Chapter 51 I Am Under A Lot of Pressure

Guan Zeyuan nodded in agreement, finding the logic sound.

"From this perspective, EDG's draft choice here is exceptionally good. In the current top lane ecosystem, there are genuinely very few champion options that can go toe-to-toe with Jayce."

"Daring to show off your clumsy tricks right in front of me, are you?"

Upon seeing Jayce, Flandre in the player booth could no longer sit still. "I need to pick a counter for him."

Zhu Kai pretended not to hear, inquiring instead, "Xuan Jun, are you looking to play Poppy or Maokai?"

Flandre's face darkened. The last time they played against the promotion team GT, Zhu Kai had said the exact same thing to him.

As a result, while he managed to withstand the pressure in the early game, his teammates completely imploded, damn it.

Even though both the mid and bot lanes had been changed since then, Flandre knew all too well what their scrims looked like.

If he were to rely on these teammates to carry, he might as well just pick Lucian in the top lane to deal with Jayce. If a jungler could play Lucian, why couldn't a laner?

"I want to carry. A blue-collar player is playing Jayce right in front of me, why should I be afraid?"

"Jayce isn't a good matchup for anything, it's safer to just pick a tank. With frontline and engage, this household practically relies entirely on you to hold it together."

Displaying his usual trash-tier understanding of the game, Zhu Kai desperately tried to pacify him. "Listen to me, the opposing top laner's Jayce isn't that oppressive. Picking it is practically crippling oneself by one arm, so you won't feel any pressure playing a tank."

"Imagine how insanely strong we'll be in mid-game teamfights with a Poppy who scales just as well as a damage top laner without falling behind in farm."

"Since the enemy has no pressure, if I pick a damage top laner and crush him, wouldn't it be even more effective in teamfights?" Flandre retorted.

Zhu Kai choked, scratching his head inwardly. *Wait, why didn't he think of that?*

He had no choice but to stealthily lean in close to Flandre's ear and whisper, "That won't work either. You know what kind of temperament SoFM has; he's not going to come help you gank."

The coach and the top laner were still in the middle of their argument.

Seeing that no conclusion was being reached, Zzitai grew somewhat impatient and spoke up:

"Coach, just give me Viktor first. I feel like I can carry with it."

Zhu Kai walked over and frowned. "Viktor's power curve is too late-game oriented, no good."

What kind of team was EDG sitting right next to them? Operating the late-game map against them would be like bullying little puppies.

They couldn't even out-operate GT in the late game, let alone play that game against EDG. Wouldn't that just be a father beating his son, one whip at a time?

"Play Corki instead. I think you're pretty fierce on Corki."

Zzitai nodded reluctantly. His skill on Corki had always been enduring and potent, so it was worth a shot.

Snake locked in Corki as their first pick, followed immediately by a strong bottom lane choice in Varus.

EDG countered by locking in Jhin and Zyra.

Zhu Kai weighed his options. "SoFM on Rek'Sai should be fine, right?"

He refused to believe that giving him an engage champion like Rek'Sai would still leave him daydreaming about farming jungle camps all day.

"Fine, pick it."

SoFM had no objections. In his view, Rek'Sai had very high efficiency when it came to invading and eating the opponent's raptors.

As the second round of bans concluded, Snake, sitting on the fourth pick, grabbed Thresh first.

Guan Zeyuan maintained a skeptical view: "I feel like Snake is being a bit stubborn here. Actually, when WE picked it against EDG in the previous match, it already proved that Thresh is a very ineffective champion in the current push-heavy tempo."

In the Snake player booth, Crystal哥 wore a bewildered expression as well. "Zhu Kai, why do I feel like you're sabotaging me?"

I'm a player who just role-swapped, and you're making me play Thresh, a champion that requires mechanics.

And that's even with the enemy support being Zyra.

Zyra is an absolute natural counter to Thresh; any idiot with hands can just plant a flower to block the Q.

Crystal哥 couldn't help but suspect there was a mole inside the team.

