs were also very confused.
However, despite their confusion, they quickly adjusted their focus and began to pick heroes.
With GDT leaving so many heroes available, Sheng Kuang secured one of his overpowered heroes.
The reason it was called overpowered was that no matter how the meta shifted or how much the hero was nerfed, Sheng Kuang could always make it work.
This game was no exception. Although GDT was still relentlessly targeting Qin Yu, Sheng Kuang developed too quickly. GDT managed to kill Qin Yu twice, but their top laner and mid-laner were completely shut down by Sheng Kuang. Eventually, Yang Sinian and his support had to rotate to the mid lane and defend their lanes. Qin Yu finally gained some room and time to develop. With Chen Jing's help, he successfully pushed down GDT's outer tower and then went to support the mid lane. GDT's mid-laner, Xiao Mo, was already struggling to develop due to Sheng Kuang's pressure. Now, with a team fight breaking out in the mid lane, GDT couldn't cope and lost two towers in quick succession.
At eleven minutes into the game, GDT's mid high ground was pushed.
Sheng Kuang took the dragon, and the rest of yLs farmed aggressively. As the mid super minion wave arrived, Chen Jing charged into the crystal to disrupt. yLs decisively initiated a team fight and, at twelve minutes and fifty-seven seconds, destroyed GDT's crystal.
It was a best of three, and now the score was tied at one-one, with one more game to decide the winner. Back in the room, yLs clicked ready without any hesitation.
GDT, however, seemed to have a poor internet connection and took a long time to click ready.
Yang Sinian was the last to click ready, but then he canceled it, and a line of text appeared in the room.
gdt·sinian: We'll play seriously next game.
gdt·sinian: We were intentionally going easy just now and didn't ban heroes.
ps: Part two of "I Like You Tomorrow" will be available for pre-order on the 25th! I'll start posting pictures these few days!