It was gametime! Team Shanghai and Fuzhou Tech sat down behind their computers in the two soundproof booths and double-checked their settings. The hundreds of spectators in the stands were spending these last couple of minutes until Game 1 speculating about the final outcome of the best of three series. Many of them were relatively new to competitive League of Legends and hadnt the faintest clue who either of Team Shanghai or Fuzhou Tech were. But there were also some whod attended the previous edition of the East China Regionals. One of them turned to a friend and asked, Fuzhou Tech got this far last time around too, right?

Think they mightve even made it to the quarter finals last year. Its a bit fuzzy But from what I recall, they were on a roll, the friend responded.

Fuzhou is a pretty decent team then? Are they gonna win this one? someone else asked.

The friend nodded and explained, Yeah, I think they were pretty good. If Im not wrong, they went down against Fudan in quarters. And Fudan was like the best team. Oh shit! I remember now! That was a pretty exciting series too! Fuzhou made it really difficult for Fudan, almost took a game even! They really shouldve made it to semis

You must be dreaming! a random audience member butted in. He sat a row behind the friend and leaned forward to join the conversation. Then he continued, Semis? Fuzhou in semis? Dream on! No way! Only the really big teams make it to semis. Think Fudan, Zhejiang and Shanghai University of Finance! Fudan was just trolling around a bit in that series. Theyre like a gazillion times better than Fuzhou Tech! He shook his head and laughed before adding, A little team like Fuzhou Tech? They were lucky to get as far as they did. Bunch of noobs.

The audience had gone mostly quiet, many people either listening or joining in on the conversation going on. One of those joining in was Han Ying. She attended Shanghai University of Finance and was a member of its esports club. She was also the one whod welcomed Team Shanghai on campus and witnessed the 2-0 KO Team Shanghai dealt to Luo Yus team. If our team is one of the big three, then what about Team Shanghai? They destroyed Luo Yu! That Midlaner was a freak! We never did get his phone number after how that played out She giggled and then said, Team Shanghai might win this series then. They beat Luo Yu 2-0 a few weeks back in a scrim. It was a really one-sided series. Team Shanghai played that really well!

There were many people in the stands who refused to follow Han Yings line of thought. They didnt know Team Shanghai and had never seen them play. The only fact of interest to them was that Team Shanghai comprised five high schoolers, two of whom were girls. Their limited view on League of Legends consisted of their experiences in solo queue and the matches they watched on television. Neither spoke very highly of high school students or female players. That alone was reason enough to toss any notion of Team Shanghai actually being good aside.

Just a bunch of fucking kids!How good can they really be?Fuzhou Tech has an Ionia Master Midlaner! Try and beat him, damn high school kids!Hes a real life B Midlaner! And then you got the noob at Team Shanghai!Noob high schooler better surrender if they know whats good for them!I shouldve skipped today Boring matches. Fuzhou is just gonna stomp those high schoolers!

There were also people in the crowd whod attended the earlier rounds Team Shanghai had played in. Theyd watched the high school kids tear through strong lineups of university teams! And they could hardly believe what they were seeing in those rounds. Theyd mumbled and whispered with each other during those games, trying to comprehend what was going on. It didnt make sense to them that high schoolers could be that good! But seeing is believing. And right now, as a direct result from those earlier rounds, they were on the Team Shanghai bandwagon!

Itll be a stomp for sure! But Fuzhou wont do any of the stomping!You noobs seen Team Shanghais Midlaner play? Hes a fucking god!The Lin Feng guy is A+++! Hell wreck that B scrub from Fuzhou Tech! Mark my words!And they also got a really strong Support! Hes a crazy good Challenger on the Ionia server!Dont forget about their Jungler either! Her ganks were outta this world!Theyve got such a strong team. Fuzhou wont know what hit them!

The former teammates from Team Shanghai had also come to attend this round of the Winter Collegiate Cup. Theyd kept quiet, and even shrunk back a little when they heard the sheer ferocity with which some students vocally assaulted their friends. But after the first couple of positive comments rang out, they found their confidence again. Led by Ouyang, they all jumped to their feet and shouted in support of their team!

