Chapter 1072: G.o.d of Healing
Translator: Nomyummi Editor: Nomyummi
The public paid great attention to Tyranny and Tiny Herb"s opening match. Happy Internet Cafe also continued its tradition of streaming the matches. However, it was no longer convenient for Ye Xiu and the others to watch in the Internet cafe with everyone else. After the Challenger League, they could all be considered famous. Although they couldn"t be compared to G.o.ds, getting surrounded on their home turf wouldn"t be anything surprising. Thus, Happy stayed at home, using their projector to watch the first match of the semifinals.
By then, the group arena had finished and Team Tiny Herb won 5 to 4. It could be seen how intense the match was just from the results. Each team had fought to their last person.
The players took a break and the broadcast replayed a few spectacular moments from the group arena. Then, it was time for the team compet.i.tion.
Tiny Herb"s starting lineup consisted of w.a.n.g Jiexi and Gao Yingjie"s Witches, Vaccaria and Kind Tree, Xu Bin"s Knight Angelica, Liu Xiaobie"s Blade Master, Flying Swords, and Yuan Boqing"s Cleric, Aweto.
The player list wasn"t anything surprising. This was Tiny Herb"s typical starting lineup this season. However, those familiar with Tiny Herb would discuss these characters..
"They"re using a Cleric!" There were plenty of voices discussing this.
This was because Team Tiny Herb had two healers, not just one. One was the Cleric in the lineup this time, Aweto, and the other was the character that had made great contributions to Tiny Herb"s two champions.h.i.+ps, Paladin Wind Guard.
During Tiny Herb"s two champion seasons, they had a player with the t.i.tle G.o.d of Healing, Fang s.h.i.+qian. This player was a dual healer expert, and was immensely skilled in both healer cla.s.ses. Using a different healer cla.s.s depending on the circ.u.mstances and needs was a large part of Tiny Herb"s strategy back then. A Cleric"s attack support and a Paladin"s defense, Fang s.h.i.+qian was able to flawlessly utilize both a more offensive-oriented Cleric and a more defensive-oriented Paladin.
However, in the two matches that brought them their champions.h.i.+ps as well as when Fang s.h.i.+qian was voted into the All-Stars, he had always appeared as Wind Guard"s player. So, those who only looked at the data might forget his true ident.i.ty. However, those who were familiar with Tiny Herb would never forget this point.
Tiny Herb had continued with this style even today. It was just a shame that a player like Fang s.h.i.+qian, who could reach the top in both cla.s.ses, was a rare case. The successor Tiny Herb had found, Yuan Boqing, could also play both cla.s.ses, but he couldn"t reach Fang s.h.i.+qian"s level. He had trained hard for two whole seasons, but had yet to make any breakthroughs. It always felt like the heart of their adaptable strategy wasn"t always quite there. Was there really a value to this strategy anymore? This question had been subject to much debate.
Apart from the five starting players, the sixth player was Zhou Yebai"s Ghostblade, Rangoon Creeper. When Qiao Yifan had still been present, Rangoon Creeper was still a pure Phantom Demon, but in accordance to the needs of the team this season, Rangoon Creeper had his skill points reset and became a Hybrid Sword and Phantom Ghostblade. Zhou Yebai seemed to be performing better with the Hybrid Ghostblade, too.
As for Tyranny, the starting five consisted of Han Wenqing"s Striker, Desert Dust, Lin Jingyan"s Brawler, Dark Thunder, Zhang Jiale"s Spitfire, Hundred Dazzling Blossoms, Qin Muyun"s Sharpshooter, Negative Nine Degrees, and Zhang Xinjie"s Cleric Immovable Rock. Their sixth player was Bai Yanfei"s Elementalist, Rota.
Neither lineup held any surprises; they were both using the same lineup they had stayed with throughout the regular season. In the regular season, each team had one victory against the other, both having won their home games. However, the playoffs used a headcount point system, so some went back and took a look at the detailed scoring in the team compet.i.tions for the two matches and found that the headcount for the two matches were completely the same as well.
As for the data on their matches prior to that, there was little use in looking that far back because both teams had gone through huge changes in the summer. As for the only matches they had fought this season, the only decisive factors to their victories seemed only to be the home advantage.
This was Tiny Herb"s home stadium.
Thus, they had won the group arena by a point, but no one could say how large the home advantage was just yet.
Next up was the team compet.i.tion. Although the heart of Tiny Herb"s Healer Switching Strategy was no longer present, the chosen healer cla.s.s would still, to some extent, reveal their approach towards the current match.
Clerics focused on offense, Paladin focused on defense, so with the Cleric in the lineup this time, Team Tiny Herb was evidently aiming for a more offense-oriented playstyle. As soon as the match started, they pressed forward.
However, in Tyranny"s lineup, Han Wenqing, Zhang Jiale, Lin Jingyan and Zhang Xinjie hadall had quite a bit of experience fighting against Fang s.h.i.+qian. There was no one more familiar with this strategy of Tiny Herb"s than them. Having experienced fighting Fang s.h.i.+qian and then experiencing Yuan Boqing, the four felt that it was shame that they evidently weren"t on the same level.
