Chapter 13: The Final Crushing Defeat? [Thanks to the Leader of "My Totoro Has Disappeared!"]
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Chujun Ike’s second video released a few days ago once again sparked a massive surge in traffic.
“How did a casual player in the national server rise to become a youth training camp overlord and then an LDL assassin? — Shattering your understanding of ‘talent’!”
Although the intense match in the national server’s high-tier ranks last month had somewhat faded from memory, the moment Ye Bo’s Summit account climbed to first place just a week ago, all eyes were instantly drawn back.
Many were curious about the so-called “Auntie” who exploded in popularity overnight, then abruptly stopped streaming the next day amid rumors of going pro — what had become of him now?
In the video, Chujun used a wealth of match footage from the youth training camp to vividly reconstruct Ye Bo’s recent mastery of “controlling lightning” within the camp.
On screen, mid laners with IDs like “mid xxx” were repeatedly outplayed by Ye Bo’s Akali, LeBlanc, and Yone, as if showcasing a highlight reel of electrifying plays.
Then came four matches in the LDL.
Even when facing second-string players from various LPL teams, Ye Bo held his own without losing ground.
Chujun openly expressed his admiration and reverence for him in the video.
He even boldly revealed, “All 24 resident coaches of the youth training camp voted privately and unanimously approved him as the ‘dark horse’ mid laner! Head coach Abu declared him the greatest prodigy in the camp’s history!”
“Chusheng must have been paid a fortune—two consecutive videos hyping this guy! Has he stopped being Bai and started being Ye now?”
“Just cutting together highlight plays isn’t impressive. Show some clips where he gets solo killed—I bet there are some!”
“Look at the stats shown later—a 27 KDA! Such a dominant solo lane record, finding clips of him getting solo killed would be nearly impossible.”
“I speak honestly, but it doesn’t mean much. LDL is basically an advanced internet café tournament. Lots can ‘control lightning,’ but how many actually make a name for themselves? The ‘kiting monster’ back in the day was even more explosive, yet he faded in the LPL too.”
“Exactly. Let’s wait until he actually plays in the LPL before judging.”
“Not impressive at all. After all, these are just talented players who outperformed in the server. They haven’t silenced the keyboard warriors in the chat. Zero gold value!”
The video’s comments reflected diverse opinions.
Over the years, so many “prodigies” have emerged, but those who truly achieve results can be counted on one hand.
Audiences have grown accustomed to a mindset of “first doubt, then doubt again.”
If judged by fan standards, only Theshy and JackeyLove have sustained popularity and delivered results.
Of course, both later became major regional stars.
Recently, however, through the esports rumor mill, some inside information was leaked.
“Apparently, many teams have already approached this guy. He’s just waiting to complete five LDL matches, after which he can immediately join an LPL first-team roster as a free agent from the youth training camp!”
“Yes, meaning… we might see him in the summer split this year!”
“That would probably make him the fastest from casual player to LPL.”
These rumors, combined with Ye Bo’s existing hype, have drawn curious viewers to every match featuring his team, TO, bringing notable attention to the LDL.
Today marked what was rumored to be Ye Bo’s last LDL match.
On June 18, 2022, at 6 p.m., a rare scene unfolded across major streaming platforms.
Among the top three in the “League of Legends” category, alongside the ever-dominant LPL stream and the secondary LPL viewing channel, suddenly appeared another stream:
“LDL Development League Summer Split.”
Its apparent popularity was just slightly below the primary LPL channel and even surpassed the secondary channel.
This alone spoke volumes about its significance.
It piqued the curiosity of many casual viewers who had never paid attention to LDL streams before, as LDL had always been broadcast live but largely ignored.
Why the sudden spike in interest today?
At the old Tiger channel, Zztai1’s stream, Zztai was casually commentating, blending with Letme and Crystal in their “Huya Three Dogs” trio.
“Don’t rush, guys. You all know the neighbor’s style—6 p.m. start means the ads will run until at least 6:30!”
“Let’s see what this LDL little tyrant is about. We’ll switch over when they start the pick and ban.”
