Chapter 53: Choosing a Dominant, Hard-Engage Support for Meiko

EDG team stage.

In the ADC position, Lu Ziming glanced toward the spectator seats out of the corner of his eye, as if searching for that figure he had never met in person.

He believed Jelly wouldn't lie to him, and his intuition told him that Jelly was sitting very close to him.

At this moment, the Pick and Ban phase had already begun. Since it was the opening match, side selection was decided by a draw, and EDG, blessed with supreme luck, won the priority side selection right.

Naturally, EDG chose the blue side, securing the first opportunity to pick a champion.

Meanwhile, FPX, as the red side, obtained the final counter-pick slot.

Next, the Pick and Ban officially commenced. Clear Love stepped onto the LPL stage for the very first time in his capacity as the head coach of EDG.

Right now, wearing noise-canceling headphones, he stood directly behind the players.

At the caster desk.

Teacher Piao spoke up: "EDG on the blue side will definitely secure the first pick, and it will surely be given to meiko."

"I think there's a high probability it goes to meiko. Putting the current patch aside, as the sole veteran and big brother of EDG, meiko also assumes the responsibilities of support and team captain. For the new EDG's LPL debut, he simply has to take a sufficiently dominant support champion."

Miller expressed his full agreement with this view: "Great minds think alike. From my perspective, that's how it is as well. EDG needs to maximize their winning odds as much as possible. The chance of a enchanter support is slim; by my estimation, they'll likely choose among three supports: Nautilus, Alistar, or Braum."

Wa Wa glanced at the champion selection countdown and reminded everyone: "There are only 10 seconds left, and EDG doesn't seem to have locked in a champion yet."

Inside EDG's team voice comms, just as Miller and Teacher Piao had guessed, the first pick was indeed given to meiko.

"Tianye, tonight is the LPL debut of the new EDG, just pick the support you are most proficient with and most confident in playing."

Clear Love emphasized the points of "proficiency" and "confidence" once again.

"Thresh is banned, so I'll take Nautilus."

meiko thought for a moment and said.

Immediately afterward, he selected the engage support "Nautilus". On the observer screen, in the very last second, EDG locked in the champion "Nautilus".

Next, it was FPX's turn to pick their champions. FPX first selected their bottom-lane duo.

Support Liu Qingsong picked Alistar as a counter.

ADC Lin Weixiang chose the patch's popular ADC, Kai'Sa.

The subsequent strategic clashes in the Pick and Ban phase were relatively focused on countering powerful positions.

For example, EDG banned several strong mid-lane champions from the current patch, along with powerful top-lane champions.

Their objective was extremely obvious: to target mid-laner Doinb and top-laner GimGoon.

Giving these two players sufficient respect!

As for FPX, their coaching staff actually didn't have many options for the Draft, because this EDG roster was almost entirely brand new—heaven knows what kind of lineup or tactics they might pull out this season!

They simply banned Jinx, with which Lu Ziming had delivered a terrifying performance during high-tier Korean server solo queue, alongside a round of bans targeting strong champions across various roles.

Shortly after, the Pick and Ban phase concluded!

The match was about to officially start, and the lineups for both sides were locked in and finalized.

Blue Side — EDG Team:
Top Lane: Jax
Mid Lane: Zoe
Jungler: Lee Sin
Bottom Lane Duo: Jhin + Nautilus

Red Side — FPX Team:
Top Lane: Gangplank
Mid Lane: Malzahar
Jungler: Jarvan IV
Bottom Lane Duo: Alistar + Kai'Sa

At the caster desk, taking advantage of the time before the match began, the casters analyzed the two lineups:

"Tsk tsk. EDG truly lives up to being the youngest team in the entire LPL right now, filled entirely with mechanical monsters. They feel like a completely different team compared to the old EDG. This is going to be fun to watch!"

"GimGoon's Gangplank counters 369's Jax in the top lane. We'll just have to see how this young player performs."

"Both lineups actually have plenty of highlights. It all comes down to everyone's performance on stage."

