Zhou Xunwen thought of yesterday's interview and couldn't stop laughing. 'People online were already saying maybe you cast a spell on those few guys. I mean, Lu Sheng, such a big shot, joined even after losing so much money. Must be a spell. Now with Fang Zhixu’s interview, great, it's confirmed. Our small group keeps joking about it every day. I don’t even dare to open the chat.'
Bai Yu looked a bit helpless. 'That brat Fang Zhixu, he didn’t want to answer the host’s question, so he dragged me in as a scapegoat.' But to be fair, his method was smart. Now the whole world was watching their tactics, and Fang Zhixu pretending to be clueless actually helped cover it all up.
Bai Yu felt a bit frustrated at this point. 'Fang Zhixu is smart, Lu Sheng is strong, Chen Shi'an is steady. How come these three just can’t sync up?'
Zhou Xunwen asked him, 'Is it because they don’t trust each other enough?'
Bai Yu let out a laugh out of irritation. 'It’s more than just lack of trust, they actually look down on each other. Now whatever decision Fang Zhixu makes, Chen Shi'an has to think it over before acting. Lu Sheng is willing to follow commands now, but deep down he doesn’t respect him. To him, Fang Zhixu’s just using petty tricks that aren’t worth much.' And to be fair, Fang Zhixu’s mechanics are indeed a notch below the other two.
This creates a dead-end cycle: Lu Sheng looks down on Fang Zhixu’s mechanics, Fang Zhixu looks down on Chen Shi'an’s indecisiveness, and Chen Shi'an looks down on Lu Sheng’s recklessness.
Bai Yu looked up at the sky. 'Hope we don’t flop against TUP tomorrow.'
TUP’s strongest point is their bot lane. Their AD, Ningmeng, is currently ranked second in LPL. The only issue is that their support is always lacking something, always just one step short. Ningmeng originally wasn’t going to renew his contract, but TUP kept trying to recruit Bai Yu. Maybe seeing their sincerity, he decided to stay and give it a shot. Now they’ve changed to a new support. No idea how it’ll work out.
Bai Yu has faced Ningmeng more than once, and they’ve even duo queued for a while. They had a good impression of each other. Back when Bai Yu went to SG, the first AD he recommended was Ningmeng. Unfortunately, the team didn’t pursue him, and Ningmeng ended up renewing with TUP. You could say they missed their chance.
Seeing Bai Yu staring at Ningmeng’s stats, Xu Bo was a bit surprised. 'Why didn’t you try to sign Ningmeng? Wasn’t his contract up too?'
Bai Yu said reflexively, 'His contract was stuck, and he wouldn’t come to a secondary league team anyway.'
Then he suddenly realized and looked up at Xu Bo, only to see his face twisted with bitterness. 'Oh, so you already tried to get him but couldn’t, and then came to me.'
Bai Yu gave a small smile and didn’t even have the heart to explain. At that time, he had even scouted the youth training camps but just couldn’t find anyone decent. Only then did he go for Xu Bo.
Bai Yu hooked an arm around Xu Bo’s shoulders. 'Don’t be mad, come on, you and Qi Yi come over, I’ll explain tomorrow’s match.'
Ningmeng is a very well-rounded AD. Whether it’s damage or survivability, he excels at both. He can retreat or push forward, fights aggressively when ahead, and scales fast when behind. All in all, he’s a hexagonal warrior. Meanwhile, Qi Yi and Xu Bo have very obvious strengths and weaknesses.
Xu Bo is highly aggressive but lacks survivability and needs Bai Yu to protect him in order to keep farming. Qi Yi has great survivability and scaling but is very weak offensively.
Bai Yu couldn’t help but say, 'If only I could fuse you two together.' Xu Bo gave a cold snort, clearly unhappy. Qi Yi instinctively nodded, then realized and said, 'Eh?'
