After a 15-minute break, the deciding game of the S10 Season Grand Finals officially began.
The viewership for this match broke new records.
The number of viewers watching the match through official channels and major livestreaming websites had already surpassed 200 million. The comments in the livestream rooms were a dazzling blur, with some cheering for Beimu and others shouting for Tianhuan's victory.
Before the deciding game started, the official betting channel for the final game opened once again.
Netizens cast their stash of betting coins. The support rate for both sides was exactly 50%, completely tied. Such a betting result was rarely seen in regular matches.
Yao Mu said, "Usually, even when evenly matched teams meet, the pre-match betting support rates will have a slight difference, like 49:51 or 48:52. A 50:50 complete tie like today is a first since the start of Season 10. It seems everyone has great confidence in both Beimu and Tianhuan!"
Brother Dong said, "The two teams are evenly matched. The final game will determine the winner. Both sides are doing a 'blind pick with bans lifted,' skipping the BP phase, so there won't be any targeted bans, and duplicate heroes might appear."
Yao Mu said, "Yes. Previously in Beimu vs. Yueying, both sides picked [Sharpshooter] in the deciding game. What kind of lineup will Tianhuan and Beimu choose? Let's wait and see!"
On the big screen, players from both sides had already put on their headphones and were making final preparations.
The referee signaled the start of the match. Brother Dong raised his volume and said, "Audience friends, the final deciding game of the S10 Season Grand Finals is about to begin! Let's cheer for the players of both sides with warm applause!"
Thunderous applause erupted at the venue. Especially in the family area, Qu Jiang's father holding a megaphone was particularly conspicuous. Chi Shu's parents, Ye Shaoyang's brother, and Xiao Xing and Old Qin's families were also shouting encouragement.
Inside the soundproof booths, although they couldn't hear the shouts from the audience, everyone knew this was the last game, the final match of the China Region S10. They would definitely give it their all!
The match officially began.
In the deciding game without a BP phase, the 10 players from both sides blindly selected their heroes, which were announced simultaneously after selection.
Although it was a "blind pick," the players couldn't just choose randomly based on preference; the coaching staff had definitely formulated strategies in advance. How would both sides respond in this crucial deciding game? The audience was filled with anticipation.
The 30-second countdown felt exceptionally long, but judging from the players' expressions, they didn't seem nervous.
Especially when the camera focused on Xiao Xing, not only was his face not stiff from nervousness, but he even smiled at the camera and made a "fighting" gesture, eliciting a burst of screams from the scene.
The countdown ended, and the lineups for both sides were announced simultaneously.
Team Tianhuan: [Black Dragon Knight] Top, [Meteor Arrow] Marksman + [Frost Goddess] Support, [Abyssal Lord] Mid, [Stealth Rogue] Jungle.
Team Beimu: [Rose Blade] + [Vampire Duke] Dual Warrior Side Lanes, [Kraken] Mid, [White Bear] Jungle, [Time Traveler] Support.
The audience was slightly surprised upon seeing the lineups. Yao Mu said, "Neither side's lineup is novel. The 5 members of Tianhuan picked heroes they really like to use. Abyssal Lord, Stealth Rogue, and Frost Goddess are Lieyang, Shuoyue, and Jiang Shui's signature heroes. Black Dragon Knight is Old Qin's favorite and specialty, and Meteor Arrow is also one Xiao Xing has liked very much recently. It seems the coach also catered to the players' personal preferences?"
Brother Dong said, "Beimu's dual side lanes are both warriors and not tanky enough, so they chose the relatively tanky utility Jungler [White Bear] to absorb damage. The Mid-laner is [Kraken], the signature hero Sean first made a name with in the European region. The Support can speed up and heal. Overall, the lineup is very comprehensive. In team fights, they can let the dual side lanes flank and cut Tianhuan's carries at maximum speed."
Yao Mu said, "Both lineups are evenly matched. The key lies in positioning during team fights."