“I heard Tangyuan’s spirit almost broke because of this guy, he’s thinking about switching to KPL. True or not?”
“Seems legit! Heard he actually talked with RNGM—the RNG academy team—about transferring but the salary was too low, so…”
Since their first LDL day, when RNGY (RNG’s second team) met TO, Tangyuan, who had been “invincible” during youth training scrims, was nearly shattered.
No surprise—Tangyuan stubbornly insisted on face-checking, forcing his teammates to try and even giving the enemy an Akali pick…
But you can’t blame Tangyuan entirely.
The summer splits for LPL and LDL in June both launched on patch 12.11.
This was arguably the most impactful update since the S10 map overhaul.
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The core change was a single, sweeping update—“Durability Update.”
In essence, all champions across League of Legends received increased resistances and health pools.
This was a patch to fix the “damage overflow” issue from the S11 “mythic” patch, and marked the designers’ classic approach: “more water with noodles, more noodles with water, just keep changing the bowl.”
Unsurprisingly, most players strongly opposed this update.
A sweeping, blunt balance approach like this is considered the lowest form of game balancing—like in an FPS game where designers add 150 health to everyone because they think the guns are unbalanced.
“What if the sniper can’t one-shot anymore?” the players ask.
Designer: “Not my problem, I don’t play.”
Or in an open-world anime game, where designers jack up abyss enemy resistances because the character is too strong.
“What if my old characters can’t max stars?” players ask.
Designer: “Not my problem, I don’t play.”
Or in a village game, where all ninjas get more health but fight times don’t change.
“What about my refined healing skills?” players ask.
Designer: “Not my problem, I don’t play.”
In League of Legends, the effects were immediate and clear.
The pace of matches slowed considerably, early-game burst kills became harder, and mid-to-late game assassins found it more difficult to one-shot carries.
Mages gradually replaced assassins as the dominant mid lane picks.
Tangyuan thought opponents wouldn’t dare pick Akali “against the meta” anymore…
But Ye Bo’s performance in that match proved Akali’s impact remained strong in this durability meta—or at least in his hands.
“Here we go! LDL’s quick today!” Zztai said, glancing at the secondary screen.
“Why is the neighbor still protecting Dudu? Feels early yet.”
“Let’s see what this guy builds this game. No one should dare give his Akali free reign, at least in LDL,” Letme said knowingly.
Tangyuan had long been considered the top mid laner in LDL, earning the nickname “Invincible Yuan” during scrims.
Now even he was getting schooled—it was clear no one would dare be stubborn anymore.
Moreover, today’s opponents, the 12th team, were at the bottom of LDL—a fellow struggler alongside TO before Ye Bo joined.
The two teams constantly fought to avoid last place in the lower half of the standings.
So to any clear-eyed observer, 12 had no chance against TO.
This was basically a “smurfing game.”
“LeBlanc! No way! This guy only plays assassins, huh?”
“He’s got confidence. The last match might be a show.”
“But I think the other team is intentionally giving picks—Lissandra and Lee Sin seem set on ganking you.”
LDL’s streamlined format meant no host interruptions or ads, and both teams quickly locked in their lineups.
Blue side: TO | Red side: 12
Top: Gnar vs. Jayce
Jungle: Jarvan IV vs. Lee Sin
Mid: LeBlanc vs. Lissandra
ADC: Lucian vs. Ezreal
Support: Nami vs. Rell
“Wait, isn’t that TO’s ADC Xubin? Looks familiar.”
“Yeah, the non-crit Lucian!”
During loading, Zztai recognized Xubin on Ye Bo’s side.
Two years ago, he was a starting player in the LPL.
In one infamous match against FPX, after winning a late teamfight and pushing to the base, Xubin’s Lucian challenged Lwx’s Aphelios in a one-on-one duel.
Despite a 75% crit chance, Lucian failed to land a single crit in five auto attacks.
He was brutally killed and watched helplessly as FPX’s exposed nexus fell with just a sliver of health left.
That stunning comeback remains one of the most explosive in LPL history.
Shortly after, Xubin was demoted to LDL, where he has languished since.
“Let’s go, brothers!”