Bai Yu was charmed by his reaction and couldn’t resist ruffling his hair until it covered his eyes. 'Ah, you’re so cute, I’d be a bit reluctant to fuse you with Xu Bo.'
Xu Bo was about to bite someone. 'Bai Yu...'
Training proceeded smoothly, and soon it was the next day. Their match was the second of the day. The first one was TIN vs. OT. Bai Yu watched it in the lounge with Song Bo, analyzing while watching. 'Since Qu Xiangtian joined OT, they’ve made major tactical changes. The new jungler brings something fresh too. Right now, their jungler doesn’t have any obvious flaws, we’ll need to watch a few more matches. But their mid-jungle pair is working together for the first time, looks a bit awkward. This kind of issue will affect their synergy later. Let’s see how they adjust. We can learn from that.'
Song Bo quickly took notes. Bai Yu’s analysis was all valuable info. Not a single word could be missed.
The match ended 2:0, and TIN won fairly easily. OT wasn’t a strong team to begin with. It’s hard for them to even make playoffs. Their current points were mostly earned by Qi Yi. Now that Qi Yi’s gone, their ranking is bound to drop by at least three spots.
Their own match was over, and now it was RAG’s turn. Even before the staff could remind them, Bai Yu was already on his feet. 'Everyone, do a final check on your gear, time to go up.'
RAG’s first match was against DT, which wasn’t considered a strong team, more like a strength tester. But this time, TUP was a solid mid-to-upper tier team.
Their bot laner Ningmeng didn’t even need an introduction, and their mid laner Chu Fei was currently ranked second in LPL too. Both of them were also fan favorites.
Chu Fei has a good personality, engages actively during streams, and is very social online. His fan engagement is strong. Ningmeng, on the other hand, is colder and less interactive, but his performance is too good to ignore. No matter which team he’s on, he’s the undisputed carry.
Before the match even started, the livestream chat was already blowing up about the two of them.
[Ahhh Ningmeng I’m here!]
[Crazy support for Feifei!]
[Eh? They’re playing Bai Yu today?]
[Wuwuwu my Ningmeng-ge’s dream support went off to start his own team.]
[TUP really showed so much sincerity trying to get Bai Yu.]
[If Bai Yu hadn’t started his own team, maybe he would’ve signed with us.]
[For sure, even Chu Fei said he really hoped Bai Yu would come. His streams were so lively back then.]
[Ah, such a pity!!]
TUP is an established team with tons of buzz. RAG’s hype wasn’t low either. Every player on the team was a hot topic. Now that they were all together, it brought in a crowd of onlookers and curious scouts.
Even before the match began, the hype was already catching up.
The caster on stage gave a quick rundown of both teams before the match, then brought up a key point: TUP’s win rate against Bai Yu was actually zero.
Back when Bai Yu was still on TG, TUP hadn’t signed Ning Meng yet and was still a bottom-tier team. Later, Bai Yu went to SG, and TUP was still in their adjustment phase. After they finally got it together, everyone thought they could finally beat Bai Yu once, but it was like they were cursed and kept losing every time. The worst was when TUP only needed one more win to make it to the regional qualifier, but they ran into Bai Yu and had their hopes crushed. Looking at it that way, this match had become TUP’s battle of fate.
[I finally get why TUP wants Bai Yu so bad now…]
[Help, why does TUP feel so tragic?]
[If you can’t beat him, recruit him.]
[Haha so it wasn’t about Ning Meng at all!]
[Ning Meng: So I was never the point.]
As the discussion heated up, the match officially began. RAG was clearly planning to play through bot lane this game. They picked Sivir for Qi Yi and paired her with Alistar, clearly intending to fight TUP head-on in the late game.
Yesterday, when Bai Yu was discussing the match with his teammates, he said, “Ning Meng is well-rounded, but that’s exactly the problem. He’s so balanced that none of his strengths are pushed to the extreme.”
So this game, Bai Yu planned to beat the opponent with Qi Yi’s scaling.