Just as the countdown was about to end, the 2nd slot [Stealth Rogue] and the 3rd slot [Abyssal Lord] simultaneously swapped their summoner spell to [Smite]. Sharp-eyed Brother Dong noticed this and couldn't help saying, "Double Smite! The 3rd slot is given to Lieyang, so Abyssal Lord must be used by Lieyang. He brought Smite… could it be…"
Yao Mu's voice trembled with excitement: "Could it be Double Jungle?!"
Not long ago, in the Winner's Bracket match, Tianhuan picked [Abyssal Lord] in the P1 phase. The opposing coach thought Ye Shaoyang would play this Mid, so he frantically banned Chi Shu's junglers in the P2 phase. It turned out to be a wasted ban because Chi Shu actually took [Abyssal Lord] into the Jungle!
Today, [Abyssal Lord] still brought Smite, but it was given to Ye Shaoyang in the 3rd slot to use.
Brother Dong asked in confusion, "Can Lieyang jungle too?"
Yao Mu smiled. "I only know he once used [Illusionist] to jungle in a ranked match, but that was a year ago. After becoming an e-sports player, he duo-queues with Captain Chi every day, so he must have learned the jungling rhythm. After all… the Sun-Moon duo's brainwaves are synchronized."
Many Tianhuan fans in the livestream room spammed excitedly: "Following Double Marksman and Double Mid, Tianhuan brings out Double Jungle!" "Beimu has dual side lanes, two world champions? Tianhuan has dual junglers, also two world champions!"
Although the hero choices in the deciding game weren't very novel and were all previously used, the changes in position and innovation in playstyle could bring a completely different combat experience.
This was Team Tianhuan.
They were always attempting changes and seeking breakthroughs.
Can Ye Shaoyang jungle?
This question lingered in the hearts of many viewers.
Bringing out a Double Jungle system in the deciding game—was it reliable? What if they crashed?
Tianhuan's fans were both excited and nervous.
If they won, everyone would naturally praise Ye Shaoyang as awesome—not only could he play Mage Mid and Marksman Mid, but he could also use a Mage to jungle. But what if they lost? Ye Shaoyang would definitely take the blame!
Who told you to bring [Smite] instead of [Flash] in the deciding game?
Fans broke out in a sweat for Ye Shaoyang.
In contrast, Ye Shaoyang inside the soundproof booth still had a smile on his face, a confident look of "I can play anything." Before the map loaded, he even looked back at Chi Shu and said something unknown.
Chi Shu nodded in agreement.
Yao Mu smiled. "The two should be communicating about which jungle to take first?"
Brother Dong said, "[Stealth Rogue] needs Red Buff more, and [Abyssal Lord] needs Blue Buff. In my opinion, they should join forces to invade Blue. Two Smites, double insurance."
The match officially began.
Sure enough, Ye Shaoyang took Xiao Xing and Qu Jiang to the enemy's Blue Buff jungle. Beimu knew Tianhuan's Double Jungle would definitely invade for buffs, so they sent their Support to guard it in advance, while Mid-laner Sean cleared minions first.
Both sides engaged in a 3v3 tug-of-war in the jungle. Since [Stealth Rogue] could turn invisible, Beimu couldn't determine if Chi Shu was hiding nearby, so they didn't dare be careless and let the Blue Buff reset to full health.
Only the audience with the omniscient view knew that Chi Shu hid in the mid lane bush at the start. The moment Ye Shaoyang took his teammates to invade Blue, he sneakily moved from the dragon pit side and stole the Red Buff at maximum speed.
Yao Mu laughed and cried at the same time. "Tianhuan is using the 'Make a feint to the east while attacking in the west' tactic!"
The audience had an omniscient view, but Beimu's players could only see their own vision. [Stealth Rogue] could turn invisible, and Ye Shaoyang was playing so aggressively with his teammates, so Beimu naturally assumed Chi Shu was nearby.
The result…
Ye Shaoyang was just deliberately drawing aggro to attract Beimu's attention.
Chi Shu stole the Red Buff unknowingly!
Tianhuan's trio whittled down the Blue Buff again. Beimu's Jungler used Smite with lightning hand speed, and Beimu won the first wave of the Blue Buff skirmish. However, when Beimu's Jungler returned to the Red Buff area, he was dumbfounded—
Where's my Red?!
