847 Tactical Game
FRY's coach looked very confident.
He held a notebook in his hand. On it was the strong lineup developed by the FRY team's coaches and Finger Games' Balancer. FV team successfully snatched the global hero they wanted at the first hand since it wasn't banned: Wings of the Blade.
FRY's coach was very happy. He felt that FV Team was most likely unprepared for this lineup. They would definitely be able to win with a surprise move.
If they were to win the first round of the BO5, the following competition would be very smooth.
What FRY wanted now was to play a lineup that strengthened the distribution of power. The ultimate move of the mid-laner, Blade Wing, was a displacement skill that could cover half a map and could support teammates at any time. This way, they would choose a pressure resistant combination for the bottom lane, and then choose a top lane that was very strong on the opposing line and was more powerful in one-on-one combat. The entire lineup would become very complete.
The mid-laner could obtain an advantage through the quick support in the early stages. The top-laner also had an advantage against the opponent, which could ensure development.
Once they maintained their advantage and entered the mid-stage, both heroes would have the ability to split and win easily by rolling the snowball.
Therefore, FRY first snatched the core of this lineup, the Wings of the Blade, when a large number of popular heroes were outside. That was because this hero's ultimate move was irreplaceable.
It was FV Team's turn to choose.
Old Zhou's expression remained calm as he directed his team members to take down the Fierce Gale Martial God.
FRY's coach's eyelids could not help but twitch. That was because this was the best candidate for top laner in their hearts!
The Fierce Gale Martial God was a top laner hero with very strong solo ability. It was also the optimal solution for their group of top-laners. That was because there was no natural enemy for this hero.
The FRY members were slightly flustered seeing that their hero had been snatched.
FRY's coach quickly said, "Don't panic, it's alright for them to go first. We can still get the Sickle of Death anyway."
The Sickle of Death was a top-laner hero with multiple displacement movements. It had a small disadvantage in fighting the Fierce Gale Martial God, but the Sickle of Death was easier to coordinate with his teammates. What's more, it had more displacement skills and was not afraid of being caught. It was a good substitute in this lineup.
However, the coach saw FV Team locking onto the Sickle of Death again just as he finished speaking.
FV Team's first two moves had directly taken two top-laners that were most suitable for FRY's lineup!
It was FRY's turn to choose. The coach's mouth was slightly agape, and he was momentarily stunned.
What did that mean?
Are we still playing or not?!
What did they mean by snatching both of our top-laners? Did they have two top laners?
Could it be that one was in the middle lane, the other was in the top lane, and the other was in the jungle?
FV Team snatched the two top-laners with the most suitable lineup for FRY's side directly, making FRY extremely disgusted. The key was that FV itself did not seem to have gotten any benefits because these two heroes did not match at all, so that FRY could not tell what kind of lineup they were going to play!
The FRY coach quickly changed his mind As time passed.
"Since the two most suitable top lane players have been snatched, we'll first protect one of our subordinates, and then choose a good tool for the top laner to cooperate with the jungler."
"Choose the bottom lane group first, then the top laner."
"Let's consider choosing the Ancient Lava Tree as the top laner. We'll mix in the early stages and use the Root Entanglement as a control skill. We can catch the opponent's top laner together with the jungler."
FRY chose a team that was easier to blend in with the bottom lane. They planned to choose a pair of more cooperative junglers.
It was definitely impossible for the top laner to be a strong line anymore, but as long as they chose a top lane with control and could withstand pressure, coupled with the jungler and middle lane's Wings of the Blade, they could kill the top lane two or three times. That way, the Wings of the Blade could still be divided without pressure in the mid lane, tactics could still be carried out.
However, they immediately locked onto the Ancient Lava Tree when it was FV Team's turn to choose!
Right on the heels of that, FV Team chose a strong early-stage, but useless during later stages bottom lane Archer. Only one last position was left unchosen.
FRY's coach was confused.
What was the meaning of this?
FV Team had three top-laners and one Archer. How could they play the game like that?
The key was that these three top-laners did not have a good combination with the Archer's skills!
FRY's coach frowned deeply, his entire face scrunched up as he began to work hard to analyze FV Team's distribution route.
The Fierce Gale Martial God seemed to be for the top lane, a low probability jungler; if the Fierce Gale Martial God walked on, then Death Sickle, a top-laner hero with multiple displacement, was most likely a jungler, or possibly hanging in the middle lane to provide support. This Ancient Lava Tree… would definitely be used in the top lane if the previous two heroes were not used, but could it be a support now?
If FV Team's last choice was revealed, they might be able to judge which path these heroes would take based on the overall lineup.
However, it was now FRY's turn to choose their players. Their lineup would be released first, and then it would be FV's turn to choose the last position.
This crazy swing made the FRY coach dizzy.
"Coach, hurry up. There's not much time left," the team member reminded.
FRY's coach decisively gave up analyzing. At this stage, the most important thing was not to analyze the opponent's lineup, but to get his own lineup right.
