Yueying and Jingzhe were eliminated in the group stage, but they didn't return to China immediately. Instead, they stayed in Seoul to play scrims with Tianhuan and Beimu. When this news reached China, the anti-fans who had been quarreling because of Jingzhe and Yueying's poor results were too embarrassed to curse anymore.
Every team wanted to achieve good results, but there was only one champion. Their willingness to stay as sparring partners, helping their friends while also improving themselves—such courage and broad-mindedness alone were worthy of admiration.
There were only 2 days left until the 8-into-4 elimination match.
When the Tianhuan coaching staff reviewed the replays, they carefully analyzed the characteristics of Team HER.
As the runner-up team of the S10 European region, their overall strength naturally couldn't be underestimated. Their strongest position was the top laner, August, known as the No. 1 top laner in Europe.
Second was the mid-laner, Klein. It was said that ever since Sean transferred to Beimu, this Klein rarely met an opponent in the European professional league arena and had solo-killed mid-laners from other teams multiple times.
HER's other three players performed adequately in the league; they weren't weak, but not particularly strong either.
In other words, HER was a typical "top and mid strong" team. Playing against such a team actually wasn't difficult for Tianhuan. After all, Tianhuan's mid lane was one of their strongest points. Ye Shaoyang, jokingly called the "Mid-lane Great Demon King" by domestic netizens, wasn't afraid of any world-class mid-laner.
Although Tianhuan's Old Qin was weaker individually, their jungler was very strong and could drive the tempo to help the top lane more.
Coach Lin summarized, "Against HER, the coaching staff's strategy after analysis is—lane swap."
The 5 members of Tianhuan looked up in surprise. Coach Lin smiled and said, "Remember the match we played against Yueying in the regular season? Yueying suddenly swapped lanes, completely disrupting our rhythm. This time, we'll borrow Yueying's idea. Swap lanes directly at the start. Xiao Xing and Qu Jiang will team up to pressure the opposing top laner back, limiting August's growth. Mid lane, I trust Yangyang can withstand the opposing Klein's offense. As for the jungle, leave it to Chi Shu to play freely."
Everyone looked at each other and felt this approach was feasible.
HER's strongest player was the top laner, but no matter how strong he was, he couldn't 1v2. Xiao Xing and Qu Jiang teaming up could suppress him under his tower, limiting his farm. Although Old Qin wasn't strong enough with warriors, if he picked a big tank and Ye Shaoyang and Chi Shu helped occasionally, Old Qin's lane wouldn't collapse easily.
Chi Shu would freely drive the rhythm, choosing to gank bot or top depending on the situation on the field. Chi Shu's ability to drive the rhythm as a jungler was far superior to HER's jungler, Schroeder.
This way, Tianhuan could firmly grasp the initiative of the match.
Coach Lin continued, "As for the lineup, I think there's no need to use risky lineups against HER. We'll play steady. Yangyang picks a mage with fast support speed, Chi Shu picks an assassin with high burst, and the Mid-Jungle synergy will drive the tempo. During BP, I will try to target the top lane to relieve pressure on Old Qin."
Chi Shu said decisively, "No problem."
Ye Shaoyang said, "Regarding the lane swap tactic, should we play some scrims with Yueying?"
Coach Lin rubbed his hands and smiled. "Don't worry, I've already discussed it with Yueying's coach. For the next two days, Jingzhe will scrim with Beimu, and we will play with Yueying. After all, Yueying played against HER in the group stage and can give us some help with their experience."
With 2 days left, the players didn't dare slack off at all.
That night, they scheduled several scrims with all members of Yueying, and the results were quite good.
Since Yueying had played against HER in Group D, Old Xu and Xie Weiyu had some insights on how to target this team, and they shared them unreservedly.
For Old Xu, this season was already over. Rather than letting a team from another country win the championship, it was better to let his good buddy Chi Shu stand on the championship podium. So, he genuinely wanted to help Chi Shu. Xie Weiyu had always regarded Ye Shaoyang as his best friend in the e-sports circle and also hoped Yangyang could shine in the World Tournament.
After the scrims, everyone discussed privately for a long time about how to beat HER more easily.
Xu Zhuo said, "Team HER comes from Germany. Their tactical style is very rigorous. They won't engage in team fights easily; instead, they methodically farm experience and level up, waiting until they complete key items before pushing towers, as if following a set program. Their rhythm is very steady. They will avoid fighting and defend in the early game. If dragged to the late game, it's very hard to beat them."
Xie Weiyu analyzed, "HER's bot lane marksman isn't weak, but he hasn't reached the international first-tier level. I think Xiao Xing won't be at a disadvantage in a 1v1 against their marksman."
Hearing this, Cheng Xing's eyes lit up. "Brother Rain thinks I can 1v1 the opposing marksman?"
Xie Weiyu said, "Mn. Although Xiao Xing is a rookie, he dares to fight and risk it. HER's marksman… I always feel his thinking is a bit conservative. He rarely actively seeks opportunities, and he's not decisive enough with Flash."