Where are my small monsters?!
Zhao Xinping frowned seeing this. "Their real target was the Red Buff."
Sean said, "Come mid quickly to snatch the river crab."
Beimu's Jungler immediately headed mid. But at this time, Chi Shu had long been ambushing in the mid lane. The moment Beimu's Jungler arrived, he landed an accurate Q-W combo on him. Ye Shaoyang immediately followed up with shadow marks to surround and kill, beating the opposing [White Bear] into a low-health bear.
White Bear was forced to recall. Sean tried to steal the river crab but was cleanly finished off by Ye Shaoyang's [Smite]. Following that, Chi Shu went to take the Blue Buff, and Ye Shaoyang followed. After Chi Shu whittled down the Blue, Ye Shaoyang took it with a Q-skill.
With the "feint east, attack west" strategy, Tianhuan started smoothly with 3 buffs.
In the bot lane, Qu Jiang and Cheng Xing cleared the wave and went straight into the jungle to take their own Red Buff.
Yao Mu said, "Beimu's opening is in a state of semi-collapse in the jungle! Tianhuan has 3 buffs, and they even let the Mid-laner take the Blue!"
Brother Dong said, "[Abyssal Lord] getting Blue will speed up his lane clearing rhythm. The 3 shadows will release faster, and the E-skill shadow swap will also allow faster support to top and bot lanes."
Beimu's Jungler [White Bear] returned to base to heal. Starting with 4 jungle quadrants, he only got experience from 1 quadrant. This semi-collapsed opening would make Beimu play very passively early on. Fortunately, he was just a utility player; low economy didn't matter as long as the core players in the three lanes farmed up quickly.
Sean glanced at the match panel and said, "Enemy Jungler is Level 6, Mid is also 6. Everyone be careful!"
In Tianhuan's previous matches, Chi Shu always reached Level 6 first, and Ye Shaoyang had to wait for a minion wave to hit 6.
But this game, Ye Shaoyang's [Abyssal Lord] was positioned as Mid + Jungle, carrying [Smite]. His first item was a magical jungle knife, with the effect "Increases damage to monsters, increases experience gained from killing monsters." The reason junglers leveled up faster than other players was also because of the experience bonus from killing monsters.
Ye Shaoyang didn't miss a single minion, took the Blue Buff at the start, snatched the river crab, and leeched experience from several jungle camps. So in this game, he and Chi Shu actually hit Level 6 together!
One of these two Great Demon Kings hitting Level 6 and roaming was enough to make opponents fearful, let alone two reaching Level 6 simultaneously?
Would they gank top or bot?
Zhao Xin'an and Zhao Xinping, the siblings, retreated under their towers simultaneously.
Sean also retreated quickly. He saw Ye Shaoyang heading towards the top lane, but he also knew that this guy Ye Shaoyang often used "fake vision" to mislead opponents and couldn't simply trust what he saw.
Maybe this guy would loop back?
Just as he thought this, a shadow suddenly darted out from the grass. Almost instantly, 6 marks appeared above Sean's head, and his health plummeted!
Sean decisively used Flash.
However, the audience with the omniscient view discovered that after hitting Level 6, Chi Shu was actually hiding in the grass between Beimu's inner and outer towers, waiting for Sean to Flash and flee.
After Sean was forced to Flash by Ye Shaoyang, the [Stealth Rogue] who had been lying in ambush suddenly stepped forward. With a Q-R combo, he easily took Sean's head.
Ye Shaoyang tanked the tower for Chi Shu. Chi Shu turned and left, and Ye Shaoyang then swapped with a shadow to retreat. The two initiated the attack from different directions, tanked the tower separately, and retreated one after another. Their coordination was smooth and flowing.
The fact that Tianhuan's Mid-Jungle brainwaves were synchronized was verified once again.
Chi Shu got First Blood and had the highest economy in the game.
He didn't go for the Small Dragon, nor did he support top or bot again. Instead, he dove straight into Beimu's jungle. Ye Shaoyang followed closely behind. The two calculated the respawn time of the opponent's Red Buff and quickly killed it.