TEAM SHANGHAI! WOOOOOOOOOOOO!IF ANYONE CAN, LIN FENG CAN!ZENG RUI BEST SUPPORT IN THE WHOLE WIDE WOOOOORLD!TEAM SHANGHAI ALL A+++!What Fuzhou Tech? BUNCH OF NOOBS!TEAM SHANGHAI FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP!WOOT WOOT! BUNBUN IS BETTER THAN ME!

The organizers of the Winter Collegiate Cup had hired some of the best casters they could find in Shanghai for Regionals. There were different duos for the different phases of the tournament. And for the Round of 16, theyd invited Silent Reed and Rollfire. Silent Reed was an up and comer working for Breaking Esports, a game media company, and had left a great impression after her work with Westwind at the Shanghai 16 School Tournament. Her co-caster was Rollfire. He was a rather famous individual in the scene as a second-rate caster with a lot of experience. The invitation to cast at the Winter Collegiate Cup was a given for him.

But Rollfire wasnt at all happy about how it played out for him. He glared at the teams preparing for the games in the soundproof booths and then glanced at Silent Reed before quickly looking away. I shouldve declined the offer! What is this shit? Are they trying to make me mad!? Im far too good for a game like this! A FUCKING HIGH SCHOOL TEAM! I have to cast a stupid fucking high school game! This is so far beneath me that it isnt even funny! At least give me a game in the quarter finals! Thats the kind of games where I belong! Im a professional caster! Not some stupid rookie like this one here. He glanced at Silent Reed again, his nose twitching in anger.

Rollfire was introduced to Silent Reed a few hours earlier. Hed cast games with many pretty faces before, but she still caught his eyes. So while he usually expected people to recognize him and take the initiative to greet him, he went out of his way to greet her. To start a conversation with her. To have a little fun before the games started. But she didnt reciprocate to his gestures. Shed nodded at him and then turned away to talk with someone else.

Bitch. You fucking slut! Its just because Im a second-rate caster, right? If I was a first-rate Im basically a first-rate caster dammit! Ill get the qualifications for it soon enough! And what are you? YOURE NOTHING! NOTHING! Rollfire was steaming in rage, his knuckles white and his teeth clenched. Youre just a pretty face, thats all youre good for! You should be happy to be here and cast with me! You stupid, stupid, FUCK ME! I dont deserve this shit! I should be casting the quarter finals! This stupid fucking bullshit! Im way too

The audience started cheering and the large LCD screen above the soundproof booths jumped to life. Game 1 of the East China Round of 16 was already getting underway! Fuzhou Tech and Team Shanghai had locked in their Champions and they were in the loading screen, waiting for the game to start!

Game 1 of the East China Round of 16Fuzhou Tech (Blue) versus Team Shanghai (Red)Top: Mundo versus DariusJungle: Jarvan IV versus EvelynnMid: Lux versus YasuoAD-Carry: Tristana versus LucianSupport: Morgana versus Thresh

Silent Reed looked at the lineup for both teams and said into her microphone, Pretty standard lineups, as we expected. Except, oh! Thats strange. Team Shanghais Jungler is playing Evelynn! Weve seen her play Lee Sin and Jarvan IV before, but I dont think weve ever seen her on Evelynn! I wonder what brought about this change?

Rollfire snorted and replied, Evelynn? What a stupid choice. She relies completely on positioning. There are so many ways this can backfire. I dont see how this is a viable option at this level of play.

Whats got him going? Silent Reed glanced at her co-caster. Is he mad or something? He looks angry. Whats got into him? She shook her head and focused back on the lineups. Ive seen that An Xin play quite a few Champions, but never the Evelynn type I wonder why. Maybe she was just saving it? Right, Im casting! She smiled and said, Ive seen her play before and she was really good! I think she knows what shes doing.

Rollfire snorted. Good? Piss off. Shes a dumb high schooler trying to show off. Or whatever. What the fuck am I even doing here? Why am I stuck casting this dumb ass game? They should be inviting me for the fucking main tournament! Im too good for this! He looked up at the large LCD screen above the soundproof booths and noticed the names of the teams. Team Shanghai. Representatives of the Shanghai Esports Association. My boss. The assholes who hired me to do this stupid shit! He kicked against the back of his desk and grumbled under his breath, Might as well just quit. Stupid shit. If these dumb high schoolers win, Im quitting. Ill quit this stupid ass profession!

