The match began.
Pan Lin and Li Yibo went back to their usual program. After finding out what map the home team had chosen, they immediately searched up the relevant information and presented it to the viewers during the loading screen. For the unknowing audience members, the two commentators probably seemed omniscient, knowing the ins and outs of every map.
Map – Empty Sand Sea
The map was shaped like a rhombus. The two teams started on opposite sides of each other on the north and south ends of the map. The center of the map was an oasis. To the east of the oasis were ancient ruins, and a landscape of sand dunes were to the west of the oasis. The map had a variety of terrains, allowing for numerous viable tactics. It was a map that required adaptability.
While Pan Lin and Li Yibo hurried to finish their introductions, the two sides finished loading in. Each team had five players for a total of ten players on the north and south ends of the map.
The camera focused in on Team Happy. According to their experience in the regular season, Happy frequently played the sixth player switcharoo as soon as the match began to catch their opponents off guard. Happy had intentionally put Blue Rain’s old captain, Wei Chen, as their sixth player, as if he were their secret weapon. Even the program director wanted to know whether Wei Chen would be switched in immediately.
But Happy didn’t make any switches. After the five characters loaded into map, they immediately rushed out of the spawn point.
“Happy is looking very decisive. It seems like they already have a plan in mind! Blue Rain, on the other hand, appears to be a bit more hesitant,” Pan Lin said.
“Haha, it can’t really be said that they’re hesitant. Blue Rain has always been more reactive than proactive! This is their away game too,” Li Yibo said.
“Okay, Blue Rain is also on the move. They’re not charging straight towards the center, instead taking the left path. They should be heading towards the ancient ruins,” Pan Lin introduced.
The two teams played different openings. The home team went straight towards the center, while the away team took a more roundabout route. It’s almost like the roles have been reversed. The away team was usually unfamiliar with the map, so rashly trying to take advantage of the map can very easily go wrong. The away team often prefers a direct confrontation. Fighting in an open area was equivalent to erasing the opponent’s map advantage. How could the home team allow their opponents to do as they wished? In the individual competition and the group arena, perhaps there were people like Ye Xiu who picked simple maps and chose to fight it out in the open, but practically no home team did this during the team competition. It was easier to win if the map advantage was utilized well.
“Blue Rain isn’t moving very fast!” Pan Lin noticed that Blue Rain was moving towards the east quite slowly.
‘They seem to be studying the map,” Pan Lin commented on Blue Rain’s movements.
The match had just begun. It wasn’t like Happy could just suddenly descend upon them like gods, so Blue Rain’s formation was rather loose. There didn’t seem to be any strict tactical intent to it. Everyone looked to be moving freely. The camera cycled through the perspectives of each of Blue Rain’s players. It could clearly be seen that everyone was observing their surroundings. They were all moving in the same general direction, but the team was split into different zones. It was like they were in a race, each person in their own lane focused on their own task.
There was quite a bit of communication going on in Team Blue Rain’s chat, letting the viewers directly observe how Blue Rain was exploring the map.
“Blue Rain probably wants to establish an area that they’re familiar with and then lure Happy into fighting there to reduce Happy’s home field advantage,” Pan Lin said.
“Oh, isn’t this… what that team often does?” Pan Lin thought of something.
“Correct. Team Thunderclap frequently does this in their away games,” Li Yibo said.
“But it can’t be a random area, can it?” Pan Lin asked.
“Of course not, the home team obviously doesn’t want you to establish your own area, so figuring out which area to choose is a difficult decision!” Li Yibo said.
“Team Blue Rain seems to be speeding up,” Pan Lin suddenly discovered.
“It looks like they’re not satisfied with that area!” Li Yibo said.
There were messages in Team Blue Rain’s chat that stated this information, which was why Li Yibo was so confident in his judgement.
Dissatisfied with an area close to the spawn point, Team Blue Rain continued to push forward. And as time went on, the two sides were on the verge of encountering each other. As Blue Rain explored, they unknowingly went into a formation. It was only now did the viewers suddenly realize that the Team Blue Rain members were no longer as loosely scattered as before.
The change had gone unnoticed. From this, it could be seen just how fluid Team Blue Rain’s teamwork was.
The team continued along the northeast edge. The central oasis and the eastern ancient city ruins gradually came into view. Team Happy’s characters appeared in the oasis area.
“Try to stay under cover,” Yu Wenzhou said in the chat. Team Blue Rain quickly started moving stealthily. Flipping, turning, and climbing were frequently used. As they moved while staying hidden, they were still looking for opportunities to observe their opponents.
Blue Rain didn’t chase after Happy. Instead, they continued with their strategy and entered the ancient ruins.
