Chapter 8: Did I Force You to Watch?

"Welcome back to our coverage of the Summer Split. Today's match features WE versus IG. IG currently leads 1-0. If they win this game, they will secure a spot in the playoffs and compete against other qualified teams for a ticket to the S11 World Championship Play-In stage!" Jie Ke took a sip of water to soothe his throat during the intermission, his voice still full of energy and excitement.

"Indeed, though WE still has a chance to advance. Both teams need to give it their all, show their best performance, and leave no regrets!" Rita said with a smile.

"The players are ready, and we are entering the pick-and-ban phase. IG has the choice of side but has opted for the red side again."

In professional leagues, the importance of the pick-and-ban phase far exceeds that of public matches. A brilliant draft can decide more than thirty percent of the game's outcome. Thus, teams often engage in psychological warfare and strategic maneuvering.

The draft begins with the blue side banning one champion, followed by the red side, repeating for three rounds until both sides have banned three champions. Then, the blue side gets the first pick. This means the blue side can secure a Tier-0 champion of the current meta.

"If the blue side wants to grab the most popular T0 champion, the red side might choose a powerful synergy combination instead. The pressure is on the blue side's first pick. If a team's composition would be perfected by a specific champion—like the global-presence strategies of the past—then I will ban your Twisted Fate to keep you immobile."

Back in S8, the peak RNG team was locked down by G2, leading to their elimination in the quarterfinals. This became a running joke for many, as G2 had mastered the core of RNG’s strategy: Uzi's "Three-Step" plan. G2 understood RNG's system and banned out Xayah and Caitlyn, champions that perfectly complemented that style.

IG's choice to take the red side made their intentions clear. The red side often prioritizes banning high-priority champions to prevent the blue side from securing an overpowered meta pick.

"Let's start by banning Lux; there's no question about that," Domo, the WE head coach, said with a heavy voice while holding his draft notebook, pacing between his players. "IG has chosen the red side again, clearly aiming for a counter-pick. And if I'm not mistaken, this counter-pick will be reserved for their support, Shaqima. While it’s rare to save a counter-pick for a support, we cannot underestimate this player."

"Coach, let’s just ban normally. I suspect his only strong champion is Lux. He’s a substitute—how many champions could he possibly have mastered? If he were that good, would he still be a substitute?" Elk said with resentment.

"That's true. Let's stick to the standard bans," Domo agreed, nodding.

The draft proceeded in a tense atmosphere. The blue side, to prevent the red side from picking overly aggressive combinations, also used their bans to dismantle dangerous team comps.

As the draft continued, the IG roster took shape: Viego in the top lane, Olaf in the jungle, Orianna in the mid lane, and Draven in the bot lane. The final support pick remained, and it held the attention of thousands.

"Shaqima played so aggressively on damage dealers last game. Won't he go for a carry-style support this time? How about Annie?"

Cheng Xian, however, stubbornly locked in Thresh.

The champion's voice echoed throughout the arena: "What kind of torture shall we inflict today?"

"Thresh? Draven with Thresh? It's a perfect match in public games, especially in the hands of a specialist streamer," Jie Ke noted. "But in a professional match, are Thresh's limitations too great? I think Nautilus would have been more appropriate."

Not only did the commentators feel the Thresh pick was poor, but even Nofe had initially been hesitant to let Cheng Xian play him. Compared to the more comprehensive crowd-control chain of Nautilus, Thresh—relying only on his Q for a "lottery" hook—carried too many variables. If the game fell behind, Thresh might find himself in an awkward position, afraid to engage even after landing a hook, making him less effective than the reliable three-second lockdown of a Morgana Q.

But Cheng Xian had already adjusted his mindset; he would not repeat those low-level mistakes.

At that moment, a system notification appeared:
[A-Rank Task: Land your Q skill 20 times on opponents with Thresh in a single game!]
[Completion Reward: Potential Point *1! EXP +500! System Currency *2! Rare Hero Shard *5!]

The rewards were generous, and he needed exactly 500 EXP to level up his system from level 2 to 3. He accepted the task immediately.

Meanwhile, the live chat was flooded with comments:
"666, I want to watch this too."
"To the idiots earlier, if you don't want to watch, then don't. Did I force you?"
"My 'bull' wants to meet him, too. Let's be friends."
"Seeing a bunch of people here seriously discussing support counters makes me laugh. You don't actually think supports can have 'counters,' do you? Seriously? Just because of one game, you're all 'ten-year fans' now?"

Cheng Xian ignored the noise and began his routine state-extraction. He clasped his hands together in a silent prayer: "Give me a good state! Please, this is really important to me."

[Ding! Congratulations on successfully drawing an S-Rank state: Poisonous Milk!]

[Effect Expiration: 23 hours, 58 minutes, 13 seconds]
[Activation Cost: System Currency *1!]

With the final pick locked, all ten players entered the game loading screen.