Silent Reed glanced at her co-caster, watching him grumble. Whats he saying? Why isnt he casting? We need to cast! She tried to catch his attention without making it too obvious, but he didnt see it. Idiot! Why cant you be more like Westwind? He knew how to hype a game up! She smiled at the thought and then said, Looks like the game has loaded! Its Fuzhou Tech on the Blue team versus Team Shanghai on the Red team! Lets go in!

Welcome to Summoners Rift!

An Xin started her Jungle path on the Blue Buff Camp. She killed the large golem with the help of Tang Bingyaos Lucian and Zeng Ruis Thresh while glancing around the map. Mid looks gankable. It just needs a little push. She said over the teams voice chat, Hey, Lin Feng. Im coming mid right after the Red Buff for a gank. Get ready. She then had her Evelyn run to the other side of the Jungle to attack the Red Brambleback.

Okay! Ill be ready to kill Lux! Lin Feng exclaimed, laughing.

The players from Team Shanghai knew better than to entertain Lin Feng. They ignored him and focused on their respective lanes. An Xins Evelynn attacked the Red Brambleback and killed it almost four minutes into the game. Coming now, she said over the teams voice chat.

Lin Feng had been preparing for the gank by manipulating the minion wave. Hed focused on attacking Lux, causing her health bar to drop, and then baited her into attacking a minion instead of his Yasuo. The minion wave slowly pushed towards Red Teams outer tower and Lux was forced to push further and further forward to get last hits. This was an incredibly dangerous move with Evelynn on the opposing team. Evelynn was the Mistress of the Shadows. She was invisible unless she walked over a vision ward or entered within range of an enemy Champion or structure. But An Xin was good enough at the game to maneuver her way into the mid lane and behind Lux unseen.

Lux pushed forward to last hit a minion and stay even in creep score with Yasuo right as Evelynn arrived in the mid lane. A storm was already brewing at the tip of Yasuos blade. Lin Feng activated the third cast of Steel Tempest! Yasuo swung his blade forward, commanding a tornado to blast over the Rift! It blew through Lux and knocked her up into the air! Yasuo followed up by dashing through a minion to close the gap with Lux and then attacked again with Steel Tempest! His blade cut through Lux and sheared away at her health! All the while, An Xins Evelynn stepped out of stealth and slashed twice at the Lux with Ravage! She followed up with a constant stream of Hate Spikes! Thorny shadows erupted from the ground and cut through Luxs health bar!

First blood!

Silent Reed jumped up from her seat and clutched the microphone, shouting, BEAUTIFUL! What a perfect flank by Evelynn! It was all timed down to perfection! There was no chance to escape for the Lux! She glanced at Rollfire. Come on, say something! I cant be Westwind and me! Cast! Youre supposed to be good!

But Rollfire was in no mood to cast. He nodded and mumbled, Yeah. Nice gank. Yeeey for Team Shanghai. I just talked shit about the Evelynn and now she lucks her way into a successful gank! What is this bullshit? I should be casting the quarter finals! Not this crappy round! His eyes were bloodshot and his hands were trembling. I have to cast with this stupid disrespectful girl and now the stupid audience is also cheering for the stupid high school team and, and He knocked his hand on the table and bit down on his lip. Im quitting! Im not degrading myself by casting these low ranked games! Im really going to do it!

Did the Lux forget she was up against an Evelynn or something?Why was she playing so aggressive?WOOOOOOOOO! TEAM SHANGHAI! WOOOOO!WOOT WOOT! LIN FENG IS THE BEST!It was so obvious that both Junglers were going to gank Why in the world be so aggressive?That Lux is stupid. Practically giving the game to Team Shanghai!What a massive misplay by FuzhouGOOOOOOOO! TEAM SHANGHAI FOR THE WIIIIIN!