Fang s.h.i.+qian"s t.i.tle was G.o.d of Healing, but in reality, his skill often made people forget he was a healer. His ability to attack and defend was much more troublesome to deal with.
As for Yuan Boqing, no matter if he used a Cleric or a Paladin, he played well, but the deepest impression that he gave people was of his healing.
This was where he differed from Fang s.h.i.+qian and the reason why it didn"t feel like there was any value in Tiny Herb"s use of this strategy.
Tyranny"s veterans knew this very clearly. Against Yuan Boqing, they just had to treat him as a normal healer. They didn"t think he"d have the ability to give support like Fang s.h.i.+qian could and make things hard for them.
The experience of these veterans helped them make a quick decision.
Experience was a treasure and it was the one treasure these veterans were most proud of.
However, experience could sometimes hinder you too because sometimes experience was outdated. This sort of experience wasn"t correct for the present and therefore would cause errors in judgement.
The judgement made by Tyranny"s veterans had erred this time.
The support from Yuan Boqing"s Cleric was causing them trouble to the point that they were reminded of back when they used to fight against Fang s.h.i.+qian.
Had this player managed to grow so much?
The veterans of Tyranny were shocked, seeing the old G.o.d of Healing"s aura around Yuan Boqing"s Aweto.
This was an oversight and this sort of oversight would always have a price.
Tiny Herb won the team compet.i.tion.
The headcount points weren"t important any longer. Having already won the group arena, there was no need to calculate the points to know that Tiny Herb was the victor of the opening match.
Public opinion of Tyranny"s chances at the champions.h.i.+p t.i.tle were highest this season, but being defeated by Team Tiny Herb wasn"t exactly completely unexpected.
In the post-match press conference, the veterans of Tyranny seemed calm.
"Tiny Herb played well." There would always be words that needed to be said out of courtesy.
"Every person will achieve growth every season. Some are noticed but others are ignored." There was no explicit mention of anyone"s name, but in reality, Tyranny was scolding themselves.
The lineup for Tiny Herb"s team compet.i.tion this year truly was full of the air of growth.
Gao Yingjie and Xu Bin were both first-timers in the All-Stars, so that didn"t need explanation. Apart from them, Liu Xiaobie was no longer that player who brainlessly used his hand speed. He was only a step away from the All-Stars, too. Amongst this striking growth, Yuan Boqing had been overlooked. Had he managed to master the key to Fang s.h.i.+qin"s t.i.tle of G.o.d of Healing without notice?
"Everyone performed well this match, but Yuan Boqing"s performance was the key to our victory. He performed amazingly with his support, suppressing our opponents. He guided us to victory this time." When Tiny Herb went up for the press conference, captain w.a.n.g Jiexi didn"t bother hiding his admiration of Yuan Boqing"s performance this time.
This was a surge that no one had ever expected before the match.
Everyone was more willing to look at those famous G.o.ds or the players that had striking performances in the past. Qin Muyun was the silently ignored fifth, and Yuan Boqing was often overlooked.
The victory of this match had been decided by this overlooked player. Discussions about him continued throughout the night.
Then, the match on the following day was practically the antonym of Tiny Herb and Tyranny"s match.
The one who was key to victory this time was the G.o.d that everyone had been paying attention to and eagerly waiting to see.
Zhou Zekai, it was still Zhou Zekai.
This extremely silent and shy player off the field had become an uncounterable presence on the field.
Everyone knew to take him seriously. Everyone was trying to find a way to deal with him. Everyone was making arrangements to counter him, but it was no use. The Zhou Zekai on the field was just ever-triumphant like that. Team Wind Howl had exhibited a fierce momentum in this season. Their ace player Tang Hao was a fearless person who could say "the junior will succeed the senior" in the Rookie Challenge. But they were defeated.
In their home game, Wind Howl was destroyed by Samsara.
There was no need for much tactical a.n.a.lysis. Samsara"s victory and Wind Howl"s defeat only had one reason.
Uncounterable.
Zhou Zekai was uncounterable.
All the players that wanted to defeat him all ended up defeated by him. Those who wanted to suppress him with tactics would only end up the one being suppressed.
With this sort of defeat, Wind Howl could only accept it.
In the post-match press conference, captain Tang Hao only said one sentence: "Next time, we"ll win."
This was determination. This was his att.i.tude.
But, how would they win? No one could tell. Not even his teammates seemed to have much enthusiasm when Tang Hao said that. Did Tang Hao himself even believe what he was saying? People were doubtful.
The mighty Wind Howl had been dealt a direct hit by Samsara.
The team that most people were placing their bets on getting the champions.h.i.+p, Tyranny, had been defeated because of an abrupt outbreak from an overlooked player.
The Four Heavenly King"s combo wasn"t undefeatable.
Zhou Zekai, on the other hand, really didn"t seem to have a counter.
Who would the champions be?