Chapter 53: Strategic Plans Fail Against Destiny; WE Slices Through the Enemy to Meet in the Finals

Chen Yan was, of course, not truly that heartless.

Although he and iCOn constantly traded banter and trash-talked each other, the two of them were now fairly good friends.

Furthermore, he wanted to establish a media company in the future, specifically to take in those professional players who couldn't quite cut it in the pro scene anymore.

He would be responsible for driving traffic, and the players would handle the live streaming.

Figures like iCOn, ZZtai, and Mystic... were all targets on Chen Yan's list.

With these natural-born streaming talents around, Chen Yan wouldn't have to bust his gut doing everything himself like he was doing now, logging in to stream every single day just to earn a meager living.

...

"In terms of raw strength, you guys can't compare to WE, but to say there's zero chance of winning is not entirely true."

"WE's playstyle excels at coordinated roams and teamfights. Don't even think about teamfighting; there is no way you can win teamfights against WE, so you need to put in the work during the early-to-mid game pacing."

"The breakthrough point lies with you. If you can completely crush Xiye in the mid lane, it will take WE much longer to transition into teamfights."

"If Omg can make good use of this window, you'll have a chance to win. Your probability of winning depends on the advantages you secure through snowballing."

"Remember one thing: do not let WE get that do-whatever-they-want combination of Jarvan IV and Galileo. If WE gets this combo, you are guaranteed to lose."

Hanging up the voice call, the words spoken by Chen Yan echoed endlessly in iCOn's mind.

The look of confusion in his eyes gradually faded away.

Replaced by a trace of resolute determination.

iCOn was still at his peak during this period, and he still possessed that burning drive, unafraid of facing any opponent.

Especially since Chen Yan's analysis was thorough and insightful, giving iCOn a clear and definite direction.

"Almost everyone counts us out. Just wait for me to shock the world tomorrow, hmph..."

iCOn entered a state of fantasy.

Meanwhile, Chen Yan fell into deep thought as he looked at the three separate 888 transfers that had just hit his account.

It seemed this consultation fee was quite lucrative, and the best part was he didn't have to split it with anyone or pay taxes on it.

"I feel like I could expand my business and start paid consultations."

"Though I need to make people trust me first."

"If Omg can beat WE, I could leak the consultation content I gave to iCOn..."

However, the very next second, Chen Yan dismissed the thought.

If Omg defeated WE, it would naturally be a massive upset, and his reputation would skyrocket.

Yet, there was one core problem: how on earth was Omg supposed to win?

That's right, even though Chen Yan spoke with absolute conviction, he still didn't believe Omg could beat WE.

At best, if iCOn followed his advice, they would have a microscopic, razor-thin chance of winning.

Yet, there was nothing to be done about that; this year's WE was far too well-rounded, whereas Omg felt more like a downgraded version of WE, which made things terribly difficult.

Under conditions of all-around inferiority, wanting to pull off an upset and defeat the superior force had a success probability that was simply too low.

"Forget it, my formidable skills will eventually find a place to shine; there's no need to rush."

...

The next day.

The match between Omg and WE began right on schedule.

Chen Yan started his livestream.

Livestream Title: Casting the Semifinals, Time to Watch Cold Dish.

Chen Yan had gained quite a bit of fame for his match-casting by now, and many people preferred watching his stream over the official broadcast.

After all, official casters had to weigh their words carefully and censor themselves, whereas Chen Yan was liable to explode at any moment.

Naturally, everyone wanted to see some fireworks.

"Arrest him mercilessly!"

"Rice is ready, just waiting for the master chef to cook."

Chen Yan fished out a Guochao Burger King from somewhere, jammed a straw into his drink, and took a few loud, slurping sips.

Right after, while glancing at the chat barrage, he said, "Cold Dish was still bragging to me yesterday, saying he was going to turn up the heat on Xiye. Let's see how that turns out today."

"If you ask me, with those two-bit skills of his, he might as well come back and play PK matches to farm gifts. Tell me, if the LPL is filled with players like Cold Dish, how can the LPL possibly get any better?"

Hahaha!

Watching Chen Yan roast iCOn, the chat barrage was flooded with "Hahaha."

Still, there were earnest viewers tuning in who asked Chen Yan for his thoughts on the match.

"Hmm~ If Omg can win a single game, it won't be considered a complete loss; winning two games means they leave with honor even in defeat; winning three games... well, you guys can imagine that yourselves."

