In the second game, Tianhuan was on the Blue Side, and ATB was on the Red Side.
Tianhuan had the first ban. Coach Lin's BP targeted supports; [Light of Blessing], a support that could cleanse crowd control and increase shields, was banned first. ATB immediately followed by banning [Stealth Rogue].
In a BO5 match, it was a common strategy to ban strong heroes one had used to prevent the opponent from using them. ATB played [Stealth Rogue] to good effect in the first game, so banning it in the second game prevented Chi Shu from using it, guarding against Chi Shu picking Rogue to coordinate with Ye Shaoyang.
Lin Feng continued to ban supports, banning [Shield of Glory].
ATB banned Ye Shaoyang's signature hero [Abyssal Lord].
Seeing this, Yao Mu complained, "ATB has been targeting the Mid and Jungle all day. The two core heroes [Abyssal Lord] and [Stealth Rogue] likely won't be let through for the rest of the match."
Brother Dong said, "Yes, Yangyang's [Abyssal Lord] got a penta kill in the China Region Grand Finals and was the FMVP. ATB is obviously wary of this hero. But in that case, the classic Mid-Jungle synergy of [King of Fighters] + [Goddess of Destiny] is open. Will Tianhuan take it?"
Yao Mu said, "I don't think they will, because Tianhuan is on the Blue Side and can only pick one hero first. No matter who Tianhuan picks first, the opponent will break Tianhuan's combo."
In Phase 1 of picking heroes, Tianhuan unhesitatingly locked in [Blade's Will].
Brother Dong said, "Picking a Top laner first? Looks like Old Qin is going to use a warrior to supplement damage this game."
Seeing this, ATB's coach immediately selected [King of Fighters] jungle + [Goddess of Destiny] mid in slots 1 and 2, snatching away the King of Fighters + Goddess of Destiny Mid-Jungle combo. Obviously, ATB had specifically studied Tianhuan's lineup.
Tianhuan took Marksman [Wind Elf] + Support [Holy Paladin] in slots 2 and 3, protecting the bot lane duo.
ATB selected Top laner [Vampire Duke] in slot 3.
Domestic viewers couldn't help but complain—
[Tianhuan's strong King of Fighters + Goddess of Destiny combo was snatched by ATB!]
[Why didn't the coach pick Mid-Jungle first? Mid and Jungle are targeted so hard, yet they still don't pick core Mid and Jungle heroes. Always picking Marksman in Phase 1, knowing Xiao Xing can't be the main carry!]
[Don't know what the coaching staff is thinking, leaving Mid and Jungle for the P2 phase. All the good Mid-Jungle heroes are banned.]
It was no wonder fans were anxious. In the first game, Tianhuan picked Mid and Jungle in Phase 2, resulting in Ye Shaoyang's mage assassins and Chi Shu's wild cores being banned out, making the lineup very passive.
Daring to do this again in the second game? You guys are truly stubborn!
Sure enough, seeing Tianhuan didn't pick Mid or Jungle, ATB's coach continued to ban Mid and Jungle in the P2 phase.
Chi Shu couldn't even think about picking [Ninja], and Ye Shaoyang wasn't allowed to take rhythm-driving mage assassins like [Illusionist], further compressing the Mid-Jungle hero pool.
Lin Feng targeted the Marksman position that ATB hadn't picked yet, consecutively banning [Meteor Arrow] and [Holy Archer].
ATB's marksman Kim Chang-ho used [Sharpshooter] in the first game. In the second game, two marksmen were banned, and Cheng Xing took another one. Helplessly, he had to pick the stalling [Blood Kin Princess], hoping to survive with the lifesteal ultimate.
Tianhuan picked [Time Traveler] + [Fighter] in slots 4 and 5.
This choice shocked the audience at the scene, and question marks filled the livestream room—
[What the hell? [Holy Paladin] support, and now a [Time Traveler] support?]
[No AP damage?]
[Could it be double support? Is there enough damage then?]
Yao Mu paused and said, "Tianhuan's lineup… [Time Traveler] has always been used by Qu Jiang, but [Blade's Will] and [Holy Paladin] are both frontliners. There's no Mid laner this game?"
Brother Dong said, "Picking [Fighter] jungle clearly means a split-pushing macro strategy. Let's wait until the final hero swap. We don't know who will use the speed-boost support [Time Traveler] yet."
