Chapter 17: Target Locked, Level Two Capture!

“Hey? EDG ended up picking Varus?”

The commentator was momentarily stunned upon seeing Varus, but quickly caught on.

“Lucian should be mid lane.”

Lucian as a mid laner wasn’t an unusual pick, but in this game, EDG’s flexible positioning successfully threw OMG off balance.

“That means Ekko will have to face Lucian…”

Thinking about the matchup, the analyst’s expression grew strange.

Ekko has short range, Lucian long range.

Ekko has high burst, but Lucian’s burst is even higher.

Ekko is agile, but Lucian seems no less clever…

From every angle, Ekko seemed thoroughly outclassed by Lucian.

“This iCOn Ekko, his laning phase is going to be rough,” the analyst said.

Hearing this, Guan Zeyuan smirked beside him. “You just have to trust the player’s choice. Sometimes, the champion’s strength depends on the player’s ID.”

Trust the ID… iCOn’s ID didn’t really have any special reputation.

The analyst muttered quietly but didn’t have the tact to openly criticize.

On the screen, with EDG’s Varus pick confirmed, both teams’ lineups were set.

OMG [Blue Side]: Top – Maokai, Jungle – Rek’Sai, Mid – Ekko, Bot – Jhin, Support – Malzahar.

EDG [Red Side]: Top – Shen, Jungle – Lee Sin, Mid – Lucian, Bot – Varus, Support – Braum.

Though EDG had successfully misled OMG, it was not clear that their lineup was stronger.

OMG’s team was a classic early-to-mid game composition, relying on burst and crowd control to snowball quickly.

Meanwhile, EDG’s lineup was more solid but very passive, lacking any real initiation.

Their only advantage was the mid lane matchup.

But this wasn’t entirely on NOfe; the lineup was partly due to Chen Yan’s insistence on playing Lucian.

“Don’t give the enemy any opportunities early on. Their snowball potential is strong,” NOfe warned with some melancholy.

He wasn’t very confident in this composition; it was too passive.

“Trust me,” Chen Yan reassured him. “Just watch me put the barrel of my gun right in their face.”

“If iCOn can actually play this game, come to my stream and roast me all you want. My stream ID is XXXXXX.”

NOfe could only shake his head, thinking: Who would waste their time going into your stream just to flame you?

But the lineup was locked in; nothing more could be said.

NOfe gave his players a few words of encouragement before heading backstage.

The game entered the loading screen.

Staring at Lucian on the screen, iCOn suddenly felt nervous.

“Um… Xiyang, can we swap lanes? How should I put it?”

Swap lanes? Xiyang just gave a dry laugh.

He wasn’t stupid—Ekko versus Lucian is a tough matchup. Does Maokai suddenly become good against Lucian?

“Sorry, brother Xie, I can’t. If I swap lanes, I’m definitely going to feed.”

“If anyone on our team has the strongest laning skill, it’s you. If you can’t do it, who else can?”

Xiyang’s words almost made iCOn feel arrogant. Embarrassed to bring up swapping lanes again, he clenched his teeth and said, “Xiao 6, at level two, you have to gank him for me. I just don’t believe it!”

…

Meanwhile, in EDG’s backstage lounge, NOfe had returned.

“This lineup…” Abu glanced at the screen, his gaze sharp as he fixed on NOfe.

Abu was once a renowned pro coach, no less skilled than NOfe, possibly even better, so he could clearly judge the pros and cons of the lineups.

EDG’s composition this game was definitely not strong, and it didn’t match NOfe’s usual draft standards.

“Chen Yan wants to play Lucian; I have no choice. He says Lucian’s easy to win with…”

“Do you believe that?” Abu asked.

NOfe was silent, uncertain how to answer.

If he didn’t believe it, he wouldn’t have let Chen Yan pick Lucian. But to say he did believe it? That seemed unlikely too…

“Let’s just watch the game,” Abu said calmly, seeing NOfe at a loss.

Then he focused his eyes on the screen.

“I want to see how you’re going to win this match.”

Abu murmured to himself.

Even he didn’t realize that what he felt for Chen Yan now was more expectation than anything else.

…

The scene shifted; the match had begun.

“Level one rush!”

Lucian and Braum’s duo was almost a waste if they didn’t contest level one fights.

But OMG had learned from their last game’s painful level one invasion, and this time they spotted EDG’s move immediately.

Jhin and Malzahar used their abilities to chip away at Braum’s health.

“Forget it, let’s back off and recover,” Chen Yan decided, not forcing his teammates to push in.

Level one fights were too risky; with the enemy prepared, there was no need to press on.

Mainly because Chen Yan didn’t trust these EDG IDs.

Whether it was “Love Loli” or “Zet,” not feeding was already contributing enough to the team.

If it were IG’s players, Chen Yan would have gone all-in on the level one fight without hesitation.

You have to tailor your strategy to the person.

“EDG backed off, OMG held onto red buff, so it’s alright,” Guan Zeyuan said with a smile.

“Honestly, OMG suffered a lot from last game’s invasion. This time they adjusted quickly with a defensive stance.”

The analyst nodded. “Experience is the best teacher. But it’s clear EDG was just probing; the real battle is still the mid lane. Can Ekko withstand the pressure?”

Guan Zeyuan glanced at the summoner spells for both mids.

Ekko had Teleport and Flash, while Lucian carried Ignite and Flash.

Lucian clearly planned to keep the aggression going.

In theory, Ekko had no chance to win the lane.

Just as everyone expected, Ekko barely touched a minion before Lucian’s Q, Piercing Light, shot through the minion wave and hit Ekko.

Lucian then fired two quick shots, landing solidly on Ekko.

Ekko’s health bar visibly dropped.

Though Lucian’s Q had been nerfed in range this patch, it was still highly accurate against short-range champions.

Plus, recent buffs to Lucian’s cooldowns and his synergy with Blade of the Ruined King had sharpened his lane dominance.

Of course, it was still early to say for sure.

After that wave of poke, the crowd erupted in cheers.

Guan Zeyuan looked surprised. “Ekko?”

Even though iCOn had been crushed last game, his skill was undeniable. How could he be so easily worn down by Lucian?

At that moment, the analyst’s eyes flicked to the approaching Rek’Sai in mid lane.

“Ekko is baiting.”

“Once Lucian pushes forward further, Rek’Sai will gank at level two. With red buff slow and Ekko’s follow-up, even if they don’t kill Lucian, they’ll force him to burn Flash and lose momentum.”

Hearing this, the commentators all gasped.

“Professional players have a thousand tricks up their sleeves.”

As they spoke, Rek’Sai had already positioned herself in mid lane vision.

The tension suddenly thickened.

The analyst’s expression turned serious. “Now it depends on whether Lucian realizes what’s coming.”

No sooner had he spoken than Lucian suddenly backed off.

Seeing this, WOrld6 could no longer hold back and sprang into action.