Two jungle knives, two Smites.
With the damage bonus against monsters, their clearing speed was incredibly fast.
Seeing the two invading the enemy jungle together, the audience couldn't help but spam the screen—
[Are they just short of holding hands while touring Beimu's jungle?]
[Yangyang is Captain Chi's follower this game!]
[Beimu Jungler be like: Who am I? Where am I? Is this my jungle or your back garden?]
[Double Jungle roam, this is simply indefensible!]
Where was Beimu's biggest weakness? It was precisely the jungle.
Their three lanes were strong, but the jungle rhythm was slightly weaker. Tianhuan's strategy this game was to stare at this weakness and attack frantically, blowing up the jungle directly and snowballing to widen the economic gap.
But Beimu wasn't a soft persimmon to be bullied. Sean quickly adjusted the strategy: "Dual side lanes defend the jungle. Let the minion wave come in before fighting; don't push too deep."
When Chi Shu and Ye Shaoyang invaded Beimu's jungle again, they encountered a four-man defense from Beimu's Marksman, Support, Mid, and Jungle. The two were decisive; Chi Shu looked invisibly, then slipped away.
Ye Shaoyang swapped with a shadow and ran faster than anyone.
2v4? They weren't that arrogant yet.
Since Beimu wouldn't let them invade the jungle, let's take the Small Dragon?
So both sides started a tug-of-war team fight around the Small Dragon. The dragon was reset twice, and even the Top laners from both sides ran all the way to support. Chi Shu said decisively, "Fight! Prepare to steal the dragon."
Tianhuan started the dragon first.
But Beimu didn't want to give up this Small Dragon at all. They couldn't let the snowball get bigger; if the economy gap widened too much, the late game would be unplayable.
Zhao Xin'an and Zhao Xinping cut in almost simultaneously!
These twins also had perfect tacit understanding. Zhao Xin'an flanked from above the dragon pit to kill Cheng Xing; Zhao Xinping flanked from below, focusing on Ye Shaoyang; Sean filled in the gaps from a distance, occasionally throwing a monster to bite someone.
Beimu's dual side lanes cut the backline simultaneously, quickly scattering Tianhuan's formation.
Xiao Xing was killed. Although Ye Shaoyang used shadow swap to escape quickly, Zhao Xinping was very fierce, flashing directly to follow and burst him. Ye Shaoyang fell helplessly under the female warrior's rose-covered sharp scimitar.
Yao Mu said excitedly, "Beimu 0 for 2, huge profit this wave!"
But just then, Qu Jiang's perfectly timed freeze caught the two Beimu members hitting the dragon. Chi Shu immediately used Smite to steal the Small Dragon.
Brother Dong said, "Tianhuan stole the Small Dragon! Although 2 people died in this fight, it's not a huge loss?"
Yao Mu said, "Yes, a small loss. Beimu got kills, interrupting Tianhuan's synergy rhythm, and can farm peacefully for a bit."
Beimu's Zhao Xinping took the Support and Jungler as bodyguards and buried herself in the jungle to farm. In the top lane, Zhao Xin'an split-pushed steadily, relying on [Vampire Duke]'s ultimate healing to trade health unceremoniously with Old Qin.
After Ye Shaoyang and Cheng Xing revived, Tianhuan returned to their lanes to farm.
The match gradually dragged into the late game at 20 minutes.
At this point, the economic gap between the two sides wasn't as large as at the start.
Zhao Xinping had forcefully farmed back the economy. Looking at the match panel, Chi Shu still had the highest economy, with Ye Shaoyang and Zhao Xinping tied for second, and Sean, Zhao Xin'an, and Cheng Xing tied for third.
Although Old Qin and Qu Jiang's economy was relatively low, Beimu's Jungler's economy was unwatchable, having only built a defensive vest and a support item.
Overall, Tianhuan's team lead was less than 1000 gold. A team fight was possible, but winning wasn't guaranteed. After all, Beimu's dual warriors posed too great a threat to Tianhuan's Marksman and Mid-laner.
Chi Shu calculated the respawn time of the opponent's Red Buff and said, "Lure them over, prepare for a team fight!"
