Rise

i boost you? That it?” He briefly paused and then asked, “Are you really telling me she’s better than you are?”

“I’M BETTER THAN HER!” Seo screamed.
He slammed his fist down on the desk and repeated, “I’M BETTER THAN HER!”

“Then show it,” Coach Yin replied.

Seo gritted his teeth, white hot fury dying his face.
He slowly nodded and said, “I will.
I will beat her.
Crush her.
Make sure no one remembers her face! Her ugly ass face!”

✹

After a brief interlude, the players from Team Shanghai and Team Guangzhou got installed behind their computers again and moved into Champion Select for Game 2.
The large LCD screen above their soundproof booths flashed to life and revealed to the audience the six banned Champions.
Team Shanghai had gone for three meta Champions, while Team Guangzhou banned Lissandra, Braum and Talon.

“Looks like Team Guangzhou doesn’t want a repeat from last game,” Zephyr said into his microphone, his voice carried through the speakers to the audience.

Su Xue nodded and chimed in, “Yeah! Three Champions from the previous game are banned!–” She stopped herself when Team Shanghai locked in their first Champion.
Riven.
She scrunched her eyebrows and mumbled, “Riven? Is HaoBro really going with Riven…?”

Haobro? Zephyr glanced at Su Xue, confused.
He glanced through his notebook at the names from Team Shanghai. Oh! He leaned towards his microphone and said, “That does look like a Riven top! Zhang Hao is Team Shanghai’s Toplaner, so he’d be playing her!”

✹

Team Guangzhou’s Toplaner sat up straight in his gaming chair.
A chill was still running up and down his spine, reinvigorated every time he thought about how Coach Yin had barged in after their loss in the previous game. We can’t lose again.
We won’t! We’re going to beat these noobs! Starting with this stupid Toplaner! “Hmm, Riven, huh?” he mumbled.
“Let me show you just how much better I am than you! You only won because of Gragas! But this game, this game is going to be mine!” He then clicked on the summoner portrait of Fiora and locked her in.

Team Guangzhou’s Jungler looked at Goalie and asked, “Who? Lee Sin?”

Goalie looked at Team Shanghai’s Champion. Riven… Why would they pick her first…? He took a long, deep breath and then replied, “Lee Sin.”

Team Shanghai were up next for their second and third pick.
They went with Sejuani who was a tanky Jungler and Kalista who was one of Tang Bingyao’s best ad-carry Champions.

It was Team Guangzhou’s turn again to pick two Champions.
Seo informed his Support he wanted something defensive, so the Support locked in Leona.
He then nodded at Goalie and asked, “You want to pick now or want me to go first?”

Goalie shrugged and said, “I’ll go first.
Won’t change my pick anyway.” He moved his mouse over Fizz and locked him in.

Zephyr grabbed his microphone and shouted, “It’s Fizz in the mid lane! Goalie is sticking to what he’s familiar with, ability power assassins!”

“I’m really curious to see what Lin Feng is going to play,” Su Xue replied absentmindedly.
Her focus was still on the Riven pick. HaoBro never plays Riven.
He doesn’t like the style! But Lin Feng does! Are they going to lane swap? Or– She finally realized it, her eyes growing wide.
She leaned in towards her microphone and said, “What if… what if that Riven pick is a mid Riven?”

✹

Lin Feng laughed when he saw the Fizz pick.
He leaned back in his chair and mumbled, “Fizz, hmm? A bit interesting.
Could be fun.”

An Xin glanced at Lin Feng and shook her head. Doofus. She then turned her head around to look at Zhang Hao and asked, “What you wanna play against Fiora?”

“Uhm…” Zhang Hao started, hesitating.
He finally replied, “Mundo.
Yeah, I’ll go with Dr.
Mundo.
That way you don’t really have to gank my lane.
I’ll be able to hold my own.”

“That makes our team really AD heavy,” Zeng Rui noted.
He mulled over it briefly and then added, “I’ll go with Morgana.
That way, we’ve still got some AP.”

Su Xue jumped up from her chair, forgetting to grab the microphone, and shouted, “I was right! I’m right! That’s Riven mid!”

“But… How?” Zephyr asked, surprised.
“What kind of team comp is this? Are you sure Riven is going mid? What if this is some weird Morgana mid and Riven top and Mundo Support? Or maybe it’s Riven Support? She does have her Ki Burst for some crowd control…”

“It’s obviously Riven mid!” Su Xue countered, grinning. Just wait until you see Lin Feng’s Riven! You’ll get it then!

