Xiang Guo, Xiao Gou, Xiao Ming, and Xiao Hu took the stage one after another.
Jiang Chen held his keyboard.
He followed at the end.
At this time.
The eyes of the whole world were fixed on his face.
And the sound that had haunted Jiang Chen's mind finally rang out.
Detecting that the host is about to enter the battlefield.
【Send Head System Activated.】
【Random hero selection in progress...】
【Selection complete. The result of this selection is top lane Teemo!】
【System Rules:】
【Send one head, comprehensive strength unlocked to the first place in the national server.】
【Send two heads...】
【Send three heads: Unlock comprehensive strength to meticulous.】
【Note: "Meticulous" is the highest level humans can reach.】
Listening to the system's voice ringing in his mind, Jiang Chen, who had been smiling and confident,
His face turned pale in an instant.
He was both amused and exasperated.
He thought to himself, "System, are you crazy? Teemo is cute, but can this hero even make it to Worlds? This isn't a Korean server King's Landing."
"You pull out this piece of crap, and if we lose, I'm afraid as soon as I step out of Incheon Stadium, I'll be chased down by RNG fans with knives, my bones will be broken!"
What a scam!
Scam...
Seeing that the system didn't answer.
Jiang Chen made up his mind.
If IG didn't ban Riven in the first round of picks.
He would ask his teammates to first pick her.
He'd get Riven and start the game with "meticulous" strength.
No need to send heads.
It's simply—too good to be true.
The pick and ban phase began.
IG continued their pick and ban strategy from the previous two rounds, targeting the bottom lane.
They directly banned Xayah and Ezreal, the two champions that Uzi used the most and had the highest win rates.
RNG countered by banning Aatrox, the hero that TheShy had performed well with, and Olaf, a strong champion in the current meta.
Ning Wang placed his mouse over Riven's icon.
He hadn't clicked confirm yet.
...
In that second.
Time seemed to slow down.
Every player who had watched Jiang Chen's 'performance' was looking forward to it.
They were hoping that IG would leave Riven open.
They were even more eager to see Jiang Chen's impressive performance after getting Riven.
After all.
Jiang Chen was the first player to bring Riven to S8.
He was also the only professional player to get a Pentakill with Riven in Worlds.
What about TheShy!
This year's undisputed world's strongest top laner.
There was no one better.
This clash of titans.
How could it not be exciting?
How could it not drive people crazy?
Today, Ruo Feng had started streaming early.
He entered the official live stream, turned down the game's volume, and began to commentate for the viewers.
"Let's see IG's third pick and ban, I think banning Riven would be the best choice. Jiang Chen is clearly a one-trick player, if you take away his one-trick, it's like he loses his connection. If IG wins this game, they will advance to the finals and face the European team, won't that be like playing against a bunch of noobs."
"I'm not saying that Jiang Chen can beat Shy哥 (TheShy) with Riven, just that I think banning her would be the best option."
"Yeah, Shy哥's strength this year, crushing all top laners."
He saw some people in the comments saying he was questioning Shy哥's strength.
Feng哥 immediately licked back.
It's just licking, right?
Just a matter of sticking out your tongue.
He even used the death of a former teammate's relative to gain attention on Weibo.
Compared to that?
What's this?
...
"Damn!"
...
Ning Wang's finger gently clicked the mouse.
Riven's icon instantly turned black.
Heart was walking back and forth behind the players.
Seeing Riven's dimmed icon.
His entire spirit seemed to be drained.
He stumbled.
The notebook in his hand almost fell to the ground.
He was left with only one thought.
It's over now, RNG won't be able to make it to the finals.
Deep down, he was a little regretful.
He wished he had continued to let Yan Junze play, maybe they could have stabilized the game and had a chance to fight back.
But things had already happened.
There was no turning back.
...
Jiang Chen also looked at the dimmed Riven icon on his computer screen.
He let out a sigh of relief.
He said in a voice only he could hear, "I didn't get Riven, so I'll have to gamble with Teemo."
Karsa's voice sounded through the headset.
"Lao Jiang, there's also Renekton, which is strong in this version, should I get it for you?"
Jiang Chen was in the fifth pick.
There was also a counter pick for the opponent.
It was likely to be left for TheShy, the top laner.
Jiang Chen's head was spinning.
He had to not only pick Teemo under the scrutiny of global players.
But he would also be countered by Shy哥!
The most, most, most crucial part was that he had to send three heads to reach "meticulous" strength.
Captain Teemo is about to die.
...
This is so freaking good.
Wait.
Send?
Jiang Chen suddenly had a bold idea.
"Should I pick Renekton for you?" Xiang Guo asked again.
Hearing Xiang Guo's familiar voice.
Jiang Chen immediately snapped out of his thoughts.
He replied, "No need, get a hero for Gou Ye first! The opponent banned two ADCs in the first round, they'll definitely target the bottom lane again in the next round, suppress the bottom lane, they will have the advantage in this game."
Heart felt a little better hearing Jiang Chen's words.
At least he was thinking of his teammates, right?
He wasn't as unpredictable as he was against G2, suddenly pulling out Riven.
It was enough to scare anyone to death.
The pick and ban continued.
It wasn't long before it was Jiang Chen's turn.
"Pick Ornn? It can supplement the..."
The words 'engage' were still stuck in his throat when Jiang Chen instantly locked in the Swift Scout - Teemo.
Xiao Gou almost jumped out of his chair.
He said in the headset, "Jiang Chen, are you crazy?"
？？？