Teammates pressed: Received.
Ye Shaoyang sent a shadow to stand above the dragon pit, deliberately revealing himself to be seen by Sean. Sean immediately warned his teammates to defend. In the blink of an eye, all 5 members from both sides arrived, engaging in a desperate struggle in the jungle!
Because Beimu's players knew very well that once the Red Buff was stolen by Tianhuan again and the jungle rhythm continued to collapse, the economic gap would widen again.
The jungle terrain offered a lot of room for maneuvering. Beimu's dual side lanes could flank to cut Tianhuan's squishies, while Tianhuan's Mid-Jungle could also use the terrain for cover to assassinate Beimu's cores.
This team fight was exceptionally fierce. First, Sean seized an opportunity, using an ultimate to cripple Xiao Xing who was hiding near the dragon pit. Zhao Xinping followed up with damage to delete Xiao Xing. Following that, Ye Shaoyang released shadows, quickly detonating marks to cripple Zhao Xinping, and Chi Shu appeared from invisibility to take her head.
1 for 1 trade.
Little Zhao charged into the crowd with his lifesteal ultimate active, slashing wildly. In the blink of an eye, he crippled Ye Shaoyang. Ye Shaoyang swapped with a shadow to escape with a sliver of health, but was chased down by Little Zhao's Flash and killed with one slash.
Chi Shu turned back to chase the enemy Mid-laner, taking Sean's head with a critical hit.
2 for 2 trade.
Chi Shu took advantage of the situation to steal a Red Buff.
Beimu was having a hard time.
Sean said, "Always taking small losses will accumulate into a big loss."
Zhao Xin'an paused. "…Your Chinese has improved significantly!"
Sean said, "So we can't sit and wait for death; we must retaliate?"
Zhao Xinping understood his meaning and said calmly, "Mn, counter-invade."
The surviving Zhao Xin'an took the Jungler and Support to invade Chi Shu's jungle instead. Chi Shu was low on health and retreated quickly under the protection of Qu Jiang and Old Qin.
Cheng Xing looked at the gray screen, feeling a bit depressed. being forcefully killed twice by Sister Xinping, he really had no solution. Sister Xinping played Marksman at an international top-tier level herself, so she was extremely experienced in killing Marksmen!
Although Tianhuan wasn't at a disadvantage yet, it couldn't go on like this.
Cheng Xing took a deep breath. After reviving, he heard his master say, "Clear this wave, wait for my signal. Force a fight at Baron, one more wave."
Actually, Chi Shu's command style wasn't usually this aggressive.
Perhaps influenced by Ye Shaoyang, Chi Shu's playstyle this game was noticeably fiercer. He led his teammates in continuous invasions and team fights, with almost no pause longer than 1 minute.
Just fought a 2-for-2 at the Red Buff, cleared a wave, and now forcing a Baron fight?
Teammates naturally wouldn't question Chi Shu's decision. They went to their lanes to clear waves, and once their ultimates cooled down, they quickly gathered at the Baron.
Sean saw 5 people disappear from the map and immediately pinged the dragon pit: "They are stealing the dragon."
Zhao Xin'an: "Go snatch it!"
Both sides set up formation at the Baron pit. Chi Shu hid invisibly in the distance, waiting for an opportunity.
Tianhuan engaged first. Old Qin jumped in to pull people, but unfortunately, Beimu's Sean flashed immediately and wasn't pulled. Although Old Qin missed his ultimate, burning Sean's Flash wasn't a total loss.
Sean said, "He missed his ult, counterattack!"
Beimu's squishiest member was naturally the Mid-laner Sean. As long as the opponent didn't control him, it was manageable.
Support [Time Traveler] immediately activated speed boost. Beimu's Jungler [White Bear] stood in front to tank damage. The dual side lanes flanked from left and right. Just as Zhao Xinping cut in, Cheng Xing suddenly made a stunning play—he flashed to the top of the dragon pit!