The support-type mid-laner and stable resistance bottom laner had been chosen. Now, they had to choose a top-laner who was not weak in laning ability and a jungler who could carry relatively well.
That was because no matter how much the other party shook, the top-laner would definitely be a strong top-laner. Choosing a top-laner with poor laning ability would directly cross the line and there would be nothing left to play.
However, the problem was that other than the three top laner heroes that had already been snatched away by FV Team, the other top laner heroes could only ensure that the lane would not collapse but could not guarantee that they would take over the competition in the later stages.
Therefore, the jungler could no longer choose tools but heroes with a certain level of carrying ability, or else it would become a shocking five to zero lineup. The coach would definitely be scolded to the skies if he lost this lineup.
FRY team's coach immediately directed the team members to take down an alternative that had an advantage in the early and useless in late stages according to his own ideas. He also obtained a jungler who was relatively weaker in the early stages but could take over the competition when he developed.
However, FV Team's last move was to choose a hero that they had never seen before in this world's finals: Explosive Artisan.
This hero did not have any special advantages. He could just push the laning phase and dismantle the tower relatively quickly. Its development period was relatively long, and it could not deal any damage without the equipment advantage. Therefore, it was a mid-to late-stage hero, and it could only play in the middle lane.
Coach FRY frowned and stared at the screen in confusion.
What did that mean?
The final hero they selected could only play mid so the roles of the previous heroes were basically clear: the Fierce Gale Martial God would be a top laner, the Sickle of Death would play jungler, and the Ancient Lava Tree would support.
FRY's coach confirmed the lineup of both sides and felt that their lineup should be able to play.
The top lane, mid lane, and bottom lane were all 50-50 against each other. The other party had an advantage in terms of jungling, but as long as they passed the early stages steadily, there would be a clear gap in the output of both sides when their jungler became stronger in the mid to late stages. Then, the scales of victory would tilt towards FRY.
FRY's coach relaxed slightly and patted his jungler on the shoulder. "All the best, as long as we hold on in the early stages, we'll definitely win in the later stages!"
…
The first round of the competition officially began with everyone's eyes glued!
The bystanders could not tell that the two teams were scheming against each other because they had chosen a lineup that had never appeared in the top eight or top four.
Many heroes were unpopular heroes which had not had such a high exposure in so many competitions before, the finals therefore gave everyone a refreshing feeling.
Most of the audience felt that FRY's side was stable, because FV's lineup seemed to be a little too much!
The middle lane was a hero who developed slowly, had short legs, and could die in a single grab. The only characteristic was that it could push the tower faster.
The archer at the bottom lane was more aggressive in the early stages. They would not be able to win if they were to delay a little.
The most important thing was that in order to destroy FRY's lineup, they snatched three top laners and got two of them to jungler and support positions. The entire lineup was dazzling.
On the other hand, FRY's strategic intentions were clearer. They would develop steadily in the early stages, and in the mid stages, they would rely on the quick support from the mid-laner's ult to gain some advantage. In the later stages, they would directly crush and win.
The commentators were all worried for FV Team.
It was not that they wanted FV Team to win, but that they felt that FV Team's lineup was too ridiculous. They were worried that if they lost too badly, wouldn't the viewing value of the finals be completely gone?
On the other hand, the bullet screen comments of the live-stream platform in China was completely different.
"Holy sh*t! Could this be the forced demolition variant from GOG?"
"It does seem to be the case when looking at this mid-laner. Let's see how to fight it later!"
"Are they really going to use GOG's playstyles to play it? The wretched and forced demolition style against the global style? Are they going to directly break the opponent through the initial snowball game?"
"This is good. This game is going to be explosives!"
"…I don't understand what you guys are talking about since I don't play GOG. What is forced demolition? Can someone explain?"
It was New Year's Eve today, a legal holiday. Most people were on holiday, and GPL had already taken a break. Thus, IOI's global finals naturally attracted a large number of viewers.
Many viewers were gamers of GOG. They came to watch the IOI finals because they had nothing to do.
Players who only played IOI could not tell, but these gamers who often watched GPL quickly recognized FV Team's tactics.
In the GPL league, there were already teams that had tried to use the so-called "strong demolition" to fight against global traffic.
As for FV Team's lineup selection, while the heroes were completely different from GOG, it obviously fit the definition of 'strong demolition'!
The so-called "global style" was the support style. After the mid-laner reached level six, he would use an ult to support his teammates, kill, and obtain resources. Then, he would quickly roll a snowball. After developing well, he could bring the line to pressure the enemy's minions in the mid-laner and win the competition.
On the other hand, the choices of various teams were also different in the process of fighting global flows. Some teams chose to use global flows to fight global flows. They would mimic each other and we whoever was faster would support them. Some teams chose to invade the lineup forcefully or force a lineup. They would either directly destroy the other mid-laner in the early stage or capture the lone person in the middle stage.