“This might be our guy’s last match, let’s cheer him on!”
Ye Bo, as always, full of energy, rushed out of the fountain and encouraged his teammates.
The rumors outside were no secret inside the camp—countless pro teams had already contacted Ye Bo.
But Ye Bo remained composed, refusing to answer.
He wanted to secure his spot by winning this final match first and then make the best decision.
His teammates responded in kind.
However, the match had barely begun when Ye Bo clearly felt an unusual pressure in lane.
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“What the heck! 12’s mid, jungle, and support have been camping mid for minutes. Are they playing or not?”
“Lee Sin ganking mid at level two, Lissandra just pushed the wave and is running mid, can Luna on bot lane do anything? How is she letting Ezreal push without fighting back?”
“Nonstop pressure! Pure respect!”
“But honestly, 12 is last in the LDL for a reason. Their mid keeps getting bullied like this by LeBlanc.”
“Is it their fault or is the opponent just too strong?”
Zztai and Crystal voiced their sympathy for the clearly targeted Lissandra.
From level two onward, Ye Bo’s mid lane was constantly 1vN.
Jungle, support, then top lane would all come, making LeBlanc’s laning miserable.
What was absurd was that even though the enemy’s top and bot lanes constantly roamed, LeBlanc’s own top and bot lanes gained no significant CS advantage.
At five minutes, Lee Sin flanked again.
“Here it comes! Lee Sin sneaking behind the wall for vision denial, Lissandra flashes and tries to engage!”
“I see it! I see it!”
“LeBlanc pressed W! Can you even react to that?!”
Lissandra’s W root cannot interrupt dashes—a fact Ye Bo had long mastered in his Akali vs. Lissandra matchups.
Lissandra’s forward movement was obvious, but Ye Bo anticipated this and countered perfectly with LeBlanc’s W Phantom Shroud, stepping back as she flashed W.
Though still rooted, he shifted position to avoid Lee Sin’s Q and instantly followed with EQ Chain Lash hitting Lissandra.
“LeBlanc lands a full Electrocute combo, chains the root, but Lee Sin keeps chasing!”
“Gross! They clearly can’t kill her but just want to whittle her down!”
“Where’s LeBlanc’s jungler? What’s our jungler doing?”
“Jarvan’s still farming jungle!!”
Zztai was shouting excitedly as the screen showed Jarvan finally rushing over, sending a “On my way” ping to LeBlanc.
“Can kill Lissandra, she didn’t flash! I can charm!”
LeBlanc’s Lee Sin chase was relentless, but seeing Jarvan’s arrival, she changed plans.
She used Phantom Shroud’s second dash to return to her original spot, right next to Lissandra.
Jarvan reached the river, and LeBlanc pursued.
Lissandra, without W, could only slow with Q, while Lee Sin flashed to continue auto-attacking, red buff slow ensuring his kill intent.
LeBlanc vanished into a clone…
But at that moment, Ye Bo quickly hit keys 1 and S.
LeBlanc briefly disappeared in place as Mirror Image activated, splitting into two clones after one second.
One clone stood still; the other moved into the brush.
“That’s it!” Lee Sin yelled, marking her.
Not just because he saw the slight twitch in movement, but also the green glow on LeBlanc’s clone.
(The clone, once created, is unaffected by any effects on the original.)
But then… Jarvan suddenly flashed EQ into the brush!
“What the hell?!”
“Why the rush?! Did Jarvan fall for the clone too?!”
The chat exploded with anxious cries.
If they had waited one step, unflashed Lissandra would have walked into Jarvan’s vision for EQ combo, ensuring a near-guaranteed kill.
LeBlanc with flash was virtually uncatchable.
But Jarvan seemed fooled by the clone, desperately EQing as if to save her.
Worse, his EQ missed, hitting nothing but a few autos.
The opponents were no fools and retreated immediately.
“Ah, I panicked, I panicked…”
Ye Bo heard his teammate’s apology but wasn’t fazed.
Confidently, he reassured over voice chat, “No big deal, go back to farming jungle.”
“This fight… I still have a chance to kill!”
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