While the casters were talking, the match footage had already transitioned into Summoner's Rift.

"Season S9, the LPL Spring Regular Season Opening Match, EDG versus FPX, is now officially underway! Let's wait and see!"

Miller said, his voice tinged with excitement. EDG, following RNG, had transitioned into a true all-Chinese roster among the powerhouse teams of the LPL division. He was eagerly anticipating the performance of this all-Chinese team.

The atmosphere at the venue was soaring. Following IG's championship victory, the LPL official immediately decided to expand the home esports arena, and the current indoor esports arena could now accommodate nearly 5,000 spectators watching esports events simultaneously.

For today's opening match, every single seat at the venue was taken. Even the viewing galleries were packed with spectators, and outside the venue, there were still many EDG fans who hadn't managed to buy tickets.

With all kinds of light boards, banners, and cheering merchandise, the fans were cheering enthusiastically at this moment, especially in the seconds right before the match officially began.

"EDG! Let's go!!"

"EDG — charge for all you're worth!!"

"FPX, let's go!"

The fanbases of the two sides were not on the same scale, but the volume of their cheers wasn't vastly different.

First of all, this was the LPL home arena, not the exclusive home stadium of any single team.

The fans who bought tickets to watch the match wanted something very simple: a thrilling showdown, preferably stretching the Bo3 to its absolute limit for maximum satisfaction.

However, in terms of the quantity of light boards and other cheering merchandise, EDG naturally presented a crushing advantage. meiko accounted for a major share of these, being a seasoned veteran who had accumulated a massive legion of hardcore, loyal fans over so many years.

Aside from them, there were Doinb, GimGoon, and other well-known star players.

As for Lu Ziming, although this was his first appearance in the LPL, his cheering merchandise still managed to rank in the top four.

His previous live streams had also earned him a considerable following, with an astonishingly terrifying proportion of female fans among them.

Many female fans were extremely excited upon seeing Lu Ziming in person.

In the spectator seating area, right in the front row.

A girl wearing an Akali-themed face mask and Ahri cat-ear headband was also waving the light board in her hand, which read:

"Lu Ziming, you will definitely shine brightly in the world you love."

Although the girl was wearing a simple, loose black sweater, her figure was exceptionally striking, and her temperament was extraordinary, creating a visible gap between her and the girls sitting around her.

Even though only a pair of sparkling, clear eyes were exposed, anyone could immediately tell she was a peerless beauty in a million.

Although Lu Ziming was wearing noise-canceling headphones, they couldn't completely shut out the cheers from the venue, especially in those few seconds right before the start when the roar of the crowd was terrifyingly loud.

Amidst the massive wave of sound, he suddenly heard a voice that was both familiar and unfamiliar. In that instant, Lu Ziming felt a deep connection and instinctively glanced toward the spectator stands.

"Jelly?"

Lu Ziming's heart trembled. His gaze locked onto the girl in the front row of the spectator area wearing a black sweater and holding up a white light board.

"Is that you?" His eyes were filled with all kinds of emotions, too complex to describe.

On the white light board held high by the girl, the words 'Lu Ziming, you will definitely shine brightly in the world you love.' were written in purple bold letters—a phrase he had only ever heard from Jelly.

Seeing that Lu Ziming was looking at her, a sparkling crystalline moisture welled up in her gentle, beautiful eyes.

Immediately afterward, she stretched out her other hand and made a cheering gesture toward Lu Ziming from afar.

Lu Ziming suddenly smiled foolishly.

A very complex smile, somewhat blissful, somewhat relieved, with expectations finally fulfilled...

In the control room, Yang Lei, the chief director responsible for the match's live observer broadcast direction tonight, also noticed Lu Ziming's smile.

Since the match hadn't officially started yet, he hurriedly stubbed out the cigarette in his hand and instantly switched Lu Ziming's smile onto the main observer screen.

"Damn it, that is way too healing! This is definitely going to become a classic scene of the year."

Yang Lei felt a surge of excitement in his heart.

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PS: Second chapter, continuing!