It wasnt just Rollfire or the audience that could tell that Fuzhou Techs Midlaner had overextended, even his teammates had noticed as much. They glanced at their Midlaner and asked him why he didnt play that more defensively. But the Lux player didnt agree with his teammates. He shook his head and explained, Its not my fault! Really! That wasnt my fault! Its because of this Yasuo! I think hes trolling me or something! It was so troll! I dont know what else to say! I got confused by his trolling! This isnt my fault! He breathed in and chewed on his lips before adding, Sorry. Ill play better.

Sun Ruinian from Zhejiang Universitys team was watching the game from the player seating area. The large LCD screen above the stage showed the game in spectator mode, meaning that he could see the Evelynn through the shadows cloaking her. And he also saw Lux moving forward for a last hit at just the wrong time before giving away first blood. He shook his head and mumbled, What are you doing, mid? Play it safe! Its an Eve Jungle. What did you expect? You cant let her get behind you too easily! He moved his lips around for a bit and eventually added, The Yasuo played it well though.

Yasuo was a melee Champion while Lux was a ranged caster. This gave Lux a big advantage in the early game, where she just had to sit back and land her skills and auto attacks on Yasuo. But Lin Feng wasnt just any Yasuo. He didnt let himself get harassed and struggle to keep his health up. He learned Sweeping Blade at Level 1 and continuously dashed through the minions, looking for openings to land some poke damage on Lux.

The aggression increased with Yasuos level. When he unlocked Steel Tempest at Level 2, he dashed through Lux and swept his blade out at her. Winds gathered at the tip of his blade. He would dash away through a minion behind him and get a second cast of Steel Tempest on a minion. Then, as the storm brewed at the tip of his blade, he dashed through a last minion to throw the Lux off guard and then blew a tornado at her!

Champions had low health at the early levels and minions could deal substantial damage. Lin Fengs Yasuo was hemorrhaging health with this early game aggression. The Lux failed to hit any of her abilities and got constantly hit by his, yet her health wasnt any lower than his. But this was acceptable, because Lin Feng wasnt employing this tactic to get a kill on Lux. His goal was to annoy her until she made a mistake. And that was exactly what happened. She grew irritated with the Yasuo, made a couple of mistakes with last hitting minions, and tunnel visioned so hard on him that she completely forgot about Evelynn.

Sun Ruinian looked at Team Shanghais soundproof booth and then up at the large LCD screen. He said, The Yasuo is good. We cant underestimate him. He won the mid lane with that little play. I wonder what Zou Cheng thinks about him. He nodded at the man sitting next to him and asked, What do you think? Is this guy B+? Better? How much better do you think? Can you beat him?

Zou Cheng was Zhejiang Universitys Midlaner. He knitted his brows and watched the Yasuo play. Hes good, really good! But Im also really good! He said through gritted teeth, Hes alright. Im confident in myself.

Sun Ruinian nodded and looked back up at the screen. Its only first blood. Maybe Im seeing things. Lets see how this game plays out before coming to any conclusions. Weve got time to prepare. But I saw the replays Hes good. Really good. B+ at minimum. Probably better. Just a question of how much. Were going to have to be careful about him.

Tang Bingyao was focused on last hitting minions, constantly keeping an eye open for an opportunity to land some poke damage on Fuzhou Techs Tristana or Morgana. Her Lucian was the stronger ad-carry in the early game and she had to make use of that if she wanted to bring this game home. Zeng Rui was speaking in her ear, constantly telling her what to do. Which minion to hit, when to pause, and how to position. Mhm. I got this. Im good. I got this.

At 4:30 minutes, Zeng Rui found the opening. He said over the teams voice chat, Go in! He then had his Thresh walk towards the Tristana. A minion protecting the Tristana was one auto attack from dying. The bullet from Lucians gun was already in midair. Everything pointed towards Zeng Rui going for the Tristana. And Fuzhou Tech believed as much. Tristana didnt wait to find out and Rocket Jumped away, while she also received a Black Shield from Morgana to protect her against crowd control. But Zeng Rui was never going for the Tristana. It was all a trick to get a clear line on the Morgana. Threshs scythe flew through the air and hooked the Morgana.

