Under the flashing lights, the host, Yu Shuang, stepped onto center stage ahead of time from the backstage corridor.
After greeting the audience, she began introducing the starting lineups for TES and FPX for today's match.
First to enter was the blue side, FPX.
"Top lane: Xiaolaohu. Jungle: Cild. Mid: Gori. ADC: Lin Weixiang. Support: Hang."
As each ID was announced, the players appeared one by one on the left side of the stage, while the big screen continuously displayed their player profiles.
"Next to enter is TES. Top lane: Zoom. Jungle: Tian. Mid: Dine. ADC: JackeyLove. Support: Mark!"
After Yu Shuang finished the introductions, both teams took their seats at their respective stations.
The broadcast then handed things over to the caster desk.
"Even before the starting lineup was announced, I was already thinking that TES might swap their starting mid laner," Miller said with a smile. "And sure enough—once the roster was revealed, it really happened. Rise of Kingdoms Bro is starting."
"Indeed. His three games so far have all been flawless performances. It's only natural to let him start," Zhao Junri added. "Hopefully Knight can regain his form soon."
"But don't you think Rise of Kingdoms Bro's promo photo looks really handsome?" Rita said, expertly lightening the mood and hitting the key point.
"He really is handsome… and aside from that, I've also watched several in-depth analysis videos about him. They were well-argued and convincing. Honestly, I was shocked he could perform like that—especially considering he hasn't done dedicated mid-lane training."
"And when Xiaohu transitioned to top lane last year, he put in a huge amount of practice—maintaining over twenty solo queue games a day. That workload was intense."
"All I can say is that he's eating from the same bowl—his talent is incredible. But I also remember another extremely talented player like Rise of Kingdoms Bro. He didn't train during crucial matches either, and later his form collapsed."
"So I really hope Rise of Kingdoms Bro doesn't waste his talent and can fully realize his potential," Miller said earnestly.
Many viewers, hearing Miller's words, immediately thought of GodV, who is still competing in the PUBG pro scene.
Back in Season 5, GodV had become extremely overconfident, streaming Blade & Soul instead of training—only to fire that infamous arrow that went down in history.
TL: During a major tournament (likely a PUBG competition in Season 5), GodV made an extremely embarrassing miss - he shot an arrow (or crossbow bolt in PUBG) that completely whiffed despite having what should have been an easy shot. This became an iconic fail moment that got memed relentlessly in the Chinese gaming community.
The moment became legendary as an example of overconfidence leading to humiliation "That arrow" (那一箭) became shorthand in Chinese gaming communities for catastrophic fails due to arrogance/lack of preparation
Rise of Kingdoms Bro was clearly walking a similar line. A gifted pro player who doesn't train—over time, his form is bound to drop if he doesn't even touch League of Legends.
Miller's reminder was absolutely valid. TES really needed to keep an eye on Rate-of-Land Bro.
When it's time to train, he has to train.
Many viewers grew thoughtful and quickly pulled out their phones to leave comments.
…
After both teams finished setting up their equipment, the screen boomed and switched to the ban–pick phase.
The three casters immediately returned to the match itself.
"Alright, Week 5, Day 1—the second match of the day between TES and FPX officially begins."
"Game one: FPX on blue side, TES on red side."
"FPX start by banning Viego and Renekton—two champions TES's top–jungle duo excels at. They're clearly targeting Tian and Zoom. If they don't ban Syndra, do we get to see Syndra this game? According to Bilibili analyses, Rise of Kingdoms Bro's Syndra is no joke."
"We'll see how the draft develops. Honestly, I think Rise of Kingdoms Bro's champion pool is quite deep—there's no need to hard-target him. On the other hand, if JackeyLove's Zeri isn't banned, I feel like FPX might prioritize it."
"In those three games we were watching Rise of Kingdoms Bro, JackeyLove's performance was also excellent—his stats were very impressive."
"Exactly. That's because Rise of Kingdoms Bro relieved a lot of pressure from mid lane. In teamfights, having to deal with two carries made things much easier for JackeyLove."
Miller's point was easy to understand.
When Knight couldn't produce in mid and kept getting caught, he became dead weight in teamfights. The opponents could just focus entirely on JackeyLove.
And JackeyLove, being an aggressive player by nature, would often try too hard to turn losing situations around—only to end up getting caught and dying.
But when someone shares the burden of damage, he doesn't need to overextend.
Just like during the IG Trident era.
With TheShy and Rookie around, he didn't need to step up excessively.
People would even think JackeyLove looked somewhat average—but in reality, he was the safety net of the IG Trident.
Another perfect comparison was RNG during the four-protect-one era.
All five players would throw their abilities onto one carry, who still had to step up and deal damage. Dying if anything went wrong was only natural.
Miller's explanation was quite elegant. Put bluntly, it meant Knight was useless.
Both teams continued banning champions: Xin Zhao, Twisted Fate, Caitlyn, Aphelios.
"FPX lock in Jinx first? Are they planning to just give Zeri to TES?"
"That's actually acceptable. FPX can respond with Tahm Kench to protect Jinx, while TES's support options become limited. Bot lane would just farm evenly—I think it's workable."
With Liu Qingsong gone, FPX's bot lane only had Lin Weixiang left. Paired with an average support, they clearly couldn't match JackeyLove and Mark.
And Zeri is weak in the early game. With Tahm Kench protecting Jinx, TES wouldn't be able to apply much pressure early, while Lin Weixiang's margin for error in late-game teamfights would increase significantly.
"That works—TES lock in Zeri and Yuumi."
After TES made their picks, FPX responded quickly by locking in Tahm Kench and Gragas.
"Very fast picks—Tahm and Gragas. This must've been planned beforehand. Their tactical direction is very clear."
TES clearly wasn't in a rush to pick their third champion. The camera panned to the TES player booth—they were discussing.
"If we secure Zeri for JackeyLove, then you'll need to shoulder early-game pressure in mid this game."
"No problem. If we're playing for early strength, Syndra is fine. We might not get her in the second rotation."
Hearing Luo Sheng's words, Lin Fan was confident. With a champion at 100% mastery, greatness was inevitable.
Luo Sheng thought it over. Syndra's last performance had been outstanding—if they didn't take her now, she might be gone next phase.
Without hesitation, he patted Lin Fan on the shoulder.
"Then take her. Lock it in."
Syndra's domineering, mature, seductive voice echoed through the arena.
"My power is endless!"
TL: If you want to read ahead by at least ten chapters, patreon.com/EdibleMapleSyrup