Yao Mu nodded. "True. After all, in previous matches, Lieyang once used a marksman mid, and Qu Jiang once took a mid laner to play support. Tianhuan has two mid laners; heroes can be swapped."
ATB's coach frowned. "Are they going to play macro? Support take [Seraphim], protect the marksman, stall them, don't let them play the speed difference to push towers."
Jung Jae-min nodded seriously. "Understood, Coach. I will protect Chang-ho well."
Marksman Kim Chang-ho wondered, "[Wind Elf] pushes towers very slowly. If they want to play macro, why not pick [Machine Gun Hunter] who pushes faster? Tianhuan's BP is truly inexplicable."
Choi Hyuk laughed. "Maybe we targeted their Mid and Jungle too hard, and they have no heroes left to pick."
After both sides selected heroes, they began to swap.
ATB's five positions were clear: Top [Vampire Duke], Bot [Blood Kin Princess] + [Seraphim], Mid-Jungle classic synergy [King of Fighters] + [Goddess of Destiny].
On Tianhuan's side, [Blade's Will] was swapped to the top lane for Old Qin. Chi Shu took [Fighter] for jungle. The hero Ye Shaoyang used in slot 3 was actually [Time Traveler]!
Yao Mu exclaimed, "Lieyang is actually using [Time Traveler] mid?! A support-type Mid?"
Sure enough, Cheng Xing took [Wind Elf] in slot 4, carrying [Cleanse]. Qu Jiang got the tank [Holy Paladin], carrying [Weakness]. Whenever the opponent attacked Cheng Xing, he could use "Weakness" to cripple the opponent's attack.
Brother Dong rubbed his chin. "Yangyang playing a support hero mid this game. [Time Traveler] can indeed build magic items. His Q-skill is linear burst damage, W-skill is group speed boost, E-skill activates 'Time Rewind' to heal teammates, and R-skill is an AoE silence ultimate."
Yao Mu worried, "But with a support-type Mid and a utility Jungler, is the damage enough?" She paused, took a deep breath, and corrected herself, "Tianhuan's lineup choice this game was very decisive, obviously practiced in scrims. It's too early to draw conclusions now. Let's watch the players' performance in the match!"
Off-stage, Xie Yuan watching the match couldn't help roasting, "Not enough damage? You're overthinking it."
Fang Zhengqing narrowed his eyes and teased, "Let ATB experience what it means to speed."
The match began.
Ye Shaoyang learned the W-skill team speed boost directly upon leaving the base. He didn't even learn a damage skill, taking Chi Shu to invade the opponent's Blue Buff jungle. Although ATB sensed Tianhuan's intent and defended in time, Ye Shaoyang activated speed boost to retreat. Chi Shu quickly took the Blue Buff and ran; ATB's defenders couldn't catch them at all.
Following that, Ye Shaoyang activated speed boost and took Chi Shu to the mid lane to farm minions.
The two ate the wave together, snatched the river crab together, and then Ye Shaoyang continued to speed up, taking Chi Shu and disappearing into the mid lane river. They weren't visible in ATB's vision. Only the audience with the omniscient view knew that Ye Shaoyang actually took Chi Shu to take the Red Buff. The tempo was incredibly fast.
Only then did Yao Mu understand Tianhuan's thinking this game. "With Lieyang using [Time Traveler] mid, he can link up closely with Shuoyue. The mid lane is the closest position to the jungle. Activating speed boost to clear minions and jungle camps with Shuoyue is far faster than the opposing jungler!"
Brother Dong teased, "This way, the two split the economy, and their growth won't be affected too much. Captain Chi taking Yangyang along is like driving a luxury sports car to jungle. While the opposing Choi Hyuk is still riding a bicycle!"
Hearing this, domestic viewers spammed 666 in the bullet comments one after another.
[Shuoyue + Lieyang, speeding too fast!]
[Yangyang, slow down! I'm getting dizzy even with the omniscient view~]
[Shuoyue and Lieyang driving a luxury car, finished clearing the jungle hand in hand just like that?]
Just then, Yao Mu suddenly noticed something wrong with Ye Shaoyang's equipment slots. She wondered, "Let's look at Yangyang's items. First item [Cooldown Boots], second item seems to be building [Explosive Wand]?"
Brother Dong saw this and agreed, "That's right. The [Demon God Crystal] he bought is indeed a component for [Explosive Wand]! He's not building standard items at all this game, but going for a burst one-shot playstyle!"