Xu Zhuo said, "Their jungler is a farming jungler; his ability to drive early game rhythm is far inferior to Chi Shu's. I think as long as Chi Shu's rhythm doesn't collapse, the odds of winning against HER are very high. By the way, their top laner's [Kung Fu Master] and [Blade's Will] have very strong backline-cutting capabilities. Focus on guarding against them then."
Qu Jiang smiled and said, "The task of guarding against the top laner can be left to me. Xiao Xing, pay attention to your positioning then; don't get cut down by him." Cheng Xing nodded vigorously. "Understood, Brother Qu!"
Xie Weiyu said, "Add oil, waiting for your good news."
Tianhuan indeed had nothing to fear against a team like HER, which was strong in top and mid lanes. After all, they could even win against a team like Beimu, which was strong in all three lanes.
Time passed quickly, and the 8-into-4 elimination match officially began.
This match was scheduled for 7 PM. Coupled with it being a BO5 Global BP elimination match, there were noticeably more spectators at the venue than in the afternoon session, and the atmosphere was livelier.
For the Korean audience, it didn't matter if Europe or China won. However, since they disliked Tianhuan, the cheers for HER were noticeably louder.
As for the reason Korean audiences disliked Tianhuan, it was obviously because media reporters from many countries believed Tianhuan's Mid-Jungle strength was not weaker than Choi Hyuk and Park Won-seok. Some reporters even objectively analyzed the data of players from various countries and concluded: Tianhuan has the strength to compete for the championship.
Want to snatch ATB's championship? Of course the Korean audience wouldn't agree.
Inside the soundproof booth, the 5 members of Tianhuan put on their headphones collectively.
The first game began. Since Tianhuan was 1st in Group C and HER was 2nd in Group D, Tianhuan had priority side selection. Tianhuan chose Blue Side for the first game and directly banned [Kung Fu Master].
Yao Mu said, "World Tournament, of course there's no need to be polite with the opponent. August's [Kung Fu Master] is very strong; Tianhuan's ban is no problem!"
HER banned Ye Shaoyang's [Abyssal Lord]. Tianhuan continued to ban [Blade's Will], targeting the top lane to the end; the opponent banned [Goddess of Destiny], continuing to lock horns with the mid lane.
Tianhuan's 1st pick directly grabbed the [Wind Elf] marksman to ensure Cheng Xing's development.
The audience discovered that Tianhuan's BP strategy was to grab Marksman, Support, and Top in the P1 phase, leaving Mid and Jungle for last. So, in the P2 phase, HER continued to ban Mid laners, directly banning four of Ye Shaoyang's mage assassins!
Yao Mu said, "Yangyang is getting VIP treatment! However, Yangyang's hero pool is simply too deep. The opponent banned 4 mage assassins in a row, but they still can't ban them all."
Ye Shaoyang's mage assassins were all banned, so he had no choice but to pick [Holy Spirit Mage] as a utility hero to protect Chi Shu. Now things were good; a bunch of Chi Shu's wild cores were left open. He casually picked [Stealth Rogue], whose early game tempo was super fast.
Then, HER felt what "fear dominated by an invisible assassin" was.
Chi Shu's tempo was ridiculously fast. HER's jungler liked to bury his head in farming at the start. As a result, Chi Shu timed it perfectly for when the buff was low health, stealthed over, and snatched the buff with a Smite through the grass!
Even more surprising was that Tianhuan actually swapped lanes.
Xiao Xing and Qu Jiang went to the top lane together to lane against August; Old Qin went to the bot lane alone to face the opposing marksman and support 1v2.
Chi Shu, starting with 3 buffs, ganked top quickly in the first wave at Level 6, joining forces with Xiao Xing and Qu Jiang to tower dive and kill the top laner. Following that, Chi Shu continued to roam, snatching the Small Dragon with Ye Shaoyang.
HER's jungler felt the terror of a rhythm collapse for the first time.
As Old Xu said, this team wasn't very good at actively attacking and initiating team fights. They preferred defensive counterattacks and slow macro play. However, a Chi Shu with tempo and luxurious equipment didn't give the opponent any chance to counterattack.
At 10 minutes into the game, HER's jungler had only secured 2 buffs from start to finish, constantly having buffs stolen by Chi Shu. How miserable could it get!
Domestic viewers spammed the screen in the livestream room one after another—
[Your jungle is my back garden?]
[Targeting only the mid lane is useless; Tianhuan has two Great Demon Kings.]
[With Yangyang's support, Captain Chi is too comfortable this game, and the opposing jungler is suffering too much.]
[To beat Tianhuan, either crush a side lane or target Mid-Jungle crazily.]
[HER's strength is still not quite enough!]
As Chi Shu played, he also discovered that the strength of the European runner-up team was inferior to Beimu, who was strong in all three lanes.