“Team Zephyr or Team EveningSnowfall? Who is going Mid? Place your bets here!”
“Has to be Morgana, right? You want that AP damage and she won’t get much damage if she’s going Support!”
“Full AD teams have been becoming the flavour of the month, so who knows…”
“Yeah, I guess.
Still, weird ass team.”
“Maybe their plan is to confuse Team Guangzhou into a surrender?”
“LOL.
That’d be brilliant! Imagine Team Guangzhou surrendering ‘cause they don’t understand Team Shanghai’s team comp! Hahaha!”
“Right!? But let’s be realistic here.
This has to be a stomp by Team Guangzhou.
There’s no way they’re losing to that whacky ass team from Team Shanghai!”

Back in Team Guangzhou’s soundproof booth, Goalie and Seo were caught up in a similar discussion as the rest of the crowd.
But they only had 70 seconds to decide on their final pick.
With 20 seconds left to go, Goalie turned to look at Seo and said, “We’ll stick with our original plan.
Doesn’t matter what they do.
Lock in your Champion.
And Seo?” He briefly waited to get his ad-carry’s full attention and then continued, “Calm down a bit.
Play like I know you can.”

Seo closed his eyes and breathed in.
He then opened his eyes, locked in Vayne and then breathed out.
He replied, “Got it.
I will.”

✹

Zephyr turned his head and looked at Su Xue.
He muttered, “Oh my god, you were right… You were right! It really is Riven mid! It’s really Riven mid!”

Su Xue smiled and replied, “Lin Feng has played Riven before all the way back in the high school tournament he played.
That was long ago, but it was really good back then! So I thought maybe…”

“Wow!” Zephyr exclaimed.
He shook his head and continued, “You’ve done more than just some homework.
It’s like you’ve watched every single game Lin Feng has ever played!”

Su Xue giggled and replied, “You could say that.”

Back in Team Guangzhou’s soundproof booth, Goalie narrowed his eyes. Riven, huh? First Talon and now Riven? You’re trying to take the piss out of me, aren’t you? That’s what you’re doing.
First acting like you don’t know who I am and now taking the piss out of me! But don’t think I’ll let you do that.
I’ll show you what I do to people who look down on me! He gripped his mouse and tightened his grip just the right amount.
Then he placed his other hand on the keyboard, feeling the touch of the keys against his fingers.

Over in Team Shanghai’s soundproof booth, An Xin looked at Lin Feng and asked, “Since you’re playing Riven, you should be fine, right? I won’t need to gank?”

Lin Feng ruffled his hair, grinning, and said, “Yep! Just camp bot! Or top… You can leave mid to me!”

✹

Winter Collegiate Cup, Round of 16, Game 2

Team Shanghai (Blue) versus Team Guangzhou (Red)
Top: Dr.
Mundo versus Fiora
Jungle: Sejuani versus Lee Sin
Mid: Riven versus Fizz
Ad-carry: Kalista versus Vayne
Support: Morgana versus Leona

《Welcome to Summoner’s Rift!》

The Champions from both teams spawned on the Rift.
Starter items appeared in their inventory and then they walked towards their respective lanes.
There were no early invades, with both teams throwing some wards down in the river but otherwise staying near their outer towers.
This gave Zephyr and Su Xue a few extra minutes to discuss the unexpected matchup in the mid lane.

Zephyr leaned towards his microphone and analysed, “Riven is a relatively good pick against Fizz.
She doesn’t have much to worry about, especially early on.
If Fizz tries to jump on her, she can just stun him with Ki Burst.
And from there, well, Fizz should be happy if he escapes with his life! But that doesn’t mean it’s hopeless for Goalie.
Fizz has this great skill called Playful/Trickster.
If he times it just right, he can hop on top of his pole and dodge the stun.
Then he suddenly wins.
It’s really the first game all over.
We’ve got a skill matchup in the mid lane!”

Su Xue nodded along with Zephyr’s analysis.
She then grabbed her microphone and said, “Right, right, I totally agree! You’ve given a great analysis! But…” She dragged the pause, making everyone want to hear what she had to say next.
Then she continued, “I predict Lin Feng is gonna stomp Goalie and win his lane in the first 10 minutes of the game!”