Explosive Wand: Releasing a single skill triggers an "Explosion" effect, dealing chain damage to enemies in a small surrounding area and guaranteeing a critical hit. Item effect cooldown 20 seconds.
Because of the "guaranteed critical hit" and 20-second cooldown, this item was more suitable for a burst playstyle, i.e., "one combo to delete someone," then run.
Usually, everyone often saw [Time Traveler] in the support position, healing and speeding up their marksman, kiting back and forth in team fights. Supports generally built defensive items.
This was the first time seeing Ye Shaoyang take this hero mid and build crit items.
Mid-laner Park Won-seok saw Ye Shaoyang missing and immediately warned, "Mid miss, careful!"
Support Jung Jae-min thought, Chi Shu showed up mid just now. After clearing the jungle, he will likely support bot. He was just about to check vision near Tianhuan's Red Buff bush when suddenly, Ye Shaoyang and Chi Shu rounded the corner like the wind!
Ye Shaoyang activated team speed boost. Chi Shu, Qu Jiang, Cheng Xing, and Ye Shaoyang acted simultaneously. Kim Chang-ho, who was still clearing minions bot, didn't have time to react before being stunned by Chi Shu. Qu Jiang followed up with chain control, Cheng Xing tap-fired rapidly, and Ye Shaoyang threw a Q-skill.
Kim Chang-ho flashed to escape, but unfortunately, the Q-skill exploded on him. Even flashing, he was blown up!
——First Blood!
Only a few minutes into the game? Ye Shaoyang's [Time Traveler] actually got a kill!
ATB's support hurriedly turned to retreat, but Ye Shaoyang timely activated W-skill speed boost. Chi Shu's [Fighter] dashed quickly to stun Jung Jae-min in place, and Cheng Xing sniped from a distance, taking the support's head!
Brother Dong couldn't help shouting, "Beautiful! This rapid support caught ATB's bot lane duo off guard. Yangyang's Q-skill placement was too accurate, landing exactly where Kim Chang-ho flashed. Kim Chang-ho wasted a Flash and died anyway; a huge loss."
Yao Mu laughed. "Getting a double kill bot, this rhythm was indeed driven well."
Top lane, Old Qin knew Yangyang went to support bot, so he had long retreated without a trace.
At this time, Choi Hyuk had just finished clearing the first wave of jungle.
His solo jungle clear speed was far inferior to Chi Shu and Ye Shaoyang clearing together with speed boost.
Choi Hyuk frowned. "Bot lane be careful. Prepare to take Small Dragon after reviving."
Reviving quickly after the first death, ATB's bot lane duo quickly arrived near the dragon pit, and Tianhuan's 4 members also gathered rapidly. ATB's Mid-Jungle individual strength was indeed very strong. Choi Hyuk's [King of Fighters] seized the opportunity, coordinating with Park Won-seok's [Goddess of Destiny]. Both threw their skills at Cheng Xing simultaneously!
As long as Xiao Xing died, Tianhuan would face the problem of insufficient team fight damage.
However, Cheng Xing's health dropped a chunk, then instantly recovered half. Park Won-seok's ultimate was wasted—because Ye Shaoyang activated his E-skill at the most appropriate time.
Time Rewind: Health returns to what it was 1 second ago.
Cheng Xing ate a wave of ultimates but didn't get deleted. Xiao Xing smartly popped [Cleanse] to jump away, firing frantically from a distance. Ye Shaoyang activated speed boost to kite while fighting.
The Small Dragon was reset repeatedly.
Choi Hyuk was annoyed to death and simply said, "Retreat, don't waste time with them."
Lineups with [Time Traveler] were particularly good at kiting back and forth. With speed boost active, they could attack when advancing and defend when retreating. Ye Shaoyang's grasp of timing was also excellent.
ATB wanted to start a fight? Ye Shaoyang activated speed boost and ran away with his teammates.
ATB stopped fighting them and wanted to take the dragon? Ye Shaoyang sped up and came back to harass.
This feeling was incredibly uncomfortable.
ATB simply gave up the Small Dragon and began to farm quickly.
Park Won-seok's [Goddess of Destiny] didn't rely much on economy but was very level-dependent, needing Level 8 to maximize damage. Choi Hyuk's [King of Fighters] hadn't completed his core items either.
Once they farmed a bit more, they could Mid-Jungle coordinate to delete Tianhuan's squishies with one combo.
