Chapter 16: EDG Wavers—Icon: Boo-hoo!

Back on stage, Chen Yan could feel the burning gaze sent from iCOn.

Seeing Chen Yan look at him, iCOn raised an eyebrow in a provocative manner.

Chen Yan smiled faintly, indifferent, letting Leng Cai take the lead for now...

They took their seats and began adjusting their equipment.

NOfe took the initiative to strike up a conversation with Chen Yan, discussing tactics.

“The mid lane opponent might pull out some strange picks this game, be careful.”

“Isn’t Jayce strange enough?” Chen Yan chuckled, “His odd picks are just for fun off-stage; no one really takes him seriously enough to bring them to a professional match.”

And indeed, that was the truth.

iCOn, the so-called solo-kill king, had value only within the LPL.

Outside the LPL, his mid lane was easily crushed by other top mids.

It wasn’t that iCOn lacked talent, but his fundamentals were simply not solid enough.

Moreover, looking at iCOn, he didn’t seem like someone who would calmly focus on honing his basics.

Therefore, Chen Yan never really took iCOn seriously.

If a champion pool was the outward skill, then fundamentals were the inner strength.

Focusing on the outer without cultivating the inner would ultimately lead to emptiness.

Seeing Chen Yan’s attitude, NOfe couldn’t help but smile bitterly inwardly, but considering Chen Yan’s performance last game, he had no complaints.

Young people shouldn’t lose their passion; otherwise, they wouldn’t be young.

...

After talking with NOfe, Chen Yan closed his eyes to rest.

At that moment, the system notification sounded.

[Congratulations, host, task completed. Task reward has been granted. Please check your inventory.]

The task reward had arrived!

Chen Yan was delighted.

All the trouble last game was just for this task reward.

He silently accepted the reward.

The next moment, a chill swept through his mind.

Though he didn’t notice any specific changes, according to the skill description, his damage judgment would become more precise.

For professional players, once their skill reaches a certain level, the competition hinges on the details.

Damage judgment was undoubtedly one of the most critical details.

“Finally, my effort wasn’t in vain.”

Chen Yan was overjoyed, thinking that sparing iCOn’s life once this game was justified. After all, he owed at least half the credit for gaining this skill to iCOn.

...

The scene shifted to the commentary desk.

Guan Zeyuan and Illusion were already standing at the commentary stage.

Both were deeply impressed by Chen Yan’s performance on stage, especially since they hadn’t been optimistic about him before the match but were now proven wrong.

But commentators are known for their thick skins.

Guan Zeyuan showed no embarrassment; instead, he changed tone to lavish praise—talking about delicate laning, maxed out damage, and warning that iCOn better watch out now that Chen Yan was out of the newbie protection phase.

Illusion wasn’t as flamboyant as Guan Zeyuan, but his words also reflected a significant shift in opinion about Chen Yan.

“In the last match, it was evident that Chen Yan has an exceptionally high ceiling…”

Here, Illusion paused before shifting gears, “However, it remains to be seen whether Chen Yan can maintain this level of play if Elise is banned.”

The crowd nodded quietly.

Illusion’s point was well made.

It’s not uncommon for newcomers to carry games on the professional stage when opponents don’t know their style.

Even the Dan team, when they first entered the LPL from the secondary league, swept away the Ling Stone Road’s three stars.

But later, after being studied, Dan team faded into the crowd.

This highlighted that while fresh blood can win with momentum, lack of depth often leads to burnout.

Champion pool is the most common weak spot for rookies.

As they spoke, the screen flickered—ban-pick phase had begun.

This game, OMG chose the blue side.

In the bans, Elise, who Chen Yan performed brilliantly with last game, was naturally included.

“As expected, OMG isn’t reckless—they banned Elise.”

“Now, how will EDG respond?”

The two commentators continued their analysis.

Meanwhile, the chat mocked iCOn.

“Solo-kill king, is that all?”

“If you can’t win, just ban the opponent’s champions.”

“So cowardly.”

Even some OMG players threw teasing glances at iCOn.

Because banning Elise was iCOn’s own suggestion.

“You don’t think I’m really scared of his Elise, right? It’s mainly because Elise as a champion is just annoying, no matter who’s playing her.

Elise counters the champions I want to use too much.”

SmlZ’s icy face twitched slightly at this.

Then he cut straight to the point: “But you got absolutely crushed by Elise last game.”

“That was me underestimating her, okay?”

“You got crushed by Elise.”

“She got first blood at level one, ahead of me by a ring—do you know what that means in laning?”

“You got crushed by Elise.”

“She just got lucky. Next time, she won’t beat me.”

“You got crushed by Elise.”

iCOn cursed under his breath.

iCOn nearly flushed with anger, but against SmlZ, he really had no counter but to say fiercely, “Just wait and see how I handle the opponent this game.”

Revenge was a must!

...

The ban-pick phase continued.

Besides Elise, the other bans remained largely unchanged.

Chen Yan shook his head slightly while watching.

The current level of ban-pick in the LPL was too poor, still stuck in the style of the S6 season.

Now that more than half the spring split had passed, there was little innovation in ban-pick.

But he had no intention of changing the LPL’s mindset—after all, it was a thankless task. With that energy, better to stream for income or get some extra sleep.

During the pick phase, OMG immediately snatched up mOUSe’s Treant Protector.

Chen Yan chuckled.

People always said EDG’s top lane was mediocre, but now it seemed not entirely without merit.

At least stealing Treant Protector cost the opponent a ban slot.

Only mOUSe looked extremely frustrated seeing Treant Protector taken away.

“Want to play Rumble this round?” Chen Yan suddenly asked.

Rumble counters Treant Protector so easily it’s like winning with your feet.

mOUSe was tempted but ultimately declined, saying just give him a tank.

“...”

Alright, that’s very LPL.

Chen Yan didn’t press further.

NOfe praised mOUSe for his team spirit, saying he had a big-picture view and a sense of collective honor...

Chen Yan almost laughed out loud.

That so-called collective honor was just psychological manipulation, making players feel self-moved and self-sacrificing.

In the end, EDG gave mOUSe Shen, and another pick Lucian.

OMG countered with Malzahar and Jhin—a pure support bottom lane combo.

EDG’s third pick locked in Braum.

“Lucian plus Braum? Such aggressive offense!”

The commentators exclaimed, while OMG’s coach looked grave.

After the second ban phase ended, EDG grabbed Lee Sin, and OMG quickly locked Rek’Sai and Ekko as a duo.

After picks, iCOn chatted confidently, “With this Ekko, they have no way to counter me.”

LeBlanc and Elise were already banned, so iCOn spoke with full confidence.

However, when EDG’s final pick revealed Varus, iCOn’s expression immediately changed.

If Varus was AD, then what about Lucian?

“Damn it!”