Seeing his players repeatedly ignoring his authority, Zhu Kai's face flushed a bit more. He argued back, "What do you know? The enemy bot lane duo's recent form has been burning hot anyway, plus they picked Zyra and Jhin, which holds absolute push priority in the bot lane. We wouldn't be able to contest the wave with any pick anyway, so we might as well pick Thresh to hang back. At least it provides some form of protection for our AD."

Knowing Crystal哥's concerns, Zhu Kai shifted his tone and said, "Trust me, just throw fewer Q's. Use your W and E well, and just keep the AD safe."

"Fine, fine, fine," Crystal哥 reluctantly agreed.

"EDG's fourth and fifth picks are the combination of Ivern and Orianna."

Wang Jide's eyes lit up when he saw the team composition. "I have to say, this niche Ivern pick is really good. It provides a lot of defensive security for the team in the mid-to-late game, especially for an all-damage composition like EDG's, significantly raising the margin for error."

Guan Zeyuan nodded. "Indeed. Let's see Snake's final choice."

"What kind of tank do you want to play, Xuan Jun?" Zhu Kai was still unwavering in his conviction. The top lane had to absorb pressure, come hell or high water.

Flandre couldn't take it anymore and cursed angrily, "The enemy even picked an early-game weakling like Ivern, and you still want me to play a tank? I definitely have to pick a damage champion to coordinate with SoFM's invasions and make things happen."

"Then take Kennen. Good in teamfights and good in lane." Zhu Kai made a slight concession.

Flandre was still somewhat reluctant. Kennen carried too much risk; if he couldn't initiate a teamfight, they would completely blow up.

"Damn it, what the hell should we pick then?" Crystal哥 had a headache the size of a melon.

"Give me Fiora."

Crystal哥 swallowed hard. "Are you sure you really want to play Fiora?"

"Give it to him." Seeing that time was running out, Zhu Kai had no other choice and had to let Flandre have his way.

"Trust me, alright? I'll crush him in the early laning phase, and in the mid-game, I can run side-lane splits to pull pressure. Jayce will never be able to join a teamfight. Without Jayce, we'll be the stronger side in mid-game skirmishes."

"Fine then. Play well. If you play poorly, this will be the last time you and I ever see each other."

Zhu Kai accepted his fate, completely drained of the energy to dish out any more inspirational pep talks.

At this moment of life and death, he decided to play the emotional card.

Whether he could keep his position as head coach depended entirely on them.

"Don't worry, Lao Zhu, there won't be any problems in my top lane," Flandre said with absolute confidence.

Zhu Kai chose to pat the jungler on the back. "SoFM, look around more, move around more, don't just keep your eyes glued to those chickens—oh wait, the enemy has Ivern. You should counter-jungle more in the early game; make sure he doesn't get a smooth transition to level six."

Clearly, counter-jungling touched upon SoFM's reverse scale. The Vietnamese player smiled brighter than anyone else.

His resolute gaze was already locked onto the enemy's raptor camp; those early-game chickens were completely his.

"This Fiora pick takes a lot of courage. It's a pure laning duel—if I don't go to teamfights, you don't go to teamfights either," Guan Zeyuan analyzed.

Wang Jide chimed in, "However, in a normal laning matchup, Jayce still has a certain advantage. It all depends on how player Mouse handles it."

Shifting the perspective to EDG's player booth, A-Guang, having been called out, adjusted his headset. Playing Jayce without being able to bully a tank gave him immense pressure.

Unable to help himself, he looked to the side for assistance and asked, "Um, Zhao Zhiming, you need to help out the top lane a lot in the early game. You can't just leave me out to dry like last time."

A-Loli was also under heavy pressure at the moment. Worried that SoFM would invade his jungle, he rubbed his nose and said, "You've got it backward. In the early game, you should be firmly pushing your wave to cover my jungle so I don't get invaded."

"Is that so?" A-Guang was utterly confused.

What should he do if he couldn't cover him?