Killing Cheng Xing or Ye Shaoyang would make team fights easy to win.
However, Choi Hyuk's wishful thinking couldn't go so smoothly.
Since Ye Shaoyang chose [Time Traveler] this game, he naturally wanted to maximize the "fast pace." Tianhuan was playing a variant macro strategy this game, relying on the Mid-laner to drive the rhythm.
The Mid-laner's speed boost assisted the Jungler in quickly clearing the jungle and supporting lanes, establishing advantages, and pushing towers.
Ye Shaoyang aimed at the mid lane this time.
After he and Chi Shu cleared the Red Buff, they pretended to go kill the bot lane marksman, deliberately showing vision bot. ATB's marksman and support learned their lesson this time and retreated immediately.
Unexpectedly, after showing their faces, Ye Shaoyang immediately activated speed boost and took Chi Shu around to the mid lane.
At this time, Park Won-seok had just finished clearing a wave and intended to go support bot. As a result, just as he left the mid lane, a huge clock descended from the sky, clamping directly onto his face!
——Traveler's Clock: Freezes time, rooting all enemies in range.
Park Won-seok was caught off guard and rooted by the clock. Chi Shu followed up with a combo to cripple him. Ye Shaoyang threw a Q-skill from a distance. With the Q-skill's explosion, [Goddess of Destiny] died on the way to support!
The dying Goddess of Destiny uttered a lament: "Is this my destiny?"
Domestically, viewers watching the livestream heard the hero's tragic voice line, automatically translated into Chinese, and couldn't help spamming "Hahaha" across the screen.
[Yangyang's [Goddess of Destiny] kill voice line: This is destiny, don't try to resist!]
[Yangyang kills the opposing [Goddess of Destiny], voice line: Is this my destiny?]
[This hero's voice lines are really full of mockery.]
[World's No. 1 Mid-laner? That's it?]
Choi Hyuk frowned and asked, "What happened?"
Park Won-seok's face was ugly. He really didn't expect that although the Sun-Moon duo clearly appeared in the bot lane, Ye Shaoyang sped up and arrived mid so quickly to ambush him.
Park Won-seok explained in a low voice, "Fake vision. Their real target was me."
Choi Hyuk took a deep breath and said calmly, "Time Traveler runs very fast after speeding up. Be careful in lane, try to defend the towers. Drag it to the late game for team fights; their damage will be insufficient."
However, defending towers wasn't that easy.
After killing Park Won-seok, Ye Shaoyang and Chi Shu sneaked to the top lane.
At this time, Han Seung-woo and Old Qin were dueling 1v1. Han Seung-woo's individual skill was higher than Old Qin's, and he picked [Vampire Duke] who could lifesteal with his ultimate, having strong sustain. After trading a wave of skills, Old Qin had less than half health left.
Han Seung-woo stared at Old Qin's health bar. Just then, the river crab spawned, and both stepped forward to snatch it. Old Qin naturally didn't get it and was beaten to critical health, around 20%.
Han Seung-woo seized the opportunity and unleashed a combo—
Just as Qin Yizhu was left with a sliver of health, two figures suddenly sped out from the grass. Qin Yizhu finished acting, turned around with a slash, and stunned Han Seung-woo in place.
Chi Shu and Ye Shaoyang followed up with damage. The three joined forces and instantly counter-killed Han Seung-woo.
Han Seung-woo couldn't help cursing, "Damn! Why are they top again?"
Thought they would go for Blue Buff after killing the Mid-laner? Result: these two ignored the Blue Buff and sped up to kill Top. No matter how strong Han Seung-woo was, he couldn't 1v3. Even if he flashed, he couldn't escape Ye Shaoyang's speed boost chase.
Han Seung-woo felt irritated for the first time.
Playing matches for so many years, he had encountered all kinds of opponents. But in this game today, Tianhuan's tempo was too fast. The Mid and Jungler sped around like ghosts—ganking bot one moment, suddenly popping up mid, then appearing top?
Ye Shaoyang's rhythm was strange, like "random ganking." The vision seen by the support was useless; he gave fake vision at the drop of a hat, making you unable to guess where he would go.
After ganking top this wave, the three joined forces to push the tower quickly, taking down the outer tower.
Following that, Old Qin, Chi Shu, and Ye Shaoyang invaded the opposing Red Buff jungle together.
