Chapter 376: The Opening Match
The competition continued.
After the team introductions and DJ performance during the opening ceremony, the screen switched to the commentary desk, where the casters would introduce the first match to the audience.
The group draw and schedule for the S1 World Finals had already been determined long ago. The opening match was between the domestic NRG team and the European FG team (Flash Gaming).
Since all teams were still in a period of transition and adjustment, and no clear strength gaps were visible within the regions, there was no distinction between first and second seeds. Everything was randomly drawn to ensure that each group’s four teams came from different regions.
On the competition stage, both teams’ players had already taken their seats and were adjusting their equipment.
On the big screen, two casters began introducing the two teams for this match.
Strictly speaking, a *League of Legends* match commentary team should consist of three people: a play-by-play caster, a team fight caster, and a strategic analyst, each handling different roles.
The play-by-play caster generally controlled the flow of conversation, preventing the commentary from going off track. The team fight caster needed clear thinking and quick speech to clearly describe key details during team fights. The strategic analyst was usually a retired professional player who had to provide an accurate interpretation of both sides’ strategic intentions.
However, since this was the first-ever World Finals, Chen Mo couldn’t find that many professionals to fill the roles. So, the commentary slots were reduced to two people, with a relatively casual pairing—basically one professional esports caster paired with a professional player from another team or a high-ranked streamer.
Of course, these individuals were carefully selected. They had a deep understanding of the game, spoke fluently, and were capable of handling the commentary tasks.
“Welcome, dear audience, to the *League of Legends* S1 World Finals! We are here at Yuanda Square in Magic City. Just now, we saw all sixteen teams participating in this World Championship take the stage!”
“Hello everyone, I’m caster Huiyi.”
“Hello everyone, I’m Ke Zhen, the mid-laner for EC.”
The two casters introduced themselves. Huiyi was one of the earliest esports streamers in the country, with excellent crowd-control skills, while Ke Zhen was an active mid-laner for EC.
EC hadn’t qualified for the World Finals this time, so Ke Zhen was invited as a guest commentator. He had great personal skill and a large fan base domestically.
Moreover, because of his surname and his occasional slightly flamboyant tendencies, fans affectionately called him “Corgi.”
Many viewers were already cheering: “Ah, Corgi! Oh my god, I thought it was such a shame he couldn’t make it to the finals, but he’s guest-commentating instead—this is awesome!”
Huiyi: “Alright, we just saw the audience here is incredibly enthusiastic, giving warm applause and cheers as all the teams took the stage. Before the match officially begins, let me remind everyone that besides watching through the two official channels—the *League of Legends* client and the official website—you can also watch through various streaming platforms. Thank you to all platforms for their strong support of this event.”
“Alright, after seeing all sixteen teams take the stage, everyone should have their own favorite teams. Today’s opening match is our NRG versus FG from Europe. We can see both teams’ players are already adjusting their equipment, and the exciting match is about to begin!”
The adjustment time was short. After the two casters chatted for a bit, the BP interface appeared on the big screen.
Huiyi: “Alright, we’re entering the Ban/Pick phase. FG has banned Evelynn, Malphite, and Jarvan IV, while NRG has banned Alistar, Katarina, and Skarner.”
“FG gets first ban and first pick. Let’s see which champion they choose. Oh, locked in—Ezreal!”
“NRG is picking quickly too. They’ve locked in Shen and Sona. Looks like they came prepared.”
Ke Zhen: “Yeah, there’s not much to think about with these champions. They’re all popular picks right now.”
As the big screen locked in the corresponding champions, the holographic projection equipment flashed the full-body image of each champion, drawing cheers from the audience.
Ezreal, Shen, and Sona weren’t just popular in competitive play; they were also fan-favorites in the game itself, so many viewers felt a sense of familiarity.
Soon, both teams’ lineups were locked in, and they entered the final adjustment period.
Huiyi: “So, the final lineups: FG has Irelia, Gragas, Diana, Ezreal, and Blitzcrank, while NRG has Shen, Lee Sin, Anivia, Vayne, and Sona.”
“Ke Zhen, can you analyze both lineups for the audience? Which side do you think has a more reasonable composition?”
Ke Zhen: “Actually, both lineups are fairly reasonable. In *League of Legends*, there are many ways to win—you can play for early-to-mid game snowballing with item advantages, or you can play for mid-to-late game team fights. Overall, I think FG has a more early-game-focused lineup. They need to gain advantages in lane. NRG’s lineup, on the other hand, is more stable, with decent strength in the early, mid, and late game. I’m leaning more toward NRG.”
By now, six months had passed since the April Fools’ Day patch on April 1st. Three updates had been released, adding a total of 15 new champions, bringing the game’s champion pool to 50.
The champions added in these three updates were: Top lane—Shen, Jarvan IV, Dr. Mundo; Jungle—Nocturne, Evelynn, Skarner; Mid lane—Diana, Vladimir, Lux; ADC—Corki, Tristana, Kog’Maw; Support—Taric, Zyra, Morgana.
Of course, many champions at this point could be played in two roles. For example, Corki was better suited for mid lane, while Zyra and Morgana could both support and play mid.
Overall, the current champion pool of 50 was roughly similar to the S2 champion pool in Chen Mo’s previous life.
The popularity of *League of Legends* was steadily rising. Releasing all champions at once would overwhelm players. For flashy champions like Zed and Yasuo, Chen Mo planned to follow roughly the same order as in his previous life, allowing players to gradually master them.
Fifty champions was still a bit low, but many popular ones were already out. For these professional teams, the pool of viable champions wasn’t too small, and it wouldn’t affect the tactical depth or the match’s entertainment value.
Moreover, many professional teams were still exploring their strategies. Overall, their tactics were still limited to two types: either playing for lane advantages by picking strong champions like Irelia or Jax, or playing for team fight compositions by picking champions like Karthus, Anivia, or Malphite.
From Chen Mo’s perspective, these tactics were still quite primitive. However, it made him feel like he had returned to the S2 era, which was actually kind of interesting.