Qi Yi knew the game’s key point was on him, so he played very seriously. Every last-hit was clean. You could tell his fundamentals had improved a lot. After a few waves, he had the exact same CS as Ning Meng. Both sides were even in farm.
The spectator camera kept zooming in on the two of them, and even the casters couldn’t help but praise, “Both AD carries are really strong!”
Early game bot lane is all about fundamentals, but later it becomes about mechanics and synergy. The enemy knew Bai Yu and Qi Yi’s synergy wasn’t great, so their support kept looking for an opening. When they finally caught one, they went in immediately. But unfortunately, mid-air they were knocked away by Bai Yu’s Alistar before they could even touch Qi Yi, and instead, they exposed Ning Meng’s position and forced him to miss a CS.
The gap was already forming, although subtly. Around this time, mid lane exploded in several flashy skirmishes, and everyone’s attention shifted away from bot lane.
When the camera returned to bot lane—
Huh? Ning Meng is getting out-CSed?
[Huh? When did that happen?]
[He’s down by over ten now? Weren’t they even earlier?]
[TUP’s new support is so clueless. Every move is within Bai Yu’s expectations. He can’t even get close to Qi Yi.]
[Damn, if Qi Yi keeps scaling like this, who’s gonna survive his damage in late game?]
Sivir is a scaling AD carry who becomes unstoppable late game. Teamfights basically decide everything in the late game, and Sivir excels at teamfighting. Whether ahead or behind, she can still deal massive damage.
The caster said it straight: “TUP can’t sit and wait any longer.”
TUP was clearly thinking of making a play bot lane. Teammates started pinging signals. The jungler began moving over, and the top laner had a teleport angle. From the third-person perspective, it looked flawless. Even the casters were getting nervous for Qi Yi.
Qi Yi, unaware of the incoming danger, was still farming. Then Bai Yu suddenly said, “Watch your positioning.” The enemy support initiated with their ult. Qi Yi was prepared and flashed away. But the enemy support had cast Flash and his ultimate at the same time, predicting Qi Yi’s movement , it was double insurance.
What a clean play.
Qi Yi had no time to be impressed. His survival instincts kicked in. He immediately cast his E, so the second part of the enemy support’s CC chain didn’t connect. The whole arena erupted.
The caster shouted, “Beautiful!”
But things were far from over. Qi Yi escaped, but Bai Yu was still there. TUP figured since they were already here, they could at least kill a support and maybe take a dragon. No matter how you look at it, it was worth. But no one expected that Bai Yu, seemingly cornered, would Flash behind Ning Meng and knock him under tower, applying his passive.
Things got complicated. Qi Yi now had to choose: go in and trade one for one with Ning Meng, or abandon Bai Yu.
In the lounge, watching from the third-person view, Xu Bo jumped to his feet. “Bai Yu taught this part! Qi Yi, use your brain!”
In a flash, Qi Yi remembered the match Bai Yu had reviewed with him. Same position. Same timing. Same setup.
Bai Yu had already shown him the perfect solution.
Without hesitation, Qi Yi stepped forward and hit Ning Meng twice. The enemy jungler thought this was his chance. But then Qi Yi suddenly stopped attacking and backed up two steps. As they retreated, Qi Yi suddenly moved forward again, just far enough to threaten a kill, then retreated right away.
The enemy jungler: ???
After two rounds of baiting, TUP gave up on Qi Yi and turned to take dragon. As they were doing that, the camera suddenly cut to top lane. Whoa, Chen Shi’an was pushing high ground!
The chat exploded, and the caster sighed, “TUP really lost out there. If they hadn’t wasted time on Alata…”
While Qi Yi was baiting them bot lane, Fang Zhixu had silently rotated top to support Chen Shi’an. With the Rift Herald, they pushed down two turrets and reached the inhibitor tower.
At this point in the game, losing two outer turrets is basically like giving away three kills. That dragon suddenly didn’t feel worth it. If they’d known, they wouldn’t have messed with Qi Yi at all. That kid was baiting them on purpose...
