LOL: Reborn in S9, Coaching the Trident

Chapter 88: Don't be impatient

"JD.com, on the other hand, snatched Kalmar from the market."

In the commentary booth, Guan Zeyuan offered his interpretation: "Karma is a champion who performs well in all three lanes—top, mid, and support. In other words, this Karma is a super flexible champion."

"Then on the third floor, JD.com released a crocodile. The crocodile's intention is very clear: to catch Sylas."

IG players' bench.

Seeing that the opposing team had taken down the crocodile, Karam simply uttered one word: "Rakan!"

This is where Karam's drafting and banning (BP) differs from Chen Song's. Karam's general approach is to directly let the players pick the heroes, while Chen Song will communicate with the players before deciding what to pick.

"Luo made a good move, he cleared the bottom lane early so that the red side's counter pick could be used more effectively."

JackeyLove turned to Ning and said, "Ning, how about another game with Nidalee? But I have a feeling the enemy jungler might pick Gragas again, so let's skip Nidalee."

Ning smiled and said, "I think picking the prince this time is a good idea. The prince and Luo are a good match."

"Coach, keep feeding the enemy Gragas. I honestly don't think Gragas is that strong. Last game, my Kindred had a huge early-game advantage, but this Gragas just picked it up. This time, I'll definitely take down Jarvan IV."

Karam nodded and said in broken Chinese, "Jia...Wen, right?"

And so, IG continued to ban Lux and Nautilus, while JDG banned Kennen and Xin Zhao.

IG picked Jarvan IV as their fourth pick.

JDG's last two picks were Gragas and Galio.

JDG's lineup is very solid.

IG picked Gnar for their final counter pick.

After the draft phase ended, both sides secured the lineups they desired.

JDG (Blue Side): Top laner Renekton, Jungler Gragas, Mid laner Karma, Bot laner Kai'Sa and Galio.

Red team IG: Top laner Nair, jungler Jarvan IV, mid laner Sylas, bot lane Xayah and Rakan.

The scene switched to the game screen, and the IG fans at the scene continued to erupt in enthusiastic cheers.

As JDG's home stadium, they knew they had to cheer even louder for IG at this moment.

After shaking hands with Redmi, Karam's mood improved significantly.

The reason is that the lineup he picked in this draft was much more proactive than in the previous game.

Although he was very satisfied with the lineup in the previous game, they lost the game because the players did not perform well. However, this game is different from the previous one. This time, they have a better initiative.

Initiative represents offensive capability; only with offense can one gain an advantage.

Back in the lounge, Karam couldn't wait to find Mafa and discuss the lineup issues with him.

Upon entering the game, JDG, on the blue side, proactively placed a ward at IG's F6 camp to scout Ning's early jungle movements. However, this scene was spotted by the ward that IG had placed in advance.

Both junglers chose to start in the top half of the jungle. Ning made a subtle move: knowing that JDG had vision on the F6 camp, he deliberately circled around after clearing the red buff to avoid the wards on the F6 camp before choosing to farm in the bottom half of the jungle.

Aside from Yagao's aggressive pressure in the mid lane, the other lanes focused on farming and developing safely.

The game lasts 5 minutes.

Ning's Prince, along with Forge's Sylas, circled around to the bottom lane. Imp and Green Hair were out of Heal and Ignite, so IG had to engage in this four-man gank on the bottom lane.

JackeyLove quickly pushed the minion wave under JDG's tower, and at the same time, JDG's bottom lane turret lit up with Teleport.

Taking advantage of the TP gap, Ning and Forge had already dealt damage, and JackeyLove secured the kill on Green Hair.

IG secured first blood and forced out the Renekton's Teleport; their four-man gank on the 2nd was executed beautifully.

"The crocodile has come down, and IG has already secured the tower dive kill."

After the kill, the camera focused on the top lane, where Gragas had successfully farmed and secured gold.

"For IG, they also achieved the laning advantage that the Xayah and Rakan combination wanted, and then cooperated with their teammates to complete the tower dive."

Guan Zeyuan analyzed the position of the Gragas: "Because the Gragas in the top half of the map was always helping Renekton gank Gnar, he didn't have a chance to go to the bottom lane to help and stop IG's tower dive."

"IG's bot lane played very aggressively in this fight."

Rita chimed in, "Here, Forge's advantage from pushing the lane was successfully converted into a kill in the bottom lane. His decision-making was excellent."

IG training room at the base.

Both TheShy and Chen Song felt that IG's second lineup was much better.

The biggest difference lies in lane control, and TheShy is the most qualified to speak on this point.

I don’t know if it’s because of Duke’s appearance, but Karam’s biggest concern before was the top lane. This concern was not only about leaving counters for the top laner as part of the red side’s draft, but also about the mid and jungle ganking the top lane.

But this game was clearly different. Whether it was the jungler's start or the mid laner's support after pushing the lane, they immediately considered the bottom lane.

Not only that, even in the bot lane duo, JackeyLove and Baolan were given strong champions.

TheShy couldn't help but glance at Chen Song.

Could it be that Karam has been eavesdropping on the details Chen Song explains in the training room these past few days?

Although the initial command was changed from Ning to JackeyLove, he knew that Karam would give instructions on the tactical arrangements.

TheShy has a deep understanding of the changes Chen Song has brought to the team.

From the initial collection of everyone's phones to the later pairing up for duo queue with tasks, Chen Song would patiently repeat some things, such as when he, as the top laner, could no longer continue to pressure, and when and where to place wards.

The key is that this repetition is not just once or twice, but is precise down to every day, every training match, and every ranked game.

At first, although he didn't say it, he was very resistant to this approach and felt that Chen Song was making a lot of trouble.

However, as time went on, it gradually became muscle memory, allowing him to naturally switch gears to ward or retreat during the laning phase, thus suppressing the opponent while ensuring his own safety in the top lane.

Another thing is avoiding those small mistakes, and JackeyLove benefited the most from this.

TheShy had previously teased JackeyLove, saying he always died because of small mistakes.

But ever since Chen Song's "nagging," such minor mistakes have become rare in JackeyLove.

TheShy discovered that repeating the same thing is the same as repeatedly customizing his training; the result is the same: repeating the same thing to make himself perform better.

He had been saying that as long as you train hard, you can become stronger, but why don't those players listen to that?

He later learned that it wasn't that the athletes were unwilling to listen; rather, they genuinely didn't understand the meaning behind it, or rather, they simply didn't know how to implement training to become stronger.

Including taking time to ward, many players see it as a waste of time, as it will put them at a disadvantage in last hits and affect their economy. Why do it?

TheShy is the same; if you ask him to repeatedly tell other players how to train to become stronger, he honestly admits he can't do that.

Therefore, TheShy has the utmost respect for Chen Song.