Tang Bingyao nodded and replied, Mhm! She had her Lucian follow after Zeng Ruis Thresh with Relentless Pursuit! This activated Lucians passive skill. He raised both his guns at Morgana and fired a doubleshot! He then attacked with Piercing Light! Both guns were still aimed at Morgana as a beam of light blasted through her, followed up by another doubleshot!

Fuzhou Techs Morgana flashed away, trying to get in range of the Tristana to get a heal and survive. But the Tristana had run too far away already and Tang Bingyao didnt give her any time to turn around. Lucian flashed after Morgana and fired two more auto attacks to claim the kill.

You have slain an enemy!

WHAT A HOOK! Silent Reed exclaimed. She clutched the microphone and brought it close to her mouth, a little trick shed picked up from Westwind, and continued, That was some great skill by Team Shanghai! And I have a juicy bit of intel! This ad-carry and Support were on opposing teams before this tournament! Look at how theyve come together! Team Shanghai is really pulling ahead here!

Rollfire wouldnt hear anything about it. He shook his head and argued, That was just a bad play by Fuzhou Tech. This shouldve never ended in a kill. Everyone could tell that that Thresh was just baiting Morgana to use her Black Shield on Tristana. He was clearly going for the squishier target, which is the Morgana. I cant believe how easily Fuzhou Tech fell for this very obvious play. But well done to Team Shanghai for showing some basic tactics.

The people in the crowd werent nearly as invested in talking down the players from Team Shanghai as Rollfire was. There were a couple of halfhearted comments about how Rollfire had a point and several more people arguing that it wasnt obvious to them at all that Thresh was setting up a bait. Most people, however, were simply cheering for a beautiful play.

WOOT WOOT! TEAM SHANGHAI IS THE BEST! TANG TANG! YOURE AMAZING!What a play by Team Shanghai! Their mid and bot have already won!Are they going to win top too now?WOOOOOOOOO!Sick Thresh hook! Absolutely mental! Impressive as fuck!

Rollfire glared at the audience, annoyed. You idiots cant even tell how bad these teams are playing! Whats worth watching here? Even I couldve played that better! And Im no great player. Only goes to show how terrible these two teams are! They shouldnt be in the Collegiate Cup Or, better even, I shouldnt be asked to cast these crappy games! I should be casting the main tournament! He tried to breathe his annoyance away, but it wasnt working. There were still people in the audience doubting him or ignoring him altogether, and his co-caster kept glancing at him too. Ill show them how stupid they are! Stupid idiots! They dont know shit!

You see that Evelynn? Rollfire asked Silent Reed. See how she only managed to force a flash from Fuzhou Techs Mundo in the top lane when that play in bot went down? Shes basically been useless otherwise, except for the early play in mid. Doesnt look like she knows how to play the Champion at all! How can Fuzhou Tech not be abusing this?

Silent Reed looked at Rollfire and shook her head, exasperated. First you make me do all the casting and now youre bitching about something you dont even need to bitch about? Can you be anymore of a man-child? She closed her eyes for a brief moment and then asked, Please, tell me more.

Rollfire completely missed the sarcasm in Silent Reeds words. All he heard was an invitation to talk more. He laughed and explained, See, its very simple. Team Shanghai isnt playing Evelynn like youre supposed to play her! Her strength isnt in clearing Jungle camps, which is what shes doing. You want to use her invisibility in the early game to get a lot of map pressure! Force the other team to play defensively and help all lanes get ahead! He briefly paused to make sure he had everyones attention before continuing, Her initial gank in the mid lane was good. Thats exactly how youre supposed to play Evelynn! But look at what shes done since Nothing! Absolutely nothing! There isnt even any pressure on Fuzhou Tech! Shes, pun intended, invisible. I think that girl should practice playing this Champion a bit more before she pulls it out in a real tournament. Shes going to get punished for it.

Who knows? Silent Reed replied. She looked at the large LCD screen and added, The way I see it, were only a few minutes into the game and she helped two of her lanes while the third lane is doing great on its own. Why cant she get a bit of experience in the Jungle as well? She glanced at Rollfire and tried not to smile when she saw the red-hot anger on his face. Annoying idiot!