As Chen Yan interacted with the chat, Omg and WE's drafts were finalized.

Omg was on the red side, with iCOn picking Ahri and the jungler on Lee Sin.

This mid-jungle duo was extremely formidable, contrasting with Xiye's pick of Karma in the mid lane—a utility-focused mid laner.

In the head-to-head matchup, Omg's mid-jungle had a massive advantage.

"Cold Dish actually has a chance to carry this game."

Chen Yan analyzed: "Omg's intentions are very clear: use Ahri and Lee Sin for mid-jungle pacing, and then radiate those advantages down to SmlZ in the bot lane.

"But there's one catch: SmlZ's Kog'Maw was stolen by WE, and Omg picked Jinx paired with Lulu, but a champion like Jinx takes way too long to scale, and she lacks mobility. It feels like she's far too easy to dive and assassinate by WE's Kled and Rengar.

"Just imagine, Karma gives out an AOE shield, and Rengar and Kled jump straight into Jinx's face. Even with a Lulu, protecting her isn't guaranteed.

"On top of that, Xiaowu's enchanter support play is miles behind his tank support play."

Chen Yan spoke with effortless eloquence, essentially laying out all the strengths and weaknesses of both drafts as well as the exact path to victory.

Everyone present felt he sounded unfathomably profound and impressive.

"Though I have no idea what the streamer is talking about, it somehow sounds kind of badass."

"Dog Yan's casting definitely has substance."

"Whether he has substance or not, I'm mostly just here to watch him arrest Cold Dish."

The chat barrage kept teasing him.

At the same time, the match entered the loading screen.

The director's camera constantly panned between the players.

Seeing iCOn's hair—sprayed with way too much hairspray, standing up like a startled animal's fur—Chen Yan instantly lost his composure and laughed, "Cold Dish's hair looks like it was licked by a dog."

The viewers took a look, and sure enough...

Yet, nobody paid attention to iCOn's hair for long because the match had already begun.

Just as Chen Yan had predicted, Lee Sin relied on mid lane priority to constantly invade Rengar's jungle.

However, it didn't yield much result.

It wasn't until Ahri hit level six that she teamed up with Lee Sin to roam bot, successfully catching out Kog'Maw and securing the first blood for SmlZ.

Chen Yan remarked, "It's alright, but the pace is still way too slow."

Seeing the chat claim he was being way too harsh on iCOn, Chen Yan merely chuckled and offered no explanation.

Even Chen Yan didn't expect, however, that after securing this single kill, Omg would not manage to secure another kill for the rest of the game.

The moment the Omg nexus exploded, everyone was left slightly dazed.

Chen Yan stated, "It's simply the issue of the pace being too slow. Omg's advantage wasn't big enough, and once WE got even slightly ahead in items, they started grouping up, leaving Omg with no way to play."

"Fair is fair, the skill gap is still too vast."

Having watched this game, Chen Yan knew there was no comparison between the two teams' strengths; the gap was even wider than he had imagined.

In the second game, iCOn picked Karma, while Xiye locked in his signature LeBlanc.

"We're doomed."

One look at the draft, and Chen Yan knew it was over.

Sure enough, in the second game, iCOn's Karma was hunted down relentlessly by LeBlanc and Lee Sin.

"Oh gosh, Cold Dish! What on earth are you doing, Cold Dish!"

"Your Karma keeps teleporting just to feed, teleporting just to feed—is that how Teleport is supposed to be used?"

Chen Yan went completely wild arresting iCOn this game, thoroughly satisfying the viewers in his livestream room.

This game held no suspense either, with WE taking a straight two-to-zero lead.

Still, Omg managed to claw back a game in the third round, with SmlZ using the Caitlyn and Karma combo in the bot lane to brutally suppress WE's bot lane.

However, after WE adjusted their tactics, Omg ultimately lost to WE with a final score of one to three.

"Let us congratulate WE!"

"And thanks to Cold Dish, haha. With him around, I can eat a few extra bowls of rice."

"Everyone hold on for a second, let me send a message to Cold Dish."

As he spoke, Chen Yan lowered his head to send a message on his phone.

"I've already eaten my fill, hurry back and start your livestream; everyone's waiting for you."

...

Seeing the ratings look utterly dismal, family members, please send some free little gifts to comfort this bro.

Don't send big gifts; I have an endless mountain of overtime work and honestly cannot manage any extra chapters.