Dilapidated walls covered the ancient ruins. There were all sorts of hiding places here.
“This will do,” Huang Shaotian looked around and then made a suggestion.
“Everyone, scan the area. Shaotian, watch that side,” Yu Wenzhou said.
“I might as well just say hi,” Huang Shaotian said.
“You’ve got a way to get close? If you’re going to go, Zheng Xuan, go with him!” Yu Wenzhou said.
“Fuck, that troublesome? Forget it!” Li Xuan immediately expressed that he didn’t feel like fighting.
“You can’t do it?” Yu Wenzhou said.
“Too stressful! But if you want me to go, I’ll go,” Zheng Xuan said.
Yu Wenzhou laughed. He knew Zheng Xuan was indicating that he had unconditional confidence in his captain. This guy was always like that. His fighting spirit was lacking, so he rarely took initiative. He basically needed someone to push him forward. For example, right now, he definitely wouldn’t volunteer like Huang Shaotian did, but if Yu Wenzhou gave him an order, he would try his hardest to complete it.
“Forget it, keep checking up on the terrain. Shaotian, watch that side. Try not to get discovered,” Yu Wenzhou said.
“I’m just afraid that they’ll give away a big opening, and I won’t be able to hold back,” Huang Shaotian rubbed his palms together as if it were some huge matter, when all he was doing was being on the lookout.
Happy’s chat didn’t have much content, while Blue Rain had quite a bit going on. The viewers had good understanding of their intentions. It was hard for the Happy fans not to worry. However, there was no way for them to tell this information to their players. They could only boo at the away game Blue Rain fans to vent.
Huang Shaotian’s Troubling Rain temporarily separated from the team, leaving the ancient ruins. He continued the “flip, climb, roll” movements to approach Happy’s position, but before long, he saw Team Happy moving towards their location.
“They’re coming,” Huang Shaotian immediately typed, “I’ll stall them. You guys hurry up.”
“Got it,” the team replied.
Huang Shaotian’s Troubling Rain stopped hiding and stood out in the open.
Boom boom boom!
Gunfire immediately headed his way.
“Fuck, Su Mucheng. You’re not even going to say hi?” Huang Shaotian called out.
He was on the edge of a Launcher’s range though, so the attacks didn’t pose any threat to him. Troubling Rain dodged the attacks easily.
“We didn’t even say hi and you’re already talking. If we said hi, wouldn’t you talk non-stop?” Ye Xiu replied. Team Happy suddenly sped up. Their slow Cleric was left behind as the others pounced towards him.
Huh?
Huang Shaotian’s eyes lit up. What a great opportunity! Those guys actually left their Cleric behind. Wouldn’t it be beautiful if he slipped past them and ambushed their Cleric?
Team Blue Rain had gone through this area, so Huang Shaotian had a grasp of it. He immediately had Troubling Rain dodge to the side and hide. To delay them, he could obviously just start fighting with Happy, but he would be stuck there too. The price for delaying them would be too high.
Delaying them had to be done from a strategic standpoint. He couldn’t let the opponents get a grasp on his intentions.
For example, like how Huang Shaotian’s Troubling Rain suddenly disappeared. Could Happy ignore him? Of course not. This opportunist might just suddenly bite at them when they let out an opening, and that little bite could be fatal too.
Huang Shaotian’s style was no secret. The opponents knew about it, so he would take advantage of it and have Happy divert more of their attention to his disappearance.
“Huang Shaotian, why’d you leave? Then, I won’t send you off!” Ye Xiu said in the public chat.
“Wait, I haven’t left yet! I’m following you guys!” Huang Shaotian said. He indeed wasn’t just having Troubling Rain sit there. Ye Xiu wasn’t so easy to deal with. If he didn’t pose a substantial threat, he wouldn’t be able to get his attention.
“Is that so? Then, you’d better follow us closely. It’d be bad if you got lost and then by the time you found us, your teammates were all dead!” Ye Xiu said.
“No way no way. I’ve played this map eight hundred times! I’m super familiar with it. I can close my eyes and still know the way. Do you know where I am right now? Hahaha!”
“Aren’t you right here?” Ye Xiu said as Lord Grim appeared in front of Troubling Rain.
“Eight hundred times? Super familiar?” Ye Xiu sent a sneering emoji.
Huang Shaotian knew the situation wasn’t looking good. The other side had seen through his intentions and even deduced his path. In that case, Ye Xiu definitely wasn’t here for a 1v1. He was planning on trapping him here!
But then again, that’s what I want!
If he didn’t leave such an opening, how could he lure Happy away? Huang Shaotian laughed coldly in his mind.