“Is it possible he was stalling us on purpose just now?”
“Huh? No way. We’ve played him before. He’s not that smart.”
“But this time his support is Bai Yu…”
Those two words didn’t need explanation. No one understood them better than pro players. Ning Meng growled, “Bai Yu, that old fox!”
The game continued. TUP secured the dragon, but losing two towers put more pressure on them. Chen Shi’an was a top lane split-pushing god, and he played so carefully that they couldn’t catch him. But if they left him alone, he kept pushing and would soon reach their high ground.
Bai Yu was running a 1-4 split strategy: Chen Shi’an split one side while the other four grouped. That let them farm safely and avoid engages while fully utilizing their comp’s strengths. TUP was under constant pressure and barely held out until late game.
Qi Yi was fully scaled. In teamfights, Sivir was like a god descending.
A few boomerangs in, and the enemy was already at half HP before they could even reach him. Even Ning Meng, standing in the very back, couldn’t avoid the damage.
And Lu Sheng was lurking nearby. As far as he was concerned, if Ning Meng’s health dropped more than 200, that meant “killable.” With a loud bang, Ning Meng, who had just walked out of base, was sent straight back.
[Hahahaha…]
[Damn, Lu Sheng really is built different!]
[Wait, isn’t the enemy mid laner Chu Fei? Ranked second? Why is his gold so far behind?]
[I just noticed it’s Chu Fei. He’s completely invisible.]
[Lu Sheng’s lane pressure is unreal. I haven’t seen a mid this dominant in a while.]
[Seriously, even on Galio he still wins lane. What’s he afraid of?]
[Lu Sheng doesn’t even care who he’s up against. Just does his thing.]
[Lu Sheng afterward: Ranked #2 mid?]
[Bai Yu: Careful of the enemy mid. Lu Sheng: Huh? This guy?]
[Lmao I’m dead…]
Chu Fei didn’t get solo killed by Lu Sheng, but when the match ended, one glance at the damage chart showed just how badly he’d been suppressed.
Lu Sheng’s damage was clearly a tier above.
He had completely dominated this game with impressive stats to match, earning his first MVP title in the domestic league.
After the match the stream chat buzzed with discussion about RAG’s double carry.
Other teams started getting wary too.
Truth be told Lu Sheng had only performed average in scrims, “average” compared to his play abroad, so most people assumed he just wasn’t used to the environment.
Turns out he was simply a tournament player.
No wonder he went so hard at Worlds.
As for Qi Yi everyone had only thought of him as mechanically sharp and fast-handed No one expected he could also play the mind game.
Of course he was Bai Yu’s student after all.
After the game, TUP had more or less figured out RAG’s playstyle .Their coach didn’t even make it back to the lounge before pulling Ning Meng aside in the hallway to go over strategy for the next match.
Just then Bai Yu passed by them.
When he looked up his eyes met Ning Meng’s.
That look it was like a hunter locking eyes with prey.
It only lasted a second but Bai Yu felt an overwhelming sense of pressure.
—
Game two began
RAG moved to the red side the defensive side.
TUP would reveal their lineup first giving Bai Yu the chance to counter.
He thought back to Ning Meng’s look and immediately sensed something.
“They’re going for an aggressive comp”
Song Bo flipped through his notes digging up some obscure data.
“Ning Meng rarely plays hyper-aggressive ADCs, His Draven and Lucian pick rates are both low”
Bai Yu shook his head.
“No, there’s one champion you’re overlooking”
Kalista the Spear of Vengeance.
With a hard engage support, her lane dominance was just as lethal as Lucian’s.
Then that voice from hell rang out again. TUP locked in Kalista as their last pick.
Bai Yu had already guessed their game plan.
“They’re playing through bot lane”
Seeing the full enemy comp Song Bo felt a chill go down his spine.
A Leona—Kalista bot lane.