Zhao Xinping had flashed to cut him, but with Xiao Xing's run, her skills couldn't reach him. Cheng Xing rejoiced and immediately activated [Meteor Arrow]'s ultimate to fire frantically. Countless throwing knives shot out like a rainstorm, not only quickly stacking 5 layers of bleed on Zhao Xinping but also disturbing the Baron.
The Baron roared in the pit, knocking up the nearby Zhao Xinping.
Ye Shaoyang seized the opportunity; three shadows surrounded her instantly, deleting her.
Zhao Xin'an wanted to cut Ye Shaoyang, but Ye Shaoyang swapped with a shadow to leave, so he shifted direction to cut Qu Jiang. Sean used an ultimate to cripple Qu Jiang, and Zhao Xin'an finished him off with a horizontal slash.
However, before Qu Jiang died, he placed a W freeze skill under his feet, freezing Zhao Xin'an perfectly.
Cheng Xing decisively came out of the bush, firing consecutive arrows to cripple Zhao Xin'an. Nearby, Ye Shaoyang turned back with a Q-E combo to take Zhao Xin'an's head.
Sean was waiting for an opportunity in the distance. Seeing this, he decisively used his ult, instantly deleting the exposed Cheng Xing.
Xiao Xing had been moving and shooting rapidly on the flank just now, crippling both Beimu's Support and Jungler.
At this point, Tianhuan had a sliver-health Old Qin, half-health Ye Shaoyang, and full-health Chi Shu left.
Beimu had a low-health Support, half-health Jungler, and Mid-laner Sean left.
3v3, the outcome was unpredictable.
Old Qin tanked damage at the front, left with only a sliver of health. After throwing out his last Q-skill, he died under the pursuit of Beimu's Jungler [White Bear].
At this point, they could have retreated.
But Chi Shu pinged an [Initiate Attack] mark for Ye Shaoyang.
Chi Shu, who had been hiding in the grass, suddenly used his stealth ultimate to flank. A Q-W-R combo reduced Sean to 1 HP. Ye Shaoyang shadow-swapped over at maximum speed, deleting the low-health Sean!
Sean: "…"
Chi Shu's stealth hiding spot was too good; he didn't see him at all and was assassinated completely off guard.
Seeing this, the audience seemed to understand something.
Yao Mu reacted first: "Abyssal Lord's ultimate refreshes after a kill! This is a mage assassin with harvesting capability!"
Brother Dong said excitedly, "The team fight was too intense just now. Tianhuan lost 3 people, Beimu also lost 3 people. It was dazzling to watch, but looking closely, all the kills were taken by Abyssal Lord."
Yao Mu said, "That's right, teammates are assisting Lieyang in refreshing his ultimate!"
Beimu had two people left. Chi Shu and Ye Shaoyang began to chase together. Beimu's Support ran with speed boost, but couldn't outrun Abyssal Lord's continuous shadow swaps.
Abyssal Lord has killed White Bear!
Abyssal Lord has killed Time Traveler!
When the final message popped up, the entire audience boiled over. In the family seats, Tianhuan's friends and relatives even jumped up in excitement!
Even Chi Shu's mother smiled and applauded vigorously. "This Lieyang plays really well."
——Penta Kill!
Abyssal Lord got a Penta Kill in the Baron team fight, wiping out Beimu in one breath!
Yao Mu's voice was trembling slightly: "I still remember, in Lieyang's debut match in the regular season, he also used [Abyssal Lord] to get a Penta Kill! Today, the Penta Kill reappears in the final battle of the deciding game!"
Brother Dong said, "Actually, when Shuoyue flanked and ambushed Sean just now, he could have totally taken Sean's head. But he held back one basic attack, crippling Sean to let Lieyang take the kill and assist Lieyang in refreshing Abyssal Lord's ultimate—it was Shuoyue who personally facilitated Lieyang's Penta Kill!"
After killing everyone, they took the Baron together and pushed down the crystal with the minion wave.
Did Chi Shu facilitate Ye Shaoyang's Penta Kill, or did Ye Shaoyang facilitate Chi Shu's championship dream?
To them, it didn't matter.
They had always been the inseparable Sun and Moon combination.
The S10 China Regional Championship, after so many years, this time, belonged to Tianhuan!