HER's top and mid lane support speed was indeed fast, making it not easy for him to steal the Red Buff. But the bot lane marksman's personality seemed relatively cautious; his support speed was always half a beat slower, and the support lacked the awareness to focus on defending the jungle. Chi Shu and Ye Shaoyang's joint invasion could relatively easily steal the Blue Buff.
One or two Blue Buffs taken didn't matter, but little drops of water make a mighty ocean. The opposing jungler's economy collapsed quickly, while Chi Shu was filthy rich. After leading by one major item, Chi Shu roamed jointly with Ye Shaoyang, quickly driving the tempo of the whole game. HER lost very quickly.
In the second game, HER's coach began to target Chi Shu crazily in the BP phase.
The result was letting out Ye Shaoyang's mage assassin.
The domestic livestream room laughed together—
[Banning Junglers and letting Mid laners go, still useless.]
[Yangyang is equally strong at driving tempo. You can't let either of these two Demon Kings go!]
Chi Shu took a utility jungler, yielding jungle economy to Ye Shaoyang. Ye Shaoyang farmed quickly to Level 6. The two joined forces to tower dive and kill the opposing mid laner, then began to roam frantically to drive the rhythm.
Wherever they went, they killed. In the blink of an eye, they caused all three of HER's lanes to collapse.
HER's coach was about to go bald!
This team Tianhuan was truly terrifying. Who on earth should I ban?
Can I send both players SUN and MOON to the ban list?
In the third game, Tianhuan had already reached match point.
HER's jungler's mentality crumbled a bit, and he gritted his teeth. "I'll pick a wild core this game. We'll actively invade and steal their buffs!"
As a result, in the third game, Tianhuan didn't play Mid-Jungle synergy, nor did they swap top and bot lanes.
Tianhuan played macro.
Support picked [Time Traveler] for speed boost, Mid picked [Goddess of Ocean] for slow—a classic speed difference lineup.
HER was a team that focused on defense and macro, not good at actively initiating team fights to drive rhythm. However, they despaired to find… when Tianhuan played macro, it was even more disgusting!
The large-area slowing waters released by Ye Shaoyang's [Goddess of Ocean] made them feel like their feet were filled with lead, unable to move at all; while Qu Jiang's [Time Traveler] sped up the whole team, allowing Tianhuan to conduct rapid guerrilla warfare, snatching resources, pushing lanes, and taking towers.
HER was always a few seconds slower than Tianhuan.
In the third game, there was almost no head-on confrontation between the two sides, nor did a single kill occur.
But unknowingly, HER's outer towers in top and bot lanes were pushed.
After pushing down the side lane outer towers, Old Qin and Chi Shu quickly split-pushed, suppressing the opponent with minion waves.
Cheng Xing buried himself in the jungle to farm. The moment Cheng Xing finished farming and came out with three items, Tianhuan started forcing a fight at Baron.
HER's marksman flashed just 0.1 seconds late and was instantly deleted by Ye Shaoyang's slow plus Chi Shu's flanking critical hit. HER's top laner wanted to flank and delete Cheng Xing but had his key damage blocked by Qu Jiang. Cheng Xing flashed to the side, moving and shooting frantically, unleashing a barrage of sharp arrows to take a Triple Kill in one breath!
——Victory!
Looking at the golden victory text on the screen, the domestic audience couldn't quite believe it.
[Holy crap, 3:0?]
[I guessed they could win, but I didn't guess a 3:0 win!]
[Tianhuan is really too awesome!]
[In the World Tournament stage, the coordination of the five of them is really super tacit.]
[Have to thank Yueying for staying to share experience and playing scrims with Tianhuan. Today's tactics were definitely trained and studied privately by the two teams!]
[HER's level isn't quite there, far inferior to Beimu. It's normal for Tianhuan to beat HER.]
[But winning 3:0 is indeed a suppression of strength!]
When Chi Shu led his teammates to HER's soundproof booth to shake hands, HER's captain August hugged Chi Shu very heartily and smiled, "You guys are even stronger than I thought."
Chi Shu said politely, "Thank you."
Having undergone the tempering of domestic matches, Tianhuan was indeed getting stronger and stronger.
Like five gears that had become seamless and impeccable after constant grinding.
Thanks also to those domestic opponents.
Various diverse tactics broadened Tianhuan's thinking and accumulated a large amount of practical experience.
For example, the lane swap in the first game today was taught to them by Yueying; the macro playstyle in the third game was learned from Team Binghun and Korean teams.
Tianhuan was constantly learning.
Advancing to the Top 4 of the World Tournament was not yet a satisfying result for them.
Before leaving the main stage, standing in the shadows backstage, everyone looked back simultaneously at the center of the main stage—where the S10 World Championship trophy was placed. The glittering gold trophy was very exquisite and beautiful.
Ye Shaoyang exchanged a look with Chi Shu.
Let's bring it home. This time, don't lose it again.