That duo’s synergy was as natural as breathing.
With picks finalized, Song Bo had to leave the stage.
Back in the lounge his heart was still pounding.
Xu Bo was even more nervous than him.
“Will Qi Yi survive this game?”
Qi Yi’s survivability was better than Xu Bo’s but only when playing solo.
He still wasn’t fully used to playing with Bai Yu.
Any miscoordination in this game could cost them dearly.
Xu Bo clenched his fists.
“You better win Win and I swear I’ll never flame you again”
TUP picking Kalista was a clear statement they wanted to trap Bai Yu in bot lane.
Fang Zhixu’s synergy with mid and top wasn’t great so their two skirmishes gained nothing.
Once again all the pressure shifted to bot lane.
Kalista kept hopping around.
Her passive lets her leap in the direction of her basic attacks and her attack speed determines how smooth her movement looks.
In early game with such low attack speed fluid bunny-hopping is extremely hard.
But in Ning Meng’s hands the movement was unbelievably clean.
Bai Yu realized he’d underestimated him.
He warned Qi Yi “Watch your positioning”
His Thresh and Alistar were both banned.
This game he was on Nautilus with much weaker protection.
He had to stay laser focused.
Qi Yi nodded seriously eyes fixed on the enemy’s movements.
The opposing support barely showed any casting animation then suddenly Q flashed right into Qi Yi’s face.
Qi Yi reflexively flashed away but the stun had already connected.
He still got hit with half a combo.
“I mispositioned” Qi Yi said frustrated.
But Bai Yu replied “It’s not just that, You didn’t trust me If you’d flashed behind me I could’ve blocked the follow-up. Their ADC wouldn’t dare step up to auto. Their support is a rookie but he played this well. He was sure you wouldn’t come toward me so he went for the flash Q”
Qi Yi suddenly understood.
He had instinctively chosen the safest escape path again rather than syncing with Bai Yu.
He still didn’t fully trust him.
Or rather he hadn’t let go of his solo mindset.
Bai Yu told him “Ever since Fang Zhixu exposed your weakness in the regular season everyone’s been targeting it I can’t protect you from that You’ll have to fix it yourself piece by piece. Otherwise you won’t go far”
The words hit Qi Yi hard.
Bai Yu took two melee minions for him and suddenly frowned.
“They’re hitting level six soon”
That earlier trade didn’t just burn Qi Yi’s health, it forced him to back off and let them hit six first.
A level six Kalista and Leona combo is a completely different beast full of hard CC.
Even under tower Qi Yi wouldn’t survive.
He had to give up this wave and recall.
The audience murmured.
The casters broke it down.
“Alata’s going to lose an entire wave on this recall”
Qi Yi realized it too.
That tiny positioning mistake earlier had let the enemy support snowball a huge advantage.
Ning Meng hadn’t given him any openings.
He bit his lip disheartened.
Now he understood what Bai Yu meant by
“If this were an LPL support you’d already be dead five times”
There was no future in solo carry.
To win he’d have to cooperate.
He clenched his teeth and tried to hold lane.
He forced himself to change.
But years of muscle memory don’t fade overnight.
Through trial and error, the game slipped away.
When the defeat screen appeared Qi Yi’s mind went blank.
For a moment he felt like his pro career might end right here.
Game over.
The score was now 1 to 1.
Bai Yu said nothing.
He just took off his headset and stood up.
“Let’s head back and prep for next game”
On the way out he saw Qi Yi with his head down clearly shaken.
Bai Yu clapped a hand firmly on his shoulder.
“Qi Yi, Chin up”
Qi Yi instinctively straightened his back.
Bai Yu’s eyes were calm still composed like he had the situation under control.
His voice was steady and powerful.
“Losing a game isn’t scary. Watch carefully see how we take it back next round”
Before Qi Yi could reply Bai Yu had already strode into the lounge.
He pushed the door open like a king returning to his war room.
“Xu Bo, Get ready to sub in”