Choi Hyuk was taking Red when he was rooted by Ye Shaoyang's ultimate thrown over the wall. Chi Shu seized the opportunity to steal the Red Buff with [Smite]. After stealing it, the three sped away arrogantly.
Choi Hyuk: "..."
Domestic viewers were excited seeing this—
[Tianhuan's fast-paced macro is very strong this game; I see ATB is a bit disorganized!]
[Yangyang must be commanding this game. His rhythm of controlling waves and ganking is too good!]
[Although he roams frequently with Captain Chi, he didn't miss a single mid lane minion. That's the most awesome part.]
Only a player with absolutely precise calculation of minion waves and excellent grasp of timing could clear minions while supporting quickly, not missing farm while helping teammates establish advantages.
What is a support-type Mid-laner with strong macro view?
Ye Shaoyang's match was simply a "Rhythm Tutorial Match" for Mid-laners all over the world!
At 18 minutes, the economic gap between the two sides had widened to 2000.
Although Choi Hyuk and Park Won-seok found a few opportunities, they were successfully neutralized by Ye Shaoyang's "speed up to create distance." Choi Hyuk soon discovered that even if they built good items, they couldn't coordinate Mid-Jungle to kill Tianhuan's squishies.
Because Tianhuan had a "Speed-up Mid-laner."
In front of the speeding Ye Shaoyang, ATB's Mid-Jungle appeared exceptionally clumsy and couldn't catch up at all!
At 20 minutes, the economic gap was 3000.
Tianhuan's macro play was very detailed, constantly snowballing, pushing towers, and invading the jungle.
ATB couldn't find a turning point, and the economic gap widened further.
Tianhuan started forcing a fight at Baron. ATB had to bite the bullet and check the dragon.
Both sides skirmished for a moment. Park Won-seok found an opportunity first, wanting to delete Cheng Xing with a combo. However, Cheng Xing popped Cleanse and jumped into the grass. Choi Hyuk flanked to kill him, but Qu Jiang timely activated "Weakness" to cripple Choi Hyuk, saving Cheng Xing.
Ye Shaoyang turned back with an ultimate—
Traveler's Clock, Time Freeze.
ATB's three members positioned in the back were silenced by Ye Shaoyang's ultra-large AoE clock!
Qu Jiang jumped to the side to continue protecting Cheng Xing. Chi Shu and Old Qin joined forces to kill into ATB's backline, dealing insane damage. Chi Shu stunned one, Old Qin slashed one after another. In the blink of an eye, ATB's backline was completely crippled.
Ye Shaoyang's clock exploded with a boom!
——Double Kill!
——Triple Kill!
Triple Kill!
Utility Mid? Not enough damage?
Ye Shaoyang, with a full set of crit items, took 3 heads directly with the chain damage caused by his Q-skill explosion!
On the other side, Choi Hyuk and Park Won-seok chased Cheng Xing. The two eventually joined forces to kill Cheng Xing and Qu Jiang, but unfortunately, they had no skills left.
Ye Shaoyang sped up and turned back to chase. Old Qin chopped one, Chi Shu slashed one.
ATB wiped out!
Yao Mu said excitedly, "Tianhuan's lineup mobility is too strong this game! Top [Blade's Will] can switch forms and has displacement; Jungle [Fighter] has displacement; Marksman [Wind Elf] has displacement; Mid [Time Traveler] can speed up! ATB can't just hit the thick-skinned tank [Holy Paladin], right?"
Brother Dong laughed. "In this Baron fight, ATB's Mid-Jungle went to forcefully kill Xiao Xing. Qu Jiang blocked too much damage. In the end, although they killed Xiao Xing, their teammates were all dead. With Yangyang's speed boost, it's hard for ATB to escape."
Yao Mu said, "Tianhuan took the Baron! ATB's respawn timers are too long to defend the high ground! Congratulations to Tianhuan for taking the second game with fast roaming and detailed macro!"
They said Korean teams had strong macro skills.
But Ye Shaoyang refused to accept defeat.
As someone who transmigrated from the Earth era, he had long eyed [Time Traveler], this speed-boost support, and developed a gameplay style of a speed-up Mid-laner supporting to drive rhythm.
He was very fortunate that his teammates could keep up with his rhythm, especially Chi Shu, who accompanied him from beginning to end. The two roamed quickly, snowballed, and completely crushed ATB's rhythm.
He wanted to use this game to tell the